On September 28, Lutheran CORE (short for “coalition for reform”) assembled in Lindenhurst, Illinois to discuss the theme “This Church, and God’s Church.” Meeting less than 50 miles from the site of the previous month’s Churchwide Assembly, the renewal group gathered to reflect on what had happened at that previous gathering, and to start planning ahead for the oncoming storm that will be the 2009 assembly.
Over 250 clergy and lay people from around the country filled St. Mark Lutheran Church with the express goal of steering the 4.8 million member denomination back toward biblical faithfulness and fidelity. Forty six of the denomination’s 65 regional synods were represented among the attendees, fueling hopes of a grassroots movement capable of renewing the church’s witness on matters of human sexuality.
A Look Back
A month earlier, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) had convened its biennial Churchwide Assembly in Chicago. What was initially expected to be a rather mundane affair turned out to be anything but, as opponents of the denomination’s policy forbidding the ordination and rostering of individuals in non-chaste homosexual relationships made a concerted push to change church policy on the matter.
Over 250 people attended Lutheran CORE’s “This Church and God’s Church” gathering in Lindenhurst, Illinois on September 28. (Photo courtesy Steve Shipman / Lutheran CORE) |
Incited by the ruling of an ELCA disciplinary panel to remove an Atlanta pastor from his parish for violating the church’s “Vision and Expectations” statement, gay rights activists within the denomination returned with vigor to the issue that so dominated the 2005 Churchwide Assembly. Ignoring the recommendation of the assembly Memorials Committee to postpone any action until the completion of a proposed social statement on human sexuality in 2009, these advocates sought the immediate repeal of existing standards through floor resolutions. And while the motions to change church policy ultimately failed, supporters of more open ordination standards did obtain a significant victory with the passing of a resolution urging pastors and bishops to “refrain from and demonstrate restraint in disciplining” those who ordain and roster pastors who fail to meet the existing requirements.
To many observers, traditional Lutherans who support the orthodox Christian view opposing actively gay and lesbian pastors appeared to be caught flat-footed. After spending considerable time and resources in fighting similar overtures in 2005, orthodox Lutherans seemed satisfied that such matters would not return to the assembly until 2009. The primary group created to fight the proposed changes disbanded shortly after the 2005 assembly, and the temporary void created by its absence left conservatives in a vulnerable position. That greater changes in church policy did not occur was a testament to the hard work of a dedicated few—and the innate tendency of Lutherans everywhere to accept the recommendations of church officials.
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Rather than lamenting the failures and missed opportunities of the Churchwide Assembly, however, the conference organizers sought to present a more pro-active stance, looking toward the future. “Turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself,” urged the Rev. Erma Wolf, vice chair of Lutheran CORE and the convener of the assembly. “You are the leaders of this effort. The Spirit is working in you and has raised you up.”
Dr. James Nestingen, professor emeritus of church history at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, began the festivities with a Bible study focusing on I Corinthians 4. Noting the choice of the Churchwide Assembly leaders to study Galatians and its warnings about legalism, Nestingen suggested that perhaps that focus was misplaced. “Legalism is not our problem in the ELCA,” he said. “It is enthusiasm that is our problem.”
“When mercy is turned into a policy, it becomes poisonous,” Dr. James Nestingen told attendees. (Photo courtesy Steve Shipman / Lutheran CORE) |
Nestingen warned against the misappropriation of God’s grace and mercy by the church. “When mercy is turned into a policy, it becomes poisonous…. Grace is not tolerance. Mercy is not tolerance…. The mercy of God is this—that Sunday after Sunday, you kneel before the altar and receive the sacrament of communion.”
With regard to the debate on sexuality issues within the denomination, Nestingen encouraged those in attendance by assuring them they were not alone in the battle to uphold orthodox church teaching. “Ninety-eight percent of the world’s Christians hear the same Word you do,” he said. “We’re not gathered here because there are enemies. We are gathered as a ministry, with 98 percent of the church behind us to say, ‘This is not negotiable.'”
The Rev. Paull Spring, retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod and chair of Lutheran CORE, followed Nestingen’s Bible study with his personal reflections of the recent assembly. Spring began with his assessment of what went right at the assembly, including the increased willingness for bishops to engage in the issue, and the support during floor debates from many previously unknown to CORE leaders. “A lot of our support is hidden, but it is there,” Spring told the gathering, claiming it will continue to exist, provided Lutheran CORE remained focused on the issues, and approached them in a churchly, Christ-like manner.
In response to the challenges that lie ahead, Spring urged an increased organization in 2009 to match the efforts of the more established and better funded opposition. Continued participation by bishops should be actively solicited, he said, while noting that the recent slate of synod elections has yielded fewer supportive bishops than in the past.
