Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas

Statement as to the Nature of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas (ELST) and the Intended Role for Which It Has Been Created

The Problem

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is in deep crisis. The events of August, 2009 have confirmed that the ELCA has become little more than another mainline liberal American Protestant denomination. Many congregations, pastors, lay members, and some bishops have reluctantly concluded that the ELCA as presently constituted can no longer be seen as a suitable vessel to which they can pledge their hearts, or within which they may continue to carry out their ministries.

Two Obvious Alternatives

Seekers may see themselves as needing to make one of two choices: either staying and fighting within the ELCA (the First Rail), or leaving to join or establish new American Lutheran denominations (the Second Rail).

Even a cursory consideration reveals that these are two equally unsatisfactory approaches. Either will almost inevitably accelerate the demise of American Lutheranism which is already in full swing.

The Destination: Renewal of the American Lutheran Confessional Movement

To some, the seeming crisis is in fact a rare opportunity to reform and revitalize American Lutheranism. The ELST has been re-established as a vessel within which this renewal can begin. At the national level, Lutheran CORE has been formed for this very purpose. The ELST, as an affiliate of Lutheran CORE, will fulfill this role in Texas.

A Safe Terminal within Which to Construct a Third Rail It is clear that seekers are going to embark on a journey toward mission. What is not clear is whether they will journey on the First Rail (within the ELCA), the Second Rail (in a different existing or newly-formed American Lutheran denomination), or perhaps a Third Rail, a structure which will combine and unite Lutheran reformers who choose to remain within the ELCA and those who decide to join or establish new American Lutheran denominations.

For this process to proceed, a time for discernment and planning is mandatory. To achieve a spectacularly effective outcome, leading to the vigorous renewal and reinvigoration of the Lutheran confessional movement in America, a degree of unity is essential. This cannot be achieved in a fortnight. The desire for instant gratification has become a hallmark of our troubled society, but a safe terminal within which wise discernment and well-considered action can take place is needed. The ELST is the safe terminal within which this needed discernment and action can occur.

Exactly What the ELST Is

The ELST is not a new denomination, nor is it necessarily the precursor of any new denomination. It will soon be affiliated with LutheranCORE. At the very least, it will not be a comfortable lounge for those inclined to endless study and conversation. Rather it is a safe gathering place where the necessary reflection and discernment – and not one bit more than is absolutely necessary – can occur before the trains start pulling out of the station.

And the hope is that all “we” passengers will leave on the same train, or at least in tandem, all headed to the same destination. Specifically, for the next one or two years, the ELST will be a “paradenomination,” a “shadow denomination” if you will, preparing for the new face of Lutheranism in America. It will have a provisional governance shadowing the structures of existing Lutheran denominations such as the ELCA, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LC-MS).

There will be three areas (dioceses) in Texas (Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio), shadowing the three synods in Texas of the ELCA. Each will have its own ecclesiastical leader (bishop). There will also be a statewide coordinating body (synod) having its own statewide leader (presiding bishop). The statewide coordinating body will have its own governing body (Synod Council) and executive committee (Synod Council Cabinet), as will each of the three areas (dioceses).

In just eight weeks (since the initial meeting of September 9, 2009), much of this para-structure has already been put in place, and dedicated leaders of the church have stepped forward to assume provisional roles. They are Pastor Henry Schulte; statewide convening pastors Tim Christ in Houston, Art Going in Dallas, and Ron Windeker in San Antonio; theological commission chairmen, educators such as retired TLU President Dr. Charles Ostreich and Pastor Edwin Peterman; lawyers such as Dennis Sagabiel, Stephen Mitby and Carroll Shaddock; and executives such as Pat Swanson and Dean Huffman. A growing number of dedicated men and women, pastors and laypeople, have already contributed thousands of hours and thousands of dollars to initiate the ELST, and very soon these volunteers will be joined by the first (part-time) staff member.

The coming months will see a flurry of activity, as congregations hold their annual congregational meetings, and next attend the first all-hands statewide meeting (Synodical Assembly) and area meetings take place in the spring of 2010. Commissions and committees are now being formed to carry out the various functions of this para-denomination, such as Theology, Theological Education, Technology, Finance, Ecclesiological Structure, and so on.

The etymological root of the word synod embraces the concept of “walking together”; the ELST – for now – is not a denomination. Many of its congregations will be members of the ELCA, some of other Lutheran denominations; but all will be held together in a safe environment where the future can be planned in a wise and considered manner. This time the result must be well-constructed, a vessel able to carry forward the historic faith and doctrine of the Church Catholic as understood within the Lutheran confessional movement, safe from revisions however well-intentioned, unless and until there is genuine church-wide consensus that a change is warranted by new insights in its understanding of Scripture.

