LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 299

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

POLICY
for
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD
Declaring
ALTAR AND PULPIT FELLOWSHIP
with
ANOTHER CHURCH BODY*
Article III of the Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod lists as the first objective of the Synod that
The Synod, under Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, shall—Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith (Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 1:10),
work through its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian
church bodies, and provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism
(Rom. 16:17), and heresy.
This policy statement describes the procedure which The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod follows in declaring Church Fellowship with
another church body.

I. Delineation of Responsibilities
1. The President of the Synod
The President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is responsible for all church relations matters involving the Synod and other
church bodies. He is to
• represent the Synod, in consultation with the appropriate Board
or Commission, in official contacts with all partner churches
by aiding, counseling, and advising them and strengthening the
relations with and among them;
• be the chief ecumenical officer of the Synod. He or his
representative shall represent the Synod in official contacts
with other church bodies. (Bylaw 3.101A 4 and 5) [Cf. also
Bylaw 3.3.1.1.2 (a)(b) 2007 Handbook of the Synod].
2. The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) is
“to assist the President of the Synod in matters of church relationships” (Bylaw 3.923) [Cf. also Bylaw 3.9.6. 2007 Handbook of the
Synod]. The Commission is to “assist the President at his request
in discharging his constitutional responsibilities for maintaining
… doctrinal integrity as he relates to other church bodies” (Bylaw
3.925a)[Cf. also Bylaw 3.9.6.2.2 2007 Handbook of the Synod].
The Synodical Bylaws specifically state that the CTCR shall address itself to and evaluate existing fellowship relations for the
purpose of mutual admonition and encouragement. When a church
body applies for formal recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship
with the Synod, such recognition shall be proposed at a Synodical
Convention only after the approval of the Commission.
3. The Synod in Convention
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Convention, acting on
the basis of a recommendation of the CTCR, declares Altar and
Pulpit Fellowship with another church body.
So that these provisions may be carried out with consistency and in
faithfulness to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, a relationship of altar and pulpit fellowship between another autonomous church
body and the Synod shall be declared in the following manner.

II. Basic Considerations
In considering whether the Synod should declare altar and pulpit
fellowship with another church body, the President of the Synod and
the CTCR shall take into consideration the following criteria.
1. Altar and Pulpit Fellowship is a relationship that has as its basis
agreement “in doctrine and in all its articles.” (FC SD X 31)
“While the church’s internal unity is perfect and known only to
God (Eph. 1:4), the limits of external fellowship are determined
by whether the Gospel is preached purely and the sacraments are
administered according to Christ’s institution. The Gospel and the
sacraments are in themselves always pure. In this way they create
and preserve the church in her hidden unity throughout the world.
Yet, when church bodies make public confession of the Gospel and

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the sacraments, tragically some obscure or explicitly contradict the
teaching of the Gospel and the proper administration of the Sacraments. For this reason the limits or boundaries of the external
fellowship are creeds and confessions. Churches in altar and pulpit
fellowship share the same confession, including the rejection of errors that contradict this confession. Where churches cannot agree
on a common confession, the basis for church fellowship does not
exist.” (Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship, p. 5)
2. Altar and pulpit fellowship is a relationship which signifies agreement not only in a church body’s formal statements but also agreement in the implementation of the formal confessions of a church
body in its actual life and practice.
“Confessional ecumenism recognizes the importance of practice as
the application of doctrine to life. Proper formulations of the meaning of the Gospel on the basis of the Scriptures, necessary as such
formulations are, are no substitute for actually preaching, teaching,
and living the Gospel and using the sacraments. Practice is a fair
indication of fidelity to the Gospel. For example, it does little good
to point to an excellent formulation of the lodge problem in a synodical constitution if in fact that policy is not being followed in the
parishes. It means little to point to a fine statement on the inerrancy
of Holy Scripture in the Brief Statement or the United Testimony of
Faith and Life if, in fact, that position is no longer consistently followed. We need to remember that the Augsburg Confession (VII)
is talking about a Gospel that is actually taught and proclaimed and
about sacraments that are actually administered. Why? Because it is
through the ‘practice’ of the Gospel, if you will, that the Holy Spirit
creates and sustains His church. To be sure, not all items in the area
of practice are clearly defined in the Word of God, and this needs
to be recognized. But where they are, or where they clearly relate
to the Gospel, there can be no ecumenical retreat to the safety of
written formulations at the expense of what is actually happening in
the church’s parishes as well as its seminaries, colleges, publishing
houses, boards and commissions. Herein lies one of the chief reasons why The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod holds doctrinal
discussions with other Lutheran groups prior to the establishment
of altar and pulpit fellowship.” (Ralph Bohlmann, “Celebration
of Concord” in Theologian’s Convocation Formula for Concord,
1977, pp. 69–70)
3. Altar and pulpit fellowship is a formal relationship between two
autonomous church bodies that are institutionally viable.
In addition to agreement in confession, factors to be taken into account in making a recommendation for altar and pulpit fellowship
with another church body include its history, size, self-understanding, and confessional and organizational maturity.
4. Altar and pulpit fellowship is a relationship which affects all those
church bodies with which each of the two newly related church
bodies holds church fellowship.
Early on in the process of contemplating the possibility of altar and
pulpit fellowship, the churches with which the Synod is already in
church fellowship are to be informed of this prospect and their input
requested. The President of the Synod and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations will take into account the responses of
the Synod’s sister churches in reaching its recommendation regarding the possibility of church fellowship with this church body.

III. Procedures
1. When relationships between the Synod and another church body
have reached the point that church fellowship between them is contemplated, the President of the Synod, following consultation with
the CTCR, is responsible for formally initiating this process. He
will inform the CTCR of this decision, as well as the Synod itself
and, immediately thereafter, the partner churches of the LCMS.
2. The President will invite the sister churches of the Synod to provide
input to him and to the CTCR regarding possible altar and pulpit
fellowship with this church body.
3. Working together with the head of the church body with which
church fellowship is contemplated, the President of the Synod shall
arrange for formal doctrinal discussions between representatives
of the two church bodies. Synodical representatives to these discussions shall be appointed by the President of the Synod, two of
which shall be members of the CTCR.

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 299

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