Resolution 7-17 Asks 2001 Convention If It Still Wants To Be The LCMS
By Rev. Jack Cascione

 

Synod to Vote on Itself

For the first time since 1854, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is positioned to vote on the doctrine that gave it birth, C. F. W. Walther's "Church and Ministry." In essence, Floor Committee Seven is asking the Convention if the Missouri Synod still wants to be the Missouri Synod.

The Lutheran Confessions are essential to all Lutherans, but C. F. W. Walther's "Church and Ministry" lays the doctrinal foundation for the operation and existence of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, unique among all Lutheran Church bodies.

The Synod was founded on the doctrinal principle of independent congregations owned and operated by lay people. All the congregations agreed to the same doctrine in Article II and the same practice in Article VI as a condition of membership. This highly efficient structure encouraged phenomenal, continuous growth from 1847 to 1969. Had the growth continued, today the Synod would have nearly four million members.

In the past decade, the Synod has been besieged with the alternative structures of church and ministry that turn congregations into corporations and pastors into CEO's or hierarchal episcopes and pastors into bishops.

Resolution 7-17 will ask the 2001 LCMS Convention to reaffirm the fundamental doctrine on which the Synod was organized.

Missouri Synod Born Out of Controversy

Like Lutheranism itself, Walther's doctrine of Church and Ministry was born out of a log cabin debate in 1841 against Attorney Dr. F. A. Marbach over a book written by Marbach's brother-in-law, Attorney Dr. Edward Vehse, which concluded that the colonists were not a church and should return to Germany. Walther convinced them from the Bible, Luther, and the Confessions that they were a church. He won the debate and invented the Missouri Synod. Walther called it the most important debate since Luther's debate in Leipzig in 1519.

Resolution 7-17 Presented At Historic Moment in Lutheranism

At it's 2000 Convention the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gave up its congregational based polity and voted to accept the Episcopal Church's doctrine of Apostolic Succession. This means that through the laying on of hands at ordination, the minister receives God's blessing to be "the church" in a line of succession dating from the time of the Apostles. In other words, the clergy don't need the lay people they are the church.

At their Convention this summer the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, (ELS) will vote to adopt the position of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, (WELS) that the Synod is church. In others words, any meeting of clergy is a congregation. If the LCMS doesn't change, the current position is that only the local congregations of the LCMS are actually individual churches. For example, this means the President of the LCMS has no authority to consecrate the elements for the Lord's Supper in any congregation or at the Convention because he has no call to a local church. The Bishops and Presidents of the ELCA, WELS, and ELS all practice Synodical hierarchy and all have authority to consecrate the elements at their conventions.

The question is, will the Missouri Synod retain its unique congregational polity or follow the path of hierarchy found in all the other clergy dominated Lutheran church bodies in the United States. There are only three choices. Either the congregation is church, or the pastor is church, or the Synod is church. Congregations will be governed either by lay people, clergy, or the Synodical headquarters.

The window of opportunity for Resolution 7-17 is now! None of the likely candidates for the LCMS Presidency will present this issue before the 2004 Convention. They each have a different agenda. Former President A. L. Barry may have been the last LCMS President to fully support and teach Walther's "Church and Ministry."

The Struggle For LCMS Congregationalism Continues

The struggle to present Resolution 7-17 "To Affirm Synod's Official Position on Church and Ministry" before the 2001 LCMS Convention has been long and arduous. It began in the spring of 1997 with the Michigan 102's "Evangelical Letter" declaring that direction for contemporary worship comes directly from God to the pastor. At the April 1997 Chicago meeting of the Association of Confessional Lutherans this writer was also appalled that none of the 10 speakers on the subject of Church and Ministry agreed with or presented Walther's doctrine. Their papers have just been published in a volume titled "Church Polity and Politics."

