The "LC3-Announce" Listserv

For those who would like to receive email updates on what is happening with the LC3, there is a public listserv to which you can subscribe. It is called “lc3-announce.”

For those who don’t know what a “listserv” is: A listserv allows a single email message to be sent to many people at once. Once you sign up to be on the list, you will receive occasional email messages from the LC3 Steering Committee, like a general “news release.” (This particular list is not set up as a discussion group, so it does not accept replies.)

If you would like to sign up for the “lc3-announce” list, go to the link below, and follow the instructions. You will be asked to enter your name and email address, and to pick a password:

http://wordalone.org/mailman/listinfo/lc3-announce_wordalone.org

The “lc3-announce” list is open to anyone – regardless of whether you are a member of an LC3 congregation. All are welcome.

Spring CORE Report

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

When we met February 20-21 as the steering committee for Lutheran CORE, our consensus was that this edition of our occasional letter should express a strong word of hope. We recognize the serious turmoil and distress within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We acknowledge the struggle within our church for faithfulness to God's Word. We sense how strong the pressure is to move our church away from the orthodoxy of our Confessions.

We ourselves have experienced the stress of the times. We often have felt alone in the struggle. It is so easy to lose heart. The mission of reforming our church is a daunting task.

But we believe that God's Spirit is calling and equipping us for another way within our church. There are countless laypersons and pastors and numerous bishops and seminary professors who share our concerns. We are not alone. We do not intend to leave the ELCA for something else. In spite of its present weakness and confusion, the ELCA is our church. We are determined to be a strong and gracious voice from within for reform in our church, under the Word of God and with the witness of our orthodox Confessions.

We invite you to join us in this ministry and mission. Lutheran CORE is a confessing movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We seek, above all else, to give priority to the Word of God in the life of our church. According to our Confession, the Scriptures "are the only rule and norm according to which all doctrines and teachers must be appraised and judged" (Epitome, Formula of Concord). Our goal as Lutheran CORE is to call our church to a more faithful adherence to Biblical authority.

Our purpose is three-fold: encouraging reform-minded persons and congregations; supporting other reform-minded coalitions; and addressing significant pressing synodical and churchwide issues. Among the latter are the calling of faithful leaders throughout our church; careful attention to the name of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and participation in the church's ongoing conflict over marriage and sexuality. A particularly urgent, present task is to elect voting members from the various synods to the 2007 churchwide assembly in Chicago.

At our steering committee meeting we reviewed the ministry of Lutheran CORE. We will prepare a series of position papers on significant matters facing our church and will draw on the affirmations contained in the Common Confession. We continue to sign up persons to serve as synodical contacts with Lutheran CORE. We are planning a web site. We are developing model resolutions for synod assemblies regarding the action taken by the Metro New York Synod to basically disregard votes by the 2005 churchwide assembly on homosexuality. We heard the good news that Pastor Mark Chavez will move to Pennsylvania in the summer and will serve as staff for both Lutheran CORE and the WordAlone Network. Pastor Erma Wolf was elected vice chair of the steering committee, and Pastor Scott Grorud was nominated to serve as the Lutheran CORE representative on the WordAlone board.

We also made plans for the "Initial Gathering" for Lutheran CORE. The WordAlone convention will be April 30 through May 2 at Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, Minnesota. The "initial gathering" for Lutheran CORE is scheduled for Monday evening, May 1. During this session we will take action on a number of organizational resolutions for Lutheran CORE. We hope that you will be able to join us for this "gathering." Registration forms will be sent out this month from the WordAlone Network and may also be downloaded from the WordAlone web site - http://www.wordalone.org/.

In the meantime, we invite you to join us in Lutheran CORE. In doing so, you endorse the basic principles of Lutheran CORE and the Common Confession (see below). To join, all you need to do is to notify the chair of the steering committee of your intention. Our chair is the Rev. Paull E. Spring, at 956 Stratford Court, State College, PA 16801, pastorspring@pennswoods.net. If you have already joined Lutheran CORE, please forward this message to people that you know who may be interested in supporting our effort.

