LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 71

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SYNOD REPORTS 71

4. Church Relations
A. Inter-Lutheran Relationships
1. International Lutheran Council

The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide asso-
ciation of thirty established confessional Lutheran church bodies
that proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an uncon-
ditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and in-
fallible Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions contained in
The Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the
Word of God. The ILC is not a church body and does not carry out
churchly functions, nor is church fellowship with all member bod-
ies necessary for membership. It does not intend to prescribe any
course of action for its members. Rather, it seeks to strengthen its
member churches in their confessional witness and mission.

The ILC exists for the purpose of encouraging, strengthening,
and promoting confessional Lutheran theology and practice cen-
tering in Jesus Christ. To this end, the ILC provides opportunities
for the study of contemporary theological issues; gives mutual sup-
port and encouragement for the heads of member churches in plan-
ning for mission outreach; strengthens theological education
through conferences of theologians and seminary teachers; facili-
tates communication between confessional Lutheran churches of
the world through the publication of ILC News; and, facilitates the
preparation and publication of confessional Lutheran literature.
During this triennium in particular, the ILC member churches have
been actively involved in the Ablaze! worldwide effort to bring the
Gospel to one hundred million people by the year 2017.

Serving as officers of the ILC during the present biennium are:
Dr. Ralph Mayan (President of Lutheran Church—Canada), chair-
man; Rev. Carlos Schuman (President of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Chile), vice chairman; and Dr. Reginald Quirk (Chair-
man of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in England), secretary.
Also serving on its executive committee are Dr. David Tswaedi,
bishop of the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa; Dr. Gerald
Kieschnick, president of the LCMS; Rev. David Piso, head bishop
of the Gutnius Lutheran Church, Papua New Guinea; and Dr.
Hyun-Sup Um, president of the Lutheran Church in Korea.

At the ‘request of the ILC and with the concurrence of the
LCMS Board of Directors and of the CTCR, Dr. Samuel Nafzger
serves as its executive secretary. Rev. Peter Ahlers, president of the
Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Southern Africa, serves as ed-
itor of ILC News.

The ILC meets in conference every two years. The 21st Con-
ference of the ILC was held on Aug. 27—Sept. 2, 2005, in the
Evangelische Johannesstift, Berlin, under the theme “The
Lutheran Confessions.” Major essays were delivered by LCMS
Luther scholars Dr. Robert Rosin and Dr. Robert Kolb of Concor-
dia Seminary, St. Louis. The ILC also sponsors a world confer-
ence of representatives from ILC churches responsible for training
pastors. The 3rd World Seminaries Conference is scheduled for
March 29-April 1, 2007, in Pretoria, South Africa, which will
meet under the theme “Challenges to the Seminaries in Forming
Lutheran Pastors Today.”

2. Lutheran Church—Canada

Dr. Nafzger served as the guest essayist at the Seventh Con-
vention of the Lutheran Church—Canada, a partner church of the
LCMS, held June 9-13, 2005, in Edmonton, Alberta, under the
theme “Proclaiming His Faithfulness.”

3. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil

Prior to the CTCR’s September 2005 meeting, President
Kieschnick asked the commission to provide him with a response
to Dr. Carlos Winterle, President of the IELB (LCMS partner
church in Brazil) regarding the LCMS’ reaction “to the possibility

of the IELB becoming an associate member of the LWF.” The
commission’s Standing Committee I prepared a number of consid-
erations, which the commission asked be shared with the President
through its executive director. In a letter dated Dec. 28, 2005, Pres-
ident Kieschnick shared with the IELB the following “observa-
tions” forwarded by the CTCR, indicating the Synod’s desire to
uphold the IELB as it makes its decision: (1) As an associate mem-
ber of the LWF, the IELB would be able to participate more fully
in the LWF’s discussions and activities; (2) The IELB itself will
have to evaluate whether it can be a more effective witness for con-
fessional Lutheranism within the LWF rather than from the outside
of this organization; (3) The LCMS believes, from the North Amer-
ican context, that it can give a clearer confessional witness at this
time by remaining outside of the LWF; (4) The LCMS finds the
ecumenical and theological direction of the LWF to be a source of
concern in that it is moving away from confessional Lutheranism,
as demonstrated, for example, in recent LWF statements on justifi-
cation, Holy Communion, and ecumenism.

The commission has been informed that the IELB’s Commis-
sion on Theology and Church Relations, after giving this matter
careful consideration, decided not to recommend to the IELB con-
vention that the IELB become a member of the LWF.

At the request of President Kieschnick, and in response to an
invitation of President Carolos Winterle of the JIELB, Dr. Jerald
Joersz, associate director of the CTCR, attended the 59th Conven-
tion of the IELB in Gualaprari, ES, Brazil, on April 18-23, 2006.

4. Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Denmark

At its convention in July 2005, the Evangelical Lutheran Free
Church of Denmark (ELFCD), a sister church of the LCMS,
adopted a resolution to declare church fellowship with three
churches within the Nordic Free Conference: the Evangelical
Lutheran Confessional Church in Sweden/Norway; the Lutheran
Congregation in the Stockholm area and in the Umeaa area, Swe-
den; and the Confessional Lutheran Church of Finland. The
LCMS’ sister church in Denmark forwarded to the LCMS and its
other sister churches a “Document Before an Establishment of
Church Fellowship” “for evaluation.” President Kieschnick re-
quested that the CTCR “study the documents according to its es-
tablished procedures” in order to assist him in responding to this
request. At its February 2006 meeting, the commission reported to
the President of the Synod that “it finds nothing in the statement of
agreement that is contrary to the teachings of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod.” The commission also expressed its ap-
preciation for the responsible way in which the ELFCD went about
the process of declaring fellowship with these three church bodies,
and its joy over the doctrinal agreement which they have reached
under the blessings of God.

5. American Association of Lutheran Churches

In accordance with the procedures established by the Synod and
set forth in its bylaws (3.9.6.2.2 [b]), the commission adopted unan-
imously a resolution at its Feb. 15-16, 2007, meeting recommend-
ing that the LCMS enter into altar and pulpit fellowship with The
American Association of Lutheran Churches. For background in-
formation, see the “Report and Recommendations to the President
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod upon Completion of
Formal Fellowship Discussions with The American Association of
Lutheran Churches,” October 2006, in Appendix III of the Con-
vention Workbook.

Recommendation:

To Formally Declare Altar and Pulpit Fellowship
with The American Association of Lutheran Churches

The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) was
established on November 6, 1987. It was organized by pastors and

2007 Convention Workbook