Lutheran CORE - News and Discussion

NALC bishop and LCMS president join American religious leaders in defending marriage and religious freedom

2012-01-12T09:17:00.003-06:00

Bishop John Bradosky of the North American Lutheran Church has joined other American Christian leaders and religious leaders from other faith communities in an open letter defending marriage and religious freedom.

“Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together — An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans” was released on Thursday, Jan. 12.

“As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities, we join together to affirm that marriage in its true definition must be protected for its own sake and for the good of society,” the letter states.

“We encourage all people of good will to protect marriage as the union between one man and one woman, and to consider carefully the far-reaching consequences for the religious freedom of all Americans if marriage is redefined,” the letter says.

The letter notes that changing the definition of marriage will change hundreds of laws. It also states that those who hold to traditional religious beliefs about marriage would face discrimination and legal sanctions for holding to their faith if the definition of marriage is changed.

“We especially urge those entrusted with the public good to support laws that uphold the time-honored definition of marriage, and so avoid threatening the religious freedom of countless institutions and citizens in this country. Marriage and religious freedom are both deeply woven into the fabric of this nation,” the letter says.

In addition to Bishop Bradosky, signers to the letter include leaders from a wide range of Christian church bodies — from Roman Catholics and Anglicans to Baptists and Pentecostals.

The Rev. Matthew Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, was among the 39 signatories.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and some other liberal Protestant church bodies did not have any leaders sign the letter.

“Being bold in on our confession of Christ to a hostile culture is never easy. There are times when making a stand for what we believe brings us into relationship with those of diverse theological perspectives. That is certainly the case among those who have joined together to sign the statement released today regarding the preservation of religious freedom, the sanctity of marriage, and the definition of marriage preserved in the Scripture and the faithful interpretation of the Scriptures over thousands of years,” said Bishop Bradosky.

“While we believe these understandings and values are essential for the good of all people in our nation and throughout the world, and further believe that political pressure exerted on the church to acquiesce or redefine marriage according to relativistic cultural understandings is a perversion of rights guaranteed by our Constitution, it is abhorrent to us because it is contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures. The definition of marriage is established by the Creator, affirmed by the Savior and blessed by the Holy Spirit. It is therefore impossible for the Church to redefine or acquiesce to such changes and remain faithful.

“It is sad to admit that our culture has reached a point where such a statement is necessary, and yet it is for just such a time as this that the Lord has called the North American Lutheran Church into being, to be able to make such a stand and offer our support to this important cause,” Bishop Bradosky said. “For all those reasons I am honored to sign this document.”

In December of 2010, Bishop Paull Spring of the NALC joined other American religious leaders in signing “The Protection of Marriage: A Shared Commitment.”

The letter including the list of signers is available online at www.thenalc.org. A list of frequently asked questions and an executive summary are also available online.

A press release from the United States Conference of is available here.

Sola Publishing - New Resources for 2012

2012-01-04T15:37:00.001-06:00

Sola Publishing is proud to be a partner with Lutheran CORE in providing solid and trustworthy resources for Lutheran congregations. With your support, by the blessing of God, we continue to grow at an amazing rate! We are pleased to let you know about a number of new resources that have just been released for the new year.

New Sola Titles for January 2012

1) Sola Confirmation Series: Lord’s Prayer, by Pastor Steven King, finishes out the four core curriculum books, also including: Ten Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, and Sacraments.

2) Luke, the newest in Pastor Kent Groethe’s “Old Places, New Faces” Series, is a twelve-session Bible study focusing on the Gospel of Luke.

3) VBS: The Adventures of Paul is this year’s installment in Sola’s Versatile Budget Series. Think your church is too small for VBS? Take a look at Sola’s all-in-one reproducible booklet, designed especially for small congregations.

4) The Drama Series: Invited to the Banquet of the King is a five-part series based on the elements of Christian worship, suitable for weekly Lenten services.

5) Sola now offers two new educational poster sets for Sunday School: Attendance Posters and Classroom Posters. Each includes six full-color 11x17 inch posters.

6) Sola also has new Certificates for Baptism and Confirmation. These 8.5 x 5.5 inch certificates come in a pack of 12, with 12 matching envelopes.

7) The Word of God – Weekly Lectionary Inserts can be ordered as copy-ready reproducible pdf documents, featuring Scripture texts from the ESV: English Standard Version.

For more information on these new resources, please click on the underlined links above to go directly to the Sola website.

Lutheran leader to speak in Sioux Falls about crisis in ELCA and about new Lutheran church body

2011-12-06T14:59:00.001-06:00

The Rev. Mark Chavez, General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church, will be leading a workshop in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday, Dec. 10, for individuals and congregations who are interested in learning more about the new church body.

Pastor Chavez will be speaking at 1 p.m. at Sioux Falls Seminary. His presentation will include information on the crisis of teaching in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and an explanation of why the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) was created as an alternative for Lutheran congregations.

Following Pastor Chavez’s presentation, there will be an panel discussion including Pastor Chavez; the Rev. Rich Merkouris of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls; the Rev. Tom Walker of Heritage Lutheran Church in Brandon; the Rev. Sandra Soye of Heritage Lutheran Church in Brandon; and the Rev. Randy Eisenbeisz of Hayti, S.D., who is the NALC’s dean for its Eastern South Dakota Mission District.

Pastor Chavez, who lives in Landisville, Pa., became the General Secretary of the NALC in September. He has a long history in efforts to reform the ELCA. He served as the director of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) six years and as vice president and director of the WordAlone Network for 10 years.

Lutheran CORE is a coalition of renewal movements. It began in November 2005 as a “coalition for reform” in efforts to maintain Biblical teaching in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The WordAlone Network was one of the reform movements that founded and made up Lutheran CORE. As the ELCA continued to move away from traditional Christian teaching, Lutheran CORE’s focus moved to a “coalition for renewal,” seeking to unite confessional Lutherans regardless of their church body affiliation. The NALC is one of three church bodies that are members of Lutheran CORE.

Pastor Chavez is in the area to speak to a local ELCA congregation that is exploring its options concerning the changing theological Lutheran landscape.

The North American Lutheran Church was constituted Aug. 26-27, 2010, in Grove City,
Ohio. The NALC has been growing rapidly since then. Nearly 300 congregations, representing more than 100,000 Lutherans, have joined the NALC in its first year.

The NALC embodies the theological center of Lutheranism in North America. It is a church body committed to the authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by the teaching of Scripture.

The NALC is committed to shaping its life around four core values: Christ-Centered, Mission-Driven, Traditionally-Grounded, and Congregationally-Focused.”

The NALC is a church body committed to shaping its life by the teaching of the Bible and to carry out Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.

Most NALC congregations and members left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because they believe the ELCA no longer uses the Bible as the sole basis of its faith and life.

The ELCA lost hundreds of congregations and more than 300,000 members in 2009 and
2010, according to statistics released by the ELCA in August. Many more congregations have left the ELCA in 2011 and even more congregations are expected to leave.

All individuals and congregations who are interested in learning more about the crisis in the ELCA or about the NALC are welcome. Information about the NALC is available online at www.thenalc.org.

NALC News for November

2011-11-04T20:49:00.001-05:00

Here is what you can read in the NALC News for November:

+ Regional Mission Districts are organizing.

+ 2012 Convocations to be in Minnesota.

+ NALC prepares to welcome Canadian congregations.

+ NALC retirement and insurance plans are approved. Enrollment has begun.

+ Orders of Creation to be theme of Canadian theological conference.

+ Endorser approved for NALC military chaplains.

+ Model Constitution for Congregations updated.

+ Ordination in Minnesota.

+ St. Dysmas, new NALC congregation, to do ministry inside California prisons.

+ "The Reading of the Holy Scriptures is central to Lutheran Worship" by Pastor Michael G. Tavella.

+ "An Effective Stewardship Campaign Model" - "In Pursuit of the Great Commission" by Pastor Don Brandt.

+ Bishop Bradosky's address to the Association for Church Renewal.

+ Update on NALC congregation flooded by Hurricane Irene.

ELCA pastor teams up with pagan High Priestess

2011-10-31T17:23:00.003-05:00

Read the latest from HerChurch, an ELCA congregation in California:

From World Net Daily:

Christian church teams up with high priestess of Isis
Famous denomination welcoming paganism with guided meditations

New: Sola Lectionary Scripture Inserts

2011-10-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

NEW FROM SOLA PUBLISHING:

The Word of God

Lectionary Scripture Inserts

Ready for Advent 2011, Sola is now producing Lectionary Scripture Inserts for weekly worship, as electronically delivered PDF copy masters, able to be reproduced on a church's computer or photocopier. Click HERE to see a full-size copy-ready sample. The inserts include:

a) Three Appointed Readings: First and Second Readings, Gospel
- featuring the English Standard Version of Scripture (ESV)
- using the LC-MS version of the Revised Common Lectionary*

b) Psalm Text (pointed for chanting)
- using the traditional Psalm texts, as used in the LBW

c) Prayer of the Day (Collects)
- translated from the traditional/historical sources

A seperate RTF sheet will provide Scripture texts as well as suggested "Prayers of the Church" for worship leaders, editable for local use.

For those who order in 2011, you will receive the inserts and prayers for Advent-Christmas 2011 at no charge! Your quarterly subscription will begin in 2012.

HOW TO ORDER: The inserts are being made available as an ongoing subscription for those who have a congregational account with Sola. Please contact our regular customer service number 1-(888) 887-9840 to start a subscription, and/or to set up a congregational account (all you need is: name, address, phone, email).

DELIVERY and BILLING: The inserts will be sent quarterly as a copy-ready PDF file, including the lessons for the upcoming three months. A 'plain text' RTF file will also be sent for those who may prefer to cut and paste text into their bulletins. The email to which the files are attached will include the quarterly invoice for the congregation, at a subscription rate of only $20 per quarter (including permission to reproduce as many copies as the congregation requires). The subscription will continue unless cancelled. A valid email address is required.

____________________

* A NOTE ON THE RECOMMENDED LECTIONARY VERSION:

In consultation with leaders of NALC, LCMC, CALC, and Lutheran CORE, Sola is recommending the use of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod version of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), as found in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), from Concordia Publishing House. Used with Permission. Lectionary inserts and other worship-support products produced by Sola Publishing will be based on this version of the RCL, rather than the ELCA version. (Go HERE to see a schedule of the texts for the year.)

Advent-Christmas Resources from Sola

2011-10-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Sola Publishing blessed to be able to serve congregations of Lutheran Core, NALC, LCMC, CALC, and others looking for solid, biblical materials to support education and worship in congregations. Sola has just released two new resources for congregations, written for the Advent and Christmas seasons.

The first is a simple booklet of Readings for the Lighting of the Advent Candles (go HERE). This simple booklet provides a brief reading, Scripture text, and song to accompany the lighting of the candles. It also suggests readings and prayers for the candle-lighting portion of a Christmas Eve candlelight service. The brief rites may be used for the worship services of a congregation or in family devotional settings. (5.5 x 8.5" Paperback booklet, 12 pages)

The second new resource is Sola’s Sunday Schoolhouse Christmas Program: Red Year (go HERE). Created to accompany the Red Year (Series B) materials in Sola Publishing’s Sunday Schoolhouse series, but it may be used as a stand-alone resource for use with children in any congregation. Patterned after the style of a traditional Advent-Christmas recitation program, it focuses on the coming of the Messiah, foretold by the prophets, and how God fulfilled his word in Jesus, with children reading selections from the Old and New Testament Scripture that convey the promise of Jesus’ birth. It is intentionally simple and “generic” — allowing for modifications and additions according to local custom, but focusing on the primary function of telling the story of Scripture. (5.5 x 8.5" Paperback booklet, 12 pages)

(Purchase of these items includes permission to photocopy pages for use in local congregations)

Midwest Mission Districts Conference

2011-10-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

Members of NALC congregations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming are coming together in Watertown, S.D., Oct. 28-29 to celebrate the life we have in the NALC. During this conference we will organize three Mission Districts. Each Mission District will consider a Mission District Constitution and elect a Mission District Dean and Council.

Members and guests who attend this conference can expect to hear from Bishop John Bradosky how the NALC is continually growing and living in the Great Commission.

Download the conference brochure & registration info.

New Sola Study on the Name of God

2011-09-15T20:52:00.004-05:00

From its formation, one of the foundational goals of Lutheran Core has been to "advocate for the use of the name of the Holy Trinity in worship, Christian education, and theological education."

Sola Publishing has just released a new adult Bible study in its "Thinking Like Scripture" series. The new series is titled: "I Am Who I Am - A Bible Study on the Holy Name of God." It was written in collaboration by the Rev. Dr. Michael Tavella of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Abington, PA, and the Rev. Steven King, General Editor of Sola Publishing.

The study's cover provides this description:

God said to Moses, “I Am who I Am … this is my name forever and this my title for all generations” (Exodus 3:14-15). To us as Christians, the Name of God reveals His identity and nature. For we know that the same LORD who created the heavens and the earth has now come to both Jews and Gentiles in the person of Jesus Christ. In Him, God has revealed the Trinitarian nature of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” by giving this divine Name to us as His children. This six-week study explores what it means to “not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7), while at the same time trusting the promise in Christ that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

The study "I Am What I Am" can be found on the Sola website HERE.

Mark Chavez accepts call as NALC General Secretary

2011-09-06T15:01:00.002-05:00

The Rev. Mark C. Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, has accepted a call to serve as General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church, the NALC announced Tuesday, Sept. 6. The General Secretary functions as the chief operating officer of the NALC, managing its day-to-day administrative functions.

“I am honored to be asked by Bishop John Bradosky and to be called by the Executive Council to serve as General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church. I pray that our Lord will help and guide me to serve in that office faithfully and capably,” Pastor Chavez said.

“The NALC’s growth in its first year was exciting and encouraging to watch. Now I look forward to full participation in that excitement. It is especially encouraging to see the NALC become what was envisioned and hoped for it — a Lutheran church that is truly Christ-centered, mission-driven, traditionally-grounded and congregationally-focused,” he said.

“The focus and passion in the NALC for making disciples of Jesus Christ — the only Lord and Savior there is for all of sinful humanity — is thrilling,” Pastor Chavez said.

NALC Bishop John F. Bradosky selected Pastor Chavez to serve as General Secretary after consultation with the leadership of Lutheran CORE. Pastor Chavez’s call was then approved by the NALC Executive Council on Thursday, Sept. 1. The General Secretary is appointed by the Bishop and approved by the Executive Council.

Bishop Bradosky served as the NALC’s General Secretary before being elected as the NALC Bishop at the church body’s 2011 Convocation Aug. 11-12 in Hilliard, Ohio.

“My prayers and those of many others have been answered with Mark’s acceptance of the call extended by the Executive Council,” Bishop Bradosky said.

“It is amazing that following my election several individuals approached me asking if I had thought of Mark as a potential candidate for the position of General Secretary. In a similar way, others had approached Mark asking him if he was willing to become our General Secretary, all without knowing that Mark and I had already spoken about that possibility,” Bishop Bradosky said. “It seems clear the Holy Spirit was confirming the appropriateness of the call even before the Executive Council had a chance to vote. I look forward to working with Mark and pray that you will welcome him as you have welcomed me.”

“Mark’s history of involvement with the reform movements over the past two decades means that he is well known and loved. His passion is expressed in his thoughtful presentations and bold proclamation of the Gospel, and his organizational expertise has provided stability, integrity and effective administration to Lutheran CORE,” he said.

Pastor Chavez, who lives in Landisville, Pa., has served as the director of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) for five years. He also served as vice president and director of the WordAlone Network from 2000 to February 2010.

Lutheran CORE is a coalition of renewal movements. It began in 2006 as a “coalition for reform” in efforts to maintain Biblical teaching in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The WordAlone Network was one of the reform movements that founded and made up Lutheran CORE. At that time, the WordAlone Network was the only voice for renewal in the ELCA which was formally organized with an office, full-time staff, and infrastructure. As the ELCA continued to move away from traditional Christian teaching, Lutheran CORE’s focus moved to a “coalition for renewal,” seeking to unite confessional Lutherans regardless of their church body affiliation. The NALC is one of three church bodies that are members of Lutheran CORE.

Pastor Chavez has been involved in the renewal movement among Lutherans for many years. He was a participant in the first “Call to Faithfulness” theological conference in Northfield, Minn., in 1990, one of the first gatherings to call attention to the ELCA’s drift from Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. He signed the 9.5 Theses in 1995, which were an attempt to call for public discussion of the ELCA’s theological drift. He was called as Director of the WordAlone Network in 2000 and served in that position into early 2010. He was also one of the leaders involved in forming Solid Rock Lutherans in 2003, the first coalition of confessing Lutherans and precursor to Lutheran CORE.

He is also a leader in the Association for Church Renewal (ACR), an organization of leaders of the renewing and confessing movements in the historic mainline churches. Through the ACR, he brings connections to the renewal movements in the mainline churches that have worked for decades to keep churches from moving away from the Bible and traditional Christian teaching as norms for their faith and life.

“It has been a great joy and privilege to serve Lutheran CORE. The officers, Steering Committee, staff, and the many volunteers and leaders across the coalition are a fabulous team of dedicated believers. What a blessing to work with such dear sisters and brothers in Christ. I am very thankful that I will still be able to work with them, albeit in a different capacity,” he said.

“Going forward I will personally appreciate Lutheran CORE’s role to connect confessing Lutherans across denominational lines. I will cherish the opportunities to be with many dear friends in the various Lutheran churches in North America and together be mobilized by the Holy Spirit for evangelical renewal,” Pastor Chavez said.

“I cannot sufficiently thank our heavenly Father and so many people for the countless prayers that have been offered over the years for all of those involved in renewal and reform ministries. Those prayers have sustained and uplifted us in such powerful ways. Thank you and God bless you for praying steadfastly,” he said.

“May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and bless Lutheran CORE and the NALC so that in our mutual cooperation and ministries we bear effective witness to Jesus Christ and give all glory to God the Father,” Chavez said.

“Pastor Mark Chavez’s life and heart are embedded in Lutheran CORE through all of its existence. He has been a driving force and faithful leader through many challenges and opportunities. He will be all this and more in his new NALC call and role,” said the Rev. Paul Ulring, Lutheran CORE Moderator and senior pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio.

“We are grateful for Mark’s service to Jesus Christ and His Church and we look forward to this new season for him and Lutheran CORE’s continuing partnership with the NALC,” Pastor Ulring said.

“Because Mark Chavez is a selfless and tireless leader who so many already know and trust, his new call really wasn’t a surprise to those who have worked with him,” said Lynn Kickingbird of Edmond, Okla., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.

“He is blessed with the spiritual gifts of proclamation, wisdom and managing leadership that will serve the NALC well in its developing years,” she said.

Pastor Chavez was born in Denver, Colo., and was raised in Colorado and California. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Queen’s College of Oxford University, Oxford, England.

He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force from 1976 to 1983, primarily in the Directorate of Soviet Affairs, Air Force Intelligence Service at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. He resigned his commission in the Air Force in 1983 to attend Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., where he earned his Masters of Divinity degree.

After being ordained in 1987, he served as pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Glen Burnie, Md., (1987-1999); and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Petersburg, Pa., before accepting the call to serve the WordAlone Network.

Pastor Chavez and his wife, Jocelyn, have six children and four grandchildren.

The North American Lutheran Church was constituted at the 2010 Convocation of Lutheran CORE Aug. 26-27, 2010, in Grove City, Ohio. The NALC has been growing rapidly since then. More than 255 congregations, representing more than 100,000 Lutherans, have joined the NALC in its first year.

The NALC embodies the theological center of Lutheranism in North America. It is a church body committed to the authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by the teaching of Scripture.

The NALC is committed to shaping its life around four core values: Christ-Centered, Mission-Driven, Traditionally-Grounded, and Congregationally-Focused.

More information is available at www.thenalc.org.

Bishop responds to pastor's resignation letter resigning from ELCA

2011-08-20T12:41:00.002-05:00

Bishop David Zellmer of the South Dakota Synod finally has responded to my letter resigning from the ELCA clergy roster because I had been received as a pastor of the North American Lutheran Church. You can read my letter here.

Here are some excerpts from the bishop's letter dated August 17 (please note parts in bold):

"I write to acknowledge your letter of resignation from the roster of ordained ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, effective April 12, 2011. . . .

"Please bear in mind that, from the perspective of this church, you are now to function as a layperson in a congregation. While you are not on this church's roster of ordained ministers, your ordained status is in suspension.

"As someone who is not on the roster of this church, you must no longer perform any duties or acts associated with ordained ministry. You are not to use the title "Pastor" or "the Rev." Neither are you to baptize, preside for Holy Communion, perform marriages, or wear vestments normally associated with an ordained minister such as a stole or clerical collar.

"If under some circumstances, you were asked to substitute due to the absence of a pastor, you could do so not as a supply pastor but as a layperson serving without clerical vestments in leading a Service of the Word. Only in the most unusual circumstance and then only with the explicit permission of the synodical bishop could you preside for Holy Communion, in keeping with the policy of this church, as defined in "The Use of the Means of Grace--A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament."

Thank you for your years of service as an ordained minister. Be assured that this church remains grateful to you for your pastoral ministry. God bless you in your new arena of endeavor.

Sincerely,

Bishop David B. Zellmer

Free Stewardship Resources from Sola

2011-08-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

That we may Sow & Reap in the Word ...

For congregations planning a Fall Stewardship emphasis, Sola Publishing is providing free downloadable materials on our Sola website. The theme for this year's Stewardship Emphasis comes from Jesus' words to his disciples in John 4, where he speaks of our calling to "sow and reap" by serving his mission in proclaiming God's Word in our daily lives.

Look on the Sola website under the tab menu "Free Sola Resources" or go directly to the Stewardship Page HERE for these downloads:

a) Color Theme Poster (like the one right)
b) Bulletin Insert-Devotional
c) Giving Plan Card
d) Sample: Time and Abilities Sheet
e) Children’s Story Page
f) Children's Stewardship Plan
g) Black and White Logo
h) Full Color Logo

Permission is granted to reproduce these materials for local congregational use.

John Bradosky elected bishop of North American Lutheran Church

2011-08-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

The Rev. John F. Bradosky of Centerville, Ohio, was elected Bishop of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) Thursday, Aug. 11.

Bishop Bradosky, who has served as the General Secretary of the NALC since January, was elected by the NALC Convocation, the church body’s annual meeting, which met Aug. 11-12 in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Eight hundred Lutherans from throughout North America gathered at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church at Mill Run in Hilliard, Ohio, to elect leaders and to set direction for the newly-formed church body.

Bishop Bradosky, 59, was formally installed as bishop at the closing worship service of the Convocation Friday afternoon.

“Today I stand before you even more deeply honored and humbled. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me,” Bishop Bradosky told those at the Convocation after the voting results were announced Friday morning. “Thank you for this opportunity to serve you. You have the promise of my prayer for each of you and your ministries that together, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will boldly confess Christ.

“I cannot fulfill this office by anything within me. My wisdom and experience is completely insufficient. I can only fulfill this office through the work of the Holy Spirit, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the promise of your faithful prayers and support,” he said.

“The local congregation is the front line for mission and ministry. Our work is to support, facilitate and encourage the ministry and mission work of local congregations. This is where people come to faith in Jesus, where disciples grow and mature in their faith, where people experience Christian community.” Bishop Bradosky said. “Our structure must keep pastors and congregations connected for learning, growing, offering support and care.

Bishop Bradosky has 32 years of pastoral experience with diverse experience in organization and administration. He has served in urban, suburban, and multicultural settings.

Prior to his appointment as General Secretary, Bishop Bradosky senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio. He has also served St. John Lutheran Church in Springfield, Ohio; Trinity Lutheran Church in Canton, Ohio; and Grace Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Bishop Bradosky is a graduate of Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa.

Bishop Bradosky’s hobbies include being a private pilot, running, scuba diving, and skiing. He also serves as a high school and collegiate sports official for basketball, soccer and football.

He has completed seven marathons including the 2011 Boston Marathon which he completed with his son, Jacob (winner of the 2010 Marine Corp Marathon).

Pastor Bradosky and his wife, Kristi, have been married for 34 years. Kristi is a registered nurse. They have four children — three of whom are still living — and one grandson. Their first-born son, Joshua, died in a tragic car accident at the age of 6.

The North American Lutheran Church was constituted at the 2010 Convocation of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) Aug. 26-27, 2010, in Grove City, Ohio. The NALC has been growing rapidly since then. More than 250 congregations, representing more than 100,000 Lutherans, have joined the NALC in its first year.

The 2010 Lutheran CORE Convocation elected provisional leaders for the first year of the NALC. The Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., a retired former ELCA bishop, was elected as provisional bishop to guide the NALC through its first year. The congregations and individuals that have joined the NALC will elect their own leaders this week.

Most NALC congregations and members left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because of what they see as the ELCA’s movement away from using the Bible as the norm of the church body’s faith and life. The ELCA has lost hundreds of congregations and more than 300,000 members since 2009.

The NALC embodies the theological center of Lutheranism in North America. It is a church body committed to the authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by the teaching of Scripture.

The NALC is committed to shaping its life around four core values: Christ-Centered, Mission-Driven, Traditionally-Grounded, and Congregationally-Focused.

Elections for all NALC positions took place at the 2011 Convocation. Among those to be elected at this week’s Convocation are a new bishop and eight members of the NALC’s Executive Council, its national Board of Directors.

More information is available online at www.thenalc.org.

New Releases from Sola Publishing

2011-08-01T18:05:00.002-05:00

As we approach the beginning of a new school year, Sola Publishing has released it new catalog of materials for Summer 2011. Click HERE to download an individual page pdf.

Some of the many new resources available:
- new Sunday Schoolhouse Series - Bible Story Lesson Book (B1)
- new men's and women's group study "The Wise and the Foolish"
- new installment in Sola Confirmation Series on the Ten Commandments

For those attending the Lutheran Core and NALC Convocations in Columbus next week, come and visit our Sola display!

NALC News for July

2011-07-01T20:07:00.002-05:00

Here's what you can read in the NALC News for July.

+ Convocation to elect new bishop and other leaders to guide NALC.

+ NALC Convocation is Aug. 11-12.

+ Lutheran CORE Convocation is Aug. 9.

+ Lutheran CORE - NALC Theological Conference is Aug. 10-11.

+ "Joy in the midst of sorrow and faithfulness in the midst of division" by Pastor John Bradosky, NALC General Secretary.

+ World Mission Prayer League: A Lutheran community in the mission of God.

+ Meet other NALC Congregations featuring Peace Lutheran Church of Split Rock, Wisconsin, and Zion Lutheran Church of Caroline, Wisconsin.

+ “Personal Evangelism: In Pursuit of the Great Commission" by Pastor Don Brandt.

+ NALC reaches 100,000-member milestone. NALC is now among largest third of Lutheran church bodies worldwide.

New NALC Mission in Nebraska

2011-06-26T22:31:00.002-05:00

Check out Russell Saltzman's reflections on his work with a new NALC congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church in Gothenberg, Nebraska from First Things.

You can read more about the congregation in this article in their local newspaper.

NALC News for May

2011-05-14T15:07:00.001-05:00

Here is what you can read in the May NALC News:

* Four pastors nominated for NALC Bishop.

* NALC Convocation is August 11-12.

* Lutheran CORE Convocation is August 9.

* Amendments to NALC constitution to be considered by Convocation.

* "Salvation Today" is theme of NALC-Lutheran CORE Theological Conference August 10-11.

* Nominations requested for Executive Council.

* Leaders of NALC and LCMC meet.

