LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 166

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166

Theology and Church Relations

Whereas, It is an insufficient response merely to express disappointment or declare the ELCA no longer to be an orthodox Lutheran
church body, while continuing to maintain joint ministries that bear
witness that there are no differences between our two church bodies; and
Whereas, As long as joint campus ministry arrangements exist
between the ELCA and the LCMS, our LCMS college students will
be subject to heterodox doctrine and pastoral care; and
Whereas, Given the nature of the fellowship agreements that
the ELCA has entered into, ELCA college students can now receive
pastoral care from various other denominational campus ministries,
making agreements no longer a necessity; and
Whereas, The retreat from traditional confessional Lutheranism
has been unfolding in the ELCA and its predecessor bodies for
decades, with the ELCA showing no signs of returning to doctrinal
orthodoxy as a result of joint participation with the LCMS; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Wyoming District commend faithful LCMS
campus pastors and other workers serving in campus ministries for
maintaining confessional integrity in providing genuine Lutheran
Word and Sacrament ministry to those college students under their
spiritual care; and be it further
Resolved, That the Wyoming District memorialize the 2010 convention of the LCMS to declare that the Synod will no longer engage
in joint campus ministry of any description with the ELCA; and be
it finally
Resolved, That the Wyoming District memorialize the 2010
convention of the LCMS to mandate that the President and VicePresidents of the Synod oversee and supervise all districts and any
corresponding boards, commissions, or associations of Synod in
detaching themselves from every vestige of joint campus ministry
with the ELCA where joint work is being conducted on any level in
the Synod, doing so no later than December 31, 2012.
Wyoming District
3-04

To End All ELCA/LCMS Cooperative
Ministry Efforts
Whereas, Holy Scripture condemns homosexual behavior as
intrinsically sinful and therefore contrary to the will of God and constitutes sin against His commandments (Lev. 18:22, 24; 20:13; 1 Cor.
6:9–20; 1 Tim 1:9–10; and Rom. 1:26, 27); and
Whereas, The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to open the ministry of
the ELCA to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers
living in “committed relationships” and approved a resolution that
commits the ELCA “to finding ways to allow congregations that
choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable
life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships”; and
Whereas, Doctrinal decisions adopted by the ELCA in 2001 led
the LCMS to declare that it could no longer consider the ELCA “to be
an orthodox Lutheran church body” (2001 Res. 3-21A); and
Whereas, Holy Scripture tells us to watch out for “those who
cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you
have been taught; avoid them” (Rom. 16:17 ESV); therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2009 All Workers Conference of the Montana
District memorialize the 2010 convention to direct the LCMS to end
all cooperative ministry efforts (e.g., campus ministry, military chaplaincy) as soon as possible.
2009 Montana District All Workers Conference

3-05

To Terminate All ELCA/LCMS Cooperative
Ministries While Continuing to Reach Out
to ELCA Church Members
Whereas, God’s Word warns us to “watch out for those who cause
divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not
serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Rom. 16:17–18) and
warns us not to be partners with sexual immorality or take part in the
unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:3–12); and
Whereas, At the 2001 LCMS convention, Res. 3-21A was passed,
which, in part, resolved that “we cannot consider them [the ELCA] to
be an orthodox Lutheran church body,” also resolving that the Synod
would continue to reach out to them in love and support; and
Whereas, Since that time the ELCA has moved further and further
from God’s Word until on August 21, 2009, its Churchwide Assembly
in Minneapolis, MN, voted to ordain homosexual men and women in
committed monogamous relationships to serve as pastors; and
Whereas, LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick said in The
Lutheran Witness (October 2009, Vol. 128, 10), when referring to
the ELCA action: “this matter is fundamentally related to significant
differences in how [our two church bodies] understand the authority
of Holy Scripture and the interpretation of God’s revealed and infallible Word”; and
Whereas, Cooperation between the ELCA and the LCMS is likely
to confuse the public, who may interpret such cooperation to mean
that the LCMS and ELCA agree regarding the unbiblical position
of the ELCA in this most recent and other points of doctrinal divergence, and may further confuse the Synod’s identity as distinct from
the ELCA; therefore be it
Resolved, That LCMS church members be encouraged to continue to reach out in Christian love to ELCA church members with
clear biblical admonition; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS terminate all cooperative ministries
between the LCMS and the ELCA.
Concordia, Sikeston, MO; Holy Cross, Kansas City, MO; Christ,
Lampson/Trego, WI; Circuit 3 Forum, North Wisconsin District;
St. John, Owensville, MO; Good Shepherd, Arnold, MO
3-06

To Cease Cooperative Work with ELCA
Whereas, In response to actions taken by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), Res. 3-21A of the 2001 LCMS convention declared, “we cannot consider them [the ELCA] to be an
orthodox Lutheran church body”; and
Whereas, The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly continued
down the path of establishing full communion agreements with
Reformed church bodies; and
Whereas, The 2009 ELCA Assembly also took another step
away from the tradition of the worldwide church, Scripture, and the
Lordship of Jesus Christ when it directed that ministry policies be
revised to eliminate prohibitions against partnered gay and lesbian
members serving as lay and ordained leaders of the church; and
Whereas, Res. 3-21A of the 2001 LCMS convention recognized
that “many of our brothers and sisters of the ELCA remain faithful
to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and we resolve to reach out to
them in love and support”; and
Whereas, It would be unloving and uncaring for the LCMS to
take no action with respect to the heterodox actions of the ELCA; and

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2010 Convention.indb 166

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