LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 193

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 193

which are contrary to the faith once and for all delivered to the
saints; and

WuereaS, To abide in Christ and confess Him also requires that
certain matters be left to individual consciences, according to one’s
faith and circumstances, and that such matters be neither judged by
fellow servants of the Lord (Rom. 14:13) nor discussed at length
(Rom. 14:22); and

WuereaS, Our Lord desires that we all accept one another in
love, the strong bearing with the weak; and

WHEREAS, The Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod bears witness to these truths by stating in Art. VII: “In its
relation to its members the Synod is not an ecclesiastical govern-
ment exercising legislative or coercive powers, and with respect to
the individual congregation's right of self-government it is but an
advisory body. Accordingly, no resolution of the Synod imposing
anything upon the individual congregation is of binding force if it is
not in accordance with the Word of God or if it appears to be inex-
pedient as far as the condition of a congregation is concerned”; and

WHEREAS, When the Synod in convention discusses and passes
resolutions that do not deal with the central tenets of the faith and
yet run counter to the consciences of many or prove to be inexpe-
dient to significant numbers of her congregations, then it makes a
farce of its proceedings, causes offense, promotes strife and con-
fusion, and undermines its proper purpose; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention demonstrate a clear and
consistent confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, both in word and in
deed, and make it the highest priority to carry out His mission and
ministry to the world; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention show proper restraint in
relating to contentious topics that might more properly be left to
the conscientious discernment of individuals or congregations in
Christ. provided that nothing is done to openly contradict or mani-
festly compromise the creeds and confessions of the Lutheran
church or clearly offend a “weaker brother” in the Synod.

St. John the Evangelist
Brooklyn, NY

3-133

To Encourage Mutual Accountability

WHEREAS, The practice of individual congregations and pastors
reflects upon all the others; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Synod have agreed to “walk to-
gether” for the conservation and promotion of the true faith: and

Wuereas, Inter-Christian and even inter-Lutheran associations,
whether devoted to social ministry, traditional liturgy. church
growth, or charismatic gifts, etc., tend to discourage the informal
accountability to synodical brethren in favor of informal account-
ability to those who share the association's raison détre, and

Wuereas, It is difficult to stand alone against popular currents
and expectations, especially when they manifest themselves in the
local congregation or ministry setting: therefore be it

Resolved, That all congregations and pastors of the Synod, es-
pecially District Presidents, conform as much as possible to the
practices and policies agreed upon in the Synod; and be it turther

Resolved, That pastors of the Synod look to brothers who share
the same commitment to the Lutheran Confessions for help, guid-
ance, correction. and support in matters of casuistry: and be it fur-
ther

Resolved. That the Circuit conferences and pastoral conterences
be especially used for this purpose; and be it finally

Resolved, That the basis of this accountability be not personal
relationship or friendship, but rather our commitment to the nght
teaching of the Word of God as exhibited in the Lutheran Confes-
sions.

Redford
Detroit MI

3-134

To Confess All Doctrines of Bible and Reaffirm Brief
Statement and Statement of Scriptural
and Confessional Principles

Wuereas, Many major denominations no longer consider the
ancient creeds of Christendom and their own confessions binding
upon their members; and

WuereaS, Denials of such basic doctrines as the virgin birth.
deity, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are tolerated within almost
all major denominations; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at its
1998 convention reaffirm its total agreement with all the doctrines
taught in the Holy Scriptures; and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at its
1998 convention again declare that all of the ancient creeds of
Christendom: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Atha-
nasian Creed, the entire Book of Concord, the LCMS’s Brief State-
ment and its 1973 “A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional
Principles” are in complete accord with the Holy Scriptures; and
be it finally

Resolved, That all pastors and professors of the LCMS are
bound to confess and teach in accord with all of these creeds, con-
fessions, and statements of faith.

Trinity, New Haven, MO; Faith, Corning, NY; Washington
Circuit, Missouri District; Trinity, Denver, CO

3-135

To Take More Seriously Words
Faith and Practice

WuHerEAS, The phrase “faith and practice” in the Missouri
Synod does not mean “faith and ceremonies” but what Pieper
meant when he wrote, “A church body is orthodox only if the true
doctrine, as we have it in the Augsburg Confession and the other
Lutheran Symbols, is actually taught in its pulpits and its publica-
tions and not merely ‘officially’ professed as its faith. Not the ‘of-
ficial’ doctrine, but the actual teaching determines the character of
a church body, because disciples should actually be taught and not
merely acknowledged in an ‘official document’ as the correct doc-
trine. It is patent that faith in Christ will be created and preserved
through the pure Gospel only when that Gospel is really pro-
claimed” (III, p. 423); and

Wuereas, Doctrinal resolutions of our Synod and other church
bodies do not tell us whether the content of those resolutions is ac-
tually being taught and practiced; and

WHEREAS, It is in the local congregations where the faith is ac-
tually taught and practiced; therefore be it

Resolved. That church fellowship be determined on the local
level rather than on the denominational level; and that on the de-
nominational level synodical officials keep the local congregations
informed of doctrinal developments in other church bodies.

Mount Zion
Minneapolis, MN

3-136

To Send Delegated Observer to WCC Assembly
at Harare

WHEREAS. The World Council of Churches will hold its eighth
Assembly at Harare, Zimbabwe, on the African continent, Decem-
ber 3-14, 1998; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church-—Missouri Synod has sent of-
ficial observers to other assemblies of the World Council, including
the most recent one in 199] at Canberra, Australia, and was also
represented by an official observer at the North American Confer-
ence on Faith and Order at Oberlin, Ohio. in 1957; and