Lutheran Ping!
Be rooted in Christ!
Posted on 08/19/2010 12:55:57 PM PDT by SmithL
More than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America will gather Aug. 26-27 in suburban Columbus, Ohio, to form a new church body for confessional Lutherans. The annual Convocation of Lutheran CORE will adopt a constitution that will give birth to the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).
"The NALC will embody the center of Lutheranism in America. The NALC will uphold confessional principles dear to Lutherans including a commitment to the authority of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions," said the Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE.
The Convocation will take place at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio. A theological conference featuring some of the most significant Lutheran scholars in America will precede the Convocation. "Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism" is the theme of the Aug. 24-26 conference at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Hilliard, Ohio.
Lutherans throughout the United States have been reacting to actions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reversing ELCA policy to allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships and to officiate at same-sex union ceremonies.
Lutheran CORE leaders note that the problems in the ELCA are really not about sexual behavior but rather about an ongoing movement away from the authority and teaching of the Bible throughout the ELCA.
"It was not our choice to leave the ELCA, but the ELCA has chosen to reject 'the faith once delivered to the saints,' so now we are acting to maintain our position within the consensus of the Church catholic," said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., chair of Lutheran CORE's Vision and Planning Working Group.
The proposals to be considered by the Convocation have been designed to provide a way for Lutherans who uphold Biblical teaching to move forward together. In addition to creating the NALC, Lutheran CORE's 2010 Convocation will also consider proposals for the continuation of Lutheran CORE as "a confessional and confessing unity movement" for traditional Lutherans regardless of their church body affiliation, including in particular those traditional Lutherans who will remain in the ELCA for the time being.
"We have a great opportunity before us. We not only want to look back toward the past, but to look ahead to the mission God has given us -- to confess Christ faithfully, to witness to others, and to grow in God's mission. This is our opportunity now in Lutheran CORE and in the North American Lutheran Church," said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of Lutheran CORE.
Prayers for CORE and NALC, and those who will be participating in the process.
Good. Christianity needs these type of things regularly to delouse themselves from the termites who have infected their ranks and hijacked the ELCA.
What about the other synods besides the ELCA? I wonder if they will be involved. It would be nice to see some unity among the conservatives.
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http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100819/NEWS/8190323/1001/rss01
PING
The core problem with most mainlines....a falling away from the Truth.
Why not just join the LCMS? They are Lutherans, are committed to the authority of the scriptures and affirm the Lutheran confession.
Be rooted in Christ!
I can't speak for a given church's decisions, but I suspect one of the stumbling blocks is ordination of women; which does not occur in the LCMS.
I have a cousin who is waiting the outcome of this convocation. His church is seriously considering the move. Interestingly, his son's church (his son is the pastor) isn't. But his son is rather liberal so...
As an LCMS pastor, I have looked into these groups that have split from the ELCA. I have not had an opportunity to study this particular groups, since it is just now forming; however, my general observation is that they are socially conservative but theologically liberal. They have a difficult time accepting homosexuality, and they believe that it is contrary to Scripture. On the other hand, they are wedded to female pastors and a broader view of Communion practices. I know at least one of these pastors that has a heretical view of Christ’s two natures. He was trained in an ELCA seminary, so I should not be too surprised that he has such an unorthodox view of Christ. You get the idea from ELCA graduates that learning traditional Christianity is not a priority.
Then the new organization will be bad as the ELCA eventually.
Take a look: http://www.lutherancore.org/papers/new_vision.shtml
That may be. I believe Nosterrex, in post #11, has a broader view of the situation...
BTW, I'm LCMS.
If they practice open communion and ordain wymyn, they will follow the same path the ELCA did in about the same span of time (20 years).
He who laughs last, laughs loudest. I think I just heard God chuckle a bit.
It is too soon to judge the new groups, but one could probably create this left(ist) to right spectrum:
ELCA - LCMC - NALC - LCMS - WELS
Does that mean that NALC will essentially be a reincarnation of the AELC?
And if so, does that mean that the Seminex crew which poisoned the ELCA from its beginning are about to poison another pond?
Someone told me that they thought that the NALC would be comprised of mostly former LCA churches but the LCMC would be primarily former ALC churches. If true, I would think that would leave the former AELC in the ELCA.
Possibly...
the essential question is "what is to become of persons, parishes, and Pastors who are too conservative for the ELCA but too liberal for Missouri or Wisconsin?
The former AELC/Seminex crew fit the above description, and objective histories of the ELCA readily admit that without the AELC/Seminex catalyst the ELCA might never have come to fruition.
I hadn't heard of this group before. Do you have any information or can you recommend any links about this group? I am a former ELCA member, and am interested in the short history of the ELCA, to learn how the denomination went so far astray.
Thanks,
Jeannine
My guess: They are reluctant to abandon female pastors, unaware (or unwilling to admit) that they will be recycling their recent difficulties.
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