* NALC reaches 200-congregation milestone.

* Profile of American Lutheran Church, Rantoul, Illinois.

* "Vision for Mission" by Gemechis Desta Buba, NALC Missions Director.

* "Addressing Five Ministry Challenges" by Don Brandt.

CORE Connection for May

2011-05-14T15:02:00.001-05:00

Here is what you can read in the May 2011 issue of CORE Connection:

* A New Mission Statement: Reflections from the Lutheran CORE Chair.

* Benne recounts Lutheran history.

* Tithe to benefit ethnic/immigrant ministries.

* Sample resolutions for assemblies available.

* Lutheran CORE Convocation features, August 9, 2011.

* Five Challenges to Church Growth, Part II.

* Lutheran CORE enrolled in Thrivent Choice.

* 2011 Lutheran CORE Constitution Amendments.

* "Salvation Today" - The Lutheran CORE and North American Lutheran Church Theological Conference, August 10-11, 2011.

* "Impact" national youth event is July 7-12.

* Frequently Asked Questions.

Four Nominated for NALC Bishop

2011-05-12T08:04:00.000-05:00

Four pastors have been nominated to serve as the next bishop of the North American Lutheran Church. The 2011 NALC Convocation Aug. 11-12 in Hilliard, Ohio, will elect a new bishop to serve a four-year term.

The Rev. John F. Bradosky, the Rev. James T. Lehmann, the Rev. Paul A. Schultz, and the Rev. Jacob Larry Yoder have been nominated to serve as the NALC’s chief pastor and evangelist.

Yoder, 68, is a professor of religion at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. He also serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Newton, N.C. He is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and Lenoir-Rhyne College. He earned his doctorate from Duke University.

Schultz, 37, is pastor of First English Lutheran Church in Marysville, Ohio. He is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Lehmann, 59, is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Thomasboro, Ill. He is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Bradosky, 59, has served as General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church since January. Prior to that he was senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio. He is a graduate of Hamma School of Theology and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

NALC Bishop Paull Spring, 72, has said that he will not be available for reelection. Bishop Spring and other provisional leaders were elected to guide the NALC through its first year by Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation which served as the Constituting Convocation of the NALC. These provisional leaders were elected to one-year terms so the congregations that join the NALC could elect their own leaders at the 2011 Convocation.

NALC congregations had the opportunity to nominate individuals to serve as bishop. The NALC Constitution requires that the names of those nominated to serve as bishop be sent to NALC congregations 90 days prior to the Convocation that will elect the bishop. The four nominees were those received at the time the notice was to be sent.

Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Convocation. All nominees must be received as NALC pastors by the date of the Convocation.

The NALC Constitution explains that “The Bishop shall serve as the chief pastor and chief evangelist of the NALC, responsible for ensuring the priority of the Great Commission in the life of the church.

“The Bishop shall carry out a pastoral ministry within the church, serving as pastor for the pastors and congregations of the NALC. The Bishop shall preach the Gospel, forgive sins, administer the Sacraments and judge doctrine (Augsburg Confession XXVIII). The Bishop shall carry out a ministry of visitation throughout the church, will be a defender of the faith and will promote the mission of the church,” the constitution says.

A pastor's letter resigning from ELCA clergy roster

2011-04-19T18:45:00.000-05:00

April 12, 2011

Bishop David Zellmer
South Dakota Synod ELCA
Augustana College
Sioux Falls, SD 57197

Bishop Dave:

Thank you for the action of the South Dakota Synod Council in releasing Immanuel Lutheran Church of Whitewood from its affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Immanuel’s affiliation with the North American Lutheran Church better reflects the Biblical and theological commitments of the congregation.

I believe that both God and the congregation have called me to serve Immanuel as its pastor and to continue to do so. I believe that God has called me to serve within the North American Lutheran Church. I have been received as a pastor of the North American Lutheran Church. I thus ask that my name be removed from the roster of ordained ministers of the ELCA.

As Lutherans, we believe that the Christian Church is defined by the assembly of believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel — not by any particular earthly institution (Augsburg Confession, Article 7). Christians throughout the world are a part of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church regardless of their particular church body affiliation. Christians unite in church bodies based on a shared understanding of the Christian faith. A church body affiliation is an acknowledgment that one shares its confession of the Christian faith.

I do not take the decision to leave the ELCA lightly. I have been a part of the South Dakota Synod for nearly 22 years as a pastor. I deeply grieve the loss of relationships this will mean with many people in the synod. As you know, I have been very involved in and have cared about the life and ministry of the synod and of the ELCA churchwide organization. I served on the synod’s Communications Committee for almost the entire history of the synod. I have served on other synod committees. I have served as a voting member at three churchwide assemblies and have attended or watched additional churchwide assemblies. I have presented resolutions at the South Dakota Synod Assembly to address areas of the life and mission of our synod and of the ELCA churchwide organization. I have worked with Lutheran CORE and others to try to help the ELCA to maintain the teaching and practice of its predecessor churches and of the Christian Church throughout history regarding marriage and sexual ethics. It is because I care about the ELCA that I worked with others to keep it from going down the path toward heterodoxy. It is because I care about the wider church and believe that the teaching and practice of the wider church matters that I cannot continue as a pastor of the ELCA.

I cannot in good conscience meet the expectation (from “Vision and Expectations”) that an “ordained minister supports not only the work of the congregation, but also the synodical and churchwide ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” I also cannot meet the ELCA’s expectation that a pastor respect the beliefs of those who persist in error regarding the teaching of the Bible and of the Christian Church rather than call them to repentance and faithfulness. I believe that the expectations “to confess and teach the authoritative and normative character of the Scriptures ‘as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life’” and to “teach nothing ‘that departs from the Scriptures or the catholic Church’” stand in opposition to the ELCA’s new teaching and practice on marriage and sexual ethics. The promises that I made at ordination to preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the ecumenical creeds, and the Lutheran Confessions require that I stand against the decisions of the ELCA to reject these foundations as normative for its teaching and practice. I have not changed. The Confession of Faith in the ELCA constitution has not changed, but it no longer functions as normative for the ELCA’s teaching and practice.

I did my Doctor of Ministry thesis on “norms for preaching.” I believe that the preaching and teaching of the church must be based on ultimate norms such as Scripture, the creeds, and the Lutheran Confessions for it to be faithful. By its actions, the ELCA has chosen to base its teaching and practice on the preferences of its members and on changes in secular society rather than to seek to discern God’s will based on the teaching of Scripture. The ELCA has accepted the ideas that contradictory teachings are of equal value and that there is no such thing as absolute truth and thus no reason to seek the truth. The ELCA’s new teaching and practice on marriage and sexual ethics are built upon a foundation other than the “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).

The idea of an individual’s personal perspective as the ultimate norm for teaching and practice finally leaves the ELCA in the same place as the judgment against the people in the book of Judges: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” There is no basis for sound teaching and practice. Changes in teaching on marriage and sexual ethics are a symptom of the move to relativize the teaching of Scripture. The ELCA’s actions on sexuality violate the First, Second and Sixth Commandments. The ELCA has rejected God as the one who determines right and wrong and has used God’s name to bless what God has not blessed. Most clearly in the actions of our synod’s own companion synod, the ELCA has both tolerated and promoted teachings that contradict God’s revelation of Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this tolerance and promotion of heretical teaching and practice, the ELCA no longer “contends for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”

The South Dakota Synod and ELCA have many members and pastors who are faithful Christians — who confess Jesus as both Savior and Lord and who uphold the Bible, the creeds, and the Lutheran Confessions as normative for their faith and practice. Many of them believe that God has called them to remain in the ELCA and to struggle for reform from within. I respect them and the decision they have made. I will continue to uphold them in prayer as they remain in the struggle for faithfulness from within the ELCA. I will continue to pray that God will raise up leaders who will call the ELCA to live in faithfulness to the Confession of Faith in its constitution and to repent of any actions which contradict that Confession of Faith. I believe that God has called me to move on for the sake of the congregation I serve, for my own sake, and for the sake of the South Dakota Synod. There comes a time when the only remaining witness is to shake the dust from one’s feet. That is the place at which I find myself. It is because I care about those who remain in the ELCA that I must both bear this witness and take leave of them. It is because I care about you and the people of the South Dakota Synod that I must name the significance of the departure from “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” that has taken place in the ELCA. God will ultimately judge both of our decisions and actions.

You remain in my prayers as you seek to provide leadership for the South Dakota Synod and the ELCA. This is certainly a difficult time for many as they struggle to discern God’s will and God’s call to discipleship and faithfulness. Let us all pray that God will draw the one holy catholic and apostolic Church together in faithfulness and mission.

Your brother in Christ,

Pastor David J. Baer

Lutheran CORE Connection and NALC News for April are now online

2011-04-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - April 2011 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month's newsletter:

+ What Shall We Do? Reflections from the Lutheran CORE Moderator.

+ Help Lutheran World Relief Assist Japan.

+ Relief fund to aid Ethiopian Lutherans.

+ Association for Church Renewal Examines Church Trends, Leadership Training, Membership.

+ Five Challenges to Church Growth.

+ Scriptural Authority Crisis History Available.

+ "Salvation Today" - The Lutheran CORE and North American Lutheran Church Theological Conference - August 10-11, 2011.

+ "Impact" national youth event is July 7-12.

+ Frequently Asked Questions.

+ New CORE Connection Editor Appointed.

+ "Come Follow Me" - A Congregational Mission and Discipleship Event - May 13-14 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The April issue of the NALC News is also now online.

Here is what you can read in this month's newsletter:

+ Relief Fund to help Lutherans in Ethiopia experiencing persecution.

+ "How can we keep the NALC the NALC?" by Bishop Paull Spring.

+ NALC surpasses 175 congregations.

+ Model Constitution for NALC Congregations is available.

+ Congregational mission and discipleship event in Indiana to feature Foss and Buba.

+ Carolinas Deanery Convocation is June 3-4.

+ Mission planters training event is May 5-6.

+ Pennsylvania conference to address debate on relevance of Scripture.

+ Nominations requested for NALC leaders.

+ 'Salvation Today' is theme for the 2011 Lutheran CORE theological conference.

+ Getting to know other NALC congregations featuring St. Timothy's Lutheran Church San Jose, California.

+ Haiti - One Year Later.

+ LWR responds to earthquake in Japan.

+ Personal Care Kits are new LWR parish project.

+ In Pursuit of the Great Commission.

+ Updated list of NALC congregations.

Relief Fund established to help Lutherans in Ethiopia

2011-03-25T19:22:00.003-05:00

A relief fund has been established to help Christians in western and southwestern Ethiopia who have recently experienced persecution by Islamic radicals. The Ethiopian Church Relief Fund is a joint effort by Lutheran CORE, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).

The Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idossa, President of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (the Lutheran church in Ethiopia), has reported that 57 churches and 45 individual homes have been destroyed. More than 3,600 people have been displaced from their homes and some have been badly beaten and killed.

The Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba, Missions Director for the North American Lutheran Church and a native of Ethiopia, reported that these brutal acts are not the first of their kind. Three years ago Muslim fundamentalists burned down several churches, killed evangelists, pastors and lay leaders. They are now repeating the same attacks. Today thousands have lost their homes, churches, family members and their rights to safely worship and conduct their ministries.

Persecution is not new to Lutherans in Ethiopia. “However, every time it happens it opens up old wounds and breaks the hearts of many. In the middle of all this our brothers and sisters are walking into this holy Lenten season not with ashes on their forehead but carrying the cross of Christ and confessing their faith in the words of Psalm 23:1, ‘The Lord is my shepherd!’” Dr. Buba said.

“The violence and destruction against churches of the Mekane Yesus Church and individual Christians have largely subsided. However, the task for rebuilding and relief is beginning,” said NALC Bishop Paull Spring. “The Mekane Yesus Church is providing emergency assistance — food, blankets, and other necessities — for those who have experienced loss. Still ahead is the reconstruction of churches that have been destroyed.

“The North American Lutheran Church has developed a close relationship with the Mekane Yesus Church,” Bishop Spring said. “Individuals and congregations of the NALC are urged to gather funds to assist our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia.”

“Our sisters and brothers in Christ in Ethiopia witnessed to our Lord at great cost for many years under the former Communist government, and now experience suffering from radical Muslims. Their bold witness to our Lord no matter the cost should inspire us in the West to be bolder in our witness. The very least we can do is to help the Ethiopians rebuild their churches and homes,” said Pastor Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE.

“After having just been in Ethiopia with these brothers and sisters, seeing their faith, their courage and their obvious passion for the Gospel, it is overwhelming to consider what they have now had to experience in this persecution. But even in this, they see the Lord at work,” said Pastor Mark Vander Tuig, LCMC Service Coordinator.

“A seminary professor from Addis Ababa said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of evangelism. I pray that we too might someday have that kind of faith. I am hopeful that we can show our support for these believers by helping them to rebuild their churches and their homes,” Vander Tuig said.

Please send gifts to Ethiopian Church Relief Fund; 2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220; New Brighton, MN 55112. Please make checks payable to Ethiopia Relief Fund. All funds received will be forwarded to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. You may also give online.

“We are reminded by the apostle that it has been granted to us on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since we are going through the same struggle we see (Philippians 1:29-30). I would like to thank God for God’s protection and the grace and courage that God is giving his chosen people to suffer for the sake of Christ! There is hope for them and for all of us. Christ is alive and will always remain Emmanuel for us in times of our joys and difficulties,” EECMY President Idossa said.

“We highly appreciate your concerns and prayers in such a difficult situation. It is our sincere hope that you will continue to pray and accompany us. May the almighty God bless you all!” he concluded.

A bulletin insert explaining the fund and the situation in Ethiopia is available for use in congregations.

Update on persecution in Ethiopia

2011-03-12T10:21:00.005-06:00

The following update on the situation in Ethiopia is from the Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idosa, president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus:

Dear Partners in Christ,

Thank you very much for your concerns and prayers in such a difficult situation. Many of you were and still are praying, calling us to know our situation and the magnitude of the violence against Christians that has taken place in the western part of our country during the last two weeks.

Rev. Yonas Yigezu, Director for Mission and Theology of the EECMY and I have been on a work visit in the West since March 1, 2011. It was on March 10 that we came back to Addis Ababa. We heard about the violence while we were in Western Synod and were following up on the progress of the violence daily; calling Addis and Jimma talking to leaders at different levels of the church. Every day was coming up to us with pain and hurt. We were hearing about church buildings and individual homes being burned and pulled down, properties looted, people displaced, beaten and terrified.

On March 10, on our way back to Addis, we visited Jima and some of the areas of the violence. We visited Dimtu, a district town where we meet with members of our church who were displaced. we prayed with them and encouraged them with the Word of God. We were told that there were 104 people sheltered in one of the NGO buildings. The buildings are used as a shelter for the displaced and transit prison. We also continued further into a small town called Akoo and again met with those displaced. In this place all members of different evangelical churches are gathered. We were told that there were over 3,000 most of them are children and women. We saw church buildings destroyed, trees and coffee plantation devastated.

When we arrived at the place all displaced persons were on a meeting. Government officials, members of the Islamic supreme council from the Federal and regional state of Oromiya were there to hear the stories of the violence made against Christians. It was heart breaking to listen. All of us were in tears. We also visited Asendabo town where the violence was initiated, had discussion with the Mayor of the town. He told us that Pages of the Holy Koran was torn and used at a toilet in the compound of one of the evangelical churches; of course not EECMY congregation. Someone reported the incident to the Mosque in the town and from there violence broke out.

Just for your information those displaced as reported to us were over 3,644. There were other displaced persons who sheltered in the homes of their relatives when they fled from the rural to Jimma city. Up until now it was reported to us that 55 church buildings were burned and destroyed. Yesterday it was reported that two churches of the Full Gospel were burned which makes the number to rise to 57. Out of these, 12 belongs to the EECMY. It was reported to us that 4 residences of the EECMY members were burned; and report received from other evangelical churches states that 41 houses were burned. This makes the number of burnt individuals houses 45.

The Government is taking drastic action following up and identifying the cause and the causers. Every place in the village, residents were on meetings. Many who involved in the violence we caught and put in jail, and still the process is continuing. In every small towns on our way there were security persons to protect the residents.

On Friday we have sent some food items, blankets, plastic sheets for shelter and kitchen utensils. We are continuing to make assessments and plan on how we can help the displaced persons to rehabilitate. It is our hope that peace will be maintained in the area and the government also promised to continue protect the people and bring to justice those who involved in the violence.

Dear friends,

We are reminded by the apostle that it has been granted to us on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since we are going through the same struggle we see, Phil 1:29-30. I would like to thank God for God’s protection and the grace and courage that God is giving his chosen people to suffer for the sake of Christ! There is hope for them and for all of us. Christ is alive and is always remain Emanuel for us in times of our joys and difficulties.

We highly appreciate your concerns and prayers in such a difficult situation. It is our sincere hope that you will continue to pray and accompany us. May the almighty God bless you all!

Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idosa
President

A Call to Prayer for Christians in Ethiopia

2011-03-10T10:11:00.005-06:00

The following prayer request has been received from the Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idossa, President of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus via the Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba, Missions Director of the NALC:

In the last few days over 41 churches and several evangelical mission stations or mission congregations were burned down. There are thousands of people expelled from their homes and some who are even badly beaten and killed. The perpetrators are Radical Islamist and Jihadist elements who are now operating in the western and south western parts of Ethiopia.

I have spoken with Rev. Wakseyoum as he was visiting Mekane Yesus Churches and Synods close to the border of Sudan. The Voice of America (VOA) called, got in touch with him and interviewed him today and he spoke to the world from that remote spot through this international VOA radio streamed out of Washington D.C.

In that interview he stated that, the Mekane Yesus have intentionally worked hard to establish good relationships with Muslim Ethiopians and that work has resulted in so much good and a positive relationship. However, he is shocked and saddened by this outbreak lashing out in heartbreaking atrocities.

These brutal acts are not the first of their kind. Three years ago Muslim fundamentalists burned down several churches, killed evangelists, pastors and lay leaders. They are now repeating the same attacks. Today thousands have lost their homes, churches, family members and their rights to safely worship and conduct their ministries.

The Ethiopian government officials and security forces have intervened. The outcome of their work is yet to be known. Some leaders from the central office of the Mekane Yesus Church in Addis Ababa have traveled to the area today to start getting help to the victims. There are many people who are now waiting to get some emergency aid in a camp. President Idossa is going to release another statement in the next few days as the investigation continues and as the government tries to bring these acts under control and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Please pray about this!

Persecution is not new to Lutherans in Ethiopia. However, every time it happens it opens up old wounds and breaks the hearts of many. In the middle all these our brothers and sisters are walking into this holy Lenten season not with ashes on their forehead but carrying the cross of Christ and confessing their faith in the words of Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd!"

May God renew our world in this Lenten season through the Holy Word of God and through power grace of God through Christ, Amen!!

February-March "CORE Connection" newsletter

2011-03-04T16:45:00.007-06:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - February-March 2011 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ NALC, LCMC leaders address International Theological and Mission Conference in Ethiopia.

+ Reflections on experience in Ethiopia by Pastor Mark Chavez.

+ NALC receives $1 million gift for missions, theological education.

+ "Salvation Today" is theme for August 2011 Lutheran CORE theological conference.

+ Midwest NALC Conference in Minnesota to feature Bishop Paull Spring, Professor James Nestingen.

+ "Common Convictions - Common Mission" NALC, Lutheran CORE event in Florida.

+ "Impact" national youth event is July 7-12.

+ Congregational mission and discipleship event will be May 13-14 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

+ ELCA leaders propose changing rules to make it harder for congregations to leave.

+ New congregation joins both NALC and LCMC. Area Lutherans come together to form new church in Brandon, S.D.

+ Frequently Asked Questions: What is the most common miscalculation among congregations that have pursued formal votes to end their affiliation with the ELCA?

+ In pursuit of the Great Commission: Small Groups by Pastor Don Brandt.

+ "Do I hear a second?" by Ringo Lanzetti.

The February-March issue of the NALC News is also now available.

In addition to some of the above articles, you can read:

+ Reflections on Ethiopian experience by Pastor John Bradosky, NALC General Secretary.

+ God & Ga-Ga Ball! God transforms crazy game into mission opportunity.

+ Nominations requested for NALC leaders.

+ Model Constitution for NALC Congregations.

+ Getting to know other NALC congregations featuring Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Abington, Pennsylvania.

+ Updated list of NALC congregations.

ELCA forces closure of another congregation and seizes its property

2011-02-27T17:13:00.003-06:00

Small churches may face closer by their bishops if they threaten to leave the ELCA. Check out this story from a New York newspaper.

The following are comments from Pastor David Barnhart's blog:

ELCA FORCES CLOSURE OF ANOTHER CHURCH

Just how many churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) await the fate of Grace Lutheran Church, North Branch, NY? The membership of the church had been dwindling for several years and finances had been a challenge, but members of Grace Lutheran Church were shocked when they received a letter from their ELCA synod that began “In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" and continued “the Synod will take control of the real and personal property of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.”

Grace Lutheran members were shocked even more when the ELCA changed the locks on the church doors to keep out the very people whose ancestors had built the church and who until the locks were changed paid for the church’s daily operations.

Such takeovers and closures have not been uncommon in the ELCA, but they will likely increase as more and more members walk out of their churches because of the unbiblical teachings and practices being imposed on local congregations by the national church. Congregations that are voting to leave the ELCA should ponder carefully what will happen if their vote fails and vast numbers of the congregation’s membership departs. It may be only a matter of time until they too will get a letter “In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Synod will take control of the real and personal property of your church."

The closure of Grace Lutheran Church in North Branch followed the closure this past summer of their sister congregation, First Lutheran Church of Jeffersonville, with whom they had been yoked as a parish.

How refreshing that nearly all of the congregations that have voted to leave the ELCA have joined Lutheran fellowships where the property resides totally in the hands of the local congregation and cannot be taken from them, namely the AFLC, AALC, LCMC and NALC.

NALC receives $1 million gift for missions, theological education

2011-02-10T08:17:00.000-06:00

The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) has received a $1 million gift that will expand the new church body’s work in carrying out its mission and in training and educating its pastors, the NALC announced Thursday, Feb. 10.

The NALC will use the gift to launch two designated funds that will be significant for the church body’s future. One fund will support theological education — the training and continuing education of NALC pastors. The other fund will be used to provide “Great Commission Grants” to fund special mission projects, including new congregation starts, missionaries, and other initiatives to spread the Gospel and make disciples for Christ.

The $1 million gift was given by Tom and Saundra Smith of Elderton, Pa. The Smiths are members of Mount Union Lutheran Church of Elderton. The Smiths were reluctant to be recognized for their gift, but they agreed to the public announcement because it could inspire others to support these special projects in the NALC.

“What a marvelous gift from Tom and Saundra Smith. Their generosity is a sign of their confidence in the future of the North American Lutheran Church and their personal commitment to our mission. The funds they have provided will enable us to carry out a vigorous ministry and outreach,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., NALC bishop.

“I hope that their gift will motivate all of us to be generous supporters of the North American Lutheran Church,” Bishop Spring said.

“The new ‘Great Commission Grants’ reflect the NALC’s commitment to be a mission-driven church. We want to keep the true mission of the Church to preach the Gospel and make disciples for Christ at the center of the NALC’s common life. This fund is an expression of that commitment,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., NALC treasurer.

“The NALC has also set a goal to provide funding for the seminary education of its pastors through support from its members. This gift provides us a good start toward that goal as well,” he said.

The NALC’s general operations are funded by its congregations through their benevolence offerings. The two new funds will enable individuals and congregations to support the NALC’s priority ministry initiatives above and beyond basic operating support.

“We have been very pleased by the support the NALC has received from its congregations and from many individuals. This support illustrates the deep commitment of our members to the NALC and their excitement about being a part of this new church body,” Schwarz said.

The NALC Executive Council also set aside a portion of the gift as a contingency fund for NALC operations. “In these still-challenging economic times, we think it prudent to establish a sort of ‘rainy-day fund’ for the church,” Schwarz said.

The North American Lutheran Church, which embodies the theological center of Lutheranism in North America, has been growing rapidly since it was constituted Aug. 27, 2010. More than 130 congregations have voted to join the NALC in its first six months of existence. Many more congregations are expected to vote to join the church body in the coming weeks and months. The church body has been adding several congregations a week.

The NALC centers its life around four key attributes: Christ-Centered; Mission-Driven; Traditionally-Grounded; and Congregationally-Focused.

Additional gifts to the “Great Commission Grants” fund or the theological education fund or general gifts for the NALC may be sent to: NALC; 2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220; New Brighton, MN 55112. If you would like your gift to go to one of the special funds, please note that with your gift.

January "CORE Connection" newsletter

2011-01-25T20:47:00.003-06:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - January 2011 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Lynn Kickingbird elected as Lutheran CORE chair.

+ John Bradosky to be NALC General Secretary.

+ "The ground of Lutheranism has shifted." Reflections from Lutheran CORE Moderator Paul Ulring.

+ NALC, LCMC leaders to address International Theological and Mission Conference in Ethiopia.

+ Augsburg Lutheran Churches - A Lutheran CORE Church Body.

+ Congregational mission and discipleship event Feb. 11-12 at St. John Lutheran Church in Boerne, Texas.

+ A Faithful, But Difficult, Journey" by Pastor Jeffray Greene.

+ "Making Disciples," the latest in the "Pursuing Great Commission Evangelism in Your Congregation" series by Pastor Don Brandt.

The January issue of the NALC News is also now available.

In addition to some of the above articles, you can read:

+ A Word from General Secretary Pastor John Bradosky.

+ Nominations requested for NALC leaders.

+ Getting to know other NALC congregations featuring Grace Lutheran Church of Erskine, Minnesota.

+ NALC is experiencing rapid growth.

Update on African immigrant congregations story

2011-01-21T08:47:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week we posted a story about challenges facing certain Oromo Evangelical Lutheran congregations, based on information provided by those involved.

We continue to believe in the accuracy of what was described in the story. But, at the subsequent request of some of those involved, we have now removed the story to provide "breathing space" for private deliberations and discussions by African immigrant congregations and their leaders.

Pastor John Bradosky accepts call as NALC General Secretary

2011-01-06T14:36:00.001-06:00

The Rev. John F. Bradosky of Centerville, Ohio, has accepted a call to serve as General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church, the NALC announced on Thursday, Jan. 6.

The General Secretary functions as the chief operating officer of the NALC, managing its day-to-day administrative functions. He will be based at the NALC’s international offices in Columbus, Ohio.

“I am thrilled that Pastor Bradosky has accepted the call to be our first General Secretary, said NALC Bishop Paull Spring. “He has great administrative skills. He is excited about the possibilities that God has for us in the North American Lutheran Church.

“He will be a tremendous asset for us as we all seek to be faithful and zealous for our mission and ministry” Bishop Spring added.

“I am both deeply honored and delighted to accept the call to serve as General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church and have never been more certain of Christ’s call to serve His Church in this way,” Pastor Bradosky said.

“It is refreshing and invigorating to be a part of the body of Christ serving in an expression of the Church where the organizational values are a perfect match with my personal values,” he said.

“I am convinced the four key values of Christ-Centered, Mission-Driven, Traditionally-Grounded and Congregationally-Focused provide a solid foundation for the faithful growth of the Church as well as the spiritual nurturing and development of Jesus’ disciples. These values will shape our culture, our life together, rooted in the Word and grounded in our Confessional heritage.

“This is a home I have been longing for during the past decade,” he added. “I am encouraged and strengthened by the faithful witness of those individuals and congregations who have stepped forward in faith, propelling the North American Lutheran Church into an exciting future.

