LOGIA

by Rev. David Ramirez, Lincoln, Illinois

Of late, the idea has been circulating that the only substantial difference between the LCMS and the WordAlone Network (WAN), a reform group within the ELCA, is the ordination of women.  This idea, whether produced in ignorance or out of misguided hope, unfortunately does not stand up to much investigation.  Furthermore, even if the ordination of women were the only issue that separated WAN from the LCMS, it is highly unlikely that WAN would change its position on this matter.  Female "pastors" are not an incidental part of the organization.  They hold positions of leadership at every level, with one even holding the presidency of the WAN.

Word Alone describes itself in its Mission Statement as "a Lutheran grassroots network of congregations and individuals committed to the authority of the Word manifest in Jesus the Christ as proclaimed in Scripture and safeguarded through the work of the Holy Spirit. WAN advocates reform and renewal of the church, representative governance, theological integrity, and freedom from a mandated historic episcopate."  Hope for a LCMS-WAN relationship is not new.  Over the last few years there has been talk of creating a way for Word Alone seminarians to attend Concordia Seminary-St. Louis.  The seminary even went so far as to appoint a liaison to the WAN. 

With the important showdown in Minneapolis now past and the crisis in the ELCA over homosexuality convincingly settled, concern for reaching out to disaffected ELCA members has grown in the LCMS.  This pastor applauds the heightened awareness of the ELCA situation by the LCMS; however, we also must be careful not to overlook reality. 

While we ought to give thanks for much of the work and doctrinal positions of the WAN, especially its resistance against the homosexual agenda in the ELCA, it holds to many teachings that are in contradiction to genuine Lutheranism.  The WAN does not affirm the inerrancy of the Scriptures as classically upheld by the Lutheran Church.  The WAN does not maintain the doctrine of closed communion.   However, perhaps to really understand how deep the divide truly is between the LCMS and the WAN, we ought to look at the WAN's reaction to ecumenical agreements advanced by the ELCA.  While the WAN staunchly resisted full communion with the Episcopalians, it was nearly silent concerning the full communion agreement with three Reformed bodies.  Or more recently, where was the outrage from the WAN over the proposed full communion agreement with the United Methodists, which passed by 95%?  The overwhelming majority of votes in favor of the full communion agreement means that not just the liberal wing of the ELCA voted for this resolution, but that the majority of every other group did also, including WAN members. 

It could be argued that this was not the big issue of the Assembly this summer, and that the WAN had plenty on its hands with the debate on homosexuality.  But the passage of the full communion agreement with 95% of the vote does not allow us to merely conclude that the WAN had bigger fish to fry.  At best, the WAN sympathizers at the Assembly were ignorant of the mutually exclusive claims of Lutheranism and Methodism.  At worst, they understood the difficulties but voted for full communion anyway.  Either way this example betrays a weak understanding of historic Lutheranism.  An understanding of Lutheranism that sees nothing wrong with full communion with the United Methodists is a far cry from orthodox Lutheranism, and probably just a wee bit further from the LCMS than a disagreement over the ordination of women.

However, an important question still remains.  How should Missourians reach out to "WordAloners"?  I believe the overarching answer is this: We should remind them of their history and their fathers in the faith that did clearly confess orthodox doctrine.  The liberal agenda of the ELCA counts upon historical ignorance and what C.S. Lewis liked to call "chronological snobbery".  The majority of WordAloners are former ALC members and congregations.  What is ironic is that on all three of the points discussed above (ordination of women, closed communion, and inerrancy) much of the ALC, and especially its predecessor bodies, staunchly supported the classic Lutheran position.  In fact, by the 1930s, the "old" ALC (a predecessor body to the ALC) and the LCMS had come to agreement with the Missouri Synod concerning the doctrine of election, and if the "old" ALC had not become soft on the "Four Points" (altar fellowship, pulpit fellowship, lodge membership, and chiliasm) perhaps God-pleasing church fellowship could have been realized.  Unfortunately, by mid-century theological liberalism and neo-orthodoxy deeply infected the ALC.  Discussion of the WAN's heritage would be a profitable conversation for the members of the LCMS to have with their neighbors in the WAN.  Glossing over real differences never serves any good; rather it delays true reconciliation through lies.  A real gift would be to remind the WAN of its fathers in the faith such as Hermann Amberg Preus, J. Michael Reu, and many others, and the beautiful biblical doctrine which they championed.