How This Is Different from the ELCA?

First, the ELCA appears to have replaced Luther’s understanding of the conscience being bound by the Word of God with what they call the “bound conscience” of the individual, with no biblical point of reference. This fundamental and pervasive “Theological Problem” will be the subject of a theological paper to be issued by the ELST.

Second, the structure of the ELCA is fundamentally flawed in that the entire doctrine of the denomination is subject to the whim of no more than two Churchwide Assemblies, or as in the case of the recent changes concerning sexuality policies, one Churchwide Assembly. This is the “Flawed Ecclesiology” of the ELCA.

Third, it is most sad and disappointing that faced with the opportunity presented by the Flawed Ecclesiology of the ELCA, organized elements within the ELCA did in fact seek and achieve a fundamental change in polity as understood by the Church for some 2,000 years, all while admitting that no consensus for change existed. This is the “Politicized Environment” of the ELCA. It is not enough that revisionists read the rules, followed the rules, and won by the rules. The Protestant experiment requires that the mind of the Church must be discerned, not just the votes won in accordance with principles of democracy.

Fourth, the hierarchy and structures of the Church must exist to follow the Word of God and its proper application according to the historic doctrines of the Church, unless and until there is a widespread consensus that the doctrine is flawed. By contrast, the purpose of the “churchwide expression” of the ELCA seems to have become to be an agent for achieving “social justice.” And that concept of “justice” in many contexts is clearly found by the ELCA to be found in the left wing of the American political spectrum – things such as easing travel restrictions to Cuba, increasing farm subsidies and promoting a certain kind of immigration reform, instituting certain reforms to combat global warming, promoting “a Lutheran concept of health care reform.” This is the “Left-wing Political Agenda” of the ELCA. Most Lutherans across the whole political spectrum of America do not believe that the exercise of political partisanship, left or right, is a primary role of the Church, or any role at all. And for those who think a simple return to the days of the “good ol’” ALC is solution and plan enough, there seems to be little realization that the left-wing bias of the ALC was at least as bad as that of the ELCA today, as its Legislative Office fought for a 55-mph speed limit, gun control, disarmament, and so on.

God Is in Charge, and Not We Ourselves

We properly leave the defense of the Gospel to God, and do not arrogate that responsibility for ourselves. But we are not longer content just to be a part of a church with a fundamental and pervasive Theological Problem, a Flawed Ecclesiology, a Politicized Environment, and a Left-wing (or Right-wing)
Political Agenda. Instead we want to be a part of a Bible-centered Church (where the Bible is read according to the high scholarly standards of traditional Lutheranism), which has a Solid Ecclesiology (which requires genuine consensus for change) and a Non-politicized Environment where there is No Political Agenda, Left or Right. The ELST will provide a safe terminal in which such structures will be carefully planned and memorialized before any trains pull out.

This Is Not about Sex

A generation ago Lutherans were quite confident that women had no place in the ordained ministry. There is much in the Bible to support that view, as some within the LC-MS would be happy to explain. Today those outside the LC-MS (and WELS) do not read the Bible this way; our fealty to the Scriptures has not changed, but our interpretation of the Bible has changed. We do not know how Biblical references to homosexuality will be interpreted in 50 years, or even 25 years or less. But we do know that the historic doctrine of the Church will not be changed by reference to a parliamentary majority, or a vote of two thirds. It may be changed based upon a reading of scripture, but not the sinking sands of the “bound conscience,” as it is not clear to what those consciences are bound.

So one might say that this is about theology, not about sex; but there is more to the matter. The change in polity relating to homosexuality and the ordained ministry has also opened the eyes of many to the simple fact that the ELCA has become just another liberal, mainstream Protestant American denomination. We all, left and right, expect more of our denomination.

Another way to say this is that we do not want to be part of a dying denomination. The experience of the prototypical American liberal denomination, the United Church of Christ (not to be confused with the fundamentalist Church of Christ) is frightening. This imploding denomination is falling apart at an accelerating and dizzying pace, with membership decline from 1.4 million to 1.1 from 1998 to 2008.

The same thing is now happening in the ELCA, beginning even before the recent vote (membership decline from 5.2 million to 4.7 million in ten years).

These Events Are Not Just an Accident

The seeds of the present crisis are not recent, but were sown quite intentionally by the Commission for a New Church, which created and structured the ELCA more than 25 years ago. Much of the “credit” belongs to the bizarre “Quota System” of the ELCA, which has greatly contributed to the magnification of the traditional disconnection between the views of ordinary church members and the often self-promoting persons who end up dominating the proceedings of national church bodies. This “Disconnection Phenomenon” can be observed in many, if not most, national organizations, including church bodies. The leftward march of