This summer LC3 is putting together a new five-week Bible Study on the authority of Scripture, entitled "Rightly Explaining the Word of Truth" (based on the passage in 2 Tim. 2:14-15).
The study will explore what Scripture itself says about its authority as the written Word of God. Similar to the Bible Study produced last year on the Common Confession, this new study will have more material in each session, with a question and answer discussion format focusing on: biblical texts, confessional themes, and a decidedly Lutheran theology. We also intend to produce a leader's guide as well.
The project is currently in the writing stage. Those who would like to see a preview of one of the sessions can write to Pastor Steve King at LC3@charter.net. A sample PDF document can be sent to you by email. Look for more information to come as the project is completed this summer; when finished it will be made available for free to individuals and congregations.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
New 'Call to Faithfulness' Website
One of our member organizations, 'Call to Faithfulness' of NE Iowa, has just put online their new website. You can visit the site at: http://www.calltofaithfulness.org/
The members of Call to Faithfulness have been doing great work representing biblical and confessional concerns in their synod, and have served as an example of leadership and cooperation. The Lutheran CORE "Statement on the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture in the Church" was originally presented and adopted at a Call to Faithfulness educational event. The statement has already received hundreds of electronic signatures. If you have not yet seen it, go HERE. You can add your name to the Statement by sending your Name/Title, City, and State to L-CORE@charter.net .
The members of Call to Faithfulness have been doing great work representing biblical and confessional concerns in their synod, and have served as an example of leadership and cooperation. The Lutheran CORE "Statement on the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture in the Church" was originally presented and adopted at a Call to Faithfulness educational event. The statement has already received hundreds of electronic signatures. If you have not yet seen it, go HERE. You can add your name to the Statement by sending your Name/Title, City, and State to L-CORE@charter.net .Sunday, June 03, 2007
Lutheran CORE Report - Spring 2007
Pentecost 2007Dear Friends in Christ,
I. The second annual gathering of Lutheran CORE was held, April 30, at Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, Minn. We met in conjunction with the convention of the WordAlone Network. At our gathering we heard updates on the four major emphases of Lutheran CORE: the naming of God, sexuality, leadership in the church, and Biblical interpretation. We also approved a revised version of our Basic Principles. The major changes in the Principles are the setting of terms for the steering committee and plans for the formation of an Advisory Council, a group of people who will provide counsel and support for Lutheran CORE and the steering committee.
The Basic Principles begin with a concise statement of who we are: "Lutheran CORE is a confessing and confessional movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The over-arching goal of Lutheran CORE is to be a voice for the Word of God for and to the ELCA. Lutheran CORE is a coalition for reform and is open to all ELCA members, congregations and reform movements who support these Basic Principles. The purpose of Lutheran CORE is to encourage individual reform-minded congregations, laypersons, and pastors; to support and offer encouragement for the various reform movements within the ELCA; and to address significant synodical and churchwide issues." The complete text of the principles is appended to this letter.
II. The steering committee met following the annual gathering to conduct the business of Lutheran CORE. Paull Spring and Erma Wolf reported on their meeting in February with Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and Secretary Lowell Almen. The purpose of the meeting was to interpret the work of Lutheran CORE. The steering committee continued to discuss a communications strategy (brochure, website, letter). We reviewed our financial status and discussed fund raising matters. We considered, in a preliminary way, the possibility of integrating LC3 (Lutheran Churches of the Common Confession) within Lutheran CORE. We spent a considerable amount of our time dealing with the issues to come before the Chicago churchwide assembly.
We formally adopted a statement on the Holy Scriptures, "A Lutheran Statement on the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture in the Church." This Statement originated within Call to Faithfulness, a reform movement centered in NE Iowa, a movement that is a part of Lutheran CORE's ministry. This Statement is an initial effort at participating in the ELCA's five-year study on the authority and interpretation of the Bible. The Statement forthrightly sets forth an orthodox and confessional affirmation of the Bible's authority and addresses directly some of the issues of Biblical interpretation facing us in our church. We are presently gathering signatures for this Statement (see below) and intend to transmit it to the leadership of our church by the end of June.
III. Our ministry and energies are now much occupied with the churchwide assembly in Chicago this August. Most of us had thought that this assembly would be a rather placid time for the ELCA. We had frankly hoped for such an assembly.
