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Lutheran CORE organizes as free-standing synod, begins work toward reconfiguration of Lutheranism
More than 1,200 Lutherans from throughout the United States and Canada voted Saturday, Sept. 26, to create “a free-standing synod for all faithful Lutherans” and to work with “other compatible churchly organizations leading toward a possible reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism.”
“We will be free-standing, not a part of the structure of the ELCA. For us the ELCA churchwide expression has fallen into heresy as a result of the decisions that were made in Minneapolis,” the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., told the Lutheran CORE Convocation in suburban Indianapolis.
“Lutheran CORE will be a free-standing synod for all faithful Lutherans. And we will take on most of the functions that characterize a synod — pastoral care for congregations and pastors, global missions, the formation of new congregations, providing resources for congregational ministry, support for a life in community, theological education, with a leadership structure that will be accountable and capable of decision-making. We will work sensitively on the candidacy and calling processes,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, and chair of Lutheran CORE.
The Convocation — which included people from 41 states, Washington, D.C., and three Canadian provinces and was roughly three-quarters lay members — adopted a constitution that changed Lutheran CORE from a Coalition for Reform to a Coalition for Renewal. This action is more than a name change. It is a change in focus from trying to reform the ELCA to a renewing organization and an alternate church fellowship for Lutherans.
The Convocation also authorized the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee “to initiate conversations among the congregations and reform movements in Lutheran CORE and other compatible churchly organizations leading toward a possible reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism.” A report and recommendations will be brought to Lutheran CORE’s 2010 Convocation Aug. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio.
“This could be one of the biggest events in Lutheran history in contemporary time,” said the Rev. Jaynan Clark of Spokane, Wash., president of the WordAlone Network, one of the reform movements that comprise Lutheran CORE.
The Convocation became even more significant when the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted in August to change ELCA teaching and practice to affirm same-sex relationships and to allow pastors to be in those relationships in spite of the Bible’s teaching on marriage and homosexual behavior.
Convocation participants gathered at the foot of a large cross inside Holy Spirit Parish at Geist in Fishers, Ind. Organizers had to move the Convocation to the Catholic church from Christ the Savior Lutheran Church because of the large attendance. Even with the larger space, organizers were forced to close registration Sept. 14 due to space limitations.
“We are living in a period of historic opportunity for the Church in North America. I believe it is abundantly clear that God is reforming the churches of the Reformation,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “The question for us is not so much whether we ought to re-vision Lutheranism in North America, but rather how will we respond to this clear invitation to re-vision Lutheranism in North America.
“We are forming a churchly community because our prior churchly community has walked away from the faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” Schwarz said.
The Rev. Kenneth Sauer of Columbus, Ohio, opened the Convocation by describing the situation facing members of the ELCA. “We now have two churches within one organizational structure. One church emphasized Bible and Theology, the other culture and experience. There are deep divisions over the fundamental meaning of the Gospel, the authority of Scripture, and the purpose and work of the Holy Spirit. The division reaches into congregations, synods, and seminaries and agencies. Only the churchwide organization seems to be of one mind.”
“We are here to support one another. . . . Elijah needed to know that there were 7,000 in Israel that did not bow the knee to Baal, and we need to know that there are millions of faithful Lutheran Christians in this land who with us want desperately to know how to be faithful in the midst of a church we love which is falling apart,” said Sauer, the retired bishop of the Southern Ohio Synod and former chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
The Convocation also heard from leaders of the African immigrant and Hispanic churches in the ELCA. Both communities have been deeply hurt by the ELCA’s actions. Lutheran CORE is committed to support financially the ethnic and other ministries that have taken stands of conscience regarding the ELCA Churchwide Assembly decisions and to help others to do so as well.
“The communion of African Lutheran Churches across North America is in full participation in this Convocation with deep gratitude to God,” said Challa Baro, evangelist for an Ethiopian immigrant congregation in Minneapolis.
“As far as we are concerned our choice is very clear: We have to either give up our evangelical and prophetic ministry in our society and silently die as a denomination or rise to the task of realigning ourselves with churches, leaders and communities of similar conviction and work shoulder-to- shoulder with them,” Baro said.
“My friends, in the middle of these uncertainties, we are glad to see that God is using these times of darkness to manifest the light. God is using this time as a time when we, as men and women of God, are called to define ourselves by taking a stand on the basis of our beliefs, on the basis of our convictions, on the basis of our conscience bound to the Word of God,” said the Rev. Eddy Perez, pastor of Iglesia Luterana San Pedro in Miami, Fla.
“My advice to the ELCA members is this: the time for hesitation is now over. God is demanding a response from us. Through the prophet Elijah, God keeps saying to the members of the ELCA congregations: ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him,’” Perez said.
“We are not dividing the church. The church is already divided. We’re just mopping up what the church did,” said the Rev. Paul Ulring, a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
Ulring, pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, outlined steps that individuals and congregations can take as they move into the future.
“We’ve spent all our ELCA years and before, struggling and working against what has now happened. It’s over; it’s done. We don’t have to spend ourselves there anymore,” he said.
“Let’s take that energy, that passion and transfer it to a future that we don’t have clearly, but a future that surely is better than what we’ve been messing with. And let’s be gracious and kind, known for our positive spirit and hope. Let’s be known for what we believe, not what we’re against anymore. Let’s be faithful to the Gospel, the Word of God, and the Lord Jesus.”
“Let us stand together, as we see the future of Lutheranism change for the good. It’s worth it. Jesus calls us to do it. He is not defeated or set aside by any decision or action. We have the opportunity to make an eternal difference,” Ulring said. “God has given us this new freedom and opportunity. Let us rise in hope and forgiveness, to put aside the past and find the future we have been called to for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of those he loves and wants.”
“Those who stand against us are not our enemies. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We owe it to them and to those faithful ones who remain within the ELCA to be true to our convictions but gracious in our dealings with them,” Spring said.
Dr. Robert Benne expressed the thoughts of many at the Convocation: “I haven’t been so excited about church life beyond the local parish for a long time. The camaraderie, the singing, the hospitality, the powerful talks, the affirmation of biblical and confessional truth, the focus on the future — all were expressed in almost overwhelming portions. The 1,200 souls present were full of life and determination.
“For the first time in 25 years, I felt liberation from the arduous struggle for the soul of the ELCA and freedom for the shaping of a future church life in which I could joyously participate. I had hoped for such a constructive turning toward the future at Fishers and my expectations were more than fulfilled,” said Benne, the director of the Center for Religion and Society at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
DVDs of the Convocation are available from Lutheran CORE. The texts of many of the speeches are available at www.lutherancore.org.