Introduction and Comments about President Arleigh Lutz's letter to Rev. Herman Otten

The Chairman of the Council of District Presidents, North Wisconsin District President Rev. Arleigh Lutz, sent the following letter to Christian News. Lutz replied to Editor, Rev. Herman Otten's <cnmail@fidnet.com> question as to whether LCMS pastors should be permitted to believe that woman ordination is acceptable.

Lutz's views must be understood as the views of the majority of the Council of District Presidents who voted him to be their Chairman and spokesman.

In his letter Lutz compares the acceptance of woman suffrage by the Synod as evidence that the Synod may also changes its views on woman ordination.

Lutz also takes issue with Otten publishing a sermon by North Wisconsin District Pastor, Rev. Timothy Spilker endorsing woman ordination.

In his letter, Lutz equates Spilker's sermon with "offense," a matter of the Eighth Commandment, rather than false doctrine, a matter of the First Commandment.

Lutz's interpretation of Bylaw 2.39c shifts Spilker's blatant, false doctrine, to a matter of "brotherly dissent."

Bylaw 2.39c reads: "While retaining the right of brotherly dissent, members of the Synod are expected as part of the life together within the synodically fellowship to honor and to uphold the resolutions of the Synod. If such resolutions are of a doctrinal nature, dissent is to be expressed first within their fellowship of peers, then brought to the attention of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations before finding expression as an overture to the convention calling for revision or recision. While the conscience of the dissenter shall be respected, the consciences of others, as well as the collective will of the Synod, shall also be respected."

By associating woman ordination with Bylaw 2.39c, Lutz shows that he himself does not believe that woman ordination is in violation of Article II of the LCMS Constitution. In other words, Lutz does not believe that the Bible or the Lutheran Confessions forbid woman ordination.

We must wonder what other doctrines the Chairman of the Council of Presidents believes that an LCMS pastor may reject and still remain on the clergy roster, such as the doctrines of the Trinity, Two Nature's of Christ, or Baptism.

A number of speakers at the Association of Confessional Lutherans in Chicago the week after Easter 2002 spoke about feminism, woman ordination, and the probability that an LCMS District President would ordain a woman pastor in the near future.

The letter sent to Otten by Lutz about woman ordination

Dear Herman,

Greetings in the name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ!

This is to acknowledge receipt of your fax dated April 3, 2002, and addressed to the Board of Directors of the North Wisconsin District. Your letter will be presented to the Board at its next meeting on May 7, 2002.

In your letter, however, you reference a matter that has nothing to do with the Board of Directors of the District, that is, the ecclesiastical supervision of Pastor Timothy Spilker. The matter of his sermon was dealt with immediately and appropriately within the congregation to which the sermon was delivered. An old Lutheran ethical principle states that when offense is given, it is to be addressed only in the arena in which it was given. When Christian News printed this sermon, it violated this principle and made what was a local, circumscribed matter a public proclamation.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in its Constitution and Bylaws has provided a proper avenue to follow when a member of the Synod questions any position of the Synod. This procedure is described in Bylaws 2.39c. Pastor Spilker was encouraged to follow the provisions of this Bylaw, which he did. The result was Overture 3-lll, page 192-193 in the 2001 Convention Workbook. It is certainly the right of pastors (Pastor Spilker and his peers in the Circuit) to request the Synod to study the matter. This overture was addressed by the floor committee in Resolution 3-17 and 3-17A. However, the time of the convention expired before the Resolution was presented to the assembly.

Your final question reads: "Do you believe that pastors in your District and in the LCMS should be permitted to maintain that it is not contrary to the Bible for women to serve as pastors?" Pastors, on the basis of their study of the Holy Scriptures, may hold the conviction that it is not contrary to the Bible for women to serve as pastors. However, it is not permissible for them to teach this publicly either from the pulpit or in Bible Class or in any other public forum. That is the point of Bylaw 2.39c. It is simply a matter of public record that in the past such differing viewpoints have resulted in the Synod changing a long-held position, e.g., women's suffrage. It is, therefore, both possible and probable that in the future the Synod may revise or change some other long-held position, e.g., women's suffrage. Until the change is made, however, members of the Synod are bound by the covenant of love, which is the Synodical union, to teach and preach publicly only the position of the Synod in these controverted matters.

Sincerely in Christ,
Arleigh Lutz, President
North Wisconsin District

If you wish to read all of Otten's additional correspondence and excellent editorials on this issue and Spilker's sermon you can order Christian News, particularly the April 15th 2002 issue, by calling 573-237-3110 or emailing <cnmail@fidnet.com>.

We also notice that Lutz will not recognize Otten as a Lutheran Minister even though he has a regular call to a Missouri Synod Congregation.

Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

April 17, 2002