We are working toward the calling and election of a presiding bishop, a secretary, and members of the Church Council. We want to call and elect to positions of leadership within our church orthodox and confessional persons who are committed to the Word of God, as we confess it. As Lutheran CORE, we are working in close cooperation with the WordAlone Network and with others who share our confessional perspective. With our partners in other movements, we are developing a strategy that should result in important shifts in churchwide leadership.
However, we must also now give our attention to the memorials from some synod assemblies that are aimed at rescinding the decisions on sexuality that were voted on at the Orlando assembly. These memorials, initiated by the gay and lesbian lobby, call for our church to begin processes that will permit rites of blessing for gay and lesbian couples and will authorize the ordination of pastors who are in gay and lesbian relationships.
We hope and pray that we will be able to prevail when these memorials are brought before the churchwide assembly. We think it is in the best interest of the church to handle these issues in a manner consistent with the process agreed to by the church, which means waiting for the 2009 churchwide assembly. We know this will not be an easy task for us. We will do all we can to prevail, and we will be ready, for we know that the stakes in this are very high indeed.
IV. People often ask, "What can I do?" There are several things we all can do to support the cause of orthodoxy within our church:
You can SIGN THE STATEMENT ON SCRIPTURE that we and others have prepared, and you can encourage others to do so. So far more than 315 people have signed the Statement. This Statement is not the last word on this subject. It does, however, underscore some important themes of Biblical interpretation and is an initial response from us to the ELCA's study on the Bible and its interpretation. To read the Statement, go to:
www.commonconfession.net/COREscriptset.htm You can sign the statement by sending a message to l-core@charter.net with your name and city and state of residence.
You can CONTACT YOUR SYNOD'S VOTING MEMBERS to the churchwide assembly and make your concerns known to them. Voting members need to know of our prayerful support for them. They also need to know how we feel about the issues of sexuality that were voted on at the 2005 churchwide assembly. Now is not the time to rescind what was voted on in Orlando! Voting members need to know of our concern for calling and electing churchwide leaders who reflect our concern for orthodoxy and fidelity to the teachings of Holy Scripture.
You can PARTICIPATE in the STUDY on SEXUALITY, "Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor." You can either become a participant in your congregation's study process - if there is one - or you can do your own study and send your reactions to the staff of the Division for Church in Society. The Task Force for Studies on Sexuality will use the results of the study process as it prepares a social statement on sexuality for the 2009 churchwide assembly. It is critical, therefore, for people like us to make our voices heard and our positions known. It is also important that our responses to the study be measured, respectful, and thoughtful, without rancor or bitterness,as befits members of the body of Christ. You may download the study at: www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/study/ You may also order a printed copy from Augsburg Fortress (1-800-328-4648) at a cost of $5.00 per copy plus S/H. Responses to the study must be submitted by November 1, 2007.
You can MAKE a FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION to Lutheran CORE. We are grateful for those who have already done so. We encourage others as well. Checks should be made out to the WordAlone Network, with a memo, Lutheran CORE, and sent to 2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220, New Brighton, MN 55112.
First and last, you can PRAY FERVENTLY for Lutheran CORE and for the renewal of our church according to God's Word. You can - indeed we all should - pray fervently for our church and those who have been called to lead our church - our presiding and synodical bishops, the Church Council and our synod councils, the teachers in our theological seminaries. While we in Lutheran CORE need your prayerful support, our church needs those prayers too.
V. We are grateful that you have joined us in our ministry on behalf of our church. We remind ourselves, whenever we meet, that we are evangelical Lutherans, and that we intend to carry out our Christian life through the ELCA. We are in this "for the long haul," and we know that we face a daunting task. We are, however, full of a godly hope. Our confidence comes from the promises of Jesus, that "the gates of Hades will not prevail" (Matthew 16:18). Trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit, and putting our hope in our crucified and risen Lord, we move forward with the ministry God has given us to do.
Thank you for sharing in our ministry and mission.