“As one who is at home in your midst I pray that my ministry will also strengthen and encourage you,” Pastor Bradosky said.

“For such a daunting task in helping to lead the North American Lutheran Church, I am trusting in the guidance, power and blessings of the Holy Spirit as well as your faithful partnership. Thank you for this opportunity to serve,” he said.

Pastor Bradosky has 32 years of pastoral experience with diverse experience in organization and administration. He has served in urban, suburban, and multicultural settings.

During the past 15 years his ministry has been focused on Christian discipleship. He encouraged and helped to design the church-wide Call to Discipleship. He has written Bible studies and articles on the discipleship.

Pastor Bradosky most recently served as the senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio. He previously served as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Springfield, Ohio; Trinity Lutheran Church in Canton, Ohio; and Grace Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Pastor Bradosky is a graduate of Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa.

He served as president of the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Bible Institute of California and Graceworks Lutheran Services.

Pastor Bradosky’s hobbies include being a private pilot, running, scuba diving, and skiing. He also serves as a high school and collegiate sports official for basketball, soccer and football. He has completed six marathons. He and his son, Jacob, qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in April.

The North American Lutheran Church has been experiencing rapid growth since it was constituted on Aug. 27, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.

More than 100 congregations have voted to join the NALC during its first five months of existence. Many more congregations are expected to vote to join the church body in the coming weeks and months.

NALC Video is now available online

2011-01-03T21:24:00.003-06:00

You can watch the NALC video online through Facebook.

You can request a DVD to be sent to you by sending your mailing address to: nalcdvd@popp.net.

December "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-12-17T18:19:00.004-06:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - December 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Gemechis Buba to be NALC Missions Director.
Dr. Buba is first prominent leader from ELCA national office to join NALC.

+ NALC bishop joins American religious leaders in significant message on marriage.

+ Theological Conference is focus of new book.

+ "New Groups and Ministries for New People" by Pastor Don Brandt.

+ "Spread the word, start the conversation" by Pastor Mark Chavez.
Many congregations have not discussed 2009 ELCA assembly actions.

+ Proposed social statement on genetics plays role in congregations’ votes to leave ELCA.

+ ELCA cuts budget, cuts churchwide structure.
Churchwide organization experiences dramatic decline in support from congregations.

The December issue of the NALC News is also now available.

In addition to some of the above articles, you can read:

+ "A Call to Prayer" by Bishop Paull Spring.

+ New translation of Luther's Small Catechism is published by Reclaim.

+ Women's group is being formed for Lutheran CORE and NALC.

+ Getting to know other NALC congregations.

+ NALC is experiencing rapid growth.

Merry Christmas from Sola Publishing!

2010-12-17T11:27:00.005-06:00

As a little Christmas gift from Sola Publishing, feel free to download an original story written by Gerald Kline of Urbandale IA, called "The Magniffy Cat." I've drawn a children's coloring picture of the nativity to go along with it. You are welcome to reproduce the pdf for local use in your congregation. (Hint: It might work well for a children's sermon on Christmas!)

To download, click the link: HERE

Gerald had written the story some time ago. When he saw my "Luther's Small Cat" mascot, we started talking about how well his story might go along with my own character. In the coming year, Sola will be producing a story-book version of his Christmas cat story. For now, enjoy Gerald's story ...

Merry Christmas from Sola!
Pastor Steve King, Director

Gemechis Buba accepts call as Missions Director for North American Lutheran Church

2010-12-13T21:41:00.001-06:00

The Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba has accepted a call to serve as Missions Director for the North American Lutheran Church, NALC leaders announced Monday, Dec. 13.

Dr. Buba is currently the Director of African National Ministries for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He resigned his ELCA position Dec. 8 to accept the call to serve the NALC. He will begin his service in the NALC on Jan. 1.

Dr. Buba is the first prominent leader from the ELCA national offices in Chicago to leave the church body since the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to change ELCA teaching and policy to affirm same-sex sexual relationships and to allow pastors to be in those relationships.

Many pastors and congregations have been leaving the ELCA because of what they see as the organization’s movement away from Biblical teaching.

Dr. Buba, a native of Ethiopia, is a widely respected church leader in the United States and around the world. His ties to the dynamic and growing churches of Africa and his vision for the evangelical mission of the Church are especially important to the mission of the NALC.

“Dr. Gemechis Buba is a gifted and inspiring preacher and church leader. The NALC is blessed to have him accept our call to service in the church body,” said NALC Bishop Paull Spring of State College Pa.

“Mission is central to the life and ministry of the North American Lutheran Church, and so it is fitting that the first staff position filled in the NALC is the position of Missions Director,” Bishop Spring said. “We all look forward to working with Gemechis to serve the dozens of mission congregations that have joined or are in the process of joining the NALC.”

“It is with utmost joy and gratitude that I accept God’s call extended to me through the North American Lutheran Church to serve as the missions director in our new denomination,” Dr. Buba said in his letter of acceptance.

“Your call has humbled me since I am going to serve as the first missions director of this new mission-driven church body,” he said. “I am also praying for us that the power of the Holy Spirit will move throughout our church renewing and empowering our churches and leaders for mission.

“I am convinced that the hand of God is in this move. I am willing to do whatever it takes to move us forward in mission locally and globally,” Dr. Buba said.

“As this is a very daunting task, I solicit your prayers, counsel and wisdom as we venture into the mission field together. There is no doubt that God is going to keep God’s end of the promise and be with us — Immanuel, God is with us! Therefore let us continue to strive to obey the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.”

“In this time of reconfiguration of Lutheranism in North America, the interest in new mission starts is at a level not seen in a generation. Helping these new congregations grow and thrive is a priority ministry of the NALC, and the calling of Dr. Buba as Missions Director is an important step in that area,” said Ryan Schwarz of the NALC Executive Board.

“We are all excited to work with Dr. Buba in God’s service as we set about renewing the Lutheran Christian witness in North America,” Schwarz said. “Our members will be filled with joy to hear of his decision.”

Dr. Buba, 35, received his Bachelor of Theology with high distinction from Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary in Ethiopia. He also served as a professor at the seminary for two years.

After working on Masters of Theology in Church History at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology he moved to the United States for further studies.

He received a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Christian Education from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta in 2003.

In 2006, Dr. Buba earned a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., specializing in Missional Leadership.

Ordained in 2001, he has served as a seminary professor, mission developer, senior pastor, vice president of the Southeastern Black Lutheran Pastors’ Conference, and an assistant to the bishop of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod.

He was pastor of St. Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church and the African/Oromo Lutheran Church in Atlanta.

Dr. Buba served the worldwide Union of Oromo Evangelical Churches for three terms as president.

“In his visionary leadership and unparalleled commitment of service, the Oromo church around the world recorded a remarkable growth over the past six years and was exposed to national and international stages,” the organization noted upon the completion of his terms as president in 2010.

In addition to academic study and ordained ministry, Dr. Buba participated in multiple international ministries through revivals, leadership development conventions, and evangelical mission events.

Dr. Buba is married to Nassisse Baro Tumsa. They have an infant son named Labsi. They are moving to Columbus, Ohio, home of the NALC’s international offices.

The North American Lutheran Church has been experiencing rapid growth since it was constituted on Aug. 27 in Columbus, Ohio. More than 90 congregations have voted to join the NALC during its first four months of existence. Many more congregations are expected to vote to join the church body in the coming weeks and months.

ReClaim Catechism: now through Sola Publishing!

2010-12-13T12:21:00.006-06:00

Lutherans of various affiliations are working together toward a future of mutual support and encouragement of individuals and churches across North America and the world. One of the more practical ways this happening is through Christian education. With an emphasis on the study of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, orthodox teachers are at work to provide resources for centrist Lutheran congregations that are trustworthy and faithful.

In the summer of 2010, Sola Publishing and ReClaim Resources began working to produce a translation of Luther’s Small Catechism, as a joint effort by authors representing Lutheran Core, WordAlone, LCMC, and NALC.

Using traditional language and familiar phrasing, the ReClaim Catechism (2010 Edition) is now available as a “pocket version” and is recommended for Confirmation instruction as well as adult study. The primary translator for this edition was Rev. Scott Grorud, who has served for many years on the Lutheran Core Sterring Committee, as well as on the Board of Directors of WordAlone. Additional translational consultants for the project included the Rev. Thomas Jacobson, Rev. Natalie Gessert, and Dr. Gracia Grindal.

This edition of the catechism is being incorporated into the new Sola Confirmation Series being developed by Sola Publishing, which is being produced as a “beta test version” for the 2010-2011 school year. Future adult studies and commentary versions based on this edition are planned.

The ReClaim Catechism

2010 Edition of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism

The catechism is available through the Sola Publishing website as a Single Sample ($3.99), or at a reduced rate as a Pack of 5 ($17.50) or Pack of 25 ($64.95). For orders of 50 or more, go directly to the ReClaim Resources website at: www.reclaimresources.org

NALC Bishop Paull Spring joins U.S. religious leaders in significant message on marriage

2010-12-06T21:13:00.005-06:00

The Rev. Paull Spring, bishop of the North American Lutheran Church, is among the leaders of religious communities in the United States who released an open letter Monday, Dec. 6, defending traditional marriage.

"The Protection of Marriage: A Shared Commitment” is an open letter signed by religious leaders of different faith communities throughout the United States that expresses a shared commitment to protecting marriage in our society as the union of one man and one woman.

The Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, signed as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the organizer of the inter-religious effort. He said that Roman Catholic parishes are being asked to share the letter with American Catholics by including it in parish bulletins shared with worshipers.

The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, were among the other religious leaders who signed the letter. Signatories include leaders of Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and Evangelical Christian groups, Orthodox Jewish, and other religious traditions.

“Marriage is the permanent and faithful union of one man and one woman. As such, marriage is the natural basis of the family. Marriage is an institution fundamental to the well-being of all of society, not just religious communities,” the letter states.

“As religious leaders across different faith communities, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We honor the unique love between husbands and wives; the indispensable place of fathers and mothers; and the corresponding rights and dignity of all children.

“Marriage thus defined is a great good in itself, and it also serves the good of others and society in innumerable ways. The preservation of the unique meaning of marriage is not a special or limited interest but serves the good of all. Therefore, we invite and encourage all people, both within and beyond our faith communities, to stand with us in promoting and protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” the religious leaders state.

The letter is the result of discussions among leaders from a wide variety of religions represented in our nation. Against the backdrop of legal and legislative attempts to redefine marriage in ways that are contrary to reason and religious conviction, these leaders decided that it would be important and helpful to publicize their shared commitment to defending marriage as an institution that is fundamental to the health of our society.

“It is significant that religious leaders from diverse Christian communities and from other faith traditions have been able to work together to affirm and defend God’s intention for marriage and its importance for our society,” said Bishop Spring.

“‘We believe and confess that the marriage of male and female is an institution created and blessed by God. From marriage, God forms families to serve as the building blocks of all human civilization and community,’” said Bishop Spring, quoting from The Common Confession affirmed by the North American Lutheran Church. “Alongside all faithful Christians, Lutherans have affirmed this traditional understanding of marriage for nearly 500 years.”

“The broad consensus reflected in this letter — across great religious divides — is clear: The law of marriage is not about imposing the religion of anyone, but about protecting the common good of everyone,” said Archbishop Dolan. “People of any faith or no faith at all can recognize that when the law defines marriage as between one man and one woman, it legally binds a mother and a father to each other and their children, reinforcing the foundational cell of human society.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website includes the letter in various formats as well as a news release and Frequently Asked Questions document.

Proposed social statement on genetics plays role in congregations’ votes to leave ELCA

2010-12-05T17:47:00.004-06:00

Congregations in rural areas are noting the proposed ELCA social statement on genetics as a reason why they are voting to leave the ELCA.

“There’s a feud brewing on the prairie between faith and farming,” the Fargo Forum newspaper in North Dakota reported on Nov. 12.

The newspaper reported that the ELCA’s proposed stance on farmers’ use of genetically-modified seeds is an issue for many Lutherans in farm country as they consider their ties to the ELCA.

Many of those involved in agriculture think the ELCA should focus on its mission of preaching the Gospel and making disciples of Christ rather than telling them how to grow crops.

The agricultural issues were among the most influential in the votes by Anselm Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Sheldon, N.D., to leave the ELCA. On Nov. 7, the congregation approved its second of two required votes to leave the ELCA.

Church council president Jill Bunn told the Fargo Forum that there was a sense that the ELCA was making statements against farmers. She said that members of the congregation think the ELCA is making too many social statements that don’t have anything to do with the church.

The proposed genetics statement also played a role in the Nov. 7 over-whelming votes by Hayti Lutheran Church in Hayti, S.D., and New Hope Lutheran Church, rural Hayti, S.D., to depart the ELCA for the North American Lutheran Church.

Members of the congregations were concerned about the way the ELCA was moving away from the primary mission of the Christian Church to spread the Gospel and instead focusing on political activities and social statements.

Pastor Randy Eisenbeisz reported that the members of the two South Dakota congregations he serves were concerned that ELCA’s new teaching and practice on marriage and homosexual behavior violate the teaching of the Bible. But he said that the efforts of the ELCA in trying to tell farmers how to grow crops also raised concerns for many members.

Similar concerns are echoing across farm country.

The June issue of Dakota Farmer magazine included an editorial entitled “Farming and Faith Collide” noting some farmers’ concerns about the ELCA’s social statement draft.

“Could planting biotech seed be a sin? That’s a question I see deep in a draft of a new social statement on use of genetics being considered this summer by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,” the article began.

Sarah Bedgar Wilson, a Lutheran farmer from Jamestown, N.D., noted her concerns on her internet blog, “A Farmer on a Mission.”

“The basic principle I keep coming back to is that I do not believe it is the church’s place to give recommendations on farm management practices. Similarly, I do not think it is acceptable that the church tell everyone in town what tires to put on their car, etc. We go to church to worship and study Scripture, but from there it is up to individuals to apply the lessons we’ve learned in our lives,” Wilson wrote on the blog.

Lutherans in America and around the world continue to marvel at the penchant of the ELCA to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars writing social statements that offend the members of ELCA congregations.

Many Lutherans are still reeling from damage done to their congregations by the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in changing the church body’s teaching and practice on marriage and homosexual behavior. They see those decisions as violations of the teaching of the Bible.

The 2009 ELCA social statement on human sexuality set the groundwork for changes in ELCA policy to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. These changes in ELCA teaching and practice have brought division to congregations around the country and have caused many to consider leaving the ELCA. Members see the ELCA accommodating the culture and focusing on political activities while going against the teachings of the Bible.

The proposed social statement will not be official ELCA teaching and policy unless it is approved by the 2011 Churchwide Assembly.

ELCA council proposes changing rules to make it harder for congregations to leave

2010-11-24T08:39:00.001-06:00

Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are proposing changing rules to make it harder for congregations to leave the church body.

At its Nov. 12-14 meeting, the ELCA Church Council proposed amendments to ELCA constitutions that would make the process of leaving the church body more difficult for congregations. The changes must be approved by the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

“How ironic that ELCA leadership is so committed to disregarding the Law of God on sexual ethics but so determined to use the law of humans to coerce congregations to remain in the ELCA ,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE.

Many congregations are considering whether to remain affiliated with the ELCA as they have seen the church body move away from the teaching of the Bible.

Some have cited ELCA publications that question the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Jesus and promise salvation to non-believers as examples of the ELCA’s move away from Scripture. Many have pointed to recent changes in church teaching and policy to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships in spite of the Bible’s clear teaching to the contrary. Still others have cited ELCA congregations and synods that have utilized a radically rewritten Lord’s Prayer that addresses God as “our mother who is within us.”

The ELCA announced Nov. 3 that nearly 300 congregations have already completed the required two votes to leave the ELCA and 140 additional congregations have taken a first vote but have not yet taken their second vote.

These congregations represent a loss of more than 200,000 ELCA members, according to an online tally. Many individuals have left congregations that remain in the ELCA, so the total membership loss is much larger.

The current process requires two votes to leave the ELCA at least 90 days apart. The votes must each be approved by a two-thirds majority. The synod’s bishop must consult with the congregation during the 90-day period. In addition, congregations that had been members of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) or that were established by the ELCA must also receive approval from their synods to end their ELCA affiliation.

The proposed changes — all of which make the process more difficult for congregations — include the following:

+ A congregation must hold a 30-day consultation period with its bishop before taking a first vote to leave the ELCA, in addition to the current 90-day consultation after a congregation’s first vote.

+ The synod bishop is given authority to determine how the consultation will be conducted “in consultation with” the congregation’s council.

+ The bishop will be able to appoint “designees” with whom the congrega-tion will be required to consult.

+ The bishop or his/her designee must be granted the opportunity to speak at special congregational meetings regarding ending ELCA affiliation.

+ A congregation will be required to vote by a two-thirds majority to join a new Lutheran church body, or else it will be “conclusively presumed” to have become an independent Lutheran congregation, potentially forfeiting its property.

+ Congregations will be required to meet any financial obligations to the ELCA before leaving.

+ Congregations must wait at least six months before taking another first vote if the original first vote does not achieve the required two-thirds majority.

+ Congregations must wait at least six months and restart the process if their second vote does not achieve the required two-thirds majority.

+ Congregations which fail to follow the specified process must obtain synod council approval in order to leave the ELCA.

November "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-11-23T12:41:00.004-06:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - November 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ ELCA council proposes changing rules to make it harder for congregations to leave.

+ We have so much for which to be thankful in Lutheran CORE.

+ NALC offices to be in Columbus, Ohio.

+ NALC is experiencing rapid growth.

+ New book featuring lectures from Lutheran CORE theological conference is coming soon.

+ Women’s group is being formed for Lutheran CORE and North American Lutheran Church.

+ Ethiopian Lutherans reiterate rejection of ELCA actions on same-sex sexual relationships.

+ How the Size of Your Congregation Can Impact Worship Outreach by Pastor Don Brandt.

+ Pursuing Great Commission Evangelism in your congregation.

+ An Open Letter to the editor of "The Lutheran" by Prof. Carl Braaten.

+ A look at Lutheran CORE - North Carolina.

+ DVD on NALC is available.

The November issue of the NALC News is also now available.

In addition to some of the above articles, you can read:

+ We take the Great Commission seriously by Bishop Paull Spring.

+ National youth event set for Chicago.

+ Getting to know other NALC congregations featuring St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Carleston, W.Va., and Saint Luke's Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ethiopian Lutherans reiterate rejection of ELCA actions on same-sex sexual relationships

2010-11-17T10:18:00.003-06:00

If ELCA does not repent within one year, EECMY will cut ties to ELCA

Leaders of the 5.3 million Lutherans in Ethiopia have reiterated their rejection of the actions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in changing its teaching and policy to affirm same-sex sexual relationships and to allow pastors to be in those relationships.

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) has sent a letter addressed to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, reiterating its firm stand, the church announced in a Nov. 2 news story on its website.

“The EECMY believes and relentlessly asserts that acceptable marriage is only the marital union between man and woman, as this is preordained union by God the creator to form a family (Gen. 2:22 & 24),” the news release states.

The letter is written in response to the decision of the sixth Council of the Church, July 6-13. The Council reaffirmed the previous decision of the EECMY against the unbiblical decision of the ELCA to bless homosexual partners for leadership in the church.

The letter noted that Ethiopian Lutherans have been extremely shocked by the direction that ELCA chose to take without taking into consideration first of all the teachings of the Bible, which is the only ground of true Christian faith, and secondly the mutual partnership that both churches have on the basis of serving the Lord.

“The fundamental position of the EECMY on any ethical issue including homosexual practice rests on her belief in the eternal truth of the teaching of the Holy Scripture and not on human decision that deviates from the Scripture," the letter states.

“The letter further underlined that ELCA’s unbiblical direction has compelled the Council to question the place of mutual belonging, unity of purpose and mutual care for the well-being of the whole body that encompasses the EECMY and the ELCA and others who are united in the body of Christ. According to this letter addressed to the ELCA with serious concern, the unilaterally taken direction by ELCA, has deeply disturbed, saddened and dismayed the EECMY constituency at large and provoked worries and uncertainties pertaining to the long-standing relations between EECMY and ELCA,” the release says.

The council expressed sincere appreciation for the devoted commitment of “forefathers” from ELCA and its predecessor church bodies who served in the EECMY as pastors, teachers, theologians and others involved in social and development works that the church carries out in Ethiopia. The letter in particular acknowledged the legacy of persons like the Rev. Dr Herbert Schaeffer and many others that will continue to remind the EECMY of the importance of love, care and passionate commitment that they demonstrated in their ministry to the Church of God.

“In addition, taking into consideration the long-standing historic partnership between herself and the ELCA, which is deeply grounded in true Biblical faith and Lutheran identity the EECMY has not only expressed deep concern, but called upon the leadership of the ELCA to rethink of the truth for which their forefathers have committed themselves and lived for it. Accordingly, the council unanimously voted to call on the ELCA to consider lifting its decision for the sake of the unity of the body of Christ, the universal Church to which all true Christians belong together.

“It was noted that the response from ELCA, on this plea of the EECMY will be reported to the seventh Council of the Church for appropriate action in line with Standard Agreement. The Council further decided that ‘having given notice to the partners in question, petitions and intercessory prayers be carried out for the Church bodies concerned; by all EECMY members at all levels of the Church during the one year of waiting, that they may truly return to the inspired Biblical teaching,’” the release states.

The EECMY had and has the conviction, the council underlined noting the historic Mission partnership between the EECMY and the ELCA would continue to bear witness on the basis of the Biblical faith of both parties and their Lutheran identity in the years to come. It further affirmed that the Bible is the inspired word of God and a guide for the partnership in God’s Mission, which is the sole ground on which the forefathers of both churches had built their mission partnership and entered a covenant to abide with it.

Earlier, in a separate statement, the three presidents emeritus of the EECMY expressed their concern in connection with the ELCA’s decisions.

A significant Reformation Day sermon

2010-11-12T09:12:00.004-06:00

Check out this sermon from Pastor John Christopherson preached on Reformation Day at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, S.D.

First Lutheran Church is a 4,300-member congregation in downtown Sioux Falls. It is the historic "mother church" of many of the suburban congregations in a very Lutheran community. The congregation broadcasts its Sunday worship on both radio and TV.

May God continue bless the ministry of First Lutheran and its pastors.

"Bound Conscience" discussed by Journal of Lutheran Ethics

2010-11-09T11:27:00.005-06:00

The November issue of the online Journal of Lutheran Ethics features a discussions of the ELCA's emphasis on "Bound Conscience."

Articles of note:

"Conscience-bound Beliefs" Rule and the "Conscience-bound-belief" Rule by John R. Stumme.

Luther's Understanding of the Bound Conscience by Matthew Ley.

Law and Gospel: A Problem with Bound Conscience by Lauren Ley.

An Open Letter from Carl Braaten to the editor of The Lutheran magazine

2010-10-28T10:40:00.003-05:00

An Open Letter to Mr. Daniel J. Lehmann
Editor, The Lutheran, Magazine of the ELCA
8765 W. Higgins Rd.
Chicago, IL 60631

Dear Sir:

I am writing in response to your editorial in the October 2010 issue of The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA. In that editorial you write about the formation of a new Lutheran church body, the North American Lutheran Church. You make a number of statements that are either petty or untrue, creating a false impression.

1) You observe that “the NALC becomes, in the eyes of this magazine, one more Lutheran denomination” and you assert that “The Lutheran won’t give it any special coverage just because of its heritage.” Why not? The Lutheran should serve the people of the ELCA and not only the bureaucracy at Higgins Road. The NALC is composed entirely of congregations and pastors who left behind many close friends and relatives in the ELCA. The NALC is therefore not just another Lutheran church body, no matter what you say. It will always have a special relationship to the ELCA as “a chip off the old block.” Don’t you think the people of the ELCA deserve to be kept informed about what their friends and relatives are experiencing in the NALC? Your response is pitifully petty, a mere defensive reaction born of resentment.

2) You observe that “the magazine turned down an advertisement sought by organizers of the NALC gathering. It promoted a theological symposium that served as a run-up to the constituting convention.” These statements are half-truths. As a journalist you should pay attention to the pesky little things called “facts.” I was the initiator and coordinator of the theological conference, “Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism.” I know what happened, down to every detail. The fact is that Lutheranism in North American has been and is theologically in disarray, in a state of confusion. My idea was to ask CORE to sponsor a free theological conference for all Lutherans, to discuss the identity and future of Lutheranism with integrity in an ecumenical age. When this conference was planned and announced, there was not a hint about the formation of a new church body. The theological conference was announced at the CORE assembly in September, 2009, Fishers, Indiana, at which time there was no proposal for a new church body on the table. Our theological conference was organized as a function of CORE, pure and simple. What possible objection could you as a journalist or editor have to that, unless you had already taken the side of the bureaucrats in the church struggle that led to the 2009 ELCA assembly in Minneapolis? The fact that the organization of the NALC took place chronologically soon after the theological conference was an after-thought. The advertisement that you turned down was sought by the officers of CORE and not by the organizers of the NALC, as you suggest. The ad was for a conference sponsored by CORE. Not a single word suggested anything about creating a new church body. When we planned the conference, selected the speakers, and produced the brochure, we knew nothing about the NALC, nor was it on anyone’s radar screen.

3. You observe that “many if not all of those involved were still on the ELCA roster, but their actions were schismatic.” Now, as a self-professed schismatic yourself, you should know from experience that neither the conference itself nor any of the speakers were guilty of actions that were schismatic. Who are you to judge that their actions were schismatic? All of the speakers are ordained ministers of the ELCA and have served for decades as professors of theology at its colleges or seminaries, in some cases more than 50 years. Neither the theme nor the aim of the conference was to call for or to promote the creation of a new church body. We are all church theologians and not church politicians. We covered the loci of Lutheran dogmatics -- the authority and interpretation of Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity, the centrality of Christ, the nature and purpose of the Church, Christian ethics, and so forth. The Lutheran theology embedded in these lectures stands on its own feet, and does not ride piggy-back on the church-political actions to start a new church. You should know that theologians who promise to serve the whole church of Jesus Christ are not beholden to the officials of any Protestant denomination. Over the years all of us speak across the ecumenical spectrum, at Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, and Evangelical institutions. Is there something un-Lutheran or un-churchly about that? Now that the NALC is organized, as theologians we are free to speak at its events, just as we are free to speak at any non-ELCA Lutheran church bodies. That may be too difficult to grasp by those who think and act as though church theologians should be the functionaries of church bureaucrats who manipulate the levers of power. If Martin Luther were here, he might say with Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

4. You ask “why would the magazine assist with highlighting an event aimed at distracting, if not undermining, the ELCA?” What do you know about the aim of the theological conference? The brochure states the aim this way: “This theological conference will reaffirm the original aim of Lutheranism to be a reforming movement within the whole church that is both evangelical in preaching and orthodox in doctrine. Each of the presenters will focus on a particular article of faith at risk in Lutheranism today and spell out what we confess on the basis of Holy Scripture, the ancient Creeds, and the Lutheran Confessions. We invite all Lutherans in North America to come together to reclaim the great tradition that witnesses faithfully to Jesus Christ, builds his Church on earth, and proclaims the Gospel of salvation to the nations.” Those are scary words, but only to heterodox revisionists moved by a different spirit and loyal to different principles and standards.