Most of all, however, we invite you to hope and have confidence in what we are about. We have a great responsibility before ourselves. We are mindful of the difficulties we face. But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are full of the Spirit's hope and we place our confidence in God's Word of promise. We know by faith that God's Word is true. We are convinced that God has not deserted us, nor has he left our church. We have hope and confidence, because we believe that God's Son was raised from the dead and lives for us and for all believers.

Lutheran CORE Steering Committee:
Paull Spring, State College, Pennsylvania, chair
Erma Wolf, Brandon, South Dakota, vice chair
Steven Shipman, Watsontown, Pennsylvania, secretary
Mark Chavez, New Brighton, Minnesota
Mark Graham, Roanoke, Virginia
Scott Grorud, Hutchinson, Minnesota
Ken Kimball, Waterville, Iowa
Russ Saltzman, Kansas City, Missouri
Paul Ulring, Columbus, Ohio

The Big Tent of Reform & Renewal

The Common Confession was meant to draw traditional Lutherans together from across the country under a single statement of faith and purpose. Whether we describe ourselves as “orthodox”, “confessional”, “evangelical” -- or perhaps simply as “old school” Lutherans -- we represent the broad center of the Lutheran tradition in the ELCA.

We are coming together, as it were, under one “Big Tent” -- our faith statement: the Common Confession. We are not building a new structure or institution, but are gathering around a shared faith perspective. The metaphor of the Big Tent is one of flexibility and activity, to provide a common place to work together in the reform and renewal of the Church.

As you can see from the diagram above, the Lutheran Churches of the Common Confession (LC3) and Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) are simply two halves of the same movement. Welcomed into this mutual effort are congregations, individuals, and the many Lutheran reform groups already doing good work in service to the Church. In particular, the LC3 intends to work with congregations on the local level with a focus on mission and ministry, while the Lutheran CORE intends to work more on the synodical and national level, working within the governing system of the ELCA to bring about reform.

As the construction of our website continues, the Common Confession will be at the center of our home page, with links to the LC3 and CORE from that central location. In the mean time, look for more additions to the site at http://www.commonconfession.net/ in the near future.

The Next Big Meeting

The next big gathering of LC3 congregations will be April 30-May 2 at Calvary Lutheran Church, in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Calvary is the largest of the LC3 member-congregations. Held in conjunction with the WordAlone Network annual convention, representatives from LC3 congregations will have their own time to talk about plans for the association, cooperative mission projects, and the growth of the movement. As part of a larger convention agenda, LC3 will have a plenary presentation, as well as small group gatherings to discuss our plans. There will also be plenty of time to get to meet friends and colleagues from across the country, and strengthen the ties of fellowship in Christ that bind us together.

Our partner organization, Lutheran CORE, will also meet to discuss upcoming elections and resolutions coming to synods, and the preparation for the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. As more and more Lutheran reform groups come together to work with a common purpose, God is bringing about some new and exciting possibilities for people of the ELCA.

The WordAlone Convention for 2006 is titled “Pulpit, Pews, Parents – Teaching the Christian Faith to All Generations.” The keynote speakers will be Dr. Harry Wendt of Crossway International, and Dr. James Nestingen, Professor Emeritus of Church History at Luther Seminary. Information on registration will be available soon on the WordAlone Website http://www.wordalone.org/. Mark your calendars …

LC3 Steering Committee TeleConference

On Tuesday, February 28th, members of the LC3 Steering Committee came together via phone and computer conferencing technology. Four members of the committee met together in Minneapolis, while the rest were connected from their own locations across the country. Much was accomplished.

Representatives shared reports on the progress of LC3 in their regions -- regarding the connections that are being made with pastors and congregations, and how people in various regions are organizing in different ways. Relationships with various reform groups and specialized ministries were also discussed, with the goal of strengthening our mutual support and communication.

The Committee also looked at the progress of the LC3 website, and how it will continue to be developed and expanded. Another electronic media being used includes a couple new email listservs for the LC3, designed to provide a means for communication among those both ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the association.

In these first few months since November, the response to LC3 has been very positive. There is a strong desire among biblical and confessional churches to work together in positive ways, to strengthen the ties between them and to set an example for how people of the Church can cooperate with a common goal in the mission of Christ.