LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 178

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178 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

WHEREAS, It is an insufficient response merely to express dis-
appointment, as did the LCMS 1998 convention, while continuing
to maintain joint ministries that bear witness that there are no dif-
ferences between our two church bodies and wherein the ELCA
shows both insensitivity to us on the one hand and deliberately vi-
olates agreements on the other, such as

(a) The ELCA placing ordained females into joint campus min-
istries

(b) Violations of military agreements as documented in the
April 2000 issue (vol. 64, no. 2) of the Concordia Theological
Quarterly, re. ELCA military chaplains combining Lutheran wor-
ship services with those of other denominations despite agreements
between the ELCA and LCMS prohibiting such practices; and

WHEREAS, Secking a military remedy to these documented vio-
lations would only address incidents on a piecemeal basis, subject
our chaplains and their confession of faith to determinations by
military authorities not equipped to deal with the doctrinal issues,
and fail to address the underlying doctrinal paradigm shift that has
taken place in the ELCA; and

WHEREAS, As long as joint ministry agreements exist between
the ELCA and the LCMS, our military personnel and college stu-
dents will be subjected to heterodox doctrine and pastoral care; and

WHEREAS, The time has finally come for our Synod to provide
the same prompt and detailed response to this doctrinal paradigm
change as it has in other areas of ministry, and

WHEREAS. The retreat from traditional, confessional
Lutheranism has been unfolding in the ELCA and its predecessor
bodies for decades, with the ELCA showing no signs of returning
to doctrinal orthodoxy by their joint participation with the LCMS,
therefore be it

Resolved, That the 2001 convention of the LCMS declare that
our Synod will no longer engage in joint ministry of any descrip-
tion with the ELCA; and be it further

Resolved, That the convention grant a mandate to the synodical
President and Vice-Presidents to oversee and supervise the Synod’s
various boards and commissions in detaching themselves from
every vestige of joint mission work with the ELCA, including min-
istry to the Armed Forces, international Lutheran congregations,
campus ministry, world relief, and any other area where joint work
is being conducted on any level in the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That the convention declare that this dismantling take
place during this current triennium and that it progress with all de-
liberate speed, being concluded no later than December 31, 2003;
and be it finally

Resolved, That we commend our faithful LCMS chaplains in
the Armed Forces and pastors serving in campus ministries for
maintaining confessional integrity in providing genuine Lutheran
Word and Sacrament ministry to those under their spiritual care.

Hope, Akron, OH; Zion, Tomball, TX

3-63

To Express Appreciation to CTCR, Seminaries,
and President for Statements

WHEREAS, The Lord of the church, Jesus Christ, calls us to con-
tess Him before men (Matt. 10:32) and to let our lights shine before
men that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in
heaven (Matt. 5:16); and

WuerEas, Representatives of a little over half of the Lutheran
church bodies in the world and representatives of the pope and the
Roman Catholic Church jointly signed a document entitled “A
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” on Oct. 31, 1999,
in the city of Augsburg, Germany; and

WHEREAS, This document purports to resolve a key difference
between the Lutheran church and the Roman Catholic Church that
has separated the two denominations since the days of the Lutheran
Reformation in the sixteenth century; and

2001 Convention Workbook

WHEREAS, The doctrine of justification before God is the very
hub of all other teachings of God’s holy Word, without which the
entire Christian faith ceases to exist in any valid way; and

Wuereas, The Word of God clearly teaches that nothing more
than simple trust in Christ is necessary to save us sinners and that to
say that we must add something of our own to what Christ has done
for us (His holy life, sufferings, and death as our all-sufficient Sub-
stitute, and His victory over death on our behalf) is to rob Him of
His glory and to rob us sinners of the certainty of our peace with
God; and

WuerEAS, The Joint Declaration attempts to agree with both
those who maintain the above teaching of Scripture (i.e., the
Lutheran church) and also with those who reject this teaching (1.e.,
in this case, the Roman Catholic Church); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1998 Res.
308A authorized its synodical President to request the CTCR to
prepare an evajuation of “A Formula of Agreement” and “A Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification”; and

WHEREAS, Synodical Bylaw 3.10 c (1995 Handbook) permits,
after proper consultation when no specific directive is issued by the
Synod, the synodical President to exercise executive power when
the affairs of the Synod require it; and

WHEREAS, The President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, Rev. Alvin L. Barry, has widely published a statement enti-
tled “Toward True Reconciliation: A Comment on Lutheran-Roman
Catholic Relations” in which he clearly explains the sound Lutheran
position on the doctrine of justification and has thus attempted to
prevent the public from having false perceptions of unity where it
definitely does not exist; and

WHEREAS, The departments of systematic theology at the Fort
Wayne and St. Louis seminaries, the CTCR, and LCMS President
Barry have remained faithfully true to both the Lord Jesus Christ
and the church in their responses to “A Formula of Agreement,”
“A Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” and to re-
cent public media claims about the resolution of differences be-
tween Roman Catholics and Lutherans, which are of beneficial
value to the church; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod express formally its thanks and on-
going support to both seminaries, the CTCR, and President Barry
for the work they have done in response to 1998 Res. 3-08A and re-
cent public media claims regarding reconciliation of differences be-
tween Roman Catholics and Lutherans; and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod urge its
congregations and Circuits, where this has not yet been done, to
see that the document entitled “Toward True Reconciliation” is
published in as many congregational newsletters as possible; and
be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS support its synodical President as he
continues to work together with representatives of the Roman
Catholic Church in arranging for discussions of these issues be-
tween our two church bodies so that the day may truly and finally
come “when the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed with
one voice” and true reconciliation is achieved; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod give thanks to God for justifying us sinners by His
grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; and be it finally

Resolved, That President Barry be commended for his alertness
and faithfulness in authoring and publishing the document entitled
“Toward True Reconciliation.”

Iowa District West

3-64

To Support LCMS Reaction to Joint Declaration

WHEREAS, Member churches of the Lutheran World Federation
and the Roman Catholic Church have approved the “Joint Declara-
tion on the Doctrine of Justification” (Joint Declaration), or Augs-
burg Accord; and