During the ACL meeting in Chicago I approached a floor microphone with a copy of Walther's "Church and Ministry" in hand. I began by saying; "Walther says . . ." and continued to read a quotation from the Lutheran Confessions out of the book. The audience of some 250, mostly clergy, booed and jeered. When they thought they were booing Walther, the pastors of the Association of Confessional Lutherans actually booed the Lutheran Confessions. I sat down.

Since 1997 the struggle to keep Walther's "Church and Ministry" the official doctrine of the LCMS has been a two front war. Those who wish to keep Walther must confront the entertainment, market-driven, fanaticism of Willow Creek, Community Of Joy, the Crystal Cathedral, and Fuller Theological Seminary, guided by Peter Drucker and the Harvard School of Business on one side and the sacerdotalism of Hyper-Euro-Lutherans who want the LCMS to adopt pre-Walther 18th Century, European Lutheran Clergy dominated hierarchy on the other side. In short, it is all about fast buck artists and the quest for power.

Over the last four years there has been storm of controversy on church and ministry which is published here, on the Luther Quest Discussion Group, in Reclaim News, addressed at conventions, symposiums, pastoral conferences, and on the pages of Christian News, just to name a few.

This writer owes a tremendous debt to a long list of lay people and clergy who have joined the struggle to preserve the correct teaching of C. F. W. Walther's "Church and Ministry" in the LCMS.

Too Many Lay People Don't Know What Is At Stake

For many pastors and even more lay people, voting on "Church and Ministry" at the LCMS 2001 Convention may be like asking their opinion on the homologoumena versus the antilegomena.

Today few lay people are taught or understand the doctrine on which the Synod was founded. The questions are basic. First, do the lay people still want to own and operate their own congregations? Second, if they do, will anyone teach them why and how to do it?

None of the Synodical publishing houses has any book in print on how laypeople can start and operate their own Lutheran congregation. More than 50 years ago, Concordia Publishing House use to publish a book titled "A Church is Born." Walther's "Church and Ministry" and the application and practice of this doctrine "The Right Form of the Christian Congregation Independent of the State" were originally available to all lay people. Today, Walther's second book above is out of print. Walther's 350 page "Church and Ministry" difficult reading for a pastor, let alone a lay person, is published by CPH, without an index. Few of the Seminary graduates today are required to read it.

It was difficult to get permission from CPH, who holds the copyright, just publish Walther's thesis on "Church and Ministry". CPH will not permit Walther's "Church and Ministry" to be published on the Internet. Yet, this is the foundational doctrine of the LCMS.

There are no books written for lay people explaining the Synod's position on this subject. A 120-page book, written for lay people, is now in the mail and is being sent to every delegate of the 2001 Convention.

This book sells for $5.00, plus $2.00 handling and shipping and can be ordered by calling 573-237-3110 or emailing cnmail@fidnet.com or reclaimnews@earthlink.net It is titled, "How To Start Or Keep Your Own Missouri Synod Lutheran Church: A handbook for lay people who like Missouri Synod congregations the way they began and want to be certain about the presence of God in their worship services." by J. M. Cascione. We could retitle it, "Church and Ministry Made Simple." With no books available on this subject in the LCMS, this writer was given an open field. Thank you, Concordia Publishing House. Sales are brisk!

What Will Be the Impact of Resolution 7-17?

Let me just give a few quotations from the 350-page book read by less than 1% of the LCMS, published by CPH with no index.

"For when our Savior Christ says, 'Tell it to the church,' He by these words commands the church [local congregation] to be the supreme judge." [!]

" . . . the congregation has the supreme authority in all church matters such as reproof, church discipline, division, judging doctrine, and appointing pastors, to mention only these things."

"Chemnitz presented the matter to the whole congregation as to the final and supreme judge."

There are many more quotes were these came from. Notice, the locations for these citations above are not published in this article. They are somewhere between pages 1 and 351 of Walther's "Church and Ministry," translated by J. T. Mueller in 1962 and republished by CPH in 1987. It is time to start reading.