More than eight hundred persons attended the theological conference. You were invited too. Editors from non-Lutheran magazines chose to attend, for example, Christianity Today, Touchstone, inter alia. You chose not to attend, even though it was a major theological event within the orbit of the ELCA. There is a reason for this, and we know what it is. Lutheranism began in history as a movement of critical theology, biblical and dogmatic. The lackeys of the church bureaucracy at that time were opposed to Luther and his reforming and renewing efforts. They could not tolerate criticism. All the theologians who spoke at the theological conference in Columbus, 2010, are responding to the theological crisis in American Lutheranism. They have been critics of various aspects of the ELCA from its earliest beginnings, for example, the quota system, radical theological feminism, antinomianism, etc. The two “Call to Faithfulness Conferences” at St. Olaf College in 1990 and 1992 put the spotlight on a number of critical theological issues. Those who have ears to hear heard, and the rest plugged their ears.

Is there something un-Lutheran about raising voices in protest and criticism of false teachings and practices going on in the church? That’s what theologians do. Lutheran theologians have been doing that from the get-go. Understandably, then and now the church politicians don’t like to hear it. What is the mission of The Lutheran? Is the ELCA beyond criticism, so that critical theological voices should be ignored, muted, and regarded as schismatic? That is what the bureaucrats charged against Luther when they tried to muzzle him. Does The Lutheran have a greater obligation to heed the wishes of the bureaucrats of the ELCA than to hear the voices of its theologians? Do the bureaucrats who have served the ELCA for a few years have a greater right to address the ELCA than its theologians who have served its various educational institutions for many years?

A schism has occurred now. You seem to exhibit no understanding of what caused it. It’s not the case that a few pastors and congregations woke up one morning and said, “Hey, let’s start a new church? Wouldn’t that be fun?” Every historical event has a cause. We know what caused the schism. There would have been no schism except for the ELCA assembly decisions in Minneapolis, August, 2009. The game is now hard-ball and you have joined in, using the kind of tactics applied against you in that other schism to which you refer.

You end your editorial with a quotation from Luther: “The most dangerous sin of all is the presumption of righteousness.” Your editorial reeks with the kind of self-righteousness Luther had in mind.

My question to you is: As a journalist, why can’t you be fair to all parties involved in the debates and discussions going on within the ELCA? Why do you need to be a partisan beholden to its bureaucracy? If that is the mission of The Lutheran, maybe that explains why it has fewer and fewer subscribers and readers, as you yourself have acknowledged.

I am sending this as an “Open Letter,” because I do not expect to see it in The Lutheran magazine. Nor do I want it edited so as to make it say things I did not write. I have had that experience before.

Sincerely,

Carl E. Braaten

First issue of "NALC News" is now online

2010-10-26T21:00:00.001-05:00

The first issue of the new NALC News is online.

Here is what you can read in the October newsletter:

+ North American Lutheran Church is constituted.

+ Provisional leaders to guide NALC for first year.

+ Provisional regional deans are announced.

+ Hope does not disappoint us.

+ NALC is experiencing rapid growth.

October "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-10-24T19:03:00.003-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - October 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Lutheran CORE plans future ministry.

+ A new season has begun for Lutheran CORE.
New Moderator reflects on Lutheran CORE’s future mission.

+ NALC announces provisional regional deans.

+ Synod refuses to let congregation leave ELCA.

+ ELCA synod services attack "bound consciences" of those who uphold Biblical teaching on sexuality.

+ Reply to Bishop Chilstrom.

NALC announces provisional regional deans

2010-10-12T22:20:00.003-05:00

The North American Lutheran Church has announced the appointment of 18 regional deans who will serve with NALC Bishop Paull Spring in providing pastoral care to NALC congregations and pastors.

At its Sept. 27-28 meeting, the NALC’s Executive Committee authorized Bishop Paull Spring to appoint the deans to serve the NALC during its initial year.

The immediate appointment of the deans was necessary to serve the large number of congregations and individuals who are considering the possibility of joining the NALC.

Regional deans also will provide information and pastoral care to individuals and congregations that are considering joining the NALC.

The provisional deans are a part of the transitional organization of the NALC. The deans will serve for the first year of the NALC until their successors are elected by the congregations in the area they serve.

The current leaders of the NALC are serving the church body provisionally for its first year. They were elected by Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation to serve the NALC for its first year. The congregations that join the NALC will elect their own leaders at the NALC’s first convocation in 2011.

The NALC constitution explains the role of deans as to “support the work of the bishop by conducting similar functions in their respective areas. Deans shall serve as pastor to pastors, their families, and congregations and will conduct a ministry of teaching and visitation with pastors and congregations.”

Conversations are in process to find deans for other areas. Additional deans will be announced as appointments are made.

The following regional deans have been appointed:

California, Hawaii and Nevada — The Rev. Daniel Selbo, San Jose, Calif.

Caribbean and Spanish-speaking Ministries — The Rev. Eddy Perez of Miami, Fla.

Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — The Rev. David Wendel, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Florida — The Rev. Rebecca Heber, Lake Mary, Fla.

Illinois — The Rev. James Lehmann, Thomasboro, Ill.

Iowa — The Rev. Kenneth Kimball, Waterville, Iowa.

Northern Minnesota — The Rev. Timothy Lundeen, Erskine, Minn.

Montana, western North Dakota, western South Dakota, and Wyoming — The Rev. David Baer, Whitewood, S.D.

North Carolina — The Rev. Jason Sigmon, Newton, N.C., and the Rev. Carl Haynes, Salisbury, N.C.

Ohio — The Rev. Ronald Warren, Grove City, Ohio.

Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey — The Rev. Michael Tavella, Abington, Pa.

Western Pennsylvania — The Rev. Eric Riesen, Pittsburgh, Pa.

South Carolina — The Rev. Ralph Kempski, Aiken, S.C.

Northeastern Texas and Louisiana — The Rev. Mark Braaten, Tyler, Texas.

Southwestern Texas — The Rev. David Priem, Fredericksburg, Texas.

Washington and Oregon — The Rev. Victor Langford, Seattle, Wash.

West Virginia — The Rev. Richard Mahan, Charleston, W.Va.

Nebraska Synod refuses to let congregation leave

2010-10-10T21:07:00.004-05:00

A congregation in Nebraska has been told that its synod will not let it leave the ELCA in spite of voting twice to leave the church body by more than the required two-thirds majority.

Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdrege, Neb., twice voted to end its ELCA affiliation. Its first vote was 164-72 on May 23 (69.5 percent), and its second vote was 199-69 to leave (74.3 percent) on Aug. 22. An earlier attempt at a vote on Feb. 14 failed to get the two-thirds majority 136-78 (63.5 percent).

“The Nebraska Synod Council has voted 11-1 to retain Bethel Lutheran Church in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,” the synod announced in a Sept. 18 statement.

According to the statement, Nebraska Synod Bishop David deFreese said that the situation at the 950-member congregation saddens him because of the hurt people have experienced in the process.

“There are no winners or losers when a family fights,” deFreese said. “My fervent prayer is that those who disagree will be able to sit down, with honest and heartfelt conversation, and decide together whether they can serve Jesus their Christ as one community or if they must be two.”

A congregation wishing to leave the ELCA must have two votes at which a two-thirds majority of those members voting choose to leave. In addition, a congregation that was a member of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) must “receive synodical approval before terminating their membership” in the ELCA. Bethel is a former LCA congregation.

“Decisions of whether to release a congregation are made on a case-by-case basis. Factors considered by the synod council include how the mission field can best be served, the number of people willing to sustain an ELCA congregational presence in the community and the strength of their vision and plans for mission,” the Nebraska synod statement said.

This is believed to be the second time that a synod has refused to allow a congregation that has followed the required procedures and attained the necessary votes to leave the ELCA.

In spite of unanimous votes, Florida-Bahamas Synod refuses to let congregation leave

The members of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Fort Pierce, Fla., voted unanimously in two required votes to end their affiliation with the ELCA.

But the Florida-Bahamas Synod Council decided in February that it would not allow the 105-member congregation to leave the ELCA.

St. Peter has joined another church body, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).

ELCA Secretary David Swartling has said that the ELCA will not allow congregations to be members of more than one church body. The synod’s action demonstrates that the synod would rather allow the dual affiliation than let the congregation leave.

Most ELCA synods have allowed congregations a gracious exit

Most ELCA synods have taken a more gracious approach with congregations that choose to leave the ELCA. The synods have granted “synodical approval” to congregations that wish to change their church body affiliation.

The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover, bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod in Pennsylvania, has said that he believes that allowing an amicable parting of the ways may some day encourage an equally gracious return.

As of Oct. 1, nearly 400 congregations have had successful first votes to leave the ELCA. 258 congregations have completed both required votes.

Texas synod taking a hard line against those who leave

Some ELCA synods are finding ways to take a hard line against congregations and pastors that leave the ELCA other than refusing to grant “synodical approval” to leave.

According to a Sept. 20 statement from the bishop and deans of the Southwestern Texas Synod, “it is not appropriate” for active or retired ELCA pastors to lead worship or preach in any congregation that leaves the ELCA. Specifically, they are not “to provide Sunday supply” for those congregations.

The directive also states that former ELCA pastors are not to be invited to ELCA meetings of ELCA pastors. However, “in other settings, like local ministerial associations or lectionary study groups, relationships may be similar to those of other denominations who are a part of that group.”

It is not known whether the directive from Texas is unique to that synod or part of a national ELCA effort.

ELCA continues focus on race and racial politics

2010-10-08T20:56:00.001-05:00

In spite of recent budget shortfalls, the ELCA continues its focus on race and racial politics.

In an Oct. 6 press release, the ELCA announced the biennial meeting of its European American Lutheran Association (EALA). “The purpose of the EALA is to dismantle racism, white privilege and white power by recognizing and confessing our individual and corporate sin and addressing institutional racism in the church,” said Kathy B. Long, EALA president, Redmond, Wash., according to the press release.

“Because white privilege is so insidious, we as the EALA need to spend time together on such common ground and continue to caucus and learn how to notice our privilege and how it affects all of us,” she told the ELCA news service.

The association’s gathering, Oct. 28-30 in Milwaukee, will hear “a keynote presentation on the issues of privilege, oppression and social inequality” from Dr. Allan G. Johnson. Johnson is the author of the books, "The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy" and "Privilege, Power and Difference."

The ELCA Church Council affirmed the EALA's creation as the church’s sixth ethnic association in November 2006, the press release explained.

According to the ELCA website, the purpose of the association is “to live out our commitment to dismantle racism and white privilege by ‘speaking truth to power’ within the institutional church and the wider society.”

Parishes leaving ELCA find an unexpected price to pay

2010-10-06T09:37:00.002-05:00

Religion News Service offers an interesting article entitled "Parishes leaving ELCA find an unexpected price to pay."

The article notes the difficulties faced by mission congregations, especially those composed of immigrants from Africa. These congregations are steadfastly opposed to the ELCA's new teaching and practice on same-sex sexual relationships. But the ELCA expects them to repay all mission support received if they leave the ELCA.

You can read the article here.

ELCA drops out of Lutheran Malaria Initiative; Lutheran World Relief and LCMS to continue joint effort to combat malaria

2010-10-05T21:02:00.005-05:00

ELCA leaders announced Sept. 30 that the ELCA has ended its involvement in the Lutheran Malaria Initiative that had been approved by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. They blamed budget shortfalls for the decision.

The Lutheran Malaria Initiative was to be a shared effort by the ELCA, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Lutheran World Relief, and the United Nations Foundation, in a program that seeks to eliminate malaria in south-Saharan Africa by 2015. In 2009, the ELCA reported the fund-raising goal of the combined effort as $75 million.

The Rev. John Nunes, president of Lutheran World Relief, expressed disappointment in the ELCA’s withdrawal from the Lutheran Malaria Initiative Oct. 1 on LWR’s blog.

“Yesterday, our friends and colleagues at the ELCA announced their withdrawal from LMI. We’re disappointed by this news, and while we regret that ELCA will no longer be part of LMI, we affirm that they remain a valued and valuable partner of LWR,” Nunes wrote.

“While the ELCA leadership has decided not to make LMI a churchwide campaign, individual ELCA congregations continue to play an important role in the movement,” he added.

“LWR’s Board of Directors continues to affirm LMI as an important priority, and the LCMS voted overwhelmingly in favor of it at their convention this summer. Malaria is preventable and treatable, and Lutherans are doing something about it,” Nunes said.

The Lutheran Malaria Initiative was approved in a 989-11 vote by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. This July, the LCMS national Convention also voted 1,047-19 to be a part of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative.

According to an online report from The Lutheran magazine, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson announced the decision in a Sept. 30 e-mail to churchwide staff.

“In recent months, mission support [benevolence funds that congregations pass on to synods, a percentage of which synods share with the churchwide organization] to the ELCA and support of ELCA World Hunger have declined significantly, and many synods and congregations are also struggling to deal with hard financial realities,” Hanson wrote.

“In the light of this difficult economic situation, ELCA leadership has determined that a $30 million campaign around malaria, which was to be tested in the current biennium, is not feasible at this time. Therefore, the decision has been made to withdraw the ELCA’s grant proposal to the United Nations Foundation and to end the partnership that was entitled ‘Lutheran Malaria Initiative.’”

Instead of participating in the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, the ELCA will have its own malaria fund-raising effort.

“The new ELCA initiative, will carry forward much of the work that the ELCA had been doing under the rubric of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative,” Hanson wrote. “The ELCA Malaria Campaign, as it will now be known, will direct all of its funds to our companion churches in Africa (90 percent) and to our fund-raising efforts (10 percent).”

Many have wondered how the decision to withdraw from the Lutheran Malaria Initiative was made, given that the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, “the chief legislative authority of the ELCA,” approved the ELCA’s participation in the effort.

The ELCA News Service reported that Hanson would bring a proposal for the revised malaria effort to the ELCA Church Council.

The Lutheran Malaria Initiative is also partnering with “Nothing But Nets” to bring Lutherans an exciting way to get involved in the fight against malaria!

“Nothing But Nets” is a global, grass-roots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares effort, the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated magazine.

You can learn more about the Lutheran Malaria Initiative and give online at www.lutheranmalaria.org or www.lwr.org.

ELCA services attack ‘bound consciences’ of those who uphold Biblical teaching on sexuality

2010-09-29T16:09:00.002-05:00

Services receiving persons who are in same-sex sexual relationships as ELCA pastors have included attacks on the “bound consciences” of those who uphold Biblical teaching on sexual behavior.

Even though the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly committed the ELCA to “respect the bound consciences of all,” recent worship services receiving the new ELCA pastors have included “confessions” stating that holding the traditional teaching of the Christian Church on sexual ethics is sinful.

ELCA officials claim that holding a traditional understanding of Biblical teaching on homosexual behavior is still an acceptable perspective within the church body. If so, these synod services do not show respect for the “bound consciences” of those who hold what the ELCA claims is a recognized and faithful perspective on Scripture.

In leading or authorizing these “confessions,” ELCA synod leaders imply that they believe that those who uphold traditional Christian teaching are persisting in “sin” and in need of correction.

The Sept. 18 “Rite of Reception” service of the St. Paul (Minn.) Area Synod opened with the Rev. Herbert Chilstrom, former presiding bishop of the ELCA, leading the congregation in a “confession” that recounted the sins of the ELCA regarding its former teaching and practice regarding same-sex sexual relationships. Chilstrom has been a longtime vocal advocate of change in ELCA teaching and policy.

“We have dishonored faithful covenants and withheld from families the respect that they deserve. We continue to debate the worthiness of sanctioning couples whose unions are legally recognized and whose lives are intrinsically rooted through the longstanding fidelity of bonds of parenthood,” Chilstrom said.

“We have used Scripture as a tool of discrimination. . . . We have encour-aged violence, promoted invisibility, and rewarded lies,” the congregation responded using words printed in the order of service.

“We have disciplined, censured and expelled when we could have listened, learned and included,” Chilstrom said. “We have studied God’s people, withholding justice so long that count-less died believing their identities and relationships were not worthy of blessing by the church that baptized them.”

“We have seen an oppressive policy overturned. We have witnessed the removal of twin yokes of censure and expulsion. We have seen joy on the faces of synod officials who are now released to do the work of the gospel,” Chilstrom said.

The Sierra Pacific Synod’s “Rite of Reception” service, July 25 in San Francisco, Calif., included a similar “confession.”

Synod Bishop Mark Holmerud began the service by “confessing” the sins of “our church” against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. “Our church of the reformation has been too long captive to bias and misinformation,” he said.

The bishop then read a litany of the church’s sins including:

“We have not respected the gift of sexuality . . . We have not honored faithful and loving promises, mar-riages, and covenantal relationships. We have not acted quickly enough for some who have died and have not made it to this day. . . . We have betrayed fellow members of the body of Christ because of cultural prejudice. We have misused Scripture as a tool of discrimination. We have forced celibacy upon too many . . . We have promoted invisibility and dishonesty. . . . We have intimidated and disciplined, censured and expelled.”

The “Rite of Reception” services have also included elements that many Lutherans would find offensive or even heretical. These elements demonstrate that some of the practicing gay and lesbian persons being received as ELCA pastors and some synod bishops may deviate from Biblical and traditional expressions and understandings of the Christian faith.

Biblical language for God — including the word Lord and the Triune name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, — was removed from parts of liturgies.

Both synods included options for the Lord’s Prayer that included calling God “Mother” rather than “Our Father.”

The Minnesota service began the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father Mother God in heaven.” The California service included as one of the options for the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer from the “goddess rosary” that begins, “Our Mother who is within us.”

Video of the services is available online.

Reply to Bishop Chilstrom

2010-09-23T11:15:00.008-05:00

The Rev. Herbert Chilstrom, former presiding bishop of the ELCA, wrote an opinion piece that was published in the Mankato Free Press on Aug. 26. It has also been printed in other newspapers in Minnesota and North Dakota. The Rev. Jonathan Sorum has written a response to Chilstrom’s article. “I have answered him because his piece is so revealing of what is at the bottom of the present crisis in the ELCA,” Pastor Sorum explained.

By Pastor Jonathan Sorum
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
Parkers Prairie, Minn.

Bishop Chilstrom, you have asked three questions of us. I suspect that you intend them as rhetorical questions, but I will take them as real questions and reply to them, one by one.

“First,” you ask, “what is it about sex that pushed you over the edge?” Bishop Chilstrom, we aren’t the ones who kept bringing up sex throughout the lifetime of the ELCA. When you kept bringing it up, we were willing enough to talk about it — even though you stacked the numbers so that only one traditionalist was on the first sex task force and three on the second. But as soon as the conversation started, you changed the subject. Instead of talking about sex, suddenly you insisted on talking about identity. And identity is not discussable. If someone’s sexual feelings give them a God-given “sexual identity,” then even to say that expressing that identity is a sin is an act of oppression. So your side made sure that there never was a conversation in this church about sex. And then, when you ram through a change in church teaching and policy (not, as you claim, a mere declaration of non-binding opinion) that overturns the clear teachings of the Scriptures and the entire tradition of the church and we object, you have the gall to turn around and accuse us of being obsessed by sex!

Bishop Chilstrom, let me turn the question back on you: What is it about sex that pushed you over the edge? Sometime in the past you decided that the final authority that defines who a person is and what a person ought to do comes from within. Especially in matters of sex, you decided that you would set aside God’s own gracious and life-giving word in favor of each individual’s self-definition of their “sexual identity.” Why? You have vowed to preach Christ alone. What is it about sex that led you to abandon Christ and deliver people over to be slaves to their own desires?

For us it’s not about sex. It’s about Jesus Christ. You accuse us of persecuting people in same-sex relationships who “live peacefully, go to their jobs every morning, pay their taxes, volunteer for good causes and, in many cases, worship with us.” But we are not judging people. We know the log in our own eye and have no standing to judge others. But since Jesus alone has saved us from bondage to sin and death, we do insist that he alone, as he speaks clearly and reliably in the whole Bible, has the authority to determine the shape of our lives. I repeat: it’s about Jesus Christ. People are leaving the ELCA because it has officially renounced the lordship of Christ as he speaks in Holy Scripture. All of us in resistance to the ELCA have been saying this, constantly, in many forums. If the only reason you have heard for people leaving the ELCA is that the homosexuality vote was "the last straw,” then you have not been listening.

“Second,” you ask, “why are you organizing new churches?” The answer is simple: As congregations and individuals, we need to be connected to the larger church, which will both support our proclamation of the Word of God and hold us accountable to the Word of God. The ELCA no longer does either. The larger church supports our proclamation of the Word by providing us with such things as educational and worship materials that are faithful to the Word, by training and certifying pastors and ministers who will faithfully proclaim the Word, and by providing ways to extend our ministry beyond our communities. But the education, worship and other materials provided by the ELCA for use in congregations are shot through with an alien agenda, most of the pastors and ministers it now trains are not competent to preach the gospel, and its home and global missions are in captivity to a false gospel. The larger church holds us accountable to the Word by providing teaching that is in accord with the Word and by disciplining pastors and congregations that veer from the Word in their preaching or actions. But the ELCA itself is committed to false teaching and immorality, so it cannot be trusted anymore to hold us accountable to God’s Word. Far from supporting us in our ministry, the ELCA undermines us at every turn. So we have been forced to turn elsewhere for support and to create new church institutions that will hold us accountable to God’s Word.

In doing so, we are deeply aware of the support and prayers of many members of the other Lutheran bodies you mention. But for the most part, we have not found it possible to join them and you know very well why. We represent the center of Lutheranism in North America. We would gladly join with other Lutherans who have maintained the substance of the faith, but they won’t have us except on condition that we subscribe to a view of biblical inspiration at odds with the Lutheran Confessions and the Bible itself. So now that you and others have hijacked our denomination for your agenda, we in the Lutheran center have been rendered institutionally homeless. If we want to continue the Lutheran traditions that carried the gospel to us, we have no choice but to start over with new denominational institutions. You mock our efforts, but your jibe about the ordination of women inadvertently reveals what we used to have in our churches and have now lost. You remind us that Lutherans “fought intensely” over this issue. Yes, we used to be able to engage one another on the basis of the Scriptures, in the light of Christian tradition. We even “fought” each other “intensely” because we used to believe that what the Scriptures said really mattered and was worth fighting for. Would that such a thing could happen in the ELCA now! Perhaps it will surprise you to know that we who are in resistance to the ELCA don’t agree on everything. However, among us truly theological discussion can proceed because we all stand on the same foundation of Jesus Christ and confession of the Triune God and all acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures are the one source and norm of our faith and life. Among us, you will find the true freedom of the gospel and real diversity, not the soul-numbing ideological conformity that is now the norm in the ELCA.

Finally, you ask us, “What will you say to your sons and daughters, sisters and brothers and others in your church when they tell you that they are homosexual?” To begin with, moral truth isn’t determined by majority votes, even by a 95 percent majority of “professionals in the field.” Nor will we accept anyone’s verdict that they “are” homosexual. Who they “are” is not determined by what is within them, but by what God’s Word says to them. According to God’s Word, they are, like all of us, human beings, created in God’s image but turned in on themselves in sin. They are among those for whom Christ died and for whom he broke the grave and they are destined for life with him in God’s eternal kingdom. It may also be true that, in our present fallen condition, they experience sexual desire primarily toward those of the same sex and that this is not something they have chosen. But these feelings do not constitute an identity, to which they must conform. Instead, Jesus gives them their true identity as children of his Father and shows them the way of life in his Word. Perhaps that way will include sufficient healing for marriage to be possible. But if they must go the single way, then Jesus will be enough and more than enough for them and will fill their lives with love and every good gift. Sex, after all, is not the end-all and be-all of life.

Which brings me back to your first and last question: What is it about sex that pushed you over the edge? Why this virtual worship of sex, as if our sexual desires (of all things!) were a pure and unadulterated revelation of God’s will for our lives, trumping even the Word of God, and having the kind of sex we want with the kind of partner we want were the ultimate fulfillment of life, for which everything that stands in the way—spouse, children, parents, society, friends, even the Bible, even Christ himself—must be sacrificed? Why, Bishop Chilstrom, have you fallen for one of the oldest idols in the Book?

You are glad to get rid of us. Now, you say, you can get on with your “primary mission of telling everyone — everyone — ‘Jesus loves you. You are welcome in this church.’” Precisely! This is the false gospel you have chosen for yourself. In this gospel there is no repentance or new birth. We don’t need Jesus (to use your word, he is one of the “non-essentials”), because we are basically good and don’t need a Savior. We only need to accept ourselves, as God accepts us. And we don’t need to receive the Holy Spirit, because we all already have the Holy Spirit within us, speaking through our own deepest sense of who we are. Nor do we need preaching, because once we know we are welcome, that’s all we need to know. The church, too, is dispensable because everyone is in principle already included and people don’t really have any reason to gather except to celebrate themselves and they can do that in many contexts using many different symbols and images—the goddess, the Buddha, the divine that is within us, whatever. Yes, in the so-called church that you have helped fashion, everybody is included.

Except us. You have no room in your new church for self-confessed sinners who want to listen to Jesus Christ alone. So we have no choice but to go on, grieving for the wreck of our church, but joyful because we have Jesus and filled with hope because his Spirit always goes before us and creates a new future for his people. We can admit that we, too, have a feeling of relief when we find ourselves in God’s church, where we feel ourselves supported in confessing the gospel and not undermined at every turn. But that you and so many others have turned aside to go your own way is in no way a relief. It is an unmitigated sorrow. We will never release you. We will continue to call you to Christ and to pray for you, urgently beseeching God that you may turn and live.

September "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-09-15T11:49:00.005-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - September 2010 is now online. A smaller text only version of the newsletter is available here.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ North American Lutheran Church constituted.

+ Lutheran CORE to continue as unity movement.

+ Provisional leaders to guide NALC for first year.

+ Lutheran CORE Moderator, Steering Committee elected.

+ Theological Conference addresses crisis in Lutheranism.

+ Excerpts from speeches at the Lutheran CORE Theological Conference.

+ Theological Conference is "seeking new directions for Lutheranism."

+ DVD on North American Lutheran Church is now available.

Christianity Today coverage of Lutheran CORE Theological Conference

2010-09-13T10:28:00.003-05:00

Christianity Today editor-in-chief David Neff offers a review of the Lutheran CORE Theological Conference entitled "Facing Lutheranism's Crisis of Authority: Seven theologians call North American Lutheranism back to the Word and the Lutheran confessions."

You can read it here.

Stewardship Materials from Sola Publishing

2010-09-10T13:03:00.001-05:00

For congregations planning a Fall Stewardship emphasis, our friends at Sola Publishing are providing free downloadable materials from their new “Table Talk” blogsite (solapublishing.blogspot.com). Picking up on language from Luther’s Small Catechism, the materials are built around the theme: “Thank, Praise, Serve, Obey” as a way of talking about our response as faithful stewards to God’s gracious gifts.

Go directly to the Stewardship Page HERE for free downloads:

a) Color Theme Poster (like the one above)

b) Bulletin Insert-Devotional

c) Children’s Story Page

d) Giving Plan Card

e) Sample: Time and Abilities Sheet

f) Black and White Logo

g) Full Color Logo

Sola Publishing is working to serve congregations of Lutheran Core, WordAlone, LCMC, NALC, CALC, and others looking for solid biblical and confessional Lutheran resources. Visit the Sola website at: http://www.solapublishing.org

Audio presentations from Theological Conference are available online

2010-09-01T08:27:00.005-05:00

Listen to audio recordings of the main presentations at the Lutheran CORE Theological Conference August 24-26 at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

Video recordings of the Lutheran CORE Convocation in DVD format may be ordered using this form.

Printed and expanded presentations of the lectures from the theological conference will be available soon in a book to be published by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. Proceeds from sale of the book will benefit Lutheran CORE.

