LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 165

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 165

Resolved, That 1986 Res. 3-08 be printed in its entirety for the
delegates attending the 2001 synodical convention; and be it fur-
ther

Resolved, That upon reception of that resolution, delegates reaf-
firm 1986 Res. 3-08, and that it supersede all subsequent conven-
tion resolutions, papers, and documents on the practice of close
Communion.

St. Peter, Brooklyn, NY; Circuit 9, Atlantic District;
Circuit 8, Atlantic District

3-30

To Restore Integrity in Practice of Closed Communion

Wuereas, The Holy Spirit warns in Holy Scripture that only
those who are baptized and who “say the same thing” and who live
an outwardly godly life are eligible for fellowship (John 3:5; | Cor.
1:10; 2 John 10-11; Hebrews 13:10; | Cor. 5:11; Matt. 18:15-17),
while those who teach and live otherwise are to be admonished as
brothers, marked, and even avoided (Rom. 16:17; 2 Thess.
3:14-15; et al.); and

Wuereas, Our Lutheran fathers, following the lead of St. Paul,
set forth the principles of our closed Communion policy when dis-
cussing the condemnations and censures contained in the Book of
Concord, warning of the responsibility that falls upon the pastors
with regard to the followers of false teachers to remind and warn
them of the danger their souls are in:

... we mean specifically 10 condemn only false and seduc-
tive doctrines and their stiff-necked proponents and blasphe-
mers. These we do nol by any means intend to tolerate in our
lands, churches, and schools tnasmuch as such teachings are
contrary to the expressed Word of God and cannol coexist with
it. Besides, pious people should be warned against them. But
we have no doubt at all that one can find many pious, inno-
cent people even in those churches which have up to now ad-
mittedly not come to agreement with us. These people go
their way in the simplicity of their hearts, do not understand the
issues, and take no pleasure in blasphemies against the Holy
Supper as it is celebrated in our churches according to Christ’s
institution and as we concordantly teach about it on the basis of
the words of his testament. It is furthermore to be hoped that
when they are rightly instructed in this doctrine, they will.
through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, turn to the infallible
truth of the divine Word and unile with us and our churches and
schools. Consequently the responsibility devolves upon the the-
ologians and minislers duly to remind even those who err in-
genuously and ignorantly of the danger to their souls and to
warn them against it, lest one blind person let himself be led by
another ... (Tappert, Book of Concord [Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1959], pp. 1-12, emphasis added); and

Wuereas, Our fellowship practices are based on our confession
of the true faith, by which we guard the saving Gospel from com-
promise and corruption both for the present faithful and the mis-
sion among the unbelieving as well as for the generations to come;
and

WHEREAS, Among the myriad synods and denominations across
America, from the ELCA to the (other) Reformed bodies to the
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bodies, there is no other
major church body that genuinely shares our public confession re-
garding the Lord’s Supper, but each carries a confession on their
lips contrary to that which we have received, so that it is deceitful
and deceiving to invite those outside the congregations of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to the Lord’s Table; and

WHEREAS, The confusion over the practice of closed Commu-
nion versus open Communion is such that an entire movement
within our Synod (“Jesus First”) seeks to open up Communion fel-
lowship to those who carry on their lips a confession contrary to
and inconsistent with that set forth by our Lord Jesus Christ in the
apostolic Scriptures under the guise that those individuals visiting
Missouri Synod congregations on any given Sunday morning say
they agree with a brief, shallow, and oversimplified statement of
our teaching on the Sacrament of the Altar, while being publicly

and officially associated with a congregation outside our fellow-
ship; and

WHEREAS, Some Missouri Synod pastors entrusted with the re-
sponsibility of overseeing the administration of the Lord’s Supper
seek to avoid having to exclude those outside our fellowship by
following a “don’t ask; don’t tell” policy, failing to inquire of what
congregation/denomination a visitor is a member and thus failing to
practice closed Communion; and

WHEREAS, Without intervention on the part of and direction
from the Synod it will become necessary that pastors and congre-
gations begin to isolate themselves from one another within our
own Synod due to varying practices; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention in St. Louis impress
upon its members the need to restore our synodical integrity by all
of our congregations stating plainly our closed Communion policy,
which requires that those who commune at Missouri Synod altars
be members in good standing of a Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod congregation or of a church body with which we are in fel-
Jowship; and be it further

Resolved, That tor the sake of the Gospel and the good of the
Missouri Synod and its member congregations, those pastors and
congregations who refuse to abide by our confessional practice of
closed Communion “be rebuked before all” at the testimony of two
or three witnesses “that the rest may fear” (1 Tim. 5:19-20).

St. Paul
Decatur, IN

3-31

To Inform Lutheran Fraternal Representatives
re Fellowship Issues

WHEREAS, The LCMS greatly benefits from such fraternal ben-
efit companies as Aid Association for Lutherans, Lutheran Broth-
erhood, and Lutheran Fraternities of America (among others); and

WHEREAS, Frequently there exist situations where such agents
may be visiting an LCMS congregation to generate new business or
to distribute fraternal benefits; and

WHEREAS, Some of the agents may not be members of church
bodies in fellowship with the LCMS, and may not be sensitive to or
aware of the doctrine of close(d) Communion; therefore be it

Resolved, That the 2001 convention of the LCMS both thank
the Lutheran fraternals for their fine support to our ministries and
petition their home offices to discuss church fellowship issues with
all of their agents, with the view of increasing their professionalism
by encouraging them to be aware of and to respect the doctrine of
close(d) Communion in the LCMS.

Hope
Akron, OH

3-32

To Encourage Congregations to Establish
Good Order re Sacrament

WHEREAS, Art. VII of our Augsburg Confession states, “The
church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is rightly
taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered”; therefore be it

Resolved, That the congregations of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod be encouraged to include articles within their con-
stitutions assigning responsibility for the conducting of regular ser-
vices, including the celebration of the Sacraments, to assure that
church discipline is administered to the erring and indifferent ac-
cording to Matt. 18:15—18 and that there is supervision by the el-
ders or equivalent officers of the congregation.

Circuit 19 Forum
South Wisconsin District

2001 Convention Workbook