In 2001, this is a divisive book in the LCMS. The hyper-euro-Lutherans condemn Walther for introducing secular "democracy" in the church. They are confused and consumed with a desire for power. The Church Growth/Leadership Training program led by Doctor Norbert Oesch called "The Pastoral Leadership Institute" does not teach Walther's "Church and Ministry," as Oesch told this writer at the Rockwell Meeting in Orange, California, in front of witnesses. Texas District President and leading LCMS presidential candidate, Dr. Jerry Kieschnick is the foremost advocate of PLI of all the District Presidents. Doctor Donald Muchow, Chairman of the Board of Directors, refers to "church and ministry" as "floating debris" in the way of the Synodical ship's mission of love!

We reply, that without church and ministry, there is no ship!

As official doctrine, Walther's "Church and Ministry" has the same force as "The Brief Statement." Any Synodical professor, pastor, or official who publicly teaches and practices against it, may be removed from office for false doctrine!

If Resolution 7-17 is not passed or is sent back to committee or made less than a doctrinally binding document the Synod as we know it will have come to an end. "Missouri" will exist in name only

Committee Seven Chaired by Wollenburg To Redirect Synod

Taking on this subject is like trying to get a hold of an elephant. Knowing the intense amount of clergy opposition to the subject, the initial thought was to promote voters' assemblies because trying to stop voters' assemblies in public would embarrass the clergy. However, we learned that rather than a resolution on voters' assemblies Floor Committee Seven chose to present the entire doctrine of "Church and Ministry" to the Convention, a resolution our congregation never thought would hit home. To our astonishment, Floor Committee Seven chose to deal with the entire issue, the whole enchilada, in one historic resolution. Every point of practice on voters' assemblies as explained in Walther's "Pastoral Theology," published by Christian News, can be defended from Walther's "Church and Ministry." You can direct your opinion to Doctor George Wollenburg, Montana District Office, 30 Broadwater Ave., Billings MT 59101.

We are told the decision for Resolution 7-17 from Floor Committee Seven was unanimous. It is simply amazing. It is an act of God. With banners unfurled and lances raised, they have chosen to resurrect "Old Missouri" and put her to a Vote. If the Lord allows, congregational Lutheranism will survive in the United States and there will be laypeople that will thank God for the freedom to exercise the full privileges of the priesthood of all believers.

Missouri's doctrine of Church and Ministry was once its greatest attraction to Lutheran's in America. Why don't we see the evangelistic power of this doctrine today?


To Affirm Synod's Official Position on Church and Ministry

RESOLUTION 7-17A

Overture 7-39 (CW, p. 251)

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has experienced during its history confusion with regard to the doctrine of church and ministry; and

WHEREAS, Dr. C. F. W. Walther addressed this confusion in 1851 through his Theses on Church and Ministry which were subsequently declared to be the position of the LCMS in 1851; and

WHEREAS, The book, The Voice of Our Church on the Question of Church and Ministry, by Dr. C. F. W. Walther was published in 1852. The LCMS in convention declared this book to be the pure doctrine (reine Lehre) of Church and Ministry; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod meeting in convention in the year of our Lord 2001 affirm the above referenced writings of C. F. W. Walther as the definitive statement under the Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions of the Synod's understanding on the subject of Church and Ministry; and be it further

Resolved, That the LCMS in convention re-affirm the decision of the 1852 convention in recognizing C. F. W. Walther's book, The Voice of Our church on the Question of Church and Ministry, as the official position of the LCMS; and be it further

Resolved, That all pastors, professors, teachers of the Church and congregations honor and uphold the resolutions of the Synod as regards the official position of our Synod on Church and Ministry and teach in accordance with them; and be it finally

Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be used to help carry out "The Great Commission" and shall not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission of God's Kingdom here on Earth. We will remember 1-02!

Revised June 26, 2002 to contain the Resolution as amended and passed at the Convention.


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

June 13, 2001