LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 291

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with the Synod may
be declared by the Synod President only after the approval of
the commission and , after consultation with the Praesidium
and approval by the commission, such. Such recognition may
be declared by the President of the Synod shall be subject to
the endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention.
(d3) When a Formal recognition of a mission of the Synod
applies for formal recognition as a self-governing partner
church, such recognition shall be proposed at convention of
the Synod by the Board for International Mission withafter the
approval of the commission.
(e) When an entity (e.g., a district, mission, group of
congregations, etc.) of a self-governing partner church is
established as an independent church body in altar and pulpit
fellowship with that partner church body, and subsequently
requests recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with Synod,
such recognition may be declared by the President of Synod, after
consultation with the Praesidium and approval by the
commission, subject to the endorsement of the subsequent Synod
convention.

Commission on Handbook
Ov. 5-09

To Reaffirm and Confess Doctrine of Closed
Communion and to Encourage Its Practice
WHEREAS, Oneness at the altar presupposes oneness in faith and
doctrine (Acts 2:42); and
WHEREAS, In the Holy Supper of our Lord, Jesus gives the
communicant His own precious body and blood, which were given
and shed for the forgiveness of sin, but those who fail to discern the
body and blood bring judgement on themselves (1 Cor. 11:27–29);
and
WHEREAS, The doctrine and practice of closed Communion flow
out of the concern for unity of faith, a desire to be faithful to
Scripture, and a desire to faithfully care for souls; and
WHEREAS, Closed Communion, properly practiced, requires that
the pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod (LCMS) commune only those individuals who belong to
congregations which are now in altar and pulpit fellowship with us;
and
WHEREAS, All members of the LCMS subscribe and accept
without reservation the authority of Holy Scriptures and the
Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord; therefore
be it
Resolved, That this convention recognize the scriptural necessity
of adhering publicly to both the professed doctrine and practice of
closed Communion as adopted in 2007 Resolution 3-09; and be it
further
Resolved, That all pastors are bound to follow this scriptural
practice.
Minnesota North District
Ov. 5-10

To Be a Faithful Confessional Church Body with
Respect to Communion Practice
WHEREAS, At the 2019 Synod convention in Tampa Bay, Fla., in
Resolution 4-11A, “To Encourage the Study of the Doctrine of
Close(d) Communion and Faithful Practice in All Congregations,”

291

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) restated in the
whereases the biblical, confessional practice of closed Communion
as its position (Proceedings, 145); and
WHEREAS, Former Concordia Theological Seminary president
and current Concordia University System president Dr. Dean
Wenthe in his article, “More Than Words,” has since warned—in
relation to the death of Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:1–11)—about irreverent
eating of the Sacrament when communicants fail to “recognize the
Lord’s body” (Dean O. Wenthe, et al., One of the Holy Trinity
Suffered for Us: Essays in Honor of William C. Weinrich, 2021
Luther Academy, 11):
“… The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his
irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there
beside the ark of God.” The account of Uzzah’s death is
remarkable for its similarity to St. Paul’s admonition concerning
the Lord’s Supper: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks
the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty
concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine
himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For
anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and
drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak
and ill, and some have died” (1 Cor. 11:27–30);
and
WHEREAS, We have in the book, Closed Communion? Admission
to the Lord’s Supper in Biblical Lutheran Perspective, a collection
of articles that shed invaluable light on the long history of the
church’s practice of closed Communion throughout the ages and of
Lutheranism in particular, and the reasons for it, which collection
shows the seriousness with which the church approached the matter
of a closed table until the erosion of such practice began over half
century ago, so that with respect to Dr. Wenthe’s point in the
previous whereas, we hear Dr. Martin Luther say, “Not only do they
who receive it unworthily dishonor the sacrament, but also those
who carelessly give it to the unworthy” (p. 54); and we read C.F.W.
Walther’s warning which has no less relevance today, whether
applied to deceivers or those being deceived (p. 45):
One should not rely on the fine-sounding words of the Calvinists
because, especially in reference to the doctrine of Communion,
they use their words to disguise their beliefs and conceal their
errors. With such people, through questions like: “Is the body of
Christ in Communion?” “Is He truly present?” “Is He essentially
present?”—the fox, as Luther said, has not yet appeared. They
will respond to all of them with “yes,” but they will always mean
only a spiritual body of Christ. Therefore, one must go further
and ask whether also Judas and all the godless receive the true
body of Christ orally. They then will deny and will recoil from it
with the greatest horror. And in this way they prove that they
make the presence of the body of Christ in the Holy Sacrament
dependent on faith and deny the presence of the true body of
Christ.
Furthermore, Luther points out the necessity of instruction in the
truth (pp. 57–58):
It is very well true that where preachers administer mere bread
and wine as the Sacrament there is no more concern about to
whom it is administered; or what they understand or believe; or
how they perceive it … But we intend to educate Christians and
to leave some behind us; for in the Sacrament we administer the
body and blood of Christ. We cannot and will not give such a
Sacrament to anyone who has not been previously examined as
2023 Convention Workbook