New church body formed for North American Lutherans

2010-08-27T18:10:00.003-05:00

A new Lutheran denominational body was born on Friday, Aug. 27, as Lutherans from throughout North America voted overwhelmingly and enthusiastically to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).

The decision to form the new church body was made at the annual Convocation of Lutheran CORE which attracted more than 1,100 Lutherans Thursday and Friday at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio. Thousands more watched the convocation online.

The Convocation adopted a constitution and elected provisional leaders for the NALC. The Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., was elected as bishop of the NALC. Spring served as the bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for 14 years.

Spring and other church leaders were elected for one-year terms. Those congregations and individuals who join the NALC will elect their own leaders at the church body’s first annual meeting next year. Spring has said that he will not be available for reelection.

“We have a great opportunity before us. We not only want to look back toward the past, but to look ahead to the mission God has given us — to confess Christ faithfully, to witness to others, and to grow in God’s mission. This is our opportunity now in Lutheran CORE and in the North American Lutheran Church,” said Spring.

“The NALC will embody the center of Lutheranism in America. The NALC will uphold confessional principles dear to Lutherans including a commitment to the authority of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. Members and congregations of the NALC will have direct involvement in the decisions and life of the NALC,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.

The new church body was approved with no opposition. Some current pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who attended the Convocation chose to abstain because of their ELCA responsibilities.

Some of those in attendance asked to be able to sign a document noting their assent to the creation of the NALC. Many waited for more than an hour to do so because they wanted to formally note their involvement in the historic action.
Lutherans around the world celebrated the creation of the NALC. Two of the largest Lutheran churches in the world sent official representatives to the Convocation. Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus told the Convocation of the support of their church bodies for the NALC. These two church bodies from Africa are the second and third largest Lutheran churches in the world, each with 5.3 million members. They reported that Lutherans throughout Africa were praying for the Convocation and for the NALC.

“May God bless Lutheran CORE and the vision of the NALC,” said the Rev. Francis Stephanos, president emeritus of the church in Ethiopia and a former vice president of the Lutheran World Federation. “One cannot put the word of Scripture to a vote. . . . The churches of the South will choose Scripture over the mighty dollar.”

The Rev. Dr. Benson Bagonza, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania’s Karagwe Diocese, preached for the closing worship service and participated in the installation of Bishop Spring.

“The presence at our convocation of so many ecumenical and international guests is very significant,” said Spring. “Their presence among us is a reminder that we are not alone in our ministry and that we intend to forge strong ties and relationships with other Christian communities as we go forward in the North American Lutheran Church.”

The Convocation voted to request membership in the Lutheran World Federation for the NALC as a part of the church body’s commitment to an ongoing relationship with faithful Lutheran churches in Africa and Eastern Europe.

The NALC is also committed to a close partnership with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), an association of congregations that many former ELCA congregations have joined since it was formed in 2001. More than 280 congregations have joined LCMC since last August.

“As you make your stand today, I pledge that your siblings in LCMC will stand beside you,” said the Rev. Larry Lindstrom of Farmersville, Ohio, chair of the LCMC Board of Trustees. “I anticipate many congregations will choose to join both LCMC and the NALC.”

A way to move forward together

In addition to creating the NALC, Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation approved proposals designed to provide a way for Lutherans who uphold Biblical teaching to move forward together.
Lutheran CORE will continue as “a confessional and confessing unity movement for all Lutherans regardless of church body.”

“The NALC and Lutheran CORE will link us together as confessional, faithful Lutherans,” said the Rev. Paul Ulring of Columbus, Ohio, who was elected Thursday as the moderator of Lutheran CORE. “We believe that God is at work, so these are wonderful times ahead.” Ulring is pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

“Lutheran CORE’s actions at this convocation and the launching of the NALC are significant progress in forming a community of confessing Lutherans that crosses denomination lines and national boundaries,” Chavez said.

“Our Lord’s reconfiguring of the Lutheran landscape not only in North America, but worldwide, is breathtaking and exciting. We pray that Lutheran CORE and the NALC will faithfully follow Him and in all things give glory to our Heavenly Father,” said Chavez. “It has been wonderful to witness the joy and hopeful excitement of so many Lutherans to move forward and do the main thing — proclaim Jesus Christ and His Gospel to make disciples.”

“The future that we envision for confessing Lutherans in North America is one that is centered on the absolute truth of Christ Jesus and committed to making disciples for Him,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., chair of Lutheran CORE’s Vision and Planning Working Group. “Both Lutheran CORE and the NALC will stand in continuity with the tradition of the Christian Church over the past 2,000 years and will orient their activities primarily for the support of congregations in their ministries.”

“Lutheran CORE and the new NALC are two pathways for faithful, confessing Lutherans in North America to remain connected to each other and to the vast majority of Lutherans and Christians globally who reject the theological innovations of the ELCA and ELCIC,” added Schwarz, who was elected to serve on the NALC’s Executive Council.

The NALC is a member of Lutheran CORE and will do much of its mission and ministry in conjunction with Lutheran CORE to help maintain unity among confessing Lutherans and to carry out mission and ministry efficiently.

Lutheran CORE’s 2009 Convocation Sept. 25-26, 2009, in Fishers, Ind., asked that a proposal for the “reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism” be prepared and brought to the 2010 Convocation. In response, “A Vision and Plan for The North American Lutheran Church and Lutheran CORE, a Community of Confessing Lutherans” was released in February.

“The North American Lutheran Church places great emphasis on congregational ministry and congregational renewal.” Spring said. “We know that the congregation is not the sole form of ministry in the church. But the congregation is surely the chief community of faith for ministry and renewal. We are hoping that our congregational focus will be evident in the way we carry out our ministry.”

Spring noted that Lutheran CORE and the NALC are committed to faithfully teaching the historic Christian faith as it has been confessed by Lutherans and also to moving forward in faith and mission.

“We are inspired by the groundswell of congregations interested in joining the NALC, as well as the other Lutheran and Christian church bodies interested in discussing fellowship and shared ministry opportunities with the NALC,” Schwarz said.

“Our common commitment to Christ’s Great Commission — making disciples of all nations — is a firm foundation for continued growth of the NALC, broader unity through Lutheran CORE, and building of church-to-church relationships in coming years.”

Lutheran CORE and the NALC are also committed to close ties with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.

Theological Conference addresses crisis in Lutheranism

More than 800 people attended a theological conference featuring some of the most significant Lutheran scholars in America that preceded the Convocation. “Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism” was the theme of the Aug. 24-26 conference at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Hilliard, Ohio.

“We are at a crossroads where our theological tradition and the teaching of the Christian faith are being placed in jeopardy,” the Rev. Dr. Carl Braaten told the conference. Braaten is one of the most respected Lutheran theologians in the world.

Lutherans throughout the United States have been wrestling with the implications of recent actions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reversing the ELCA’s policy on pastors in same-sex sexual relationships. ELCA pastors are now allowed to be in same-sex relationships and to officiate at same-sex union ceremonies. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved a social statement in August 2009 that changed ELCA teaching on sexuality and authorized a reversal in policy regarding pastors in same-sex relationships.

Lutheran CORE leaders note that the problems in the ELCA are really not about sexual behavior but rather about an ongoing movement away from the authority and teaching of the Bible throughout the ELCA, on issues far broader than simply human sexuality.

“It was not our choice to leave the ELCA, but the ELCA has chosen to reject ‘the faith once delivered to the saints,’ so now we are acting to maintain our position within the consensus of the Church catholic,” said Schwarz.

“The ELCA has decided that it is in a position of authority over the Bible itself rather than submitting to the authority of the Bible over all matters of faith and life,” Chavez said. “And unfortunately, most of the attention is given to the sexuality issues, but there are actually much more disturbing trends within the ELCA.”

For more information go to www.lutherancore.org or www.thenalc.org.

Lutheran CORE Convocation and Theological Conference online

2010-08-25T22:52:00.002-05:00

Lutherans from throughout North America are gathering this week in suburban Columbus, Ohio, for the Lutheran CORE Theological Conference and Convocation.

The Convocation will be streamed live on the internet on August 26-27. Log onto http://gccn.org and click on "Media." The first tab under Media is "Live Streaming." Click on it to watch the convocation.

You can view some photos from the Theological Conference and Convocation here.

New church body to be formed for Lutherans in North America

2010-08-19T16:51:00.001-05:00

North American Lutheran Church to be constituted. Lutheran CORE to continue as unity movement for all confessing Lutherans.

More than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America will gather Aug. 26-27 in suburban Columbus, Ohio, to form a new church body for confessional Lutherans in North America. The annual Convocation of Lutheran CORE will adopt a constitution and proposals that will give birth to the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).

“The NALC will embody the center of Lutheranism in America. The NALC will uphold confessional principles dear to Lutherans including a commitment to the authority of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. Members and congregations of the NALC will have direct involvement in the decisions and life of the NALC,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.

Provisional leaders for the NALC, including a bishop, will be elected at the Convocation. The provisional leaders will be elected for one-year terms to allow those who join the NALC to elect their own leaders at its first annual meeting.

The Convocation will take place at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio. This church was chosen because its very large facility will enable as many Lutherans as possible to be a part of this historic event.

A theological conference featuring some of the most significant Lutheran scholars in America will precede the Convocation. “Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism” is the theme of the Aug. 24-26 conference at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church’s Mill Run campus in Hilliard, Ohio. More than 800 people have registered for the conference.

Changes in ELCA have caused divisions

Lutherans throughout the United States have been reacting to recent actions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reversing the ELCA’s policy on pastors in same-sex sexual relation-ships. ELCA pastors are now allowed to be in same-sex relationships and to officiate at same-sex union ceremonies. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved a social statement in August 2009 that changed ELCA teaching on sexuality and authorized a reversal in policy regarding pastors in same-sex relationships.
Lutheran CORE leaders note that the problems in the ELCA are really not about sexual behavior but rather about an ongoing movement away from the authority and teaching of the Bible throughout the ELCA, on issues far broader than simply human sexuality.

“It was not our choice to leave the ELCA, but the ELCA has chosen to reject ‘the faith once delivered to the saints,’ so now we are acting to maintain our position within the consensus of the Church catholic,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., chair of Lutheran CORE’s Vision and Planning Working Group.

The ELCA decisions have created a crisis in many ELCA congregations and resulted in many congregations choosing to reduce financial support for the ELCA. Some ELCA congregations have already voted to join the NALC even though the church body does not yet officially exist. Many more congregations are expected to join as the NALC takes shape.

International Lutheran leaders to attend Convocation

Two of the largest Lutheran churches in the world are among the church bodies that are sending official representatives to the Convocation. Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus will address the Convocation. These two church bodies from Africa are the second and third largest Lutheran churches in the world, each with 5.3 million members.

Both African Lutheran churches have been supportive of Lutheran CORE and have taken stands against the actions of the ELCA in changing its teaching and policy on same-sex sexual relationships in spite of the clear teaching of the Bible.

“The presence at our convocation of so many ecumenical and international guests is very significant,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of Lutheran CORE. “Their presence among us is a reminder that we are not alone in our ministry and that we intend to forge strong ties and relationships with other Christian communities as we go forward in the North American Lutheran Church.”

A way to move forward together

The proposals to be considered by the Convocation have been designed to provide a way for Lutherans who uphold Biblical teaching to move forward together. In addition to creating the NALC, Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation will also consider proposals for the continuation of Lutheran CORE as “a confessional and confessing unity movement for all Lutherans regardless of church body.”

“These proposals are a way for those who uphold traditional Christian teaching — both those who are leaving the ELCA or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and those who will remain in those bodies — to remain in fellowship and to work together,” said Chavez. “We are committed to helping all traditional Lutherans in North America to remain united in faith and mission.”

“The future that we envision for confessing Lutherans in North America is one that is centered on the absolute truth of Christ Jesus and committed to making disciples for Him,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., chair of Lutheran CORE’s Vision and Planning Working Group. “Both Lutheran CORE and the NALC will stand in continuity with the tradition of the Christian Church over the past 2,000 years and will orient their activities primarily for the support of congregations in their ministries.”

“Lutheran CORE and the new NALC are two pathways for faithful, confessing Lutherans in North America to remain connected to each other and to the vast majority of Lutherans and Christians globally who reject the theological innovations of the ELCA and ELCIC,” he added.

The NALC will be a member of Lutheran CORE and will do much of its mission and ministry in conjunction with Lutheran CORE to help maintain unity among confessing Lutherans and to carry out mission and ministry efficiently.

Both Lutheran CORE and the NALC will be centered on four key attributes: Christ-Centered; Mission-Driven; Traditionally-Grounded; and Congregationally-Focused.

Lutheran CORE’s 2009 Convocation Sept. 25-26, 2009, in Fishers, Ind., asked that a proposal for the “reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism” be prepared and brought to the 2010 Convocation. In response, “A Vision and Plan for The North American Lutheran Church and Lutheran CORE, a Community of Confessing Lutherans” was released in February.

Spring noted that Lutheran CORE and the NALC are committed to faithfully teaching the historic Christian faith as it has been confessed by Lutherans and also to moving forward in faith and mission.

“We have a great opportunity before us. We not only want to look back toward the past, but to look ahead to the mission God has given us — to confess Christ faithfully, to witness to others, and to grow in God’s mission. This is our opportunity now in Lutheran CORE and in the North American Lutheran Church,” said Spring, who is nominated for election as the NALC’s provisional bishop for one year.

“The North American Lutheran Church places great emphasis on congregational ministry and congregational renewal.” Spring said. “We know that the congregation is not the sole form of ministry in the church. But the congregation is surely the chief community of faith for ministry and renewal. We are hoping that our congregational focus will be evident in the way we carry out our ministry.”

“We are inspired by the groundswell of congregations interested in joining the NALC, as well as the other Lutheran and Christian church bodies interested in discussing fellowship and shared ministry opportunities with the NALC,” Schwarz said.

“Our common commitment to Christ’s Great Commission — making disciples of all nations — is a firm foundation for continued growth of the NALC, broader unity through Lutheran CORE, and building of church-to-church relationships in coming years.”

August "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-08-17T10:05:00.004-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - August 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Convocation to give life to new church body for confessional Lutherans in North America.
Convocation to set future directions for NALC and Lutheran CORE.
Lutheran CORE to continue as unity movement.

+ Theological Conference is "seeking new directions for Lutheranism."

+ Nominees announced for Lutheran CORE, NALC.
Paul Ulring nominated for Lutheran CORE moderator; Paull Spring for NALC bishop.

+ Amendments proposed for Lutheran CORE constitution.

+ 40 days of prayer precede historic Convocation.

+ Seven Marks Society to hold constituting convocation.

+ Lutheran CORE leader reflects on LWF Assembly.

+ Tanzanian and Ethiopian leaders elected to LWF council.

+ Representatives of Lutheran Churches in Africa, Anglican Church, LCMC, LCMS to attend Convocation.

+ Provisional constitution for NALC to be considered.

+ North American Lutheran Church Questions & Answers.

+ North American Lutheran Church DVD.

+ ‘Rite of Reception’ shows ELCA changes are about more than accepting same-sex relationships.
Synod service includes goddess elements, deviations from Lord’s Prayer.

Nominees announced for Lutheran CORE, NALC

2010-08-10T21:42:00.003-05:00

Nominees for leadership positions in Lutheran CORE and for the North American Lutheran Church have been announced.

The nominations were made by the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. Additional nominations may be made at the Convocation. Biographical information on the candidates will be available on Lutheran CORE’s website.

The Rev. Paul Ulring of Columbus, Ohio, has been nominated for the position of Moderator of Lutheran CORE. Pastor Ulring is the senior pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio.

The Rev. W. Stevens Shipman of Lock Haven, Pa., is nominated for secretary of Lutheran CORE. Pastor Shipman currently serves as secretary of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.

Ralph Whittenburg of South Bend, Ind., has been nominated as treasurer of Lutheran CORE.

Lutheran CORE’s moderator, treasurer and secretary will be elected for two-year terms.

There are 11 nominees for the eight two-year terms on the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee:

+ Challa Baro, Minneapolis, Minn.
+ The Rev. Wendy Berthelsen, Cedar Hill, Texas.
+ The Rev. Don Brandt, Salem, Ore.
+ Capt. Raymond Brown, Londonderry, N.H.
+ The Rev. Karl Johnsen, Edmonton, Alberta.
+ Lynn Kickingbird, Edmond, Okla.
+ The Rev. Dennis Nelson, West Covina, Calif.
+ The Rev. Eddy Perez, Miami, Fla.
+ John Pleuss, Madison, Wis.
+ The Rev. Donna Smith, Champaign, Ill.
+ Karen Stack, Stillwater, Minn.

North American Lutheran Church

The Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., current chair of Lutheran CORE, has been nominated to serve as the first bishop of the North American Lutheran Church. Spring is the former bishop of the ELCA’s Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. He will not be available for re-election to a full term.

The 2010 Lutheran CORE Convocation will elect a slate of provisional leaders to serve the North American Lutheran Church during its first year.

In addition to electing the NALC’s first bishop, the Lutheran CORE Convocation will elect an Executive Council and Court of Adjudication for one-year terms.

The NALC’s first Convocation will elect its bishop and Executive Council and a Court of Adjudication for staggered terms.

Four lay people and four clergy will be elected to the NALC Executive Council. Seven members of the Court of Adjudication will also be elected. Here are the nominees:

Executive Council - Lay

+ James Hansen, Charleston, W.Va.
+ Carol Lattier, Tyler, Texas
+ Ryan Schwarz, Washington, D.C.
+ Kay Weaver, Vale, N.C.

Executive Council - Clergy

+ The Rev. Donald Allman, Grove City, Ohio
+ The Rev. Amanda Grimmer, Abington, Pa.
+ The Rev. Victor Langford, Seattle, Wash.
+ The Rev. Jim Lehmann, Thomasboro, Ill.

Court of Adjudication

+ Richard Currey, Colorado Springs, Colo.
+ Jon Evans, Pittsburgh, Pa.
+ Jim Gale, Washington, D.C.
+ The Rev. Jeffray Greene, Rantoul, Ill.
+ The Rev. Ralph Kempski, Aiken, S.C.
+ Carolyn Nestingen, St. Paul, Minn., and Dallas, Ore.
+ The Rev. Ron Warren, Grove City, Ohio.

‘Rite of Reception’ shows ELCA changes are about more than accepting same-sex relationships

2010-08-04T10:53:00.005-05:00

A worship service formally receiving seven gay and lesbian persons as ELCA pastors included elements that many Lutherans would find offensive or even heretical.

The elements of the service show that some of the practicing gay and lesbian persons being received as ELCA pastors and some synod bishops deviate from Biblical and traditional expressions and understandings of the Christian faith.

The Sierra Pacific Synod’s “Rite of Reception” service, July 25 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco, formally received as ELCA pastors six practicing gay, lesbian or transgender persons and reinstated a man who was removed from the ELCA clergy roster for violating the denomination’s former standards.

Five of those received had been ordained in controversial services held in defiance of the ELCA’s former teaching and standards regarding same-sex sexual relationships.

Three ELCA bishops participated in the service: Bishop Mark Holmerud of the Sierra Pacific Synod, Bishop Dean Nelson of the Southwest California Synod, and Bishop Dave Brauer-Rieke of the Oregon Synod.

Bishop Holmerud began the service by “confessing” the sins of “our church” against gay and lesbian persons. “Our church of the reformation has been too long captive to bias and misinformation,” Holmerud said. The bishop then read a litany of the church’s sins including:

“We have not respected the gift of sexuality . . . We have not honored faithful and loving promises, marriages, and covenantal relationships. . . . We have not acted quickly enough . . . We have betrayed fellow members of the body of Christ because of cultural prejudice. . . . We have misused Scripture as a tool of discrimination. . . . We have forced celibacy upon too many . . . We have promoted invisibility and dishonesty. . . . We have intimidated and disciplined, censured and expelled.”

Biblical language for God, including Lord, was removed from the liturgy. Instead God was called Mother and female pronouns were used for God. The service also included elements of pagan and goddess worship reflecting the practice of some of the congregations of the new ELCA pastors.

Perhaps the most offensive element was the use of several versions of “the Lord’s Prayer.” Worshipers were invited to pray what was called “the Prayer of Jesus” “in the language most familiar to you.”

Options included three prayers bearing only slight resemblance to the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Following are three of the so-called “Prayers of Jesus” from the service. The first is from the “goddess rosary” used by University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley, Calif., and Ebenezer Lutheran Church of San Francisco — www.herchurch.org.

Our Mother who is within us we celebrate your many names. Your wisdom come, your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us. Each day you give us all that we need. You remind us of our limits and we let go. You support us in our power and we act in courage. For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen.

God, lover of us all, most holy one, help us to respond to you to create what you want for us here on earth. Give us today enough for our needs; forgive our weak and deliberate offenses, just as we must forgive others when they hurt us. Help us to resist evil and to do what is good; For we are yours, endowed with your power to make our world whole. Amen.

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven. The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth! With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.

The Dodoma Statement is now in English

2010-07-19T22:20:00.003-05:00

The Dodoma Statement by the Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is now available in English.

The statement by the bishops of the largest Lutheran Church in Africa challenges changes in church teaching and policy by the ELCA and the Church of Sweden regarding same-sex marriage.

We thank the bishops of Tanzania for their faithful witness.

July "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-07-18T14:34:00.004-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - July 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Lutheran CORE leaders call for 40 days of prayer preceding historic Convocation.

+ Devotions from 40 days of prayer preceding Convocation.

+ Lutheran CORE Steering Committee finalizes NALC proposal, makes plans for future of Lutheran CORE.

+ Lutheran CORE leaders to attend LWF Assembly.
Lutheran World Federation facing division caused by ELCA actions on sexuality.

+ Register for Convocation and Theological Conference.

+ Ecumenical representatives to attend Convocation.

+ North American Lutheran Church (NALC) DVD coming soon.

+ Congregations can join NALC.

+ National youth gathering set for 2011 in Chicago.

+ Resources for congregational life, pastoral support.

+ Missouri Synod addresses ELCA actions, commits to support confessional Lutheranism.

+ Synod assemblies highlight deep divisions in ELCA Assemblies offer little hope ELCA can restore Biblical teaching on sexuality.

+ Northeastern Iowa Synod Secretary resigns, notes commitment to ordination vows, Confession of Faith.

+ Institute of Lutheran Theology opens online bookstore.

+ "ELCA house is sadly and irreparably divided," a letter by Mark D. Hanson.

Lutheran CORE leaders call for 40 days of prayer preceding historic Convocation

2010-07-15T21:36:00.002-05:00

The leaders of Lutheran CORE are inviting Christians around the world to join in 40 days of prayer as Lutherans in North America gather to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and to shape the ongoing ministry of Lutheran CORE as a community of confessing Lutherans regardless of their church body affiliation.

Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation is set for Aug. 26-27 at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio (suburban Columbus).

The 40 days of prayer begin on July 19 and continue through Aug. 27, the day the NALC will be constituted. Devotions and prayers have been prepared for each of the 40 days by members of Lutheran CORE’s Steering Committee and Advisory Council and by pastors and church leaders in North America and around the world.

“The significance of this undertaking to form a new church body must be undergirded by the prayers of God’s people, not only in North America but around the world,” said the Rev. Rebecca Heber, a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee who is coordinating the prayer effort.

“All of us in Lutheran CORE have been encouraged by the support of Christians around the world. We are especially grateful for their prayers and covet their prayers during these 40 days,” Pastor Heber said.

Heber and her husband, the Rev. Bill Heber, are developing Oasis Church, a new NALC mission congregation in the Orlando, Florida, area.

The devotions and prayers will be posted on Lutheran CORE’s website.

Missouri Synod addresses ELCA actions, commits to support confessional Lutheranism

2010-07-14T17:59:00.004-05:00

Delegates to the Convention of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod overwhelming adopted a resolution noting the difficulties caused by the ELCA’s decisions supporting same-sex relationships and committing the LCMS “to support confessional Lutheranism at home and abroad.”

In a resolution, adopted 1093-61 (95 percent) at the LCMS Convention July 10-17 in Houston, the LCMS notes that:

+ “The decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at its August 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis regarding homosexual relationships are contrary to Scripture and 2000 years of Christian teaching, and to confessional Lutheranism in particular.

+ “Many congregations and individuals have withdrawn from or are considering withdrawal from affiliation with or membership in the ELCA and consider their decision necessitated by conscience, Holy Scripture, and right reason.

+ “For the sake of good order and in furtherance of the clear proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, many of these same congregations and individuals have organized themselves into groups such as Word Alone, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), Lutheran CORE, etc.

+ “Individual and congregational contacts from the ELCA with LCMS congregations and officials have increased significantly since August 2009.

+ “This decision by the ELCA has also grieved Lutherans and upset inter-church relations among confessional Lutheran church bodies outside the United States.

+ “While this state of disruption and uncertainty among confessional Lutherans threatens to hinder the proclamation of the Gospel, it also calls us to confess our faith anew.

+ “The LCMS, while not encouraging discord in the ELCA, nevertheless cannot turn away from those who dissent from the ELCA, lest we deny our own convictions;

+ “The LCMS has been encouraged to provide leadership and support to emerging and formative Lutheran church bodies.

The LCMS delegates adopted the following commitments:

+ “That the LCMS earnestly pray for her brothers and sisters in the ELCA, including those who have departed from this biblical and Christian understanding, asking that the ELCA would reconsider — even now — its actions.

+ “That the LCMS provide encouragement to other Lutheran church bodies as they strive to remain faithful to confessional Lutheranism. and be it further

+ “That the LCMS commend groups such as Word Alone, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), Lutheran CORE, and others for their courage and faithfulness in opposing the ELCA’s recent decision.

+ “That the LCMS commend efforts such as the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR)-sponsored Confessional Leadership Conference (June 2010) which gathered Lutheran leaders from around the world for the purpose of promoting confessional Lutheranism

+ “That the LCMS . . . continue exploring ways together with the International Lutheran Council to bring together Lutherans for the purpose of promoting confessional Lutheranism throughout the world.”

LCMS convention delegates also adopted a resolution 1133-35 (97 percent) which affirms Christian teaching on sexuality and commends two documents prepared in response to the ELCA decisions “for study and reference.”

The two documents are “Same-Gender Relationships and the Church,” prepared by the International Lutheran Council and “Theological Implications of the 2009 ELCA Decisions,” prepared by a task force appointed by Synod President the Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick titled “Theological Implications of the 2009 ELCA Decisions.”

In other actions, the Rev. Matthew C. Harrison was elected the new LCMS president. Pastor Harrison has been the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care since 2001. Dr. Kieschnick has been LCMS president since 2001.

A "Heads Up" on New Education Materials

2010-07-12T19:55:00.003-05:00

Members and friends of Lutheran Core have been asking about where we can go for education materials of “our own” that we can trust. Sola Publishing (www.solapublishing.org) is one of our member organizations, working to provide materials for the needs of Lutheran Core, WordAlone, LCMC, CALC, and NALC congregations.

With the new school year just around the corner, we wanted you to know about two important education series are in development for initial release this Fall (2010):

1) A Bible Story-based Sunday School Curriculum series is being developed called "One Room Sunday School." Each year in the planned three-year cycle of this series will be a Bible overview of Old and New Testament stories. The materials will be produced in the form of seven-session Classroom Resource Books, four per year. Each book will feature simple and flexible reproducible sheets for use with children of elementary ages, with emphasis on learning the stories of Scripture. The materials are being specifically designed with the needs of small churches, mission congregations, and house churches in mind. The first two installments in the series, as well as an over-all Leader’s Manual for the three-year cycle will be available by mid-August. (Go HERE for a look at the planned three-year schedule.)

