# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S165 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 165 defend through earthly means the well-being of these United States; and WHEREAS, The chaplains endorsed by The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod to serve as her missionaries go forth into the har- vest field armed with only the Word of God and the means of grace to advance the kingdom of God; and WHEREAS, All chaplains are compelled as rostered members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to uphold their ordination vows as well as the doctrines and teachings of the church that has endorsed them to serve in such a ministry; and Wuereas, The President of the Synod has the supervision re- garding doctrine and shall conscientiously use all means at his command to promote and maintain unity of doctrine (Art. XI, B, 1995 Handbook, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod); there- fore be it Resolved, That the Central Illinois District memorialize the Synod asking the Praesidium to investigate the present position and practice of those responsible for the oversight of the Ministry to the Armed Forces and that the church’s position on the practice of close(d) Communion (Res. 3-08, 1995 Convention Proceedings, pp. 121-22) be upheld without question by those servants of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Board for Mission Services; and be it further Resolved, That the Central Illinois District memorialize the Synod asking the Ministry to the Armed Forces to establish clear guidelines for the administration of the Sacrament of the Altar given its “special circumstances” and that these guidelines be clearly articulated to all LCMS chaplains; and be it finally Resolved, That the Synod send a report of its findings to the church through its official organ, the Reporter. Central Illinois District 3-37 To Express Sorrow and Confess Truth WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at its 1997 convention adopted a “Statement of Agreement’’ and thereby declared itself to be in full Communion with the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA); and WuerEAS, The aforementioned agreement does not address the historic questions regarding the understanding of the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper but instead accepts the principle of “reconciled diversity’’; and WHEREAS, Such an action has further confused the understand- ing of what it means to be a Lutheran church body in this country; therefore be it Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod express publicly to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America its sorrow and regret that the ELCA has abandoned the scriptural and confes- sional Lutheran position on such a key doctrine of the Christian faith: and be it further Resolved, That the Synod and its members pray for the mem- bers of the ELCA that they might reconsider the actions taken and again confess the truth of the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions; and be it further Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod humbly confess the truth regarding the Holy Supper of our Lord as taught in the sacred Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions (especially Art. VII of the Formula of Concord) and that we witness to the same in our doctrine and practice; and be it finally Resolved, That the President of Synod, in consultation with the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, plan a series of free conferences on the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confes- sions in order to foster the true unity of the Christian church by a common confession of the faith. South Wisconsin District Pastoral Conference, Wisconsin Dells, WI; Pilgrim, West Bend, WI 3-38 To Clarify Status with ELCA Wuereas, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America prac- tices “Eucharistic sharing’’ with the Episcopal Church; and WHEREAS, When two or more churches enter into altar and pul- pit fellowship, they thus become one communion, one church; and Wuertas, An Invitation to Action: The Lutheran-Reformed Di- alogue, Series Ill, 1981-1983 (Fortress Press, 1984) is predicated on the claim that “The Reformed Confessions have always taught and still teach the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist,’’ and that the difference is simply about the “mode’’ of this presence, and should not divide the churches; and Wuereas, Such claims directly contradict the Formula of Con- cord (see especially SD VII, 1-8); and WHEREAS, By its non-protesting membership in the Lutheran World Federation the ELCA is, according to the LWFS 1984 con- stitution, in full pulpit and altar fellowship with all other members of that federation; and WHEREAS, Many member churches of the Lutheran World Fed- eration are in pulpit and altar fellowship with Reformed churches on the basis of the Leuenberg Agreement, thus denying the sacra- mental teaching of Holy Scripture as faithfully confessed in the Book of Concord; and WHEREAS, The ELCA has officially endorsed a position of full Communion between it and three other Reformed church bodies in America (Aug. 18, 1997 Assembly), thus denying the sacramental teaching of Holy Scripture as faithfully confessed in the Book of Concord; and WHEREAS, Such actions directly contradict the Formula of Con- cord (see especially SD VII, 108); and Wuereas, The ELCA, in opposition to the apostolic-prophetic Scriptures of God, ordains women into the sacred ministry of Word and sacraments; and WHEREAS, The ELCA, in opposition to clear statements from God’s Word, ordains homosexuals and lesbians into the sacred ministry of Word and sacraments (Vocations of Gay and Lesbian Lutherans, Ann Arbor, MI, 3-6-97); and WHEREAS, The ELCA’s leading dogmatics textbook used in the education of its clergy (Christian Dogmatics, Braaten/Jenson) mocks the Trinity and our Lord’s eternally preexistent divine na- ture; therefore be it Resolved, That the 1998 synodical convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod publicly state through its official period- icals and its official discussion with the representatives of the ELCA, that the LCMS cannot regard or treat the pulpits and the al- tars of the ELCA as confessionally Lutheran in the sense of the Book of Concord, but must recognize them as heterodox, union pulpits and altars; and be it further Resolved, That the Colloquy Board, together with the Council of Presidents and the seminaries in the case of experienced ELCA pastors seeking entry into the LCMS on conscientious grounds, and whose orthodoxy and general suitability are fully established, at their discretion adjust the colloquy requirements to ease entry of such men into the ministerium of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Salem Taylorsville, NC 3-39 To Acknowledge New Ecclesiastical Status of ELCA Rationale The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has from its beginnings over 150 years ago been a confessional Lutheran church. Some of our forefathers came to this country to escape the forced union between the Lutherans and the Reformed in Prussia (the Prussian Union). Our forefathers likewise stood against a sim-