Synod to Vote on Itself
For the first time since 1854, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is
positioned to vote on the doctrine that gave it birth, C. F.
W. Walther's "Church and Ministry." In essence, Floor Committee
Seven is asking the Convention if the Missouri Synod still wants to be the
Missouri Synod.
The Lutheran Confessions are essential to all Lutherans, but C. F. W.
Walther's "Church and Ministry" lays the doctrinal foundation for
the operation and existence of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, unique
among all Lutheran Church bodies.
The Synod was founded on the doctrinal principle of independent
congregations owned and operated by lay people. All the congregations agreed
to the same doctrine in Article II and the same practice in Article VI as a
condition of membership. This highly efficient structure encouraged
phenomenal, continuous growth from 1847 to 1969. Had the growth continued,
today the Synod would have nearly four million members.
In the past decade, the Synod has been besieged with the alternative
structures of church and ministry that turn congregations into corporations
and pastors into CEO's or hierarchal episcopes and pastors into bishops.
Resolution 7-17 will ask the 2001 LCMS Convention to reaffirm the
fundamental doctrine on which the Synod was organized.
Missouri Synod Born Out of Controversy
Like Lutheranism itself, Walther's doctrine of Church and Ministry was born
out of a log cabin debate in 1841 against Attorney Dr. F. A. Marbach over a
book written by Marbach's brother-in-law, Attorney Dr. Edward Vehse, which
concluded that the colonists were not a church and should return to Germany.
Walther convinced them from the Bible, Luther, and the Confessions that they
were a church. He won the debate and invented the Missouri Synod. Walther
called it the most important debate since Luther's debate in Leipzig in 1519.
Resolution 7-17 Presented At Historic Moment in Lutheranism
At it's 2000 Convention the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
gave up its congregational based polity and voted to accept the Episcopal
Church's doctrine of Apostolic Succession. This means that through the laying
on of hands at ordination, the minister receives God's blessing to be
"the church" in a line of succession dating from the time of the
Apostles. In other words, the clergy don't need the lay people they are the
church.
At their Convention this summer the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, (ELS) will
vote to adopt the position of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, (WELS)
that the Synod is church. In others words, any meeting of clergy is a
congregation. If the LCMS doesn't change, the current position is that only
the local congregations of the LCMS are actually individual churches. For
example, this means the President of the LCMS has no authority to consecrate
the elements for the Lord's Supper in any congregation or at the Convention
because he has no call to a local church. The Bishops and Presidents of the
ELCA, WELS, and ELS all practice Synodical hierarchy and all have authority to
consecrate the elements at their conventions.
The question is, will the Missouri Synod retain its unique congregational
polity or follow the path of hierarchy found in all the other clergy dominated
Lutheran church bodies in the United States. There are only three choices.
Either the congregation is church, or the pastor is church, or the Synod is
church. Congregations will be governed either by lay people, clergy, or the
Synodical headquarters.
The window of opportunity for Resolution 7-17 is now! None of the likely
candidates for the LCMS Presidency will present this issue before the 2004
Convention. They each have a different agenda. Former President A. L. Barry
may have been the last LCMS President to fully support and teach Walther's
"Church and Ministry."
The Struggle For LCMS Congregationalism Continues
The struggle to present Resolution 7-17 "To Affirm Synod's Official
Position on Church and Ministry" before the 2001 LCMS Convention has been
long and arduous. It began in the spring of 1997 with the Michigan 102's
"Evangelical Letter" declaring that direction for contemporary
worship comes directly from God to the pastor. At the April 1997 Chicago
meeting of the Association of Confessional Lutherans this writer was also
appalled that none of the 10 speakers on the subject of Church and Ministry
agreed with or presented Walther's doctrine. Their papers have just been
published in a volume titled "Church Polity and Politics."
During the ACL meeting in Chicago I approached a floor microphone with a
copy of Walther's "Church and Ministry" in hand. I began by saying;
"Walther says . . ." and continued to read a quotation from the
Lutheran Confessions out of the book. The audience of some 250, mostly clergy,
booed and jeered. When they thought they were booing Walther, the pastors of
the Association of Confessional Lutherans actually booed the Lutheran
Confessions. I sat down.
Since 1997 the struggle to keep Walther's "Church and Ministry"
the official doctrine of the LCMS has been a two front war. Those who wish to
keep Walther must confront the entertainment, market-driven, fanaticism of
Willow Creek, Community Of Joy, the Crystal Cathedral, and Fuller Theological
Seminary, guided by Peter Drucker and the Harvard School of Business on one
side and the sacerdotalism of Hyper-Euro-Lutherans who want the LCMS to adopt
pre-Walther 18th Century, European Lutheran Clergy dominated hierarchy on the
other side. In short, it is all about fast buck artists and the quest for
power.
Over the last four years there has been storm of controversy on church and
ministry which is published here, on the Luther
Quest Discussion Group, in Reclaim News,
addressed at conventions, symposiums, pastoral conferences, and on the pages
of Christian News, just to name a few.
This writer owes a tremendous debt to a long list of lay people and clergy
who have joined the struggle to preserve the correct teaching of C. F. W.
Walther's "Church and Ministry" in the LCMS.