2) The first in installment in the new Sola Confirmation Series will also be available for classes beginning this Fall. Our initial offering will be a ten-session student booklet on the Apostles' Creed, to be followed by a six-session series on the Sacraments this Winter. This planned three-year series is being designed in an “old school” work-book format, suitable for: classroom use, lay-led small groups, or independent home study.

The Sola Confirmation Series will be using the recently translated ReClaim Catechism (aka. the “Grorud Edition”), to be released this Fall by ReClaim Resources (www.reclaimresources.org).

New Sola “Table Talks” Blogsite

With so many new resources in the works, we are looking for pastors and congregations to help in the development and testing. Sola Publishing has added a new blogsite for information and feedback on educational materials (go to http://solapublishing.blogspot.com). This site, called "Sola Publishing - Table Talks" will be a venue for sharing information on current educational materials available through Sola, as well as new materials in development. Please check back as more information continues to be added.

ELCA house is sadly and irreparably divided

2010-07-05T11:00:00.001-05:00

Mark D. Hanson, a member of American Lutheran Church in Rantoul, Ill., wrote this letter to Bishop Warren D. Freiheit of the Central Southern Illinois Synod following the synod’s assembly. The letter describes the difficult situation facing many in the ELCA.

Dear Bishop Freiheit:

I hope this letter finds you well, and recuperating from the hard work of Synod Assembly. My wife, Kerry, and I attended the assembly for the first time this year representing American Lutheran in Rantoul. Unfortunately, our assembly experiences coupled with many days of prayerful discernment and discussion compel me to write you about the vitriolic and disagreeable culture of discord, disagreement, and self-interest that seems to permeate the fabric of the ELCA, our synod, and beyond.

We are all sinners in need of God’s Grace and our promised salvation through Jesus Christ, poignantly reaffirmed by the Confession and Forgiveness of Sins during the especially heated debate on the floor of the Synod Assembly. Thus, my purpose is not to attack, criticize, or cast judgment. Hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit, I wish only to share the insights and observations of my witness with you. I appreciate the difficult circumstances you find yourself in as our bishop, and in no way intend any insult or disrespect to you or your position. As we agreed at our meeting in Rantoul, nothing is gained by shutting down dialogue because of disagreement.

The ELCA of old is dead. The new ELCA birthed at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly is irreparably divided, shackled to the illusionary concept of bound conscience. Prior to the assembly, I still held hope the division and egregious trauma to the body of Christ done within ELCA might yet be healed. My hope was assaulted by the disagreeable and devilish behavior I saw clearly encroaching into the midst of ELCA, first in the unfortunate and inflammatory article found on the ELCA website by Dr. Jon Pahl and then in two separate incidents at Synod Assembly.

The first incident occurred after your clear and concise description of the rostering process and the ramifications for pastors involved in other organizations such as Lutheran CORE or a new church body such as the proposed NALC. A speaker rose and demanded that congregations considering leaving the ELCA fully understand the consequences such an action holds for their pastors. The tone, and in my opinion, intent were an open and unapologetic threat.

As you know, far better than I, a strong bond between congregation and pastor is deeply personal. For not only are our pastors the shepherds of our Faith, and that of our children, but are also our friends and members of our family. We are very protective of them. I believe congregations serious about exploring opportunities outside the ELCA are well aware of the multi-faceted consequences and benefits of doing so, without threatening reminders that insult their intelligence. In the current charged and divisive ELCA environment, threats, and even unintentional implications of threats, are the devil’s work, and counterproductive and damaging on all fronts.

The second incident followed Pastor Ron Rasmus’ remarks after the defeat of Resolution 2010.10: Defining Bound Conscience. Pastor Rasmus strongly expressed his disagreement to the outcome, and his belief traditional, orthodox Lutheranism is no longer welcome within the ELCA or our synod. While he spoke, incredibly disturbing jeers and derisive remarks, almost other-worldly in their brash inappropriateness for the time and place, were made by many individuals in the house around us.

The most damaging remark was rather loudly stated, “Then why don’t you just leave!” In that moment, with that hateful comment, my hope for ELCA died. I realized that orthodox traditionalists clinging to the Lutheran understanding and recognition of Scriptural authority had lost their case. Popular culture more concerned about appearances and an errant definition of social justice had carried the day, trampling those in opposition.

I pray my perceptions are wrong!

Jesus teaches us in Mark that “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” The ELCA house is sadly and irreparably divided, both socially and theologically. Perhaps rather than simply watch the house fall to the detriment of all, two separate houses are now needed to replace the hostility. Perhaps in separation rather than division, we might find a new unity in binding up the wounds we have inflicted upon the body of Christ. Perhaps in accepting another front in the spiritual war we are engaged as allies, we might discover what bound conscience actually means. But most importantly, rather than internally segregating ourselves and retrenching our differences with escalating argument and vitriol, we might thwart the devil at his own game and renew our efforts in the work and call God has set before us all.

Through God all things are possible!

Sincerely and Respectfully,

Mark D. Hanson
American Lutheran, Rantoul, Ill.

New National Youth Event from Youth Encounter

2010-06-26T20:56:00.003-05:00

Youth Encounter, a Christian non-profit youth ministry organization, announces their four day national youth event called Impact July 7-10, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.

Impact’s emphasis will be on equipping young people to live out their faith in Jesus Christ. The national youth event is for high school students that have completed grades 8-12 in the United States and Canada.

The program will include several messages from Christian speakers, music from nationally renowned Christian bands, small group workshops, and a service project with Feed My Starving Children. Captive Free, a Youth Encounter music ministry team, will also be performing and relating with the youth throughout the four day event.

“Youth Encounter events have always been focused on encouraging youth and adult leaders to go deeper in their faith in Jesus Christ,” said Lisa Rykken Kastler, Program Executive of Youth Encounter. “Youth and leaders will have a chance to gather with other church groups as they worship, fellowship and serve as a larger community of Christ. Getting away from every day life and journeying in Jesus' name to a new place, is a shared experience that God uses to draw people together as He draws them deeper in their faith."

Impact will be held at the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville, IL. The event runs Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon. Program fees start at $189 per person and hotel rooms are $85 per room per night. For more information on Impact go to www.youthencounter.org/impact.

About Youth Encounter

Youth Encounter’s mission is to partner with Christian communities to strengthen their youth ministry. Youth Encounter confesses the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit revealed through Jesus Christ, according to the Christian scriptures; submits to the Christian Scriptures as the inspired Word of God and the source and final norm of its proclamation, doctrine, faith, and life; subscribes to the Lutheran confessions; and upholds the historical Biblical moral positions of the Christian tradition.

Youth Encounter works with congregations so that young people may be established in Christian faith, empowered for Christian living, engaged in Christian ministry, and equipped for Christian leadership.

June "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-06-17T12:20:00.004-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - June 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Registration opens for historic Convocation.
Convocation marks a new beginning for Lutherans in North America.

+ Five bold steps for mission and benevolence.

+ Amendments are proposed for Lutheran CORE constitution.

+ ELCA demands money from former congregations.
ELCA officials refuse to acknowledge previous payments from congregations.

+ ELCA approves eight more practicing LGBT pastors.

+ ELCA fires campus pastor for working with those who oppose changes in ELCA teaching and policy.

WordAlone Ministries offers resources for those considering leaving the ELCA

2010-06-16T09:50:00.002-05:00

Check out the new web series on the WordAlone Ministries website, entitled: "Leaving the ELCA."

WordAlone Ministries Vice President Tom Walker has assembled several fine and detailed pages of guidance and advice for those in many different local situations. The lead page can be found here.

This online article series is the largest and most complete listing of information currently available for individuals and congregations in transition. The links below will give you an idea of the various parts in the series:

* Leaving ELCA
* FAQ
* Taking Action
* Careful Process
* Resources
* Case Studies

WordAlone also offers a helpful resource called "Why We Are Leaving the ELCA."

ELCA approves eight more practicing LGBT pastors

2010-05-27T14:13:00.002-05:00

A synod in California has approved eight practicing LGBT individuals as ELCA pastors, the ELCA announced in a May 25 news release.

Two of the pastors had been removed from the ELCA’s clergy roster for violating the ELCA’s former standards regarding same-sex sexual behavior.

The other six persons were ordained in controversial unauthorized ordinations held in defiance of the ELCA’s previous teaching and standards.

ELCA synods are moving quickly to credential LGBT pastors who were removed from the ELCA clergy roster for violating the ELCA’s previous standards or who were ordained in defiance of the denomination’s former teaching and policy.

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted in August to allow pastors to be in committed same-sex relationships. But the official changes reversing the ELCA standards for pastors weren’t formally approved until April.

April 10, the ELCA Church Council deleted a sentence from its rules for pastors which stated that “the biblical understanding which this church affirms is that the normative setting for sexual intercourse is marriage.”

The ELCA Church Council also deleted a sentence which read: “Practicing homosexual persons are precluded from the ordained ministry of this church” from the ELCA’s “Definition and Guidelines for Discipline.”

A sentence which read: “Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships” was deleted from its “Vision and Expectations” for pastors.

Steven Sabin of Christ Church Lutheran in San Francisco and Ross Merkel of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland, Calif., were approved for reinstatement.

“In 1998 Sabin was removed from the ELCA clergy roster for being in a same-sex relationship while serving as pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa. His removal by an ELCA discipline committee drew national attention,” the ELCA release states.

Six of those approved by the synod come from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM), an organization that “credentials and rosters qualified candidates of all sexual orientations and gender identities for ministry” and authorized ordinations in defiance of the ELCA’s former policies.

Among them are Jeff Johnson, one of three people ordained in 1990 in defiance of church teaching two years after the formation of the ELCA. This well-publicized service was the first “extraordinary ordination” conducted by those advocating change in ELCA teaching on homosexual behavior.

Johnson was elected to the Sierra Pacific Synod Council by this year’s assembly even though he was not yet an ELCA pastor. He is pastor of University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley, Calif.

Also approved were Dawn Roginski and Paul Brenner of St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco, a former ELCA congregation. The congregation called two women who were in a same-sex relationship and who were ordained with Johnson in 1990. The congregation was expelled from the ELCA in 1996.

The Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly approved a resolution in May inviting St. Francis and First United Lutheran Church, the congregation that called Johnson in 1990, back into the ELCA.

Also approved was Megan Rohrer, who serves the Welcome Ministry, a ministry to homeless in San Francisco. Rohrer describes herself as “the first openly transgender Lutheran pastor ordained in the United States,” on her website.

Rohrer was ordained in 2006 at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco where she serves as an associate pastor. Ebenezer Lutheran is also known as “Herchurch.” The ELCA congregation and its pastors have drawn a lot of attention and notoriety through their worship of the “Divine Feminine” and their use of a “Goddess Rosary.” More information on the congregation is available at www.herchurch.org.

Also approved by the synod were Craig Minich of the Oakland-Berkeley Lutheran Youth Program and Sharon Stalkfleet of the Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes in Oakland.

Leaders of the Sierra Pacific Synod noted that the approval process was more of celebration than an examination process for reception as pastors of the denomination, the ELCA news release reported.

“This was by no means an examination. It was a sharing about ministry and a celebration of ministry,” the Rev. Nancy Feniuk Nelson, bishop’s associate, told the ELCA news service.

Proposed amendments to Lutheran CORE's Constitution

2010-05-25T15:34:00.003-05:00

Proposed amendments to the constitution of Lutheran CORE are now available online.

The proposed amendments, which come from Lutheran CORE's Steering Committee, will be considered at the Lutheran CORE Convocation August 26-27 in suburban Columbus, Ohio.

Plans for Lutheran CORE, NALC future taking shape

2010-05-20T10:32:00.002-05:00

Plans for the future ministry of both Lutheran CORE and the proposed North American Lutheran Church are moving forward very well, the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee learned at its May 5-6 meeting at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio.

Working Groups have been busy shaping the life and work of the NALC and Lutheran CORE. They reported significant progress. Here are some reports and actions from the meeting:

✙ Quarterly meetings will continue with WordAlone Ministries and LCMC to further cooperative ministry.

✙ Augsburg Lutheran Churches and Lutheran CORE—Illinois were received as members of Lutheran CORE.

✙ Plans for NALC communications, logo, and website were discussed.

✙ Ministry Processes Working Group reported that they have been developing policies and procedures to receive pastors into the NALC. A process will be in place this summer.

✙ NALC proposal will separate the role of bishop from administrative functions following the pattern of some African churches.

✙ NALC Director will be a different person than Lutheran CORE Director.

✙ Among the members of the Ministry Processes Working Group are six former ELCA bishops.

✙ Congregational Life and Support Working Group presented a proposal for discipleship networking.

✙ Theological Education Working Group is in conversations about options and directions for theological education, especially for the training of pastors. They are exploring many options and working relationships including the Institute for Lutheran Theology and Wittenberg Institute, two ELCA seminaries, and some non-Lutheran seminaries. The intent is to support seminarians, not institutions.

✙ Noted that a well-educated laity will also be crucial to the renewal of Lutheranism.

✙ They are working to strengthen working relationships with supportive younger Lutheran theologians.

✙ Noted the importance of funding resources for theological education.

✙ Theological Conference: The number of registrations is very encouraging.

✙ A book will be published that will include presentations from the theological conference. Proceeds from the book will benefit Lutheran CORE.

✙ Seminary students may attend theological conference or Convocation for free and may apply for a $250 stipend to help with travel and related costs of attending.

✙ Ecumenical and Inter-Lutheran Relationships Working Group noted that ecumenical partners from around the world are very interested in working with L-CORE and the NALC.

✙ Reaffirmed that Lutheran CORE does not intend to be a church body. Lutheran CORE will continue as a community of confessing Lutherans regardless of church body affiliation.

✙ Lutheran CORE will seek to serve traditional voting members at future ELCA Churchwide Assemblies by connecting them with each other.

✙ Mission and Benevolence Working Group offered “five bold steps” for mission and benevolence built around the key conviction that “the mission of the Church is the Great Commission.” Their proposal will be featured in the June CORE Connection.

✙ Missions Coordinator: A Missions Coordinator will work with immigrant ministries and other mission congregations. The Steering Committee authorized moving forward with this position as funding is available.

✙ 2010 Convocation: Plans for the Convocation were discussed.

✙ The Convocation will be moved to Grove City Church of the Nazarene which will seat 3,000 people.

✙ Reports for the Convocation will be distributed electronically prior to the Convocation.

✙ Christians worldwide will be invited to join in 40 Days of Prayer prior to the Convocation.

✙ Those who wish to vote at the Convocation must be members of Lutheran CORE. Individuals can join Lutheran CORE online.

✙ Congregations may indicate their desire to join NALC by approving a resolution to do so. A model resolution has been prepared.

✙ Constitution Task Force will be publishing recommended amendments to Lutheran CORE’s Constitution online later this month.

Reprinted from May "CORE Connection" newsletter.

May "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-05-13T20:39:00.003-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - May 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Discipleship to be DNA of Lutheran CORE, NALC.
Working Group recommends Discipleship Networking plan for reconfigured Lutheranism.

+ Plans for Lutheran CORE, NALC future taking shape.

+ Congregations can now join the NALC.

+ "Why I am joining the North American Lutheran Church" by Bishop Paull Spring.

+ Lutheran CORE Convocation to move to 3,000-seat church.

+ Seven Marks Society to hold constituting convention.

+ Synod assemblies react to ELCA sexuality decisions.

+ Lutheran Church in Tanzania affirms Biblical teaching on homosexual behavior and rejects ELCA changes.

+ LCMS addresses implications of ELCA decisions.

+ WordAlone changes its name and ministry emphasis.

+ ELCA reinstating pastors removed for misconduct.

+ S.D. Synod bishop censures four congregations.

Why I am joining the North American Lutheran Church

2010-05-13T20:34:00.003-05:00

By Bishop Paull Spring
Lutheran CORE Steering Committee

I honor and respect our supporters who feel called to carry out their ministry through Lutheran CORE, a community of confessing Lutherans. There is a need for an orthodox voice and witness within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA still needs reform and renewal! There are countless faithful Lutherans in the ELCA who, while deeply disturbed with the ELCA, still feel called to work within that church body.

We need Lutheran CORE as a coalition or community of confessing Lutherans. I am confident that their participation in Lutheran CORE will strengthen their own faith and will enliven their worship and witness for Christ.

In the 18th and 19th centuries there were numerous “awakening move-ments” among the Lutheran churches of Europe, and the influence of these movements continues into the present. I believe that Lutheran CORE has the potential to be such an awakening movement for the ELCA.

It is in this spirit that I truly honor those who will continue to carry out their ministry through Lutheran CORE. Those of us who feel called to form the North American Lutheran Church will surely support Lutheran CORE in every way we can. Over these past several months we have rather consistently said that we will support, in a equal manner, those who belong to Lutheran CORE and those who will join the North American Lutheran Church.

I am among those who plan to join the North American Lutheran Church. I can no longer participate in the institutional life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The decisions at last August’s Churchwide Assembly — to approve same-sex blessings and to permit the ordination and ministry of actively gay and lesbian pastors — are so contrary to Biblical norms and constitute such a serious break with 2,000 years of ethical standards in the Church.

Until last August, I had serious disagreements with some of the policies and procedures of the ELCA. But these disagreements never reached the level of doctrine, creed, or Scripture. Up until then, I still hoped that Lutheran CORE could remain as a reforming movement within the ELCA, and that I could be a part of that movement.

The decisions of last August, however, were of such a doctrinal and Biblical nature — touching upon the doctrine of creation — that I now feel called to withdraw from the ELCA and to become a member of the North American Lutheran Church.

The North American Lutheran Church intends, with God’s help, to have a strong commitment for evangelism, growth, and discipleship. It will be a church that will be grounded in the Scriptures as God’s Word of Law and Gospel, according to the witness of the Lutheran Confessions. It will be a church that will focus ministry and mission on the congregation, the community where worship and mission principally takes place.

At the same time, it will be a structured church, a connectional community for faith and life, where congregations are related to one another and where decisions can be made on behalf of the whole community.

The North American Lutheran Church will have a ministry of oversight, a bishop and regional deans. I fervently hope that this ministry will be primarily pastoral in nature — Word and Sacrament ministry and visitations among pastors and congregations, that will reflect Article 28 of the Augsburg Confession. I also hope that we will find means for communal decision- making processes that we have not experienced in the ELCA.

The North American Lutheran Church will be a church that will be ecumenically engaged. It will seek membership in the Lutheran World Federation, so that, among other things, partnerships with African, Asian and eastern European churches can be nurtured. Ecumenical relationships will also be fostered with other churches and communities in North America which have sought to remain orthodox in their faith.

In short, the North American Lutheran Church is the kind of church whose time has come! A church that is orthodox in doctrine, alive in worship, and zealous for mission and evangelism. This is what the North American Lutheran Church promises to be. It may or may not be a large church, but size is not what matters these days. What matters is a church that seeks to be orthodox in its teaching; a connectional church that takes seriously its participation in the Church of the ages; and that seeks to follow vigorously the Great Commission.

The Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., is the chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. He served 14 years as bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA before “retiring” in 2001.

Reprinted from the May "CORE Connection" newsletter.

Bishop censures pastor and 4 congregations in South Dakota for expressing opposition to new ELCA teaching and policy on homosexual behavior

2010-05-08T17:58:00.003-05:00

Four congregations and a pastor in western South Dakota have been censured by their bishop for expressing their belief that changes in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s teaching and policy on homosexual behavior violate the teaching of the Bible by joining Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.

The Rev. David Zellmer, bishop of the South Dakota Synod, “censured” the Rev. Frezil Westerlund of Philip, S.D., and the four congregations she serves for joining LCMC, an association of traditional Lutheran congregations.

Pastor Westerlund was notified of the censure Wednesday, May 5, by an assistant to the bishop. The congregations were notified by mail.

The congregations — First Lutheran Church, Philip; Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Long Valley; Trinity Lutheran Church, Midland; and Deep Creek Lutheran Church, rural Midland — each voted to join LCMC and to redirect their mission giving at congregational meetings in October. Pastor Westerlund has not joined LCMC. The congregations work together as Western New Hope Lutheran Parish.

“This act of censure belies the promise that orthodox Christians will have a place within the ELCA,” Pastor Westerlund said. “We did not withdraw from the ELCA because we believed that the course of the church could still be righted. Now who knows what will happen.”

“This is not an issue about human partnerships. Our issue is Biblical authority. We can’t just take scissors and cut out the parts of the Bible we don’t like. That lacks integrity,” she said.

Pastor Westerlund comes from a long line of Lutheran pastors willing to take a stand for their faith. “My family has been pastors for 500 years. My great, great, great, etc. grandfather, the Rev. Johann Von Heyl, signed the Augsburg Confession. At my ordination, I promised to teach and preach in accordance with Scripture and that confession. We have a duty to stand for what is right and faithful.” she said.

The Augsburg Confession is the primary Lutheran confession of faith and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran Reformation. It was presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 as the first Lutherans took their stand and confessed their faith before religious and civil authorities.

At age 63, Pastor Westerlund is a petite, white-haired woman who stands all of 5-foot-2 in high heels. She has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer and is on medical leave. She recently returned to Philip from Rochester, Minn., where she had surgery at the Mayo Clinic.

“It was quite a surprise to come back from Mayo to find out that I am an outlaw,” she said.

“I question why we as a small rural congregation, a member of Western New Hope Parish, and also our Pastor Frezil Westerlund — who is recovering from major cancer surgery at this time — have been singled out by being censured because of the fact that we have joined LCMC,” said Karen Pinney, a member of First Lutheran Church in Philip, and also Associate Coordinator of the Bear Butte Conference Women of the ELCA.

“We studied and sent a response from our parish in regard to the Social Statement on Human Sexuality prior to the vote by Churchwide August 2009 in Minneapolis. We have been prayerfully discussing and considering what is best for our parish and congregation. We have taken time to consider the possibilities of either staying or leaving the ELCA,” she said.

“I truly believe the decision of ELCA to put practicing homosexuals in the pulpit totally goes against the teaching of God’s Holy Word,” Pinney said. “If Bishop Zellmer wants to draw a line in the sand, I join with Martin Luther by saying ‘Here I stand!’ I am proud to say I stand firmly with Scripture.”

As a means of protest and a more faithful means of stewardship, the congregations have chosen to directly support ministries rather then to send undesignated support to the South Dakota Synod.

“The people of Western New Hope Lutheran Parish are people of faith and kindness. Like other South Dakotans, we are a self-reliant, caring community When someone is hungry we feed them. We continue to support our statewide Lutheran ministries,” Pastor Westerlund said.

“Instead of sending our funds to the South Dakota Synod for them to distribute the funds to our various church agencies, we send directly to these agencies. With benevolence money sent to the South Dakota Synod main office, 43 percent is sent to the national ELCA.” explained John Kangas, a member of First Lutheran in Philip. “Our local congregation not only gives support to our Lutheran statewide mission groups, we also started funding local food banks and help for people’s prescription drugs.”

Shirley Kangas noted that this designated giving by individuals and congregations is resulting in more funds for actual ministry rather than for staff salaries at church headquarters. “At the Bear Butte Conference meeting in Rapid City on April 10, Bishop Zellmer spoke of the deficit of monies coming into the synod because congregations were sending their money to specific mission projects. Both the national ELCA and the South Dakota Synod are short in their budgets and had to lay off staff. The monies going directly from the congregations to the mission projects have increased more than they would have received from the synod,” she said.

ELCA national leaders have been encouraging synod leaders to take a hard line against congregations that seek to add an additional church affiliation.

In a January memo to synod bishops and vice presidents, ELCA Secretary David Swartling announced that the ELCA will not allow congregations to be members of more than one church body. He said that bishops could choose to discipline a congregation for affiliating with an additional church body.

Swartling’s announcement marked a change in the ELCA’s posture toward congregations that have more than one church body membership.

Some ELCA congregations have had dual affiliations with LCMC since 2001 with no conflict or threats of discipline from their synods. It is believed that Zellmer’s actions mark the first time a congregation has been disciplined for having dual affiliations, but a California synod announced April 1 that it is considering the possibility.

Zellmer announced April 10 at the Bear Butte Conference Assembly in Rapid City that he would seek to discipline any congregation that joins LCMC. He said that he made the decision based on conversations with other bishops at recent meetings of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.

Nearly 200 ELCA congregations — 11 in South Dakota — have joined LCMC since the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted in August 2009 to change ELCA teaching and policy to permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The significant number of congregations joining LCMC may explain the ELCA’s new tough stance against dual church body affiliations.

Most of those congregations voted to leave the ELCA at the same time. The four congregations that were censured by the bishop are the ones that didn’t vote to leave the ELCA. Some wonder if the bishop is trying to force the congregations to make a decision about whether or not to stay in the ELCA.

The actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly have caused conflict in many congregations in South Dakota. Many individuals and congregations are discerning whether they can in good conscience continue to be a part of the ELCA. Many are waiting to see what actions the South Dakota Synod Assembly will take in opposition to the ELCA’s reversal of its teaching and policies on same-sex relationships. Many are also waiting for the North American Lutheran Church to be constituted in August.

Lutheran CORE, an association of traditional Lutherans is aiding in the formation a new church body, the North American Lutheran Church, which is to be constituted Aug. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. Lutheran CORE will continue as “a community of confessing Lutherans, a way for traditional Lutherans to work together regardless of their church body affiliation.

The South Dakota Synod Assembly, the annual meeting of the synod, will consider resolutions expressing the synod’s opposition to the ELCA’s new teaching and policy when it meets June 11-12 in Rapid City. The assembly will also consider a resolution asking that the synod express its willingness to continue in shared ministry work with congregations in South Dakota that leave the ELCA because they believe the ELCA’s new policies violate the teaching of the Bible.

Susan Marone, assistant to the bishop, told Pastor Westerlund that Bishop Zellmer will be asking the South Dakota Synod Council about pursuing further disciplinary actions against her and the congregations. Censure is the least severe of the disciplinary actions that can be taken by the synod. The most severe would be expelling the congregations and pastor from the ELCA.

Bishop Zellmer is traveling in Africa May 2-14.

ELCA reinstating pastors removed for misconduct

2010-05-06T11:05:00.004-05:00

ELCA synods are moving quickly to reinstate pastors who were removed from the denomination’s clergy roster for violating the ELCA’s previous standards for pastors.

The ELCA announced in a May 4 press release that Bradley Schmeling and his same-sex partner Darin Easler have been approved for reinstatement as ELCA pastors.

Schmeling became a prominent leader in efforts to change ELCA teaching and policy after he was removed from the ELCA’s clergy roster in 2007 for entering into a same-sex sexual relationship with Easler.

At that time, the ELCA did not allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The ELCA reversed its teaching and policy on homosexual behavior in 2009.

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted in August to allow pastors to be in committed same-sex relationships. But the official changes reversing the ELCA standards for pastors regarding same-sex sexual behavior weren’t formally approved until April.

April 10, the ELCA Church Council deleted a sentence from its rules for pastors which stated that “the biblical understanding which this church affirms is that the normative setting for sexual intercourse is marriage.”

The ELCA Church Council also deleted a sentence which read: “Practicing homosexual persons are precluded from the ordained ministry of this church” from the ELCA’s “Definition and Guidelines for Discipline.”

A sentence which read: “Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships” was deleted from the ELCA’s “Vision and Expectations” for pastors.