Rev. David Ramirez
Lincoln, Illinois

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Ecumenical adiaphora?
written by Jonathan, September 28, 2009

It would be interesting to hear from the WAN-nabees how fully committed they are to the ecumenical agreements. Whether they voted for the last round with the Methodists or not, I suspect that for most of them they consider those agreements to be a lesser evil if anything at all, like "I can vote for that because despite what it may say it doesn't really mean anything and it doesn't affect me like the thought of a homosexual pastor does, because at the end of the day, they're still Methodist and I'm still Lutheran." Thus, I bet most would relegate the ecumenical agreements to the similar status of those "person-day" proclamations that city councils routinely make--a nice to do, but ineffectual. In any event, if the WAN breaks out of ELCA altogether at some point, which now seems assured, they will in fact be abandoning those ecumenical agreements by doing so.

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An Inconvenient Truth for Sometime i
written by Mark Schroeder, September 28, 2009

I thought y'all might be interest in this Chicago Sun-Times article from 1987, before the official merger forming the ELCA.

Split nags new Lutheran unit

Publication: Chicago Sun-Times
Date: November 9, 1987
Author: Daniel J. Lehmann
Section: NEWS
Edition: FIVE STAR SPORTS FINAL
Page: 26
Word Count: 512

The Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is confronted by a small but significant split over biblical inerrancy, relations with other denominations, abortion and homosexuality.
The situation is nearly identical to fractures in other churches. The disputes center on whether denominations should make room for a variety of viewpoints.

"Apparently, there are those who insist not only on heavy majority concurrence, but require unanimity," warned Lutheran Bishop David W. Preus in urging the faithful to remain in the ELCA.

"Compromise is the style of America today," countered the Rev. James Minor of St. Paul, Minn., leader of a group opposing the new church. "That is not a Christian style. Christians are to stand up for the truth."

A similar battle in the mid-1970s cracked the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, while the Southern Baptist Convention has fought over biblical inerrancy (the view that the Bible contains no error), the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) over abortion, the United Methodist Church over homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church over a host of issues.

ELCA officials report that tracts circulating in some of the church's 11,000 parishes urging a break from the denomination "twist" the ELCA's "firm biblical affirmation, strong confessional commitment and vigorous mission orientation."

"The wild seeds of discord sown by the perpetrators of pernicious propaganda bear (sad) fruit," said the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary of the 5.3 million-member ELCA, which comes into being Jan. 1 by merger of three churches.

He said he met a women in one congregation who had been told "the new church would take her Bible away from her." Those responsible, Almen said, "have come to think that the biblical prohibition against bearing false witness has been repealed."

Critics have criticized the church constitution for not calling the Bible inerrant and infallible as well as divinely inspired and authoritative. Minor also contends the ELCA is likely to condone homosexuality and extramarital sex, ordain gay ministers and support abortion on demand.
The ELCA "has no social statements to stand on," Almen said, because it won't develop positions until after it begins formal operations Jan. 1.

Regardless, Minor has led efforts to coax former American Lutheran Church congregations out of the ELCA. They can do so if parish members twice give a two-thirds vote favoring withdrawal.

So far, 18 parishes have withdrawn and another 31 have taken the first step to do so, Almen said. Ten dropout parishes have joined the newly formed American Association of Lutheran Churches, said Minor, an organizer.

An unknown number of parishes took votes that failed, Almen said. There are reports that some congregations split evenly, showing deep rifts among the faithful.

"We are a remnant, found in all denominations," Minor said. "We are an old Christianity that stands firm, not a neo-Christian church that says God works in all religions, that doesn't proclaim Christ and that endorses immoral lifestyles. Thay's why you have splits."

For Almen, the "U.S. Protestant experience" has resulted in a healthy respect for the Bible. However, in cases like the one facing the ELCA, "the Bible ends up an object of worship" instead of "being listened to for what it says to us."

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