Too Many Lay People Don't Know What Is At Stake
For many pastors and even more lay people, voting on "Church and
Ministry" at the LCMS 2001 Convention may be like asking their opinion on
the homologoumena versus the antilegomena.
Today few lay people are taught or understand the doctrine on which the
Synod was founded. The questions are basic. First, do the lay people still
want to own and operate their own congregations? Second, if they do, will
anyone teach them why and how to do it?
None of the Synodical publishing houses has any book in print on how
laypeople can start and operate their own Lutheran congregation. More than 50
years ago, Concordia Publishing House use to publish a book titled "A
Church is Born." Walther's "Church and Ministry" and the
application and practice of this doctrine "The Right Form of the
Christian Congregation Independent of the State" were originally
available to all lay people. Today, Walther's second book above is out of
print. Walther's 350 page "Church and Ministry" difficult reading
for a pastor, let alone a lay person, is published by CPH, without an index.
Few of the Seminary graduates today are required to read it.
It was difficult to get permission from CPH, who holds the copyright, just
publish Walther's thesis on "Church and Ministry". CPH will not
permit Walther's "Church and Ministry" to be published on the
Internet. Yet, this is the foundational doctrine of the LCMS.
There are no books written for lay people explaining the Synod's position
on this subject. A 120-page book, written for lay people, is now in the mail
and is being sent to every delegate of the 2001 Convention.
This book sells for $5.00, plus $2.00 handling and shipping and can be
ordered by calling 573-237-3110 or emailing cnmail@fidnet.com or
reclaimnews@earthlink.net It is titled, "How To Start Or Keep Your Own
Missouri Synod Lutheran Church: A handbook for lay people who like Missouri
Synod congregations the way they began and want to be certain about the
presence of God in their worship services." by J. M. Cascione. We could
retitle it, "Church and Ministry Made Simple." With no books
available on this subject in the LCMS, this writer was given an open field.
Thank you, Concordia Publishing House. Sales are brisk!
What Will Be the Impact of Resolution 7-17?
Let me just give a few quotations from the 350-page book read by less than
1% of the LCMS, published by CPH with no index.
"For when our Savior Christ says, 'Tell it to the church,' He by these
words commands the church [local congregation] to be the supreme judge."
[!]
" . . . the congregation has the supreme authority in all church
matters such as reproof, church discipline, division, judging doctrine, and
appointing pastors, to mention only these things."
"Chemnitz presented the matter to the whole congregation as to the
final and supreme judge."
There are many more quotes were these came from. Notice, the locations for
these citations above are not published in this article. They are somewhere
between pages 1 and 351 of Walther's "Church and Ministry,"
translated by J. T. Mueller in 1962 and republished by CPH in 1987. It is time
to start reading.
In 2001, this is a divisive book in the LCMS. The hyper-euro-Lutherans
condemn Walther for introducing secular "democracy" in the church.
They are confused and consumed with a desire for power. The Church
Growth/Leadership Training program led by Doctor Norbert Oesch called
"The Pastoral Leadership Institute" does not teach Walther's
"Church and Ministry," as Oesch told this writer at the Rockwell
Meeting in Orange, California, in front of witnesses. Texas District President
and leading LCMS presidential candidate, Dr. Jerry Kieschnick is the foremost
advocate of PLI of all the District Presidents. Doctor Donald Muchow, Chairman
of the Board of Directors, refers to "church and ministry" as
"floating debris" in the way of the Synodical ship's mission of
love!
We reply, that without church and ministry, there is no ship!
As official doctrine, Walther's "Church and Ministry" has the
same force as "The Brief Statement." Any Synodical professor,
pastor, or official who publicly teaches and practices against it, may be
removed from office for false doctrine!
If Resolution 7-17 is not passed or is sent back to committee or made less
than a doctrinally binding document the Synod as we know it will have come to
an end. "Missouri" will exist in name only
Committee Seven Chaired by Wollenburg To Redirect Synod
Taking on this subject is like trying to get a hold of an elephant. Knowing
the intense amount of clergy opposition to the subject, the initial thought
was to promote voters' assemblies because trying to stop voters' assemblies in
public would embarrass the clergy. However, we learned that rather than a
resolution on voters' assemblies Floor Committee Seven chose to present the
entire doctrine of "Church and Ministry" to the Convention, a
resolution our congregation never thought would hit home. To our astonishment,
Floor Committee Seven chose to deal with the entire issue, the whole
enchilada, in one historic resolution. Every point of practice on voters'
assemblies as explained in Walther's "Pastoral Theology," published
by Christian News, can be defended from Walther's "Church and
Ministry." You can direct your opinion to Doctor George Wollenburg,
Montana District Office, 30 Broadwater Ave., Billings MT 59101.
We are told the decision for Resolution 7-17 from Floor Committee Seven was
unanimous. It is simply amazing. It is an act of God. With banners unfurled
and lances raised, they have chosen to resurrect "Old Missouri" and
put her to a Vote. If the Lord allows, congregational Lutheranism will survive
in the United States and there will be laypeople that will thank God for the
freedom to exercise the full privileges of the priesthood of all believers.
Missouri's doctrine of Church and Ministry was once its greatest attraction
to Lutheran's in America. Why don't we see the evangelistic power of this
doctrine today?