LCMS and ELCA Talk about ELCA’s Decisions on Sexuality

The Reporter Online reported yesterday on the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC) meeting between ELCA leaders and LCMS leaders, which met April 12-13 (I've had to link to the joint ELCA copy of the press release, since it has disappeared from the LCMS website). In-depth discussions were held on the theological implications of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly decisions on human sexuality. The LCMS officials included President Kieschnick; Dr. William R. Diekelman, First Vice-President; Dr. Raymond L. Hartwig, Synod Secretary; Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, Executive Director of the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations; Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger, Director of LCMS Church Relations and Assistant to the President; Ronald Schulz, Chief Administrative Officer; and Dr. Larry Stoterau, President of the Pacific Southwest District.

I’ll include a few highlights of the report, as well as a few comments. All quotes from the report will be indented.

The leaders began their discussion by reviewing "Theological Implications of the 2009 ELCA Decisions," a 10-page document prepared by a task force appointed by Synod President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, who indicated that the document was intended for use by LCMS pastors and members in their own study and in dialogue with ELCA members.

Key provisions of the document are:

• The LCMS believes and teaches "that same-gender sexual activity -- in every situation -- violates the will of our Creator and must be recognized as sin." The LCMS affirms the biblical view of marriage as a lifelong union of a man and a woman, and that unmarried men and women are to "live in sexual chastity and celibacy."
• There is "legitimate concern" over the ways people who are gay or lesbian have been "excluded and even vilified by Christians."
• The LCMS does not believe that the ELCA's decisions on sexuality should necessarily or summarily end cooperative work in human care since this work is "based on the sharing of a common goal, not doctrinal unity." The LCMS document continued, "However, we hope and expect that the leadership of such entities will respect the theological position of the Synod (including its position on same-gender sexual activity) and avoid any policies or decisions which would require us to cease our support and involvement in their activities."
• The LCMS believes that disagreements about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior "impact the Gospel itself," since the Gospel is "the heart, center, and ultimate message of the Bible," and that "a church body's acceptance of homosexual activity promotes a false security about behavior and conduct which God has forbidden and from which He longs to redeem us."
• A prayer that the ELCA would reconsider its actions.

The above quotes from the document are well and good, as far as they go. One weakness in the document is that while it addresses same-gender sexual activity, it seems to lack any definitive comment on same-gender sexual desire or thought. Perhaps they mean to include this in the definition of “sexual chastity.”

Disagreements about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior certainly "impact the Gospel itself." In the broad sense of the word Gospel, I would contend that the ELCA and the LCMS do not share the same Gospel, and that the ELCA in fact preaches a different Gospel.

"We received it in the understanding that you were speaking to your own church, but also to us," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA Presiding Bishop. "We also hope that you understand, and we understand, that our actions put stress on relationships, but not stress to the point that we believe that they should sever the relationships rather than call us to deeper conversation."

Presiding Bishop Hanson’s call to deeper conversation is the same call he makes to all of those who disagree in the ELCA. His call is one in which he desires that those who disagree with the version of the Gospel which condones homosexuality continue in the conversation so that they too can be assimilated by his specious views.




Dr. Marcus R. Kunz, ELCA Executive for Discernment of Contextual and Theological Issues outlined several points:

• The central message of the Scriptures is the Good News of God's love and saving work in Jesus Christ, and that the Scriptures are properly used in proclaiming this message of faith.
• It is not true "as some are claiming, that the ELCA has abandoned or ignored the authority of Scripture. Rather, we seek to be faithful to the evangelical purpose that God intends with the Scriptures," Kunz said.

There is a term for Dr. Kunz’s point of view – Gospel reductionism. When you abandon the clear word of God’s Law in favor of an inclusive “Gospel,” you have lost the meaning of the Gospel in the broad sense.

Dr. Kunz continued:

• The ELCA asks "respectfully that the LCMS not silently allow or tacitly encourage misrepresentations of the ELCA's commitment to the evangelical use of the Scriptures, a misrepresentation that subverts the evangelical witness we share," Kunz said.

I would say that we no longer share an evangelical witness. His point of view demonstrates why we should no longer work together – they believe we hold to the same Gospel, which we do not.

Dr. Rebecca S. Larson, Executive Director, ELCA Church in Society, was parsed:

• The greatest concern Larson mentioned was about the LCMS paper's discussion of lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships. She said the LCMS has not fully or accurately interpreted the assembly's decisions because it points to only one part of the 2009 actions. Without full and accurate disclosure of the language of the social statement and ministry policies, she said that the LCMS document leaves the impression that recognition of persons in lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships, and placing such people on official church rosters, "constitutes the agreed and sole position of the whole church." That is not true, Larson said. "What the ELCA did decide is that we are not in agreement, including theological agreement, regarding partnered same-gender relationships, and that, because these matters are not central to determining our salvation, we can and will continue to live together with different practices, bearing the burdens of one another, and respecting the bound conscience of each other."

Saint Paul answers Dr. Larson: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:14-16

Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger, director of LCMS church relations and assistant to the president, asked the ELCA participants if, in their opinions, there were "any positions of a bound conscience that should divide brothers and sisters in Christ at the altar."

"Our two churches are bound together by many things," he said, "and there's no place for Christians to misrepresent the position of our two churches on the issues we are debating."

"But that's not what the LCMS is doing in this statement," he said. "The ELCA wants to respect the 'bound consciences' of both sides in this debate, but in our opinion, it cannot do this without having a different understanding of the authority of Scripture than that held by the LCMS. The Missouri Synod regards consciences bound to positions that contradict the simple and plain meaning of Scripture as erring consciences in need of confession and absolution."

An excellent point!

While he does not see much immediate change in the ELCA-LCMS relationship as a result of the ELCA sexuality decisions, Synod Secretary Dr. Raymond L. Hartwig said the decisions create "a special challenge" because the ELCA actions were "imposed" on the LCMS with its constant biblical view of marriage and related issues.

Hartwig said a key question being asked in the LCMS is, "Do cooperative efforts imply doctrinal unity with the ELCA?"

"I think we have a special challenge with this particular issue that is different than we've faced before," he added.

Kieschnick added that the LCMS convention in July will likely address the ELCA sexuality decisions because they are a significant topic of discussion in the church.

Secretary Hartwig is correct. We certainly do have a special challenge with this issue. President Kieschnick should not wait for the convention to act, he should be providing stronger leadership now to begin cutting ties with the ELCA where appropriate.

It will be interesting to see what action is taken at the LCMS General Convention in July. There are certainly an abundance of overtures seeking to curtail various or all aspects of joint efforts with the ELCA. (See the Theology and Church Relations section of the overtures beginning on page 165 of the Convention Workbook for more information.

Note: The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of LCMS, Inc. Translation: You probably won't see me sitting in on a Committee on Lutheran Cooperation meeting anytime soon.