Schmeling gained significant attention across the ELCA and in the news media. He became the face of the battle for changes in Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. He was featured at rallies and worship services led by groups working to overturn ELCA teaching and policy.

Schmeling was featured in a DVD advocating change in ELCA teaching and policy sent to all of voting members of the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. He preached at a worship service hosted by those seeking the reversal of ELCA teaching and policy at the 2007 assembly. Bishop Margaret Payne of the ELCA’s New England Synod presided at the controversial service.

Schmeling became a hero/martyr of sorts for the LGBT community. He was even grand marshal of a gay pride parade in Atlanta in 2007. LGBT groups rallied to support him and efforts to overturn ELCA teaching and policy.

The Human Rights Campaign — which describes itself as “the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization — celebrated the ELCA actions and noted the organization’s involvement in a May 4 posting on their website. “We provided Pastor Brad and the lay leadership of St. John’s Church with media training that helped them set the rhetorical frames for all communications that related to the trial . . . (and) helped the congregation maximize media opportunities that educated the nation about what was happening in the ELCA and kept pressure for change on the denomination.”

“We supported the work of Lutherans Concerned / North America as they advocated tirelessly for policy change in the ELCA by co-sponsoring conferences in which their members were trained for advocacy using language and approaches that were uniquely Lutheran. HRC is proud to have helped with the end game that culminated years of work on the part of Lutherans Concerned and the Goodsoil coalition,” the release said.

Organizations working for change in church teaching on homosexual behavior provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in support for efforts to overturn ELCA teaching policy. The Arcus Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund each provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of the successful efforts to change ELCA teaching and policy.

“The candidacy committee of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta, met April 24-25 and approved Schmeling’s request for reinstatement,” the ELCA news release said. Schmeling serves as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Atlanta.

“The candidacy committee of the ELCA Southeastern Minnesota Synod, Rochester, approved Easler’s request for reinstatement April 30,” the release says. Easler left his call as pastor of United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, Minn., in 2003. He transferred to the United Church of Christ, a denomination that allows pastors to be in same-sex relationships. He has been working as a hospice chaplain in Atlanta.

Lutheran Church in Tanzania affirms Biblical teaching on homosexual behavior and rejects changes in ELCA teaching and practice

2010-05-02T22:15:00.007-05:00

Following is an announcement from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania regarding the church's affirmation of Biblical teaching on homosexual behavior and its opposition to changes in church teaching and practice approved by the ELCA.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is the largest Lutheran church in Africa with 5.3 million members -- and the second largest church in the Lutheran World Federation. There are more than 18 million Lutherans in Africa. The ELCA has 4.6 million members.

Church rejects homosexuality

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) has reiterated her opposition to same-sex marriage and stated that those who are in such unions are not welcome to work in the ELCT because such practice is incompatible with Biblical teaching.

The ELCT Executive Council meeting, held in Moshi on April 27 to 28 this year, received and approved "The Dodoma Statement" prepared in January this year by the ELCT Bishops' Council. The bishops met in Dodoma to discuss in details steps to take after the decision of some European and American churches to recognize same-sex marriages.

The Statement says: "Those in same sex marriages, and those who support the legitimacy of such marriage, shall not be invited to work in the ELCT. We further reject their influence in any form, as well as their money and their support."

"This church affirms that love is the essence of a relationship between two people who live, or who want to live, together in marriage. But, with regard to married spouses, this is the love between two people of the opposite sex.

"This church does not accept reasons offered by advocates of same-sex marriage and its legitimacy unless it is based on the Word of God and Biblical teaching; therefore, we reject inappropriate and false interpretations of scripture produced to justify the marriage of people of the same gender.

"This church encourages and supports all those around the world who oppose churches that have taken the decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

"We appeal to those of like-mind with us to continue to be salt and light in our relationships. We should direct our energy into maintaining the unity and cooperation between us. Such unity will help us avoid falling into a state which would further injure the body of Christ, that is, the Church.

"We urge every believer in the ELCT to be very careful, alert and discerning lest they loose their faith in the face of this strange doctrine that could easily seduce people in this age of globalization.

"Those supporting same-sex marriages have started to do all they can to destroy one Biblical passage after another in order to legalize homosexuality and affirm that marriage is not necessarily between a man and a woman. They do so by putting forward their new and wrong interpretation - one which displays an attitude and understanding which differs from that which has existed for many years in the Church regarding the meaning of marriage in accordance with the teachings of the Word of God."

Some Bible passages that have been misused and given another interpretation to defend same-sex marriage are the following: Genesis 1:27-28, 2:24, Matt. 19: 5-7, Rom. 1:26-27, Gal. 3:28, etc.

The statement goes on to say: "The ELCT and other people worldwide who support our stand on the issue of opposing same-sex marriage believe that the Bible cannot be interpreted according to people's wishes or according to other authorities or to culture. Rather, the Bible is self explanatory and is merely translated into various languages without altering the meaning.

"The ELCT accepts that moral values may change among people as their situations change; however, ELCT believers know and believe that there are some things that cannot change, such as people having noses, ears and mouths.

"This church believes that, based on the teaching of the Word of God, there are values that cannot be adjusted even under the pressure of changing conditions and locations. One of these unwavering values concerns the issue of marriage and its meaning."

Issued by:
Office of the Secretary-General, ELCT

A comment about comments

2010-04-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all of you who have responded to entries on this blog over recent weeks.

The Lutheran CORE staff have been very busy connecting with people around the country. Somehow moderation of comments on the blog were forgotten.

Comments have been updated as of today.

April "CORE Connection" newsletter

2010-04-24T21:05:00.001-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE - April 2010 is now online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Lutheran CORE Convocation to move to larger facility.

+ Ecumenical representatives to attend historic Convocation.

+ ELCA finalizes changes in standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships.

+ “The View from the Upper Room” by Erma Wolf.

+ ELCA threatening discipline against congregations.

+ Lutherans in Africa are “extremely disturbed” by ELCA, Swedish actions on homosexual behavior.

+ Groups shaping NALC, Lutheran CORE.

+ Tonya Rike is new Lutheran CORE staff.

+ Gravity of situation created by ELCA sexuality votes by Dr. J. Larry Yoder.
Do the ELCA sexuality decisions rise to the level of error or heresy or apostasy?

ELCA threatening discipline against congregations

2010-04-22T16:58:00.004-05:00

Some ELCA synodical and churchwide leaders are taking a hard line and threatening to discipline congregations that choose to affiliate with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) or the proposed North American Lutheran Church (NALC).

The Southwest California Synod is taking steps toward disciplining two congregations that have joined LCMC while remaining in the ELCA. The synod’s actions could result in the congregations and their pastors being expelled from the ELCA.

The Southwest California Synod Council “voted to instruct Bishop Dean Nelson to call together the Synod Consultation Committee to address whether or not there is cause for disciplinary action against Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Torrance, and Christ Lutheran Church, Santa Clarita, and the clergy of both congregations,” the synod announced in a press release on Maundy Thursday (April 1).

“The Synod Council took this action upon learning that both congregations had recently voted to affiliate with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), while retaining their membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),” the synod’s release states.

Good Shepherd

The Rev. Bob Rognlien, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Torrence, Calif., one of the congregations under investigation by the synod, consulted with synod officials about their consideration of joining LCMC prior to their vote.
“We have always tried to work constructively with the synod to promote those aspects of the ELCA that reflect our missional values and priorities,” Pastor Rognlien explained.

“I asked Bishop Nelson to send me the references to those parts of the ELCA Constitution that prohibited dual affiliation. After conferring with the ELCA, Bishop Nelson confirmed my assertion that there are no such prohibitions,” he said. “The next communication I received from him was the letter informing me of the Synod Council’s action.”

“I know pastors in our synod whose congregations have been dual affiliated with the LCMC for years and the synod has never taken any action against them. They seem to have singled us and Christ Lutheran out to make an example of us in order to intimidate other congregations who are considering dual affiliation,” Pastor Rognlien said.

“I think it is a fear-based reaction that, sadly, is going to backfire on them and have the opposite effect,” he added.

“Although it is sad to see the ELCA moving in this direction and so many wonderful congregations torn apart, I am not worried or even upset about this action against us. We know that the life and mission of our congregation does not depend on human institutions or bureaucracies, but on the Word of God and the power of His Spirit. I want to encourage other pastors and church leaders not to be intimidated by the actions of the ELCA, but to follow your conscience as a certain German monk did 500 years ago,” Pastor Rognlien said.

“Remember what Jesus promised us, that nothing can prevail against a church founded on the rock of faith in Jesus Christ,” he added.

Instead of proceeding with the ELCA investigation, the congregation’s council and pastors unanimously decided April 12 that the 900-member congregation should begin the process of leaving the ELCA. They have set a vote for May 2.

“It is with sad and heavy hearts that we must write to you regarding leaving the ELCA. Our Synod recently began investigating whether our Pastors and Congregation should be disciplined for following our conscience on the teaching of God’s Word and dual affiliating with the LCMC. We believe this constitutes an attack on our integrity and a violation of the ELCA’s own stated commitments to allow congregations and pastors to follow their consciences. We are also concerned this action will result in a time-consuming distraction from our mission that will needlessly divert precious resources away from what God has called us to do. Our Pastors and Council believe that continued affiliation with the ELCA will compromise our biblical values and our missional purpose: making disciples and extending God’s Kingdom,” they wrote in an April 14 letter to the congregation.

“My biggest disappointment in all of this is that the bishop and Synod Council did not follow Jesus’ clear directive in Matthew 18 to talk directly to the person you feel has wronged you before you take public action against them. This would be so different if they had simply initiated a conversation about it with us first,” Pastor Rognlien explained.

Christ Lutheran

The story at Christ Lutheran Church in Santa Clarita, Calif., is similar.

“Our congregation voted at our annual meeting in January to join LCMC while remaining a part of the ELCA,” explained the Rev. Joe Campeau, pastor of the 1,300-member church.

“The bishop indicated at that time that David Swartling’s memo said that being a dual-member congregation was unacceptable. When asked if any congregation had ever been disci-plined for that decision, he indicated that it had never been the case.

“Our congregation voted by a 70 percent majority to join LCMC and also to withhold unrestricted benevolence to the synod while continuing to give restricted benevolence to ELCA-related ministries which we could in good conscience support,” he explained.

“The bishop expressed a desire to assist the small minority of our congregation who were dissatisfied with our vote and wished to leave. (Some people who disagreed with our annual meeting vote have opted to remain in the congregation.) He has been instrumental in helping those who wished to leave in their attempts to establish a new congregation in our area,” Pastor Campeau said.

“The leadership of our congregation is not intimidated by this action. While we do not intend to invest any significant amount of time in defending our actions, at the moment we will nominally cooperate with the process as a means of making our position clear and public, and as an encouragement to those congregations who may feel threatened by such actions. We stand confidently because we stand confident in our risen Lord and in his Word,” he said.

ELCA’s Hard Line

Since its 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA has been taking a hard line against congregations that seek to add an additional church body affiliation.

In a January memo to synod bishops and vice presidents, ELCA Secretary David Swartling announced that the ELCA will not allow congregations to be members of more than one church body. He said that bishops could choose to discipline a congregation for affiliating with another church body.

Swartling’s announcement marked a change in the ELCA’s posture toward congregations that have held dual membership in the ELCA and LCMC.

While serving as ELCA Presiding Bishop, the Rev. H. George Anderson was twice quoted by The Lutheran magazine, an ELCA publication, as stating that “dual congregations don’t pose a problem for the ELCA.”

More than 180 ELCA congregations have joined LCMC since the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The significant number of congregations joining LCMC may explain the ELCA’s tough stance against dual church body affiliations.

Some ELCA congregations have had dual affiliations with LCMC since 2001 with no conflict or threats of discipline from their synods. No congregation has yet been disciplined for having dual affiliations. But some bishops are now threatening to change that reality.

South Dakota Synod Bishop David Zellmer announced April 10 that he will seek to discipline any congregation that joins LCMC. Bishop Zellmer said that he made the decision based on conversations with other bishops at recent meetings of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.

ELCA News Service Director John Brooks downplayed the significance of the Southwest California Synod’s actions. “I think it’s important to note that this story from the Southwest California Synod is not an announcement about discipline. It’s an announcement which says the bishop was asked to convene some people to consider whether there should be some kind of discipline involving two congregations. That’s all it is,” Brooks said.

Dual affiliations OK in Florida

St. Peter Lutheran Church in Fort Pierce, Fla., has dual ELCA-LCMC affiliations, but they don’t want to remain affiliated with the ELCA. The Florida-Bahamas Synod Council decided in February that it will not allow the congregation to leave the ELCA even though the congregation voted unanimously in two required votes to end their ELCA affiliation.

Gravity of situation created by ELCA sexuality votes

2010-04-20T16:01:00.002-05:00

Do the ELCA sexuality decisions rise to the level of error or heresy or apostasy?

Following are excerpts from a paper reflecting on the significance of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly votes changing ELCA teaching and practice on same-sex sexual behavior. It was prepared by the Rev. Dr. J. Larry Yoder of Lenoir-Rhyne University for the WordAlone Network’s Theological Advisory Board. The entire paper is available online here.

By J. Larry Yoder
Lenoir-Rhyne University

The content of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly votes has been measured in different levels of gravity by various quarters in the church, from celebration in Goodsoil to affirmation and embrace at Higgins Road (ELCA churchwide offices).

Among those who reject the hegemony of autonomous man the yield is reckoned from “error” as least severe to “apostasy” as the most severe.

Error

To judge the yield of the votes as “error” is to argue that the recognition of committed, long-term public gay or lesbian unions, though contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures and the Church is, at that least level of severity, a circumstance that can be endured in other persons or parishes even if one does not embrace it locally, as person or congregation.

On this reading, the ELCA is at that point in error, in its embrace of heterodox teaching and practice. A congregation, or a pastor, or a layperson can continue in fellowship and roster, and simply agree to disagree.

This view of the ELCA assembly’s vote as “in error” does not require a radically “congregational” ecclesiology — at least no more radically congregational than the ELCA rubric that allows congre-gations to declare their willingness or unwillingness to accept the sort of clergy couple referenced in the vote.

In fact, at that level, one can argue that the ELCA vote has empowered congregations vis-à-vis synods, if not vis-à-vis Higgins Road.

That is, Higgins Road holds the policy cards, and will see to it that the “implementing resolutions” permeate the entire church structure. And congregations have the power to reject the vote locally, as to the clergy they will accept — as well as to the degree they remain tied to the ELCA in terms of offerings, curricula, bulletins, programs, beneficiaries . . . the option to accept or reject gay or lesbian clergy at the congregational level has empowered congregations, in principle, in multiples of other dimensions. And, to that degree, synods (and bishops) become much less relevant.

Heresy

There is about the vote and the policy a reckoning more severe: that the ELCA is, at that point, in heresy, though some disagree. Witness this view, from Pastor Richard Johnson, editor of Forum Letter: “Some (have gone) so far as to accuse the ELCA of heresy — a bit over the top, seems to me. Heresy generally involves a specific and overt repudiation of some key doctrine of Christian faith. What the ELCA has done is serious error, to be sure, but I don’t think it rises to the status of heresy.”

But what has occurred is an overt challenge to — and alteration of — the content of the Sixth Commandment.

Presupposed in the sixth is that “marriage is an holy estate, ordained of God and to be held in honor by those who enter therein.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife. And they twain shall become one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.’ What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Both the “ordained of God” and the “male and female” are normative as to marriage.

Adultery consists in sundry violations — actions, thoughts, imaginings, arrangements — of the normative conditions for the exercise of human sexuality: Violations apart from marriage (i.e., by those not married). Against marriage (overt adultery). Other than marriage (something not male and female).

God made us male and female, and ordained marriage for the purpose of bringing forth and nurturing children, for love and companionship, and for lifelong fidelity.

Thus what precisely occurred in the Minneapolis vote is a direct challenge to both the content and authority of the Sixth Commandment.

Apostasy

But more than that, the vote, in challenging the content and authority of the Sixth Commandment, challenges also, and more significantly, the First Commandment. That is, it challenges the authority of God to make any commandments whatsoever. I argue that such a challenge is an “overt repudiation of … (a) key doctrine of the Christian faith.” To challenge the authority of God gets at the source of the matter.

There is more. The Minneapolis vote regarding gay and lesbian clergy assaults all three articles of the Apostles Creed.

It challenges what constitutes — and belongs in — God’s good creation. At no point do the Holy Scriptures acknowledge (much less assert) that homosexual relations reside in Genesis chapters 1 & 2. The debate is precisely that fundamental: that homosexual behavior or relations are part and parcel of Genesis 3 and beyond. In the Minneapolis vote, the first article of the creed is challenged by expansion . . . as to what constitutes God’s good creation.

And likewise the second article vis-à-vis the redemption resident in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If homosexual relationships are part and parcel of life in Christ, then no repentance is needed for the relationship, per se . . . only for sins otherwise committed in it, or during it, or before it, or after it.

What the church has previously taught, based on the teaching of the Holy Scripture, is that the church does not bless, or accept, that kind of relationship. One does not need to repent of marriage . . . only for sins he or she commits within the marriage, or apart from the marriage. For marriage is an holy estate, ordained of God.

The Minneapolis move incorporates into the “God blessed” category a relationship not acceptable to Holy Scripture — and introduces a relationship that does not immediately, in itself, require repentance and amendment of life.

And again the third article, like unto the second: how one lives his or her life in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is now expanded to include a category of intimate human relationship universally scorned by Holy Scripture in all its manifestations.

So on this read, the Minneapolis vote challenges specifically the content of the Sixth Commandment and, moreover, the First Commandment — the authority of God to command in such fashion whatsoever . . . as well as all three articles of the creed as to creation, redemption, and sanctification.

That’s not simply heresy (specific and overt repudiation of some key doctrine).

The cumulative rejection of Creed and Commandments amounts to apostasy . . . an overt repudiation of the faith, while still claiming allegiance to the faith, believing that the innovation is itself consistent with the received faith. Such is the gravitas of the situation.

The Rev. Dr. J. Larry Yoder is Professor of Religion and chair of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., and director of its Center for Theology.

He serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Newton, N.C., a member congregation of Lutheran CORE.

He also serves on the Theological Advisory Board of the WordAlone Network, one of the renewal movements that comprise Lutheran CORE.

African Lutherans are ‘extremely disturbed’ by ELCA, Swedish actions on homosexual behavior

2010-04-11T21:50:00.004-05:00

Leaders of Lutheran churches in Africa are expressing opposition to the actions of the ELCA in affirming homosexual behavior. They note that the decisions by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly and by the Lutheran Church of Sweden have damaged the relationship between churches in the Lutheran World Federation.

In a message prepared for the 2010 gathering of the Lutheran World Federation, the African church leaders said: “We are extremely disturbed and deeply regret the recent developments taking place in some member churches of the communion who have taken unilateral decision on same sex marriages, disregarding the strong sentiments expressed by other members of the communion. This unilateral action has negatively impacted our life together as a communion, something which could have been avoided.”

The leaders of the 18.5 million Lutherans in Africa met March 24-28 in Abuja, Nigeria, to prepare the statement.

“We strongly affirm our decision taken in Lund in 2007 that ‘marriage is holy, ordained by God and is a relationship between a man and woman.’ Therefore, the majority of African member churches say ‘NO’ to homosexual acts and regard it to be sinful,” the message says.

“We pray for the Spirit of discernment and for the grace of God to abound as we seek to resolve these issues.”

The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) noted his church’s opposition to the actions of the ELCA in his Easter sermon.

“ELCT has refused to recognize the decision to allow same-sex marriages because it is against the Holy Bible. It is in direct contravention of God’s Word, which has not changed,” Bishop Alex G. Malasusa told worshipers at the Azania Front Church in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He said that the ELCA and the Church of Sweden have strayed from the Scriptures, and it was up to Africa to bring them back into line.

The bishop’s comments were reported by The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper. The newspaper reported that Bishop Malasusa said that Tanzania and Africa had taken a common stand on the issue and would not waver.

“It’s time Africa preached to the rest of the world and remind them of God’s Word because it seems they have forgotten what the Bible says,” Malasusa said. The newspaper reported that the worshipers responded to the bishop’s words with cheers.

“To avoid undue influence from the U.S. and Sweden, Bishop Malasusa urged the church in Tanzania and across Africa to strive for financial and economic independence,” the news report said.

“We should be independent so that they don’t use their money and wealth to threaten us . . . we should leave them with their money and stick to the Word of God,” he said.

With 5.3 million members, the ELCT is the second largest Lutheran Church in the Lutheran World Federation and the largest Lutheran church in Africa. The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in Ethiopia is the third largest Lutheran Church in the world with more than 5.27 million.

The national Church of Sweden is the largest church body in the LWF with 6.75 million members. The ELCA is the fourth largest with 4.6 million members.

According to an April 7 news release, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson said the ELCA does “not use financial resources to coerce global companions.”

New Bible Study from Sola Publishing

2010-04-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

Looking for a resource to help discuss the biblical and theological issues at stake in the Church today?

Sola Publishing has produced a seven session Bible Study titled “We Still Believe” to examine key issues of faith and doctrine. Based around the seven articles of the Common Confession (the shared faith statement of Lutheran Core and the WordAlone Network), the study would serve as an excellent tool to be used by pastors, lay-leaders, and congregations in discussing the theological issues that are at stake within Lutheran denominations in our present day.

The study represents the historical Christian position on these issues, and focuses on the biblical basis for what Lutherans have believed and taught for centuries. An accompanying Leader’s Guide is available as well, featuring essays by members of the Lutheran Core Steering Committee.

Click www.solapublishing.org to go to the Sola Publishing website for more information, and for a downloadable sample of the study.

The Main Thing

2010-03-31T23:18:00.005-05:00

"Keep the main thing the main thing."

Those were the words of Ryan Schwarz of the Lutheran CORE steering committee to the Churchwide Assembly last August. As he stood addressing the voting members during the election process for the position of Vice-President of the ELCA, he emphasized that his role would be to help the ELCA in keeping the main thing the main thing.

Here, this week, we are all called to do that. And this is a reminder, to myself as well as to whoever reads this blog, of what the true main thing is. It is Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world so that all people might be saved. And we, if we are to indeed keep the main thing the main thing, must follow him, watch and wait and pray with him, have our feet washed and be fed by him, stand in silent horror as he is crucified in our place, take his broken body down from the cross and place it in the silent tomb of the dead, and roll the stone over the place where he is laid. And then we must wait, for what God may choose to do with what is so really, truly, sincerely dead.

This week, above all else, it is about Jesus. It is not about us. It is not about the problems and works and disagreements of this time in the life and history of the ELCA. It is not about our issues, our needs, our triumphs and our losses. Those are real, and they must be dealt with, lived with, worked with. But not this week. Not in this hour.

This hour belongs to Jesus. We must set aside all else, and ponder what our Lord does for those who do not know him, do not recognize or receive him, who instead spitefully and deceitfully use and abuse him. Our Lord prays forgiveness for those who betray, torture and kill him. And you and I and all those we love and all those we hate and all those we fail to recognize as part of the Body (and all those who fail to recognize us) are among those who our Lord receives, as his arms are opened wide upon the cross.

This week, Jesus finally and decisively turns his back upon all the temptations presented to him by Satan -- to be relevant, to be spectacular, to be important -- and he enters Jerusalem to what he knows will be his death. And nothing that we in the Church do is more important than following him as he goes to carry his cross to that lonely hill outside the city walls. The world will never understand why we would do this, why we waste so much time, treasure and energy on the liturgy and ritual involved in the observing of Holy Week, the Three Days, and the Feast of the Resurrection. Imagine all the practical things we could get done, all the good that could be accomplished, all the political agendas that could be set in motion with all that wasted time and energy and finances! And that is the temptation we must resist, to think that somehow serving our own agendas and priorities are more important or can take the place of silently, prayerfully, being witnesses to the death of our Savior.

For this is where we as the church belong. We who are the Body of Christ, we are, to the world, a dead criminal hanging on a tree. We are an enormous waste of time, and talent, and treasure. We are those who are better off dead, and buried, with Jesus. We are better off in the grave, which we entered through baptism, than running around attending to our lists and causes. For when we are dead in Christ, we are promised resurrected life with him as he, the first-fruits, rises again.

So set aside all your plans, all your itineraries. For these next few days, if only for them, sit with all those other sinners, known and unknown, who are marked with the cross of Christ. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Your sin. My sin. Taken away.

And know the gift of God's peace.

March "CORE Connection"

2010-03-17T21:58:00.002-05:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE – March 2010 is now available.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Reconfiguration proposal receiving positive responses.
Proposal recommends new Lutheran church and continuation of Lutheran CORE.

+ Synod won’t let Florida congregation leave ELCA
In spite of two unanimous votes to leave ELCA, Synod Council refuses to let them go.

+ “Charitable Behavior” by Pastor Mark C. Chavez.

+ “Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism” is the theme of Lutheran CORE theological conference.

+ “I Think I Finally Get It” by By Pastor Erma Wolf.

+ LCMC, WordAlone Network to host events in April.

+ ELCA churchwide funding reaches “historic low.”

+ Conference asks that Lutheran CORE members be prohibited from holding offices in NE Iowa Synod.

+ ELCA releases draft of revised standards for pastors.

+ Bishops moving quickly to receive persons in same-sex relationships ordained in defiance of ELCA standards; Synod has already approved prominent proponent of changing ELCA teaching.

+ ELCA Board of Pensions approves benefits for same-sex couples; ELCA council to act in April.

Synod won’t let Florida congregation leave ELCA

2010-03-12T16:53:00.003-06:00

The members of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Fort Pierce, Fla., voted unanimously in two required votes to end their affiliation with the ELCA. But their synod won’t let them go.

The Florida-Bahamas Synod Council decided during its Feb. 26-27 meeting that it will not allow the 105-member congregation to leave the ELCA. St. Peter received notification of the decision on March 11.

The synod is exercising its authority under a provision in ELCA constitutions that requires congregations which were affiliated with the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) prior to the ELCA’s formation “to receive synodical approval before terminating their membership” in the ELCA.

This is believed to be the first time that a synod has refused to allow a congregation that has followed the required procedures and attained the necessary votes to leave the ELCA.

The Rev. Ted Rice, pastor of St. Peter, said he thinks the actions of the synod council show the desperation of ELCA leaders in responding to congregations that are leaving the ELCA. “I think the synod and the national are saying, ‘We better try something,’” he said. “If the ELCA wants to keep us on the rolls, let them keep us on the rolls. It won’t affect us.” St. Peter has already joined another church body, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).

ELCA Secretary David Swartling has announced that the ELCA will not allow congregations to be members of more than one church body. It is not known how St. Peter’s dual affiliation will be handled by ELCA officials.

The Rev. Edward R. Benoway, bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, said that the Synod Council’s decision was made for reasons of mission, given the potential for mission in the area where the church is located. “We’re hoping to build a relationship. It’s going to be a difficult road, no doubt,” he said.

Revised drafts of ELCA standards for pastors are released

2010-03-05T08:58:00.007-06:00

The ELCA has released proposed drafts of its revised standards for pastors and other rostered leaders. The drafts amend the ELCA’s standards to allow pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex sexual relationships, implementing the changes in ELCA teaching and policy made by the ELCA’s 2009 Church-wide Assembly.

The changes to the documents — called "Vision and Expectations" and "Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline" — are expected to be approved by the ELCA Church Council at its April 9-12 meeting. The drafts were reviewed by the ELCA bishops at their March 5-9 meeting.

