Captain Thin

Recently the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) and Lutheran Church – Canada (LCC) have been exploring to what extent they may engage ecumenically with other churches while remaining faithful to the Scriptures and the confessions. Neither church has put it quite that way, of course, and perhaps I’m overstating the case a bit. Nevertheless, recent events make clear that the two churches are showing more interest in dialoguing with other denominations than they have previously shown in the past

It would be an exaggeration to say that interest in ecumenical dialogue is something new for confessional Lutherans. The LCMS, for example, has been involved in the work of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) since its founding. But in recent years, the frequency of ecumenical discussion has begun to increase. In 2007, the LCMS approved altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches. In the four years since, ecumenical dialogue with other churches has been increasing with surprising rapidity.

Much of these discussions have been occasioned by the widening gap in world Christianity over the question of biblical authority. As liberals continue to minimize the importance of Scripture, Christians holding a historic view of biblical authority find themselves increasingly looking to denominations like the LCMS and LCC for support and fellowship. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)’s 2009 Churchwide Assembly, for example, created wide division in North American Lutheranism as well as abroad. Shortly after the vote, the 5.3 million member Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus began ecumenical discussions with the LCMS – which quickly culminated in a partnership agreement. In Canada, the Union of Oromo Evangelical Churches in Canada has begun exploring a closer association with LCC. Major Lutheran denominations in Tanzania and Madagascar are similarly looking for closer ties to the LCMS and the ILC.

But it’s not just Lutherans getting in on the action. In December 2010, members of the LCMS and LCC began dialogue with representatives from the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) – a collective which has broken away from the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church over issues of scriptural authority. Earlier in 2009, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Nafzger attended ACNA’s founding convention on behalf of the LCMS. Of course, the goals of the current discussion are not altar or pulpit fellowship; but that the LCMS and LCC should be actively exploring “to what extent they can make common affirmations and statements” with an Anglican church body is certainly new ecumenical ground for confessional Lutherans.

Finally, there has recently been news of potential discussions between the LCMS and the newly formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The denomination, formed in 2010, is composed primarily of churches which broke away from the ELCA after the actions of its 2009 Churchwide Assembly – again, over issues of biblical authority. The June issue of “NALC News” reports that the LCMS has made overtures to the new Lutheran body to “engage in consultation regarding doctrine and shared forms of ministry.” Again, the goal is probably not altar and pulpit fellowship, but rather to find common theological ground and a basis for external work together.

This is all good news for Lutherans who feel our theology has much to offer wider Christian discourse. In an effort to preserve doctrinal purity, LCC and LCMS Lutherans have tended in the past to shy away from ecumenical discussions. But that self-preservation has come at a cost: to a large extent, we have lost the platform we might otherwise have had to speak into the situations plaguing world Christianity, issues like the prosperity gospel, the increasing liberalization of mainline Protestant theology, and the dangers of confusing Law and Gospel. Our voice has been regrettably absent from the public sphere – as a recent blog post by Reformed pastor/author Kevin DeYoung makes clear. “What’s up with the Lutherans?” he asks. “More to the point, where are they?” However much we may be speaking amongst ourselves, we don’t seem to have made much of an attempt to speak to the larger Christian Church around us.

We confessional Lutherans have been silent for far too long.

But while our corporate voice has been rather minimal, there have been some individual Lutherans who have given us good examples of how we ought to be engaging Christians outside Lutheranism. Primary among them are figures like Gene Veith and Rod Rosenbladt. The former’s books are read across the denominational spectrum (as is his blog and his magazine articles), and he is a founding member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The latter is best-known for co-hosting The White Horse Inn with a number of Reformed theologians, in addition to writings like The Gospel for those Broken by the Church and articles in Modern Reformation. Both have lectured at prominent non-Lutheran Christian events. Recently, for example, Veith was the keynote speaker for Athanatos Christian Ministries’ 2011 Online Apologetics Conference, and Rosenbladt addressed attendees at the third annual 2010 Mockingbird Conference. If our churches are going to increase their involvement in the wider Christian world around us, these are the people who will provide examples of how to do it without compromising our strong, confessional theology.

The stirring of ecumenical interest in the LCMS and LCC is a good sign that we’re finally realizing the leadership role we should be playing in wider Christendom. As more sections of the Church wander further and further from historic orthodoxy, the more important a strong Lutheran witness becomes – both as a defense of biblical authority and as an encouragement to other Christian denominations who find themselves in agreement with us. By acting together, we have a greater voice for calling wandering Christians back to a faith grounded on the Scriptures.

I pray that these confessional ecumenical movements on the part of LCC and LCMS reflect the birth of just such a confessional Christian alignment.

The latest issue of the The Canadian Lutheran included a number of letters-to-the-editor on my recent article “‘Can you hear me now?’: Evangelism for the 21st Century world.” It was exciting to see so many people engaging with the article’s content as well as engaging with another article in the same issue highlighting CFW Walther’s thoughts on the place of the Confessions in the Lutheran Church.

