LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 84

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84

SYNOD REPORTS
its articles, it would not be appropriate to attend the Lord’s Supper in a
church with which such agreement is not shared.

President Golter also posed a second question: “In light of our
Lutheran understanding of the doctrine and practice of church fellowship and close communion, is a rostered LCMS pastor that is
communing regularly at the altar of a congregation of a heterodox (ELCA) church body engaging in acts of unionism and/or
syncretism?”
In response to this question the CTCR notes first of all the statement of its February 12, 2010 opinion (p. 3) that, “our Synod is
clearly on record that we do not consider the ELCA to be an orthodox Lutheran church body, and is therefore heterodox (2001 Res. 3-21
A).” Further, the CTCR refers to the official definition of “unionism”
given in A Brief Statement (1932):
28. On Church-Fellowship.—Since God ordained that His Word
only, without the admixture of human doctrine, be taught and believed
in the Christian Church, 1 Pet. 4:11; John 8:31, 32; 1 Tim. 6:3, 4, all
Christians are required by God to discriminate between orthodox and
heterodox church-bodies, Matt. 7:15, to have church-fellowship only
with orthodox church-bodies, and, in case they have strayed into heterodox church bodies, to leave them, Rom. 16:17. We repudiate unionism, that is, church-fellowship with the adherents of false doctrine, as
disobedience to God’s command, as causing divisions in the Church,
Rom. 16:17; 2 John 9, 10, and involving the constant danger of losing
the Word of God entirely, 2 Ti. 2:17–21.

Because “communing regularly at the altar of a heterodox (ELCA)
church body” is “church fellowship with the adherents of false doctrine,” such action is unionism.
Finally, the CTCR also notes the statement from its February
12, 2010, opinion that points out that “the commission is currently
continuing to work on a longstanding assignment to give guidance
concerning inter-Christian relationships” (p. 4), an assignment that
includes a careful examination of the history and usage of such terms
as “unionism” and “syncretism” in the history of the LCMS and how
they might be applied in the context of today’s church. This task will
address a broad set of questions, but the specific question raised by
President Golter is already answered in the affirmative by the Brief
Statement as quoted above.
Adopted by the CTCR
September 16, 2011
F. Expressions of Dissent
1. CTCR Response to Matthew Becker Dissent of 6/29/11

In June of 2011, Rev. Dr. Matthew Becker brought to the attention of the CTCR (in accordance with Bylaw 1.8) his formal dissent
to LCMS positions on the doctrine of creation and the ordination of
women as pastors. A response to Dr. Becker’s dissent was adopted by
the commission at its November 2011 meeting. After follow-up correspondence from Dr. Becker, the Executive Committee reaffirmed
the commission’s response. The CTCR response to Dr. Becker is
included in Appendix II of the Convention Workbook and is also available online at www.lcms.org/ctcr.
2. ACELC Expressions of Dissent

The Association of Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Churches
(ACELC) is a group of LCMS congregations that have expressed concerns with certain practices and teachings in the LCMS. The ACELC
has submitted to the CTCR three expressions of dissent from LCMS
positions relating to the service of women in the church, unionism
and syncretism, and lay ministry. The Executive Director of the
CTCR has been in contact with the chairman of the ACELC Board
of Directors regarding requests by the Commission for clarification
of the ACELC’s concerns, and the CTCR has devoted considerable
time (in plenary and in each of its three committees) studying and
2013 Convention Workbook

discussing these expressions of dissent. At its January 2013 meeting,
the CTCR approved replies to the ACELC in which the Commission
(1) raised specific questions and concerns about the content and clarity of the ACELC’s expressions of dissent and its characterization of
certain aspects of the Synod’s position on each of these issues; (2)
attempted to distinguish concerns related to Synod’s doctrinal positions from concerns related to ecclesiastical supervision, noting that
the CTCR has been given no authority or responsibility by the Synod
for matters of ecclesiastical supervision; and (3) urged the ACELC
to receive the CTCR replies as acknowledgments of its concerns, but
not as formal responses to its expressions of dissent and to hold its
dissents in abeyance in view of the ongoing work of the CTCR and
the President’s office (e.g., the Koinonia Project) on issues directly
related to the ACELC’s concerns.
II. Church Relations
A. Inter-Lutheran Relationships
1. International Lutheran Council

The International Lutheran Council (ILC) was established in 1993.
It is a worldwide association of 35 independent Lutheran church bodies (31 full members, 4 associate members) that confess the Gospel
of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the
Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible 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 exists for the
purpose of encouraging, strengthening, and promoting confessional
Lutheran theology and practice centering in Jesus Christ. To this end,
the ILC provides opportunities for the study of contemporary theological issues; gives mutual support and encouragement for the heads of
member churches in planning for mission outreach; strengthens theological education through conferences of theologians and seminary
teachers; facilitates communication between confessional Lutheran
churches of the world through the publication of ILC News; and,
facilitates the preparation and publication of confessional Lutheran
literature.
Serving as officers of the ILC at the present time are: Rev. HansJörg Voigt, Bishop of the Independent Evangelical—Lutheran Church
in Germany (SELK), chairman; Rev. Robert Bugbee, President of
the Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), vice chairman; and Rev.
Gijsbertus van Hattem (President of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Belgium), secretary. Also serving on its executive committee are Rev. Christian Ekong, President of The Lutheran Church
of Nigeria; Rev. James Cerdeñola, President of The Lutheran Church
in the Philippines; Rev. Jon Ehlers, President of the Lutheran Church
of England; and Rev. Egon Kopereck, President of the Lutheran
Church of Brazil. Current editor of ILC News is Rev. Dr. Reginald
Quirk (Evangelical Lutheran Church of England). Dr. Albert Collver
was appointed to serve as the ILC executive secretary at the 24th
Conference of the ILC, held in September 2012 in Niagara Falls,
Canada. The theme of the conference was What Does This Mean?
How Do the Scriptures Speak to Crises Facing Confessional
Lutherans Today?
The ILC regularly sponsors a conference of representatives
from member churches who lead seminaries or other schools for
training pastors. The most recent World Seminaries Conference
was held June 3–6, 2010 in Fort Wayne, Indiana on the campus of
Concordia Theological Seminary. The theme of this conference was
“Confessional Lutheran Identity in a World of Changing Religious
Demographics.” Dr. Philip Jenkins was the keynote speaker.
Additional information about the members and work of the
International Lutheran Council is available at www.ilc-online.org.