Marriage no longer normative setting for sexual relations

A sentence which stated that “the biblical understanding which this church affirms is that the normative setting for sexual intercourse is marriage” has been deleted from “Definition and Guidelines.” Also deleted was a sentence which read: “Practicing homosexual persons are precluded from the ordained ministry of this church.”

No Christian ideals of marriage?

A sentence in “Definitions and Guidelines” that asked pastors to uphold “Christian ideals of marriage” has been changed to read “this church’s ideals of marriage, family and relationship.” This may be an acknowledgment of divisions in the ELCA about what constitute “Christian ideals of marriage.”

Marriage vs. Same-gender relationships?

The “Vision and Expectations” draft tries to make a distinction between “marriage” — “between one man and one woman” — and “publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.” The draft includes the proposed definition of a “publicly accountable lifelong, mono-gamous same-gender relationship.”

Clear changes in ELCA practice but provision for dissenters?

The “Vision and Expectations” draft illustrates the difficult situation facing the ELCA as a result of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly actions: The document enacts changes in official teaching and practice but includes an acknowledgment that the ELCA “also has committed itself to make provision in its policies to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church should not call or roster people in such relationships.”

Required political positions and pastors care?

The “Vision and Expectations” draft also includes this paragraph that may prove difficult for pastors who uphold traditional Biblical teaching on homo-sexual behavior because it is open to wide interpretation and may be interpreted as requiring pastors to take certain political stances or to exercise pastoral care in ways that may violate their “bound consciences:”

“This church is committed to opposing all forms of harassment and assault based on sexual orientation and gender identity and supports legislation and policies to protect civil rights and to prohibit discrimination. An ordained minister is expected to welcome and provide pastoral care for all, including same gender couples and their families,” the document states.

Faithfulness to Scripture, Lutheran Confessions and Christian tradition?

The proposed draft retains the wording of the current “Vision and Expectations” entitled “Faithfulness to the Church’s Confession” without changes. Some have called attention to the following statement as challenging the ELCA’s new teaching and practice regarding same-sex sexual behavior:

“Ordained ministers of this church are to confess and teach the authoritative and normative character of the Scriptures ‘as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life’ (ELCA Constitution, 2.03). The ecumenical creeds are to be taught as true declarations of the faith of this church. The Lutheran Confessions are to be acknowledged as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the Holy Scriptures.

“In identifying specific documents as normative for preaching and teaching, this church expects its ordained ministers to understand that the faith of the church is corporate, not individualistic; catholic, not sectarian; orthodox, not heretical. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America expects that its ordained ministers teach nothing ‘that departs from the Scriptures or the catholic Church’ (Conclusion to the Augsburg Confession).”

I Think I've Got It!

2010-02-22T12:06:00.002-06:00

I think I understand what Lutheran CORE is trying to do, and become. In other words, I think I have finally got it. (Thank you, Henry Higgins, for those words.)

Wait a minute, you might be thinking. She's on the steering committee for Lutheran CORE. What does she mean by saying that she thinks she understands? What didn't she get before now?

Well, here it is. What I truly didn't understand was that the biggest part of Lutheran CORE's goal of a "reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism" was the reconfiguration of Lutheran CORE itself.

In other words, I was confusing the work of the task force working on a vision for a new, different Lutheran denomination with what Lutheran CORE is now about. But I think I have a lot of company. I think most people, including ELCA bishops, congregations, pastors and laypeople, and even those of us inside Lutheran CORE, got confused. Which shouldn't surprise any of us, since the last six - eight months have been so traumatic, even at times chaotic. It takes a while for order to start to emerge. But let me start to explain. (And this is the first of several posts on this whole matter. More will come!)

What we all need to realize is that Lutheran CORE, as a Coalition for Reform of the ELCA, died on the floor of the Churchwide Assembly in August of 2009. I think for me it died on Friday afternoon, with the passage of the fourth ministry recommendation. For others the death might have come earlier in the week, perhaps on Wednesday with the passage of the social statement, or even on Monday evening after the first plenary. But definitely by Friday it was indeed most really and sincerely dead. In fact, I think our gathering that night with other supporters was our form of a wake.

However, after death comes resurrection, God willing. And that is what is happening with Lutheran CORE. No longer about reform, but about renewal. No longer focused on the political workings of the ELCA, but on the mission and ministry of upholding a traditionalist, confessional, Biblical Lutheran identity in the one Church catholic.

Lutheran CORE is emerging as a "free-standing synod"/association that is pan-Lutheran. It is not attempting to become a "non-geographical synod" within the ELCA; we don't want that, and even if we tried, it wouldn't get approved. It is not a denomination (yes, the task force is proposing a new denomination, but that is a different matter; more on that later on). And most critically, it is not a split-off from the ELCA, or from any other Lutheran denomination for that matter. Lutheran CORE, now about renewal not reform, no longer sees it's reason for existing as reforming the ELCA. Reform may very well happen in the ELCA, and maybe even the kind of reform that Lutheran CORE had worked for in the past. (With God, nothing is impossible.) If it does, I for one will rejoice. But that is not why Lutheran CORE exists.

A pan-Lutheran, free-standing synod that is independent of any denomination but that works with individuals, groups, congregations (hopefully) in any of them, and maybe, someday, in all of them, is something we have not seen before. It will be a way for all those who are struggling to maintain and give voice to traditional, confessional, Biblical Lutheran identity to find connections with one another, without asking for or requiring anyone to leave their individual Lutheran denominations in order to work with one another.

This is an idea that we should be willing to at least entertain. And it is an idea that I am really getting excited about. Doing this does not require any particular Lutheran denomination to rise or fall. Even the task force's vision and proposal for a "North American Lutheran Church" can succeed or fail on its own. Lutheran CORE can and may encourage such a development for those that say they need and want such a new body; but Lutheran CORE does not need a new denomination in order for Lutheran CORE to exist, and indeed flourish.

I'll write more about this in a few days. Just let me say, it feels good to finally start to see and understand the big picture for Lutheran CORE. This "free-standing synod/association" thing is finally starting to make sense.

Pastor Erma Wolf

Lutheran CORE releases proposal for reconfiguration of Lutheranism

2010-02-18T09:21:00.004-06:00

Lutheran CORE releases proposal for reconfiguration of Lutheranism
Proposal recommends new Lutheran church and continuation of Lutheran CORE

Leaders of Lutheran CORE released a proposal for the reconfiguration of Lutheranism in North America on Thursday, Feb. 18. The proposal calls for the continuation of Lutheran CORE as “a community of confessing Lutherans” and for the formation of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), a new Lutheran church body.

Lutheran CORE’s national Convocation Sept. 25-26, 2009, in Fishers, Ind., asked that a proposal for the “reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism” be prepared and brought to Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation Aug. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. The proposal released Feb. 18 is a response to that request. It was released now so that Lutheran CORE members can provide input to aid in drafting the proposals that will be considered by the 2010 Convocation.

“We are committed to maintaining the unity of as many faithful Lutherans in North America as possible,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., who chaired the Vision and Planning Working Group that created the proposal.

Many individuals and congregations are considering whether or not to remain affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) because of what they see as the ELCA’s continued drift from the teachings of the Bible and traditional Christianity. “These proposals are a way for those who uphold traditional Christian teaching — both those who are leaving the ELCA to join the NALC or another body, and those who will remain in the ELCA — to work together,” Schwarz explained.

“There are deep divisions in the ELCA as a result of the Churchwide Assembly’s recent actions,” he added.

The actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August to affirm same-sex sexual relationships and to allow pastors and other rostered leaders to be in those relationships in spite of the teaching of the Bible have been seen by many ELCA members as evidence that the Bible no longer functions as the ultimate norm for the faith and life of the ELCA. Similar concerns are being expressed about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).

“These proposals are a way for Lutherans to move forward in carrying out the true mission of the Christian Church — which is sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ — while leaving behind past struggles to reform the ELCA,” Schwarz explained.

North American Lutheran Church
“Confessing Lutherans have raised their voices over the past several months, asking for a church body which is faithful in its preaching and practice to the Holy Bible and to the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions. Lutheran CORE has heard these requests and, in response, now proposes to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC),” the proposal explains.

“The NALC is being established in response to those members and friends of Lutheran CORE who have expressed a preference for completely withdrawing from the ELCA or ELCIC. They are looking for a new Lutheran church body which stands in the tradition of the Church, is denominationally structured for leadership, oversight and accountability, enhances representative governance by congregations and affirms and supports ministry and mission at the congregational level.”

The NALC and Lutheran CORE will function cooperatively in shared ministry and mission. To express and build unity amongst their respective members, most ministries of the two bodies will be carried out jointly: domestic and global evangelism, theological education, and human service.

Lutheran CORE
“Lutheran CORE affirms that both staying in and leaving the ELCA and ELCIC can be faithful courses for confessing Lutherans. We envision a reconfiguration that maintains the highest degree of ongoing unity and cooperation possible among those who leave and those who stay,” the document states. “A primary vehicle for this unity will be the continuing ministry of Lutheran CORE, reconfigured as an association of confessing Lutherans spanning denominational bodies.”

“Lutheran CORE intends to be a community of Lutherans who acknowledge that Scripture is the only and final authority in matters of faith and life, and who accept the Lutheran Confessions as a faithful and trustworthy witness to the Word of God. It will be composed of individuals, congregations, partner renewal movements and church bodies, including the NALC, who agree with its constitution,” the proposal explains.

“Lutheran CORE is not becoming the NALC. It is aiding in the formation of this new church body,” explained the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of Lutheran CORE’s Steering Committee and a member of the working group that prepared the proposal.

“Lutheran CORE will continue as an association of confessing Lutherans spanning denominational bodies. Lutheran CORE will serve those in the ELCA, those in the NALC, and hopefully those in other Lutheran church bodies such as LCMC who share a commitment to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions,” explained Spring, the retired bishop of the ELCA’s Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. “The NALC will provide a church body for those who choose to leave the ELCA.”

Four Key Attributes
The proposal outlines four “key attributes” of both Lutheran CORE and the NALC: “Christ-Centered,” “Mission-Driven,” “Traditionally-Grounded,” and “Congregationally-Focused.”
“The vision statement’s commitment to prioritize making disciples of Christ in congregations, communities and in all nations is key. That’s the ‘main thing’ and if Christian churches don’t do it, no one else will,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.

“The people who drafted the proposals for Lutheran CORE and the NALC come from several different backgrounds and traditions in North American Lutheranism. They are united in a common confession of the Christian faith and commitment to submit to the authority of God’s Word over all matters of faith and life. That’s hopeful and exciting,” Chavez said.

The proposal was drafted by an eight-member working group. It was reviewed and approved by Lutheran CORE’s Steering Committee and its Advisory Council of theologians and church leaders.

Members of the Vision and Planning Task Force are two lay people: Schwarz and Carolyn Nestingen, Dallas, Ore.; four ELCA pastors: the Revs. Cathi Braasch, Smithfield, Neb.; Dan Selbo, San Jose, Calif.; David Glesne, Fridley, Minn.; and Mike Tavella, Abington, Pa.; and two retired ELCA bishops: Spring and the Rev. Ronald Warren, Grove City, Ohio, former bishop of the ELCA’s Southeastern Synod.

“It is fitting that these proposals are being announced on the day that the Lutheran church remembers the great reformer Martin Luther. Luther brought new life and renewal to the church of his day. We pray that God will use these proposals to bring new life and renewal to the church of our day,” Spring said.

Feb. 18 is the date on Lutheran church calendars for the commemoration of Martin Luther as a renewer of the Christian Church. Luther died Feb. 18, 1546.

Congregations already leaving ELCA
Congregations around the country are already taking votes on whether to leave the ELCA. ELCA Secretary David Swartling reported that, as of Feb. 3, 220 congregations in 49 of the ELCA’s 65 synods have taken votes to leave the ELCA.

Two votes at least 90 days apart — each receiving a two-thirds majority — are required for a congregation to end its affiliation with the ELCA. Swartling reported that 156 congregations attained the required two-thirds majority on their first vote. Twenty-eight congregations already have taken their second vote. All of those votes attained the two-thirds majority for the congregation to leave the ELCA.

Several congregations have had a significant majority vote to leave the ELCA but failed to reach the two-thirds majority, increasing the crisis and division in those congregations.

Many ELCA congregations are facing divisions among their members and financial difficulties as a result of the ELCA assembly’s actions. Revenues to the ELCA churchwide organization and to many synods have decreased as congregations have chosen to redirect their benevolence giving to ministries other than the ELCA.

Additional information and the proposal draft are online at www.lutherancore.org.

ELCA taking hard line against those who dissent from actions on sexuality or redirect benevolence giving

2010-02-09T08:41:00.002-06:00

Some ELCA synodical and churchwide leaders are taking a hard line and threatening disciplinary action in dealing with pastors and congregations expressing opposition to the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly changing ELCA teaching and practice on sexual ethics to affirm same-sex sexual relationships and to allow pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex relationships.

Many ELCA congregations have chosen to redirect their benevolence giving away from the ELCA churchwide organization because they believe the actions of the assembly violate the clear teaching of the Bible and the ELCA Constitution which states that the Bible is “the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of (the church’s) proclamation, faith, and life.” The changes in benevolence giving have resulted in some cuts in churchwide and synodical budgets.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly committed the ELCA to “respect the bound consciences of all.” But some ELCA leaders have had difficulty respecting those whose “bound consciences” have chosen other ways of supporting the mission of Christ in the world than undesignated giving to the churchwide organization.

A Jan. 19 memo from ELCA Secretary David Swartling to synod bishops and vice presidents suggests that congregations could be disciplined and removed from the ELCA if they do not fully and financially support the churchwide organization.

“If it fails to live up to the commitments contained in the governing documents of this church, the congregation necessarily breaches the partnership relationships that are foundational in this church. It thus jeopardizes its standing on the roster of ELCA congregations,” Swartling states. “A congregation that repudiates its constitutional commitments to this church is subject to discipline.”

Some ELCA officials have said that congregations that choose the recipients of their giving beyond their congregation and have redirected some of their benevolence giving to ministries other than the ELCA churchwide organization are “withholding” financial support that the ELCA is entitled to receive. Congregations determine their budgets and the amounts to be sent for ministry beyond their congregation.

A January “Q & A” being used by several synods says, “Is it permissible for congregations to withhold mission support? No. Withholding mission support is unconstitutional and violates the governing documents of the church.”

The “Q & A” document also insists that a synod bishop is entitled to determine all aspects of a required consultation period between a congregation considering ending its ELCA affiliation and its synod bishop. “The bishop leads and is responsible for all aspects of the consultation. . . . The bishop determines how the consultation will be conducted, who participates, how many meetings or forums are necessary, whether mailings are sent, etc.” It also states that the bishop will involve ELCA lawyers in the process “to ensure legality and good order.”

Some bishops have required extensive consultation processes with congregations considering changing their church affiliation. They have approached the process in an adversarial fashion rather than in a pastoral and consultative manner seeking to help a congregation make the best decision given its realities.

In a Dec. 19 story, The Washington Times described what it called “bullying” by ELCA officials against pastors and congregations that do not support the ELCA’s new teaching and policy regarding same-sex sexual relationships. The article highlighted situations in two Illinois synods. Similar stories have come from other parts of the country.

The adversarial approach has not been shared by all ELCA bishops. Some synod bishops have been gracious and understanding in working with congregations that have “bound consciences” that make it difficult for them to provide unquestioning financial support for the ELCA churchwide organization. Some synods have found ways for congregations to give designated gifts to their synod and to some ELCA ministries through the synod.

Some bishops have also been gracious and served in a truly consulting role in working with congregations that are considering the possibility of ending their affiliation with the ELCA.

ELCA Secretary says congregations may not have dual church affiliations in spite of 22 years of allowing it

2010-02-03T09:19:00.003-06:00

ELCA churchwide leaders are trying to discourage congregations from affiliating with other Lutheran church bodies while maintaining their ELCA affiliation.

“‘Dual Rostering’ of ordained ministers and congregations is impermissible under the Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,” ELCA Secretary David D. Swartling said in a Jan. 19 memo to synod bishops and vice presidents.

The ELCA Secretary’s pronouncement fails to note that there have been ELCA congregations with more than one church body affiliation for nearly all of the ELCA’s history.

Several ELCA congregations held dual membership in the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod from the ELCA’s founding until 1998 when the LCMS asked those congregations to choose one church body affiliation. Some ELCA congregations still maintain dual affiliation with the LCMS. For example, Lutheran Church of Arcata in Arcata, Calif., and Palisades Lutheran Church in Pacific Palisades, Calif., continue to have dual ELCA-LCMS affiliation.

The Lutheran Church of Guam, a congregation in Hagatna, Guam, maintained a dual LCMS-ELCA affiliation until 2009 when it voted to end its ELCA affiliation following the actions of the 2009 ELCA Church-wide Assembly. The congregation is now affiliated with the LCMS and Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).

Several ELCA congregations have been members of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ since 2001. LCMC lists more than 30 ELCA congregations as members of LCMC.

While serving as Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, the Rev. H. George Anderson was quoted by The Lutheran magazine, an ELCA publication, as stating that “dual congregations don’t pose a problem for the ELCA.”

The ELCA Constitution (9.31) states that “Congregations of this church shall have authority in all matters that are not assigned by the constitution and bylaws of this church to synods and the churchwide organization.”

Neither the ELCA churchwide nor synodical constitutions prohibit a congregation being affiliated with two different church bodies. Congregations have the constitutional authority to make decisions regarding their own affiliations based on the reservation of authority provision in the ELCA constitution.

Swartling’s memo notes that “although an express prohibition does not exist, the governing documents of this church do not authorize congregations to join an additional church body.”

Swartling builds his case that a congregation cannot hold more than one church body affiliation on the statement that ELCA congregations “agree to support the life and work of this church.” He determines that a congregation with more than one affil-iation cannot fully support the ELCA.

“Evaluating what constitutes ‘support for the life and work of this church’ on the part of a congregation requires an assessment of both these and other provisions in the governing documents, and also an analysis of the actual practices of the congregation. If a congregation chooses to be on the roster of another church body, it implicitly is repudiating the interdependent relationship that exists among expressions of the ELCA. If it fails to live up to the commitments contained in the governing documents of this church, the congregation necessarily breaches the partnership relationships that are foundational in this church. It thus jeopardizes its standing on the roster of ELCA congregations,” Swartling states.

“The judgment on whether a congregation has breached its commitment to support the life and work of this church is made by the synod in whose territory the congregation is located,” the memo states. “A congregation that repudiates its constitutional commitments to this church is subject to discipline.”

Some congregations may choose to express their “bound conscience” and to accept discipline as a way to leave the ELCA rather than to vote on ending their ELCA affiliation.

That approach would eliminate any concerns about church property. The ELCA Constitution states that “Title to the property of a congregation that is no longer recognized by this church as a result of discipline shall continue to reside in the congregation” (9.71.d).

Synod staff not allowed to quote Scripture??

2010-01-30T10:55:00.002-06:00

Here's a fascinating quote from the comments to a St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press story on the ELCA sexuality-decision crisis:

"When our church had a meeting about this, 2 members of the Synod came out to give information. When it came to question time, and what the Bible says, they (the Synod representatives) said we were not allowed to quote Scripture, as the Bible is open to interpretation."

So much for Scripture being the "source and norm" of the church's proclamation, faith and life when synod staff are not allowed to quote Scripture.

Let's hope that this person misunderstood the staff. My fear is that the synod staff actually said this.

Here's the link.

Leaders of Lutheran groups meet, pledge cooperation and support

2010-01-27T21:27:00.000-06:00

Leaders of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, Lutheran CORE and the WordAlone Network met jointly in a Minneapolis suburb in mid-January to discuss and coordinate their ministry to individuals and churches seeking biblical, confessional, Lutheran teaching and practice.

The three groups were founded over the past 15 years because the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been moving away from accepting the Bible as its final source of authority in decision making.

This trend away from the Bible’s authority was seen most recently in the ELCA’s August 2009 assembly votes to accept committed homosexual relationships and to allow practicing homosexuals to serve as ordained and professional lay ministers, according to confessional Lutherans.

(Confessional Lutherans accept the Bible as the sole, divine source and norm for all Christian teaching and endorse the 1580 Book of Concord—the statement of Lutheran doctrines—as being accurate interpretations of Holy Scripture. The Bible repeatedly condemns sexual relationships outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.)

Some ELCA members and churches are leaving the denomination because of this drift from the authority of the Bible. Others are staying in the ELCA but are protesting the assembly votes, some by withholding financial giving.

William Drew, chair of the WordAlone Board of Directors, Spokane, Wash., noted the three confessional groups discussed during their meeting a cohesive approach to address the needs of Lutherans seeking faithful ways to move forward in a reconfigured North American Lutheranism.

WordAlone is changing its direction from having worked to renew the ELCA for almost 15 years to serving confessional individuals and churches, whether they stay in or leave the ELCA, by providing educational resources, pastoral care, fellowship opportunities and teaching by confessional theologians.

“The LCMC Board of Trustees very much appreciated the opportunity to sit down with the board of WordAlone and with the working group from Lutheran CORE,” said the Rev. William Sullivan, LCMC service coordinator, Canton, Mich. “What emerged from the meeting was a strong consensus that we all share the same goal of a Word-centered, mission-driven Lutheran presence in North America. All agreed that each group has a particular niche to fill in the years ahead.”

LCMC, constituted in March of 2001, is an association of 297 Lutheran congregations in eight countries and 38 states, working together to fulfill Christ's Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations. Since August, 2009, LCMC’s ranks have swelled by 74 congregations departing the ELCA.

Ryan Schwarz, the chair of Lutheran CORE’s Vision and Planning Working Group, Washington, D.C., said, “We were particularly pleased to find consensus that Lutheran CORE and LCMC are ‘fraternal twins’ traveling on ‘parallel tracks,’ with both benefitting greatly from the contributions of WordAlone. We look forward to the prospect of substantial cooperation in mission and ministry with LCMC, and continued collaboration with WordAlone, as we move forward.”

He added, “WordAlone was instrumental in the founding of both LCMC and Lutheran CORE, and its varied ministries are critical to Lutheran CORE’s efforts to catalyze a reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism.”

At its annual meeting in 2010, Lutheran CORE intends to constitute a new Lutheran church body and to reorganize the ongoing ministry of Lutheran CORE as an independent federation of confessional centrist Lutherans both within and outside of the ELCA, Schwarz said. The recent meeting included the first formal discussions between leadership of LCMC and Lutheran CORE.

Support Haiti Relief: Give to the ELCA

2010-01-20T07:39:00.004-06:00

I have been following the reporting on the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Like many, if not most of you, I have been praying for those who are caught in this terrible situation, as well as for those who are scrambling to bring aid and relief to the hundreds of thousands of survivors. And like many, I am proud of the reputation of Lutheran relief agencies in responding to this kind of disaster. We have "boots on the ground," through the Lutheran World Federation, Lutheran World Relief, and the companion synod relationships of the ELCA with the Lutheran Church in Haiti. I am also learning about countless other ways in which members of the ELCA have been involved in mission work in Haiti, and will continue to be involved far into the future.

Lutherans are generous people, not as a work of the law but as a response to the generosity God has shown to us in his Gospel. We have been given much, and we give much, especially when the need is so great. Already the ELCA News is reporting that over a million dollars has been given by Lutherans for the earthquake response in Haiti. And that is why I am going to make a suggestion, request, perhaps plea is the best word for it, now.

Send an offering to the ELCA Vision for Mission Fund.

Why? Because the main reason the ELCA International Disaster Relief Fund can dedicate such a high percentage of the offerings it receives to those who are most in need is because the ELCA Churchwide budget covers the cost of offices, lights, office machines, and staffing expenses. That is part of the mission work of this denomination. The Disaster Relief folks don't have to pay for that stuff, so their money can go to places like Haiti. (And the flood victims in Iowa, and the hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast, and the tornado victims in Oklahoma, and you name the places where the ELCA has been in the past 10 years.)

I am going to go out on a limb and say that right now it is not about the current church disagreement, as important as that is to me and I know to you. Right now it is about supporting the work of those who know how to help, first and best and immediately and long-term. And the ELCA is a vital member of that response and that work. If the Churchwide office is weakened, then our response is weakened.

If you disagree with me, I do understand. This isn't meant to guilt anyone into contributing to the ELCA Churchwide level. But think about it. Pray about it. And please give to help Haiti, whether it is to the ELCA Disaster Relief folks or to Lutheran World Relief or to the Lutheran World Federation.

But if you want to send a message to Chicago, then send a check, by mail, and include a note that because of the emergency in Haiti, you want the ELCA to be able to support the work of those responding in mercy to the least of these. Here's the address:

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Vision for Mission Fund

P. O. Box 71764

Chicago, IL 60694-1764

And tell them Lutheran CORE sent you.

In peace,

Pastor Erma Wolf

Lutheran CORE steering committee (but acting on my own)

CORE Connection Newsletter for January

2010-01-18T21:11:00.003-06:00

CORE Connection - News from Lutheran CORE – January 2010 is now available online.

Here is what you can read in this month’s newsletter:

+ Lutheran CORE moving forward on two fronts: Proposals are being drafted for continuation of Lutheran CORE as free synod and for a new Lutheran church body.

+ Renewal movement leaders meet with planning group.

+ Northeastern Iowa Synod is laboratory for ELCA crisis.

+ Lutheran CORE becoming independent charitable organization.

+ ELCA sexuality decisions among top news stories of 2009.

+ ELCA issues Christmas Eve news release on expelled congregation’s celebration of ELCA sexuality decisions.

+ Mark Chavez to become full-time director of Lutheran CORE.

+ A look back at 2009 . . . and ahead in 2010
2009 was historic year for Lutherans in North America.
2010 will be a year of new beginnings for Lutherans.

+ Bishop Crumley: ELCA actions violate Confession of Faith.

+ "Why There Must Be New Beginnings" by Dr. Robert Benne.

Significant Quotation from LCA Bishop James Crumley

2010-01-13T08:51:00.005-06:00

Here is a significant quotation from Bishop James R. Crumley, Jr., national Bishop of the Lutheran Church in America, one of the predecessor church bodies of the ELCA:

“I conclude that there is no evidence based on the text of Scripture which permits or mandates the change as stated in the new policy adopted at the assembly(churchwide). The action rather was unconstitutional and violated a part of the Confession of Faith. On that basis, the appropriate question is whether the ELCA is still without question a faithful and confessing church. I conclude that the ELCA has placed itself in a precarious position.”

Read all of Bishop Crumley's comments here.

Bishop Crumley made the statement to a gathering of over 500 clergy and laity last Saturday, Jan. 9, at a gathering sponsored by Orthodox Lutherans of South Carolina. You can read more about them here.

The report notes that "It was chilling to hear one of the persons who helped give birth to the ELCA come to what had to be such a painful conclusion. In so many words Dr. Crumley expressed the painful truth that the actions of assembly bring the very legitimacy of the ELCA as a church into question.

Orthodox Lutherans of South Carolina are proposing resolutions as "the beginning of the best among difficult choices for the people of the South Carolina Synod. If we are able to enact structured flexibility in South Carolina that in effect repudiates the actions of the ELCA at the August Churchwide Assembly, then at least within our synod we will remain in compliance with our Confession of Faith. The OLSC resolutions are the 'saving actions' that may accomplish this end. It may begin a process, though long and difficult to reform the ELCA. If on the other hand we are unable to enact the OLSC resolutions, then our synod will confirm complicity with the ELCA and violation of its own constitution and forfeiture of any basis to call itself a church. It’s time for every Lutheran in this Synod to become part of the process to save our Synod by passing the resolutions of OLSC."