LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 87

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‘and confessional position is not under question,
seds to be understood more widely, developed
sanprehensivelY, and applied to our lives in

orld.

- sic Premises: Commitment to Truth,
Unity, and Love

he LCMS today is strongly committed to being

ining a strong confessional church body, both

cial position and in its life together, and is

ive leadership to confessional Lutheranism i in

gent theological and ecumenical direction of
atheran bodies in the Uz S.A. and abroad. We

; to all other Christians and to the world at large.
is to proclaim and preserve the Gospel—the
me ns by which the Lord creates, expands, and
‘1 ins, ; His church.

. The LCMS today is strongly committed to recog-
and giving appropriate expression to the under-
nity (unitas) of all Christians. We believe that the
‘unity of the church is served, rather than hindered,
ear, strong, and evangelical witness to confes-
Lutheran doctrine. The underlying unity of faith
jtas) among Christians impels us to seek and work
rd consensus “in doctrine and in all its articles as
as in the right use of the holy sacraments” (FC Ep
which constitutes the confessional basis for church
wship. Our basic unity with all other Christians is
oa presupposition for many of the activities in which
engage jointly, and for the spirit of brotherliness,
will, and cooperation which should characterize
Hinter-Christian relationships. Guidelines are needed
lp our church body identify principles, circum-
nees, and actions that typify our commitment to
ressing the unitas of the church.

Il.. The LCMS is strongly committed to the practice
‘hristian love in all our actions, whether directed
pternally or externally, both in giving witness to the
4) ith. (confessional doctrine) and in manifesting and
eepening Christian unity. Manifesting true Christian
ove toward brethren includes our clear, strong, and
val igelical witness to confessional doctrine in our
j onships with others, particularly those we regard
).be in error. But it also entails our earnest efforts to
orrect abuses of Christian love in our midst, including
cessive faultfinding, public character assassination,
ricaturing the positions of others both within and
utside of our Synod, and showing disregard for the
rporate position of the Synod and the consciences of
others by engaging in practices contrary to our cove-
‘nant. Love also compels us to manifest a spirit of
brotherliness, good will, and cooperation in all our
relationships with other Christian individuals and
church bodies.

‘* (Note: For a somewhat amplified treatment of these
three principles and the way they can assist us in the

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 87

church relations area, please see my essay, “The Cele-
bration of Concord,” especially pp. 56—59 and
85—89.)

Working Assumptions

1. Our fundamental principles of church fellowship,
as stated, for example, by the CTCR in its The Nature
and Implications of the Concept of Fellowship docu-
ment, are Biblical and confessional and therefore
provide a sound basis for the development of guidelines.

2. We need to distinguish between our principles of
inter-Christian relationships and their application.
Some historic applications of principles easily come to
be regarded as principles, when in fact they are not.
This easily leads to a kind of nomistic ecumenism
instead of the Gospel-centered approach of our confes-
sional heritage.

3. A number of difficult questions in the area of
church relations urgently need attention and solution;
for a partial list of such questions, please see my essay,
“The Celebration of Concord,” pp. 75—85.

4. Our church-relations actions, whether of indivi-
duals, congregations, or church bodies, are, in fact,
confessional acts. They bear witness, to a greater or
lesser extent, to what we ourselves believe as well as to
our perception of the beliefs of those with whom we
relate. Determining the witness value of church-rela-
tions actions entails important theological considera-
tions. Theology and church relations belong together.

5. A key question, however, is whether every inter-
Christian or interdenominational action is a confession
of total agreement in the whole corpus of Christian
doctrine. If we grant that some actions may properly be
undertaken jointly with other Christians without com-
plete prior agreement in confessional doctrine—and
this has been our practice for many years—we must
then recognize the need to clarify and explicate the
principles and circumstances which determine which
actions fall into that category.

6. Our LCMS tradition has regarded the use of the
means of grace as the key to distinguishing between
communio in sacris (fellowship in sacred matters) and
cooperatio in externis (cooperation in external matters).
We have required full doctrinal agreement for the
former and a lesser degree of consensus for the latter.
This distinction remains valid, but we must recognize
both that it is often an extremely difficult distinction to
make, and that practical guidelines are urgently needed
to help our people in concrete situations.

7. Our study and guidelines need to provide concrete
counsel and direction for the interrelationships and
involvements of:

—individual Christian laypersons in their daily lives
and callings;

—individual pastors, teachers, and other professional
church workers of the Synod;

—individual officers, board members, and staff mem-
bers of the Synod and its Districts, institutions, and
agencies;