wfn.org | ELCA-LCMS Discussion Panel Holds Third of Three Meetings

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 19, 2000

ELCA-LCMS DISCUSSION PANEL HOLDS THIRD OF THREE MEETINGS

     CHICAGO -- Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS)
discussed their churches' ecumenical goals and views on the "Church
Growth Movement" here Oct. 2-3.  The last of three scheduled meetings
included talk about the possibilities of publishing papers from the
meetings and of future discussions between the two largest U.S.
Lutheran churches.
     The Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, director of the ELCA Department
for Ecumenical Affairs, gave a history of the ELCA's 1991 statement
"Ecumenism: The Vision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America."  He discussed a few key points from its contents, including
the church's definition of "full communion" as its ecumenical goal.
     "This church is bold to reach out in several directions
simultaneously to all those with whom it may find agreement in the
gospel," Martensen read from the statement.  Full communion is
described as the stage at which "the goal of the involvement of this
church in the ecumenical movement is fully attained," said the
statement.
     For the ELCA, full communion is not a merger but a common
confessing of the Christian faith; a mutual recognition of Baptism
and a sharing of the Lord's Supper, allowing for joint worship and an
exchangeability of members; a mutual recognition and availability of
ordained ministers, subject only but always to the disciplinary
regulations of the inviting church; a common commitment to
evangelism, witness and service; a means of common decision making on
critical common issues of faith and life; and a mutual lifting of any
condemnations that exist between churches.
     The Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director of the LCMS
Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR), presented the
history and content of two LCMS documents -- "The Nature and
Implications of the Concept of Fellowship," a 1981 report from the
CTCR, and "The Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship," study
materials the commission and LCMS president issued in February 2000.
      "While the Missouri Synod has no officially adopted statement
on ecumenism as such," said Nafzger, "the church's constitution
provides a framework for relations with other Christians." He noted
that the first reason given for forming the Synod, according to its
constitution, is to "work through its official structure toward
fellowship with other Christian church bodies" and "to provide a
united defense" against schism and sectarianism. The Synod in its
ecumenical efforts, he explained, seeks to avoid the opposite errors
of separatism and unionism.
     Much of the ensuing discussion focused on what the Lutheran
confessional writings have to say about ecumenism. For the LCMS, the
Lutheran Confessions teach that agreement in the confession of the
Gospel in all its articles is the basis for church fellowship. In the
ELCA, emphasis is placed on Article Seven of the Augsburg Confession,
"For the true unity of the church it is enough to agree concerning
the teaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments."
     The Rev. Harold L. Senkbeil, LCMS pastor of Elm Grove Lutheran
Church, Elm Grove, Wis., shared a paper he wrote on "Implications of
the Church Growth Movement for Lutherans: Possibilities and
Concerns." He began by pointing out the positive contribution of the
Church Growth Movement in recalling Christian churches to the
missionary task of bringing the gospel to the lost. The central
theological concern he raised was regarding the doctrine of the
church.
     "In my mind the fundamental theological flaw of the movement is
its redefinition of the church as essentially an outward human
association of like-minded people," said Senkbeil. "While we may
describe and even measure the church outwardly (by the use of the
social sciences), we cannot define the church or prescribed her
effectiveness or efficacy by these means. Rather, the church is
essentially a spiritual fellowship," the work of the Holy Spirit
through "the oral and sacramental word of the gospel." Senkbeil also
raised concerns about the influence of American cultural
individualism, pragmatism, and pluralism. "The gospel should shape
the culture and not the other way around," he said.
     The Rev. Stanley N. Olson, bishop of the ELCA Southwestern
Minnesota Synod, Redwood Falls, Minn., presented "The Church Growth
Movement: Some Reflections to Encourage Discussion for the LCMS-ELCA
Conversation."  The movement shapes itself around the needs of those
it hopes to attract, he said, while Lutherans see sin shaping needs.
     Olson said evangelical witness is at the center of the Lutheran
heritage.  Lutherans may have much to learn from the Church Growth
Movement about reaching out with the gospel, he said, but they are
mostly things Lutherans knew all along.
     The national convention of the LCMS in July 1998 expressed
"deep regret and profound disagreement with" two ecumenical decisions
made by the 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  One established full
communion with three Reformed churches, the other adopted a Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic
Church.  Since the LCMS action, the ELCA has also entered into full
communion with The Episcopal Church and the Moravian Church in
America.
     The LCMS convention pledged support for the Synod's president,
the Rev. Alvin L. Barry, "as he continues to work together with the
presiding bishop of the ELCA in arranging for discussion of these
issues between representatives of our two church bodies."
     Barry and the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the
ELCA, each appointed ten people to the ELCA-LCMS discussion panel. 
Previous meetings were held June 14-15, 1999, here at the Lutheran
Center of the ELCA and Feb. 14-15, 2000, at the International Center
of the LCMS in St. Louis.
     The previous meetings dealt with the ELCA's ecumenical
decisions, Lutheran identity, theological differences between the two
churches -- especially based on how they interpret Scriptures -- and
the administration of the Christian sacraments by Lutheran
congregations without pastors.
     During the closing hour of the final meeting, many of the panel
members expressed opinions about the future of discussions between
the two churches.  A motion was debated and referred to Anderson and
Barry, asking that the two leaders evaluate the discussions that have
taken place and consider opportunities for continued discussions of
some kind.
     The group did decide that papers presented in the course of the
meetings could be cited or published by their authors or with their
authors' consent, provided that they are clearly presented as the
view of the author and not necessarily of other panel members.  The
panel also agreed that the ELCA presiding bishop and LCMS president
must authorize jointly the publishing of any collection of the
papers.
     The ELCA has 5.15 million members in 10,851 congregations
throughout the United States and the Caribbean; the LCMS includes 2.6
million members in 6,025 congregations.

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(This summary was prepared by the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Raymond L.
Hartwig, secretary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.)

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