Spring also advocated increased attention to the ELCA Church Council elections. “Elections to church councils are vital,” he argued. “We need to handle these better in 2009.”
The central focus of Lutheran CORE leading up to 2009, however, will be on individual synods—specifically the nomination of voting members for the 2009 assembly at the various synod assemblies. Spring urged greater coordination within the synods, saying that the objective of the Lutheran CORE steering committee was to have at least a team of one pastor and one layperson in every synod to manage efforts to find candidates to represent orthodox biblical concerns at the synod assemblies.
Plans for the Future
The afternoon session of the conference sought to expound on the strategic thinking introduced by Spring.
Dr. Robert Benne, director of the Center for Religion and Society at Roanoke College, was the first to address conference participants. While admitting his outlook was “a little bleaker” than that espoused by Spring, Benne nonetheless encouraged the audience to not neglect the church’s central mission, “the proclamation of the Gospel and the building up of the Body of Christ.”
“It is a great shame that the struggle over the soul of the church has had to focus on homosexuality issues, because they are not the essence of the problem, but rather a glaring symptom,” said Benne. “The real problem is the movement of the ELCA toward the liberal Protestant temptation to substitute a debatable Social Gospel for the Gospel itself.” Benne argued that the “liberal Protestant temptation” is to be ambiguous about the core claims of the Gospel, while expressing full confidence in the social and political movements supposedly emanating from that core. The result is that these battles against “sexism, racism, heterosexism, monoculturalism, and imperialism” replace the proclaiming of the Good News of Jesus Christ as having primary importance.
To counter the revisionist approach, Benne suggested the best approach for the next two years would be to focus on upholding orthodox teaching on sexuality issues, with clergy and laity critiquing the sexuality studies and the proposed social statement on human sexuality as they are released. “If the Task Force gets enough orthodox response, it may sober people at [ELCA headquarters] and among the Bishops to inhibit them from pressing hard for change in our teachings.”
Benne expressed his hope that the discussion on the sexuality issues will “get the ELCA to come clean” on what it teaches on these matters. “I envy the Episcopalians who finally had some lines drawn, and orthodox Episcopalians now have some hope that they can live in churches and dioceses that hold to the Great Tradition,” he said.
Stating that “it is not time now to think of new Lutheran churches,” Benne advocated for the development of new leaders on both the synodical and congregational levels, while continuing to develop national and regional associations. “In ten or twenty years we may find that the associations will become more important than the ELCA. But we can’t predict that now. We can only build for the future as we see best, and pray that the Spirit bless our efforts.”
Local Strategies
Following Benne’s remarks, the Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, announced the group would be breaking into three smaller units, corresponding with the relative levels of resistance Lutheran CORE’s proposals would receive from synod officials. Those who perceived their synod as strongly orthodox formed one group; those who saw their synod as revisionist another; and those who found themselves somewhere in between formed a third.
Lutheran CORE steering committee member Ryan Schwarz urged participants to get involved in their synods. “If this isn’t the time God is calling you to take a stand, what would that time look like?” he asked. (Photo courtesy Steve Shipman / Lutheran CORE) |
“Every synod in the ELCA is important,” Ryan Schwarz told the gathering of those in revisionist synods. Schwarz, a member of the Lutheran CORE steering committee and layperson from Washington, DC, urged those in attendance not to lose faith. “There is a lot more support than you perceive,” he told the overflowing room of nearly 100.
To prove his point, Schwarz asked who in the room has served as a voting member in a previous Churchwide Assembly. Over half of those present raised their hand. This indicated, he said, that even in the toughest synods, it was possible to get elected to the synodical delegation to the assembly. “The [ELCA political] processes are such that they can be impacted,” he told the group.
“The vast majority of people in the pews are basically supportive of our views, and don’t know what is going on in the ELCA,” Schwarz said. He encouraged those who were active in their synods to take an inventory of their synod, rating how willing those in their synods would be to support Lutheran CORE’s values and objectives. “The result is realizing there’s more support than you anticipated.”
Schwarz pushed those gathered to involve themselves on the synod level, claiming that by so doing, they would become more familiar with the political process within their synod, and also would be more likely to be appointed as an alternate voting member for the assembly. He also urged everyone to make efforts to educate the “uninformed middle” of the denomination, doing so in a way that shows the conservative vision in a positive way.
As a final exhortation, Schwarz urged those assembled to view the current debate as an opportunity to step out in faith and respond to God’s call. “If this isn’t the time God is calling you to take a stand, what would that time look like?” he asked.
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