# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S170
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

170 CHURCH

and practice currently plaguing our Synod, in accor-
dance with the provisions of our Handbook; and that
we then as a Synod in fact as well as in name take the
place of leadership among orthodox evangelical Lu-
theran Christians throughout the world in calling men
everywhere back to the Christ of the Scriptures, in-
deed to the Holy Scriptures themselves in all their truth
and purity, and take our stand on the basis of Holy
Scripture against any and all forms of unbelief and
perversion of the Gospel — without regard for the
origin of such errors—so that a God-pleasing unity
may at last be achieved among all Christians every-

where.
Rev. Daviw J. BEHLING

Farnhamville, Iowa
(3-203)

To Regretfully Decline Fellowship

Wuereas, The American Lutheran Church holds
membership in both the Lutheran World Federation
and the World Council of Churches; and

Wuereas, It is possible that The ALC will join the
National Council of Churches next year (1970); and

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
has for a variety of sound theological reasons declined
membership in these organizations; and

Wuereas, Altar and pulpit fellowship between The
ALC and our Synod would have the effect of declaring
that there are no theological reasons against member-
ship in these organizations; and

Wuereas, The ALC is in altar and pulpit fellowship
with the Lutheran Church in America: and

Wuereas, Fellowship between our Synod and The
ALC would therefore put us into de facto fellowship
with the LCA; and

Wuereas, There are sound reasons from the Lu-
theran Confessions and the Scriptures for us to decline
fellowship with the LCA in view of the evidence of
differences in doctrine and practice between that church
and our own; and

Wuereas, The ALC has a more liberal lodge practice
than that officially outlined in our Handbook; and

Wuereas, It would be unrealistic and unfair to tol-
erate a lodge practice for a church in fellowship with
us that we could not accept within our own Synod; and

Wuereas, The Gospel and the administration of the
sacraments are clearly and directly involved in the
lodge policy of a church body: and

Wuereas, It has been documented in several places
that many teachers and professors in ALC educational
institutions no longer hold to the inerrancy of the Scrip-
tures in all points but openly teach a method of higher
criticism that is incompatible with a high view of the
reliability of the Bible; and

WuereaS, These same liberal views are also found
in certain materials used in the Sunday school depart-
ments of The ALC; and

Wuereas, These liberal views have been officially

RELATIONS

endorsed through the endorsement of The Bible: Book
of Faith at the 1964 convention of The ALC; and
Wuereas, Little effort is made to correct this situa-
tion in The ALC, in spite of orthodox statements in
the Constitution of The ALC to the contrary: and
Wuereas, It is impossible logically or theologically to
maintain the historic Sola Scriptura of the Lutheran
Confessions without asserting that the Bible is both
without error and incapable of error in either theology
or in matters of geography, science, and history, and
it is furthermore impossible to maintain the purity of
the Gospel (Sola Gratia and Sola Fide) for long once
an unequivocal “Scripture Alone” stand is lost; and

WuereEas, The Brief Statement states that “the ortho-
dox character of a church is established not by its mere
name nor by its outward acceptance of, and subscription
to, an orthodox creed, but by the doctrine which is
actually taught in its pulpits, in its theological semi-
naries, and in its publications”; and

Wuereas, Jesus in His Great Commission (Matt.
28:18-20) calls us to teach disciples “to observe all
things I have commanded you”; and

Wuereas, Paul in Acts 20:27 asserts that “I did not
shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God";
and

WuereEas, Altar and pulpit fellowship without full
doctrinal agreement on the issues stated above would
not lead to true, God-pleasing unity in the Gospel but
would only be an agreement to disagree; and

Wuereas, This could not but destroy whatever unity
of mind and spirit that exists within our Synod at pres-
ent; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod respectfully and regretfully decline to enter into
altar and pulpit fellowship with The American Lutheran
Church at this time; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in the spirit of Gal. 6:1 ff.
encourage The ALC and all other Lutheran bodies
throughout the world to stand steadfast on the historic
teachings of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confes-
sions as our fathers did; and be it further

Resolved, That we ask The ALC to withdraw from
membership in the Lutheran World Federation and the
World Council of Churches and to refrain from joining
the National Council of Churches; and be it finally

Resolved, That we as a Synod take the leadership
among orthodox, evangelical Lutherans throughout the
world in calling men everywhere back to the Christ of
the Scriptures and the Scriptures of Christ and to take
a stand against every form of unbelief and every per-
version of the Gospel so that God-pleasing unity may
be achieved among all Christians everywhere.

REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH
Burlington, N.C.

R. C. Roaricx, President
Ernest O. Istey Jr., Secretary
Curtis A. PETERSON, Pastor