Some of those who wrote in thought they perceived a distinction between these two articles: mine which highlighted the importance of speaking understandably to the world around us, and Pastor Teuscher’s which highlighted Walther’s well-deserved regard for the Confessions. Dr. Edward Kettner (professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Edmonton) writes an excellent response to these letters demonstrating that there is no necessary contradiction between the two articles. “The need the world has for a clearly proclaimed Gospel and for compassion,” he writes, “in no way absolves us from the responsibility [of] reminding ourselves what the Gospel actually is.” Well put. If we are to proclaim the Gospel to the world, we must first understand ourselves what the Gospel is. And the Confessions act as a guide to a right understanding of the Gospel, of Scripture, and of the faith we profess.

Individual study of the Confessions can certainly help Lutherans grow in their understanding of Scripture and their faith in God – a method by which we can learn to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1). I know that my own personal reading in the Confessions has bolstered my own faith.

That said, it is certainly possible that not everyone will find the Confessions so easily accessible. They do, as might be obvious, speak the language of another time and place. And while it is certainly an admirable goal to want to see the Confessions read and understood in the houses of laity across our nation, it is, I tentatively suggest, perhaps not a realistic goal. The Book of Concord can be a difficult book for those not used to such in-depth theological discussion. It can even be a difficult book for those who are used to in-depth theological discussion.

The common people should be spared such readings if they prove to be too difficult for them. In fact, our Confessions explicitly tell us to take just such an approach when confronting issues of this type. Consider the following passage from the Epitome of the Formula of Concord:

Now, consider the Latin terms substantia (substance) and accidens (a nonessential quality). They are not words of Holy Scripture and, besides, are unknown to the ordinary person. So they should not be used in sermons before ordinary, uninstructed people. Simple people should be spared them.

But in the schools, among the learned, these words are rightly kept in disputes about original sin. For they are well known and used without any misunderstanding to distinguish exactly between the essene of a thing and what attaches to it in an accidental way. (FC Ep 1:23-24).

This passage tells us two important things: one, that theological “jargon” should never be entirely abandoned; it has its place in the discussions of those instructed in theology (“the learned” – both clergy and laity); second, that our public proclamation must focus on being understandable – intelligible – to the “ordinary person.” Our sermons should never descend into academic Churchese. Likewise, the “ordinary person” may well need to be spared reading the Confessions if the language and concepts prove too difficult.

That does not mean however that the Confessions do not have their place in the lives of Lutheran laity. No, the average person in the pew needs to hear the Gospel message of Scripture, a message the Confessions faithfully expound. This is why we need our pastors to speak clearly from the pulpit. They must clearly explain – in everyday common language that everyday common people can understand – the incredible message of Grace found in the Word of God. They must teach the laity the meaning (if not the literal words) of the Confessions, so that the laity may more carefully read and understand the Scriptures.

When it comes to Confessional preaching, we need clear teaching as much as ever.

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For those looking for a copy of The Book of Concord to read on their own, I highly recommend Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions – A Reader’s Edition from Concordia Publishing House (see the link here for the hardcover edition). This version is presented in updated English, making it easier for the average person to read than some other translations. Among its features is a reading schedule which can help you read through the Confessions in a year. (And if you get the Pocket Edition, it has the added bonus of being very, very portable. Many’s the day when, out for a stroll, I’ve stopped in at my favourite coffee shop, purchased a London Fog, and sat down for a little theological reading. It takes very little space in my satchel so it’s easy to carry around just about anywhere.)

Divisions in Anglicanism finally resulted yesterday (June 22, 2009) in the creation of a new Province as conservatives ratified the constitution of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Representing 100,000 Anglicans in 700 parishes across Canada and the United States, the new body stands as a biblically sound alternative to the liberalism sweeping the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. Nine provinces in the Worldwide Anglican Communion have sent official representation to the convention (The Southern Cone, Jerusalem and the Middle East, West Africa, Nigeria, Ugana, Kenya, Myanmar, South East Asia, and Rwanda), and church leaders from other denominations are also present, including Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church, Bishop Walter Grundorf of the Anglican Province of America, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Church, and Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS)’s own Rev Dr. Samuel Nafzger.

This announcement is truly grounds for celebration. It’s churches like the ACNA that confessional evangelicals in LCMS and Lutheran Church – Canada (LCC) should be pursuing ecumenical ties with – churches that hold fast to Scripture as the the instrument of grace and the rock of faith. Why we continue to speak pointlessly to groups like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) or its Canadian counterpart completely mystify me. They might be Lutheran in name but are certainly not so in practice. The cornerstone of Lutheran theology is an adherence to Scripture as the final authority in all matters of life and faith. As the Book of Concord states, we must “not let the authority of anyone prevail more than God’s Word,” (The Power and Primacy of the Pope). The ELCA would seem to disagree. If LCMS and LCC want to pursue ecumenical relations with other Christian denominations (and they should), we could do worse than to start with the ACNA.

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Follow the events of the ACNA’s inaugural assembly here.
For up-to-date news about world Anglicanism from a conservative theological perspective visit VirtueOnline.