LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 216

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216 HIGHER EDUCATION

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has always
taught and practiced close(d) Communion; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention express thanks to the
synodical President, Dr. Alvin Barry, for his staunch defense of the
teaching and practice of close(d) Communion, and be it further

Resolved, That the seminaries of the Synod be instructed to con-
tinue to teach candidates for the office of the holy ministry the im-
portance of the practice of close(d) Communion.

Board of Regents
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, IN

5-23

To Stress Confession and Absolution—Less Psychology
and Modern Therapy

WHEREAS, Many churchmen, seminaries, and pastors have been
relying more upon modern psychology and therapy and less on
confession of sin and absolution emphasized in the Bible and
Lutheran Confessions; and

WuerEAS, “Down through the centuries, without the aid of psy-
chotherapy or innovative techniques, Christianity has produced
millions of permanently transformed lives by the liberating truths
found in Jesus Christ. In barely one century, psychology has cap-
tured the minds of millions with a message that has enslaved
mankind to vacillating theories which promote sinful behavior.
Psychology points man to self. The Bible points man to God” (Ed
Bulkley, Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology), and

WHEREAS, The February 1992 Lutheran Witness, which had a
cover story titled “Incest: The Family Secret,” included an item
which said: “Dr. Joseph Barbour, a licensed professional counselor
who appears regularly in The Lutheran Witness’s ‘Family Coun-
selor’ column, strongly recommends that victims and survivors of
incest seek professional help from a family counselor or therapist.
If the counselor contacted is not familiar with this field, he or she
should be able to recommend another who is.

“Barbour cited as specially helpful the book The Courage to
Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, by
Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, Harper Collins, 1988. This volume,
which has an accompanying workbook that pertains to both male
and female survivors of incest, contains a bibliography of other
helpful sources” (The Lutheran Witness articles on incest and the
column recommended The Courage to Heal); and

Wuereas, The Courage to Heal was written by two lesbians
who promote lesbianism, adultery, and recovered memory therapy
in this book; and

Wuereas, The June 1996 Lutheran Witness published a “Fam-
ily Counselor’ column by Dr. Leslie Fyans, a clinical psycholo-
gist and member of the Ministerial Health Committee of Missouri
Synod’s Central Illinois District, recommending Alfred Ells’ One-
Way Relationships Workbook; and

Wuereas, Dr. Ells is a therapist who has had his certificate to
practice revoked because he was accused of telling his client that
she was possessed by demons; and :

Wuereas, The Lutheran Witness has strongly defended Profes-
sor Barbour and has refused to publish any retraction of its item
mentioning that Professor Barbour recommended The Courage to
Heal, and

WHEREAS, Dr. Barbour has refused to retract his endorsement
of The Courage to Heal; and

WHEREAS, Concordia Seminary president John Johnson said
that the entire faculty was standing behind Dr. Barbour and that
The Courage to Heal might have some redeeming features, and

WHEREAS, The recovered memory therapy, recommended in
The Courage to Heal and practiced by Dr. Barbour, has been thor-
oughly discredited and has torn many families, including families
counseled by Dr. Barbour, apart; therefore be it

Resolved, That the 1998 convention of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod ask The Lutheran Witness and Dr. Joseph Barbour
to publish a retraction of the endorsement of The Courage to Heal
and expose the errors of recovered memory therapy; and be it fur-
ther

Resolved, That The Lutheran Witness, instead of recommend-
ing such books as The Courage to Heal and the anti-Christian
books listed in its bibliography, recommend the books of Martin
and Deidre Bobgan, Ed Bulkley, Don Matzat, Carol and Gary
Almy, and H. Curtis Lyons. These include: The End of “Christian
Psychology” by the Bobgans, Addicted to Recovery by Carol and
Gary Almy, Against Biblical Counseling—For the Bible by the
Bobgans, Truly Transformed and Christ Esteem by Don Maizat,
Why Christians Can’t Trust Psychology and Only God Can Heal
the Wounded Heart by Ed Bulkley, Counseling at the Cross by H.
Curtis Lyons, Lost Daughters—Recovered Memory Therapy and
the People It Hurts by Reinder Van Til and Victims of Memory—
Incest Accusations and Shattered Lives by Mark Pendergast; and
be it finally

Resolved, That the 1998 convention of the LCMS urge all pas-
tors and seminary professors to rely more on the Bible, confession,
and absolution when counseling than on modern psychology.

Trinity
New Haven, MO

5-24

To Remind Seminaries re Appropriate
Training for Pastors

Wuereas, Our two seminaries were established to prepare men
for assuming the pastoral office within The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod; and

WHEREAS, These two seminaries receive support not only from
the LCMS, but also from LCMS congregations as well as individ-
uals within our Synod; and

WHEREAS, The seminaries are aggressively seeking funding for
the continued training of future pastors for our church; and

WHEREAS, The seminaries are constantly encouraging congre-
gations to assist them in recruiting qualified men; and

WuerEAS, A shortage exists both in funding and in enrollment;
therefore be it

Resolved, That our seminaries be reminded of their reason for
existing; and be it further

Resolved, That our seminaries be reminded of the sacred trust to
equip and train men who will actively serve congregations of the
LCMS in the pastoral office, an office after the heart of Jesus, a
man of compassion and infinite love for the sheep in His care; and
be it further

Resolved, That the seminaries actively discourage certain fac-
ulty members from encouraging men to seek calls within the Con-
fessional Lutheran Synod, a direct misuse of the funds contributed
to train future pastors within the LCMS; and be it further

Resolved, that our leadership follow through on its request to
have all faculty members bring their instruction into agreement
with the scriptural position of the LCMS, an action long overdue
and eagerly awaited by the majority of LCMS members and pas-
tors. This action will also increase funding and recruitment as con-
fidence and love for the work of our seminaries will once again be
valued at all congregations of our Synod; and be it finally

Resolved, That our seminaries reflect in their priorities the heart
of Jesus, who asked us to pray for workers in the harvest, and was
moved to tears as He viewed those sheep who had no shepherd, a
sobering reminder of the present needs not only of our members
but those who dwell in darkness outside the doors of our churches.
Our membership prays for men to equip and lead them in the ful-
fillment of the Great Commission.

Shepherd of the Lakes
Brighton, MI