Northwoods Seelsorger

Part of me hesitates to comment on this latest convention. For one thing I wasn't there, although the actions of the assembly are public knowledge. Another reason is that I find myself at cross-purposes with some of the directions of my church body, and I'm not sure how to express my reservations in an edifying manner. So, is that diplomatic, or not? After reading some of the observations of others and talking with one of our local delegates, here are some of my own thoughts: 1.) Control of the national leadership of Synod seems to be pretty much in the hands of one political group . However, looking at the voting results for the incumbent president with less than 53%, it is obvious that the synod is anything but unified around this leadership. 2.) Along with this control there is another related development as regards the involvement and decision making of the laity of Synod. In 2004 the dispute resolution policy was significantly changed, eliminating the possibi...

The following is a timeline of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America , chronicling, in particular, its most controversial and troubling developments. It emphasizes three significant areas of concern: abortion, ecumenical compromise, and homosexual accommodation. The ecumenical compromise can be seen by examining the various denominations with which the ELCA has entered into "full communion," especially those of Reformed background, thus relinquishing their clear confession to the real physical presence of Christ in the Supper. These ecumenical fellowships, along with their association with the large ecumenical organizations mentioned early in the timeline (e.g. LWF), demonstrate how little this church body values the need for clear and uncompromised confession of doctrine. Prior to 1988 : The ELCA, through predecessor church bodies, is a founding member of the Lutheran World Federation , World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches USA. Th...

In July of 2006 the LCMS announced that that leaders from the LCMS and the AALC (American Association of Lutheran Churches) were unanimously recommending complete altar and pulpit fellowship between the two denominations. An article from the LCMS website can be found here . While this may seem like a bit of 'old' news, some reasons compel me to write about it now: The convention is only about a half year away. There will be those who will push this hard for passage. Serious concerns will possibly be swept to the side, as often happens. Like many conventions I fear that there will be many who will not be well informed about the past history of the AALC or the numerous concerns by some within the LCMS . For background you can read a short history of the AALC in this wikipedia article . There is also a fine Q & A article on the WELS site that is worthy reading. It summarizes well the questions any Lutheran should be asking about this proposed fellowship agree...