Beauty and the Augsburg Confession

by Gaven M. Mize, Roberto E. Rojas

To overcome a deficit of art portraying the biblical narratives in churches rooted in the Reformation, Gaven M. Mize and Robert E. Rojas Jr., both active Lutheran pastors, have produced Beauty and the Augsburg Confession: Art Devotion.

Taking each article of the Augsburg Confession, they provide a theological discourse written as a homiletical study and pair it with an appropriate corresponding work of art. This is literally a beautiful devotional and instructional tool.

146 pages, Unknown Binding

Published February 10, 2019

About the author

The Rev. Gaven M. Mize, formerly the pastor of Divine Savior Lutheran Church, Shepherdsville, Ky., was installed as pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Hickory, on June 8.

Pastors from the Catawba Valley area, from the Piedmont region of North Carolina, as well as pastoral colleagues from the states of Alabama, Florida, Illinois and Indiana participated in the installation worship service.

Mize was born in Hickory. He grew up in China Grove, and graduated from South Rowan High School in 2001. Directly out of high school, he briefly attended Rowan Cabarrus Community College before deciding to enter into the ministry. The following year, he was accepted into the pre-seminary program at Concordia University of Mequon, Wis. During his time at Concordia - Wisconsin, he wrestled at 141-pound weight class, was the construction foreman to build eight houses for the homeless in Juarez, Mexico over a four-year span, and was active in the Pre-Seminary Student Association. He graduated from Concordia - Wisconsin with a Bachelors of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and a Minor in Theological Languages. His language concentrations were Konie’ Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Ecclesiastical Latin.

After his graduation from Concordia University, he was accepted into Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. While at CTS, he studied abroad at Tshwaine Lutheran Seminary in Pretoria, South Africa, with a concentration in Church History.

Upon his return to CTS-Fort Wayne, he received his vicarage pastoral training assignment to serve at Zion Lutheran Church in Clark, N.J. Upon completion of his vicarage, he returned to Concordia Theological Seminary to complete his studies. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 2009 with a Master of Divinity degree.

Prior to his graduation from the Fort Wayne, Indiana seminary, Mize was called to serve Divine Savior Lutheran Church in Shepherdsville. He was ordained by the Rev. Ray Ohlendorf at Salem Lutheran Church in Taylorsville, NC and subsequently installed at Divine Savior Lutheran Church, where he served for nearly three years before being called to serve at Augustana Lutheran in Hickory, North Carolina.

Gaven is married to Ashlee Mize and they have a son, Oliver Augustine. All currently reside in Hickory, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Mary Moerbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

These authors had an amazing idea: take each piece of the Augsburg Confession and pair it with artwork and an informative devotion, demonstrating the Confession’s basis and application. Ever thought the Augsburg Confession must be academic and beyond you? It’s not and this book very well proves it!

Introductory material offers you some of the history. Then you see the first painting chosen and you realize just how real and intimate the Augsburg Confession is. Real men worshiping a real God staked their life on this confession of faith—and real men continue to do so! Taking the time to go through this, article by article, is not only worthwhile, but devotional, relevant, theologically soothing, and actually beautiful.

Let’s clarify a little here. The Augsburg Confession summarizes basic Lutheran teachings, sometimes saying, essentially, we believe this but not that. Some “articles” are as short as a single paragraph. Many are two. A few are several pages. A few more are, using this book’s layout and font, four or five.



In other words, this might be a great way to read a little every day and give yourself some time to think things through. You might even go back to reread the instruction following in reflection.

I love the meat of this package: meat in the sense of real substance prepared for digestion. Who is God? Who is Jesus? What is justification, ministry and pastors, new obedience, etc? Read the answers and digest them alongside the pastoral offering following each picture and quotation.

Like Bible references so you can check passages out for yourself? This is for you.

Here are the article topics:

Article 1: Of God
Article 2: Of Sin
Article 3: Of the Son of God
Article 4: Of Justification
Article 5: Of the Ministry
Article 6: Of New Obedience
Article 7: Of The Church
Article 8: What the Church Is
Article 9: Of Baptism
Article 10: Of the Lord’s Supper
Article 11: Of Confession
Article 12: Of Repentance
Article 13: Of the Use of Sacraments
Article 14: Of Ecclesiastical Order
Article 15: Of Ecclesiastical Uses
Article 16: Of Civil Affairs
Article 17: Of Christ’s Return to Judgment
Article 18: Of Free Will
Article 19: The Cause of Sin
Article 20: Good Work
Article 21: Worship of the Saints
Article 21: The Worship of the Saints
Article 22: Of Both Kinds in the Sacrament
Article 23: Of the Marriage of Priests
Article 24: Of the Mass
Article 25: Of Confession
Article 26: Of the Distinction of Meats
Article 27: Of Monastic Vows
Article 28: Of Ecclesiastical Power
Conclusion to the Augsburg Confession

And, as though this book weren’t a treasure enough, it looks like this will be a series! Beauty and the Augsburg Confession follows a 2017 release, also by Rev. Gaven Mize, Beauty and Catechesis, same premises, same format. (I reviewed that one here.)

[Heidi Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to really like this book more than I actually did. The premise is wonderful - tying sacred art to sacred words creates a synergy conducive to meditation and appreciation. I wanted to gain a greater understanding of the Augsburg confessions. But this book fell considerably short of expectations in writing and visual elements.

The art was reproduced in black and white. The exposition with each image is spare and often disjointed - not sufficient to convey complete ideas, too often I felt that I was missing the authors point or having to try to make connections without enough substance. More content and more clarity would have helped.

The written expositions of the Confessions were also unsatisfying. Sometimes just awkwardly constructed, sometimes frankly ungrammatical. (“Here we have an example of a counter-reformation painting shows a lifeless....” Shouldn’t that be “showing”? “Luca was a prized student of this method” seems odd - prized student of a person/master, or prime example of the method?). Excessive and sometimes awkward use of idiom. Far too many exclamation points. Mixing of persons (from “one” to “you” in one sentence...). Unclear linking of ideas and leaping from one point to another. The points the authors were making were worth considering, the intent good and right, but I was very distracted by the poor writing. And the “prayers” at the end of each section, while excellent hymn verses worth considering, did not really have the content or structure of prayer.

Overall I’m disappointed. A good idea not well executed nor well edited.

[Amanda Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the idea for this book, to pair art with the Augsburg Confession. The art selections were very well thought out.

[Gaven Mize · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be biased but I think this book is swell!