LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 416

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416 OTHER PERTINENT DOCUMENTS

Report and Recommendation to the President
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS)
upon the Completion
of Formal Fellowship Discussions
with The American Association of Lutheran
Churches (AALC)

October 2006

I. A History of The American Association of Lutheran Churches

In September of 1982, the American Lutheran Church, the As-
sociation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and the Lutheran
Church in America simultaneously agreed to begin the formation of
anew Lutheran church. A Commission for a New Lutheran Church
(CNLC) was established to prepare recommendations for its for-
mation. Concerns among members of the American Lutheran
Church regarding the direction their church body was taking re-
sulted in the emergence of a number of groups who were interested
in bringing their conservative influence to bear upon the new
Lutheran church discussions, with particular interest in the doctrine
of the authority of Scripture.

In August of 1986, members of the American Lutheran Church
who continued to be concerned about the direction taken by the
CNLC met together and encouraged a “no” vote on a pending ref-
erendum of American Lutheran Church congregations. On March
15, 1987, after their efforts had failed to influence the decision
making of the CNLC, first steps were taken to form
The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC), and
American Lutheran Church congregations were encouraged to
study the issues. On November 6-7, 1987, the AALC was formally
constituted with nine charter members.

As an interim arrangement, the AALC functioned with three
categories of association with the national organization. At the time
of its first meeting with the LCMS on August 30, 1988, 75 congre-
gations claimed “affiliation” with the AALC, 48 were said to hold
“membership,” and 51 were considered “connected” to the associ-
ation. Representatives of the AALC stressed that they were “not
building a church,” that it is God who builds His Church, and that
they considered their association one of several that could be con-
sidered by those interested in changing church body affiliation. It
would be a “church body” with a strong emphasis on congrega-
tional autonomy.

Il. A Summary of AALC/LCMS Meetings

Representatives of the AALC and the LCMS met nine times be-
ginning in 1988. Copies of AALC documents provided during
these meetings as well as LCMS presentations made and materials
other than CTCR documents distributed are included with this re-
port. Summary reports of the meetings follow.

This first meeting, at the time when the AALC was still in the formation
process, served as an opportunity for leaders to become acquainted and
to discuss opportunities for mutual aid and support. Background infor-
mation was provided, official documents were exchanged, and state-
ments regarding the Doctrine of the Word in particular were shared.
Close cooperative ties in specific areas of ministry and church life were
discussed, but AALC representatives indicated that they were not inter-
ested in pursuing altar and pulpit fellowship at that time. The training of
AALC pastors in LCMS seminaries, contacts between AALC and
LCMS pastors at the local level, and issues associated with the charis-
matic movement were among the topics of conversation. While ac-
knowledging that some of their congregations were “open to receiving
persons who have received all gifts of the Spirit,” the AALC represen-
tatives stated that they were not “a charismatic synod.”

2. Minneapolis. Janu: ], 1989:

AALC representatives reported that their church body was growing
steadily, now totaling 55 “member” congregations, 25 “affiliates,” and

2007 Convention Workbook

more than 50 “connected” congregations. They also reported that plan-
ning for the development of an AALC seminary was underway, with
three regional houses of study to serve until the seminary came into
being. In discussions of doctrinal matters, both church bodies agreed
upon (a) the importance of maintaining the confessional understanding
of the Scriptures and the centrality of the Gospel; (b) the acceptance of
the writings contained in the Book of Concord “because” and not “in-
sofar as” they are in agreement with Scripture; and (c) the rejection of
the eight doctrines held by proponents of the charismatic movement
listed in 1977 LCMS Res. 3-10A, regarding such notions to be “con-
trary to the Holy Scriptures, and therefore dangerous to the salvation of
men to teach.” With regard to the latter, the AALC representatives
stated that they regarded glossolalia as “a private gift of the Spirit” and
that they insisted upon a commitment from their pastors “not to push
the charismatic movement.” Also discussed were continued interest in
AALC seminary training at LCMS seminaries (including a “Proposed
[LCMS] Policy for Assisting the AALC in the Training of Seminari-
ans”) and various possibilities for expressions of fellowship among pas-
tors and congregations on the local level. At this meeting the AALC
representatives expressed interest in pursuing altar and pulpit fellow-
ship, and this interest was welcomed by the LCMS representatives.

3. St. Louis, September 28, 1989:

Respective positions on the charismatic movement was the primary
topic of discussion at this meeting. Copies of pertinent LCMS conven-
tion resolutions from 1977 and 1979 and the 1989 CTCR review of Re-
newal In Missouri materials were distributed. AALC representatives in-
dicated that their official position on the charismatic movement
“seemed to be consistent with that of the LCMS.” Discussion was also
continued from previous meetings regarding opportunities for the
LCMS to be of assistance to the AALC in the areas of seminary train-
ing, military chaplaincy, and social ministry. It was reported that both
LCMS seminaries were in the process of reviewing a proposed protocol
agreement for AALC students to study on their campuses. AALC rep-
resentatives expressed gratitude for assistance given by LCMS Laborers
for Christ and expressed interest in developing such a program for their
own purposes. Interest was also expressed in the development of a pro-
tocol agreement with respect to social ministry services. At this time
the AALC numbered 90 congregations and 13,000 members.

4. St. Louis, January 8, 1992:

At this fourth meeting, shortened by the inability of several key repre-
sentatives to attend due to scheduling conflicts, infant communion, his-
torical criticism, altar and pulpit fellowship, and life issues were among
the topics discussed. Membership in the AALC was reported to total
140 pastors and 104 congregations.

5. St. Louis, December 1, 1998:

After a lapse of six years, this meeting began with the new leadership of
the AALC and LCMS sharing information regarding their church bod-
ies. AALC Presiding Pastor Duane Lindberg reported that since the 110
congregations, 165 pastors, and 18,000 souls of the AALC were located
primarily in the Midwest, its headquarters and seminary remained in
the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Their Builders for Christ program was
credited with many new church starts, creating a special challenge to
help grow strong congregations from small beginnings. He reported that
fifteen percent of AALC congregations support parochial schools, and
that four emphases help to describe and understand the AALC: (1) the
inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible as God’s inspired Word; (2) the
full authority and veracity of the Lutheran Confessions; (3) the primacy
of evangelism and world missions; and (4) the authority of the local
congregation. An explanation was given for the cessation of
AALC/LCMS meetings after 1992: an internal struggle within the
AALC resulting from the three streams which had come together to
form the church body, namely, former orthodox members of the Amer-
ican Lutheran Church, charismatics, and evangelicals—a struggle that
he assured had been resolved, as demonstrated by the Policy and Posi-
tion Statements approved by 1998 convention action.

After LCMS President Alvin Barry asked CTCR Executive Director
Samuel Nafzger to provide a history of earlier meetings, LCMS materi-
als, including recent CTCR documents and ‘‘What About...” pamphlets,
were provided to the AALC representatives. After continued discussion
of military chaplaincy, social services, capital punishment, altar and pul-
pit fellowship, homosexuality, deacons/deaconesses, and Lutheran
schools, the representatives from both church bodies expressed interest
in future meetings and theological discussions.

6. St. Louis, March 22, 2005S:

After another lapse of more than six years, representatives from the two
church bodies again met and were brought up to date regarding devel-
opments in the church bodies. With interest expressed by both church
bodies in resuming serious discussions toward altar and pulpit fellow-
ship, specific theological issues were identified and plans were made to
meet at least twice more for such discussions. Charismatic concerms,