Lutheran Core Steering Committee:
Paull Spring, State College, PA, chair, pastorspring@pennswoods.net
Erma Wolf, Brandon, SD, vice chair, easwolf@mac.com
W. Stevens Shipman, Lock Haven, PA, secretary, prshipman@comcast.net
Mark Chavez, Landisville, PA, director, wordalone@popp.net
Mark Graham, Roanoke, VA, mark@stjohnlutheran.org
Scott Grorud, Hutchinson, MN, scottg@faithlc.com
Ken Kimball, Waterville, IA, pastrken@acegroup.cc
Victor Langford, Seattle, WA, faithvcl3@aol.com
Ryan Schwarz, Washington, DC, rschwarz@mba1994.hbs.edu
Paul Ulring, Columbus, OH, pulring@ualc.org
Lutheran CORE Basic Principles
April 2007
Lutheran CORE is a confessing and confessional movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The over-arching goal of Lutheran CORE is to be a voice for the Word of God for and to the ELCA. Lutheran CORE is a coalition for reform and is open to all ELCA members, congregations, and reform movements who support these Basic Principles.
The purpose of Lutheran CORE is to encourage individual reform minded congregations, laypersons, and pastors; to support and offer coordination for the various reform movements within the ELCA; and to address significant synodical and churchwide issues.
1. Common Confession. Lutheran CORE accepts the Common Confession as a summary of important teachings that are otherwise affirmed in the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
2. Membership. Membership in Lutheran CORE is open to reform movements,* congregations, and individual members of the ELCA who share the Common Confession and are supportive of the purposes of the coalition.
*As of April 30, 2007, the partner reform groups of Lutheran CORE are: Call to Faithfulness, Evangelical Lutheran Confessing Fellowship, Fellowship of Confessional Lutherans, Lutheran Churches of the Common Confession, Lutherans Reform! and the WordAlone Network.
3. Relationship with the WordAlone Network. Lutheran CORE will conduct its ministry in close partnership with the WordAlone Network. An intentional effort will be made to correlate Lutheran CORE with the ministry of the WordAlone Network. A member of the Lutheran CORE steering committee will regularly attend meetings of the WordAlone board. A representative from the WordAlone board will regularly attend meetings of the Lutheran CORE steering committee.
4. Annual Gathering. An annual gathering of Lutheran CORE supporters will meet, normally in connection with the WordAlone Network convention in the spring. At this annual gathering members of the Lutheran CORE steering committee will be elected, reports from officers will be received, a budget will be adopted, and other business will be transacted. All those who support the Basic Principles of Lutheran CORE will be invited to participate in the annual gathering.
5. Steering Committee. The annual gathering of Lutheran CORE will elect nine persons to serve on the steering committee. The steering committee will serve as a nominating committee, and additional nominations may be presented at the annual meeting. Steering committee members will serve two-year terms and may be reelected to two additional two-year terms. In case of vacancies, the steering committee will elect a replacement who will serve for the remainder of the term. The steering committee will elect the officers of Lutheran CORE - chair, vice-chair, and secretary. The steering committee will normally meet four times a year. Responsibilities of the steering committee will include the following: implementing actions of the annual gatherings, setting priorities for Lutheran CORE, developing strategies for implementing the priorities, preparing a budget proposal, and dealing with other organizational and ministry issues.
6. Advisory Council. An advisory council will be elected by the steering committee. The advisory council's responsibility will be to advise, counsel, and support the steering committee and Lutheran CORE. An effort will be made to elect to the advisory council representatives from other reform movements, academic theologians, and others who will assist and strengthen the ministry of Lutheran CORE. The steering committee will name the convener for the advisory council. Members of the advisory council will be informed of all actions of the steering committee, and the opinions of the advisory council will be solicited when the steering committee and Lutheran CORE face important decisions.
7. Staff. The director and support staff of the WordAlone Network will serve as director and support staff for Lutheran CORE. The director and support staff will work approximately one-fourth time for Lutheran CORE, and the WordAlone Network will receive a financial reimbursement from Lutheran CORE.
8. Finances. The financial matters of Lutheran CORE will be administered by the WordAlone processes. The WordAlone budget will include a line item for Lutheran CORE; this line item will be prepared by the Lutheran CORE steering committee and adopted by the annual gathering.
9. Amendments. Amendments to these Basic Principles may be adopted at the annual gathering of Lutheran CORE.
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