LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 301

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Church Relations in the 21st Century
Introduction
Throughout its history, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS) has expressed its agreement in doctrine and practice with
other church bodies through formal declarations of altar and pulpit
fellowship. This practice has served the Synod well with respect to
its church fellowship with other church bodies.1 This approach has
also, however, shown itself to be somewhat problematic in situations where doctrinal agreement exists but where a formal declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship may not be appropriate or
feasible. Situations such as the following suggest the need for a
more nuanced, differentiated approach to expressing a relationship
of doctrinal agreement other than a formal declaration of altar and
pulpit fellowship:
1. A church body earnestly seeks support, encouragement, and theological guidance from the LCMS, even while it is still in the formative stages of developing its own theological and ecclesial identity.
2. An emerging church body (e.g., a group of congregations established or gathered by an LCMS missionary) has a strong and clear
confessional commitment (nurtured, perhaps, with the help of the
LCMS itself), but it is not yet structured and organized in a way that
would allow it to engage in the formal process of seeking to establish “altar and pulpit fellowship.”
3. An established church body sincerely desires a closer relationship
with the LCMS because of its appreciation for the theology and
practice of the LCMS, but various political, geographical, institutional, and/or ecclesial factors make it difficult (or even impossible)
to enter into a formal relationship of “altar and pulpit fellowship”
with the LCMS.
4. A confessional group or association of congregations (e.g., within
what have historically and popularly been called “state churches”)
seeks closer ties with the LCMS, but since it has no legal or official
independent status as a “church body,” it is not possible under these
circumstances for the LCMS to enter into formal and official “altar
and pulpit fellowship” with this group.

The President is the chief ecumenical officer of the Synod and
represents the Synod in official contacts with all partner/sister
churches and with other church bodies. The President’s Office carries out these duties in consultation with the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).2 Recognizing the emerging
contexts in which we now find ourselves in church relations, on
April 26, 2004, President Gerald Kieschnick gave this assignment
to the CTCR: “Would it be biblically and confessionally appropriate for the LCMS, in certain circumstances, to seek to establish
some kind of formalized relationship with another church body,
a group of Christians, or an emerging church body other than a
declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship? If so, what would be the
basis, nature, and parameters of such a relationship?” In responding
to this assignment, the CTCR shares “Church Relations in the 21st
Century” with the Office of the President, that its guidance may be
utilized in consultation with the CTCR, as he carries out his ecumenical responsibilities.
Basic Considerations
1. The unity of the church coram deo3 (in the eyes of God) is a gift
and work of the Holy Spirit because the church itself is the Spirit’s
creation. Thus the Small Catechism describes the Spirit as the one
who gathers the church and “keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one
common, true faith” (SC II, 6). The Large Catechism describes it
as being “called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, mind, and
understanding. It possesses a variety of gifts, and yet is united in
love without sect or schism” (LC II, 51).
2. In creating the church, the Holy Spirit works through external
means. Thus Augsburg Confession Article 7 describes the true unity
of the church as agreement “concerning the pure teaching of the

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gospel and the right administration of the sacraments.” It appends to
the article the Apostle Paul’s description, “One faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all …” (AC 7, 2–4). This clarifies how the
Holy Spirit establishes and maintains the unity of the church: He
does so through the word of Christ as it is rightly proclaimed and
as it is authentically made visible in the sacraments. These oral and
sacramental words create and sustain the faith in Jesus Christ that
justifies. Justifying faith ties and binds us together in unity under one
head, Jesus Christ.
3. It is important to emphasize that the gospel and sacraments that
bring about this unity are not mere doctrinal or documentary formulations. They constitute the word that is actually preached and
the sacraments that are actually administered. They are the very instruments that the Holy Spirit uses to bring people to Jesus Christ.
The spoken and administered word and sacrament, which create and
unite the church coram deo, also create and unite the church coram
mundo (within the world). The church coram mundo is a visible assembly gathered by God around word and sacraments. Therefore we
can extract three non-negotiable principles with regard to manifesting the true unity of the church coram mundo.
a. Church fellowship is always altar and pulpit fellowship
within the world (coram mundo) because the Gospel and the
sacraments are the very means by which the unity of the church
coram deo is given and maintained. Therefore, they are the
infallible marks of where the church may be found within the
world and wherein the expression of its unity consists coram
mundo.
b. Altar and pulpit fellowship presupposes agreement in public
confession (the body of public doctrine, “united in teaching
and in all the articles of the faith,” FC X, 31). Because the
unity created by the Spirit is hidden from view to human
eyes, we only know that we have heard the same word in
common with one another to the extent that we confess it
and test it against the Scriptures. The proclamation of the
Gospel and the administration of the sacraments cannot be
separated from the entire body of doctrine any more than the
head can be separated from a body and survive. Therefore
church fellowship coram mundo always flows out of unity in
confession.
c. Confessional agreement is agreement in doctrine and practice,
since the true unity of the church coram deo is not created or
maintained apart from the actual proclamation of the Word
and the administration of the sacraments. Only doctrine that is
put into practice is in actuality the public doctrine of a church,
and only such doctrine and practice can genuinely serve as
a standard to determine where there is doctrinal agreement.
(This does not ignore the fact that there may be some variety in
practices—in the realm of adiaphora and Christian freedom—
that are consistent with a doctrinal position. Neither does it
deny that circumstances sometimes produce less-than-perfect
implementation of doctrine, even as Christians strive to
“maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” Eph. 4:3.)
4. How we determine or assess agreement in confession with other
church bodies can vary from situation to situation. Given the vastly
different situations that are increasingly encountered in today’s ecclesial context, it seems necessary and appropriate to avoid a “one
size fits all” approach and instead develop different ways of assessing agreement that are appropriate to the church body or group in
question. Such an assessment would take into account factors such
as the following:
a. Different histories with different assumptions.
i. In the United States and Canada there is a history of confessional differences between Lutheran church bodies, whose
congregations exist within the same geographical area. In
fact, many of them were formed out of those confessional
differences. Thus we have a tendency to approach the matter
of church fellowship with the assumption that we are not in
confessional agreement (we assume that such church bodies
disagree with us until proven otherwise). This assumption
may lead us to approach fellowship discussions in a way that
impels us to go probing into every corner of a church body’s
life in order to find every theological issue on which we may
disagree.

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