LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 59

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT 59

experiencing in trying to implement fellowship between
the two churches.

However, The American Lutheran Church, by a
rather substantial vote, decided last year to permit the
ordination of women and has already implemented this
resolution. Because of the implications of this decision
for fellowship, this matter was discussed at length by
the ALC — LCMS Inter-Church Committee. Our repre-
sentatives on that committee have recommended (as
you may have noted in your Workbook) that our
church body request The American Lutheran Church
to reconsider its action. It is also the recommendation
of your President that the Synod can do no less than
adopt the recommendation of our Inter-Church Com-
mittee. It is not difficult to understand why many of
our pastors and congregations are convinced that this
action of The American Lutheran Church requires that
we either suspend or rescind fellowship. But for us
to do anything less than asking our sister church to
reconsider its action would be acting indifferently to-
ward a matter our Synod has stated is taught in God’s
Word. Dr. Walther stated our position very well when
he wrote: “Every deviation from the Word of God must
be taken action against by the church, whether such
deviation be found with teachers or so-called laymen,
whether with individuals or with whole church bodies.”
(Proposition 8, CTM, Vol. XI, April 1940, p. 298)

It is with much anguish that I have said these things,
both for personal as well as for ecclesiastical reasons.
Yet I feel that I would be less than faithful to my Lord
and to His Word shou!'d I remain silent on an issue as
important as this in the life and fellowship of our
church.

I would also at this time call your attention to a
greeting received from the Evangelical Free Church
in Germany. This greeting contains also a request for
a statement concerning our fellowship relationship with
The American Lutheran Church. I would ask the Floor
Committee on Church Relations to extend the courtesy
of drafting a resolution in reply to this sister church of
ours in Germany. (This greeting will be printed in To-
day’s Business as X-07.)

One meeting was held in the past biennium with
representatives of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. There
were no tangible results toward the restoration of our
fellowship.

Before concluding my remarks on church fellowship,
let me emphasize the importance of working for our
internal reconciliation. We have been entirely too
fractured by factionalism, with some members threaten-
ing to leave the Synod if everything is not done the way
they wish, while others are determined to drive the
Synod into ecumenical relationships and theological
stances which appear to be at variance with our Synod’s
historic position. We need patience with one another,
a forgiving spirit, and much love. Let us be reconciled
with one another.

It is my hope that the Synod will ask the Commission
on Theology and Church Relations, perhaps in consul-
tation with others, to give high priority to the develop-
ment of an extensive and thoroughly comprehensive
document on our ecumenical stance. Such a document
could do much to help us from becoming either care-
lessly ecumenical or zealously separatistic. Our Council
of Presidents and Commission on Theology and Church
Relations have given us helpful guidance in this area
by stating quite categorically that they believe the Mis-
souri Synod should continue to exist as a separate
entity. They have also stated that they believe that we
should continue to follow our historic practice of carry-
ing on doctrinal discussions in order to achieve the
doctrinal agreement necessary for fellowship, and that
we should do this before considering the matter of
organic union. It is important to remember this in view
of the invitation which came from The American Lu-
theran Church in 1968 and which was reiterated in 1970
to talk about the organic union of the three great Lu-
theran churches in this country. We are not in a posi-
tion to move in this direction until we become reconciled
among ourselves, and until we agree on common goals
and strategy and, above all, a common theology.

If we could achieve such solidarity, it is my belief
that we could be a church which has close and proper
relations with many denominations, especially other Lu-
therans, without surrendering our autonomy, or our
theological and confessional position. We could be a
truly ecumenical church in the confessional sense. This
is the way we need to go. To that end, we must apply
the wisest and most careful thought, based on Holy
Scripture and our Confessions.

IV. To Carry Out Our Mission, We Need Good Order

The apostle Paul says, “Let all things be done decently
and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). The context of his two
epistles to Corinth indicates that things were carried
on in a very disorderly manner and that there was a
need for good order in the work of the Corinthian con-
gregation. There is need for good order in our church
today and, in fact, in any organization that expects to
achieve its objectives.

Under the work assigned to Committees 4 and 5,
there are a vast number of items having to do with the
orderly administration and government of our church.
While all the overtures are important, the delegates will
want to give particularly careful attention to some of
the rather sweeping proposals that have been made
concerning the government of the church itself. Several
overtures call for drastic reductions in the authority of
the President’s office, for a curtailment of the number
and authority of the Vice-Presidents, for a reduction of
the authority of the synodical Secretary, and even of
the synodical Treasurer. One is prompted to observe
that if individuals do not like the elected officials of
Synod, it would be better to bring about the election

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