LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 169

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 169

WHEREAS, The President of the LCMS has defended this
position, which is at variance with Holy Scripture, the public
confession of the Lutheran Church, and the LCMS; and
defended its author, a pastor of the ALC (which officially
tolerates both millennialism and amillennialism alike) and
has thus encouraged him in the dissemination of his false view
of things at issue, as witness:

. your book went through the usual editorial processes of
Concordia Publishing House, was doctrinally reviewed by a
thoroughly responsible member of our church, and was published
with the understanding that it contained nothing contrary to the
Bible or the Confessions. [Letter of the President, May 23, 1978, to
the author of Things to Come for Planet Earth, a copy of which was
sent by the President to Pastor Paul H. Burgdorf};

therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
repudiate its President’s defense of the false doctrinal position
promoted in its name by its Concordia Publishing House; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Synod take any and all further steps
which may be necessary toward correcting the whole situation
which is involved in this offensive matter and toward thus
restoring its good name as a synod which remains true to Holy
Scripture, the Confessional Symbols of the Lutheran Church,
and to its own confession as set forth in its Constitution andin
its Brief Statement of its Doctrinal Position. (Brief Statement,
No. 29.)

Peace Lutheran Church
Garland, Tex.

John R. Morna
Kenneth Schon

3-30A

To Urge Study of Scriptures
Regarding Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage

WHEREAS, It is the will of God that marriage be a lifelong
union between one man and one woman (Matt. 19:1-8); and

WHEREAS, Man in his sinfulness often consciously or
unconsciously rebels against the will of God and manifests
that rebellion today in a divorce rate which has reached
alarming proportions, not only in our country, but also in our
congregations; and

WHEREAS, There is a divergence of practice among us in
dealing with the issues of divorce and remarriage; and

WHEREAS, It is the duty of the church to speak also to these
issues, properly applying both Law and Gospel; therefore be it

Resolved, That we urge all congregations together with
their pastors to restudy carefully the passages in Scripture
which deal with the marriage covenant, divorce, and circum-
stances of remarriage in the total context of the Bible and in the
light of the Confessions of our church; and be it further

Resolved, That we urge our pastors and teachers to instruct
members in the will of our God for His people also in this area;
and be it further

Resolved, That our congregations continue to assist couples
who struggle with marital problems by applying the Law so as
to expose sin and the Gospel so as to comfort repentant hearts;
and be it finally

Resolved, That the Michigan District, in order that our
Lord’s will might be done among us, respectfully petition the
Synod to direct the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations to study the issues related to marriage, divorce, and
remarriage and provide guidelines consistent with the Holy
Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions to be used by our
congregations and pastors as they minister to people.

Michigan District
Eldor Bickel, Secretary

Identical or similar:

3-30B

Mt. Zion, Castle Rock, Colo. Elmer J. Moeller

3-31

To Publicize Anti-Abortion Stand

WHEREAS, The Lord Jesus has called us to be lights in the
world, the salt of the earth, the light on a hill; and the
Philippians are ordered to be ‘“‘God’s children with whom
nobody can find fault in the middle of a crooked and perverted
people, among whom you shine like stars in the world as you
cling to the Word of Life” (2.15 Beck); and

WHEREAS, The darkness of paganism slithers into the
tender recesses of infant life with sword in hand, feigning love
under a “quality of life” slogan; and

WHEREAS, This darkness is merchandised in newspaper
ads, campus papers, magazines, and the yellow pages of most
every directory in the country, to wit, classified euphemis-
tically under “clinic,” “birthright,” and “birth control”; and

WHEREAS, This barbarism of cheap life was conquered by
the early church in abolishing slavery and infanticide; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the 6,040 congregations of the Synod run
counterads in the local phone directories in the classified
yellow section alongside the Herodian ones with the logo ‘“‘Dial-
for-Life’’ followed by the church phone number (Circuits in
metro and rural areas strategize the field); and be it further

Resolved, That members, especially gifted women of our
congregations, be available to give one-on-one discussion and
personal testimony; to offer visitation and heart-to-heart talk
to other women and girls in distress; and be it further

Resolved, That District child welfare agencies give leader-
ship and aggressive drive to fight this throwback to Molochism
by developing guidelines, literature, tracts, and items to be
passed out at the church door from time to time; that they fire
their staffs to raise the flag of responsibility and Christian
witness, to counterinvent slogans that will match and surpass
to shred the banners of death that parade through our culture
in word, song, picture, and “‘clinic,” to, e.g., score the fire of hell
that says, ‘“‘thatin thename of freedom the unborn child should
have a right to be wanted”; and be it further

Resolved, That the LLL and the LWML, especially the
latter, use their publications to keep their readership current
and alert with appropriate items, both of the contending kind
as well as of the building up; and be it further

Resolved, That we recognize that while God is, as in the
days of Noah, biding His time, He is at the same time asking us
Noahs to nail down a few planks; and be it further

Resolved, That in view of the Synod’s resolution—indeed
alone in a sea of unprotesting Protestantism—to amend the
Constitution of the United States, all publications of Synod,
with the Lutheran Witness in the lead, give continuous injec-
tions into the subconscious life of our people on this subject.

Let it be known that this crass, brazen breaking of the Ten
Commandments is a pollution that will draw the lightning of
God’s fury. See Ezekiel 13: “... prophets of Israel who prophesy
about Jerusalem and see for her a vision that all is well when
nothing is well, says the Lord God.”

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV: “For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Sample for the Yellow: Pages
Dial-for-Life.........0.00.0.0000. 00000. Phone 459-6431
(May be followed by a box with the words):

A consultation service from the Christian and Biblical
viewpoint, for the spiritual and emotional needs of a
woman and the protection of the preborn baby.
Ebenezer Lutheran Church
Leslie, Mo.
F. A. Hertwig, Pastor
Dennis Brune, Secretary
3-32A

To Provide Educational Materials Related
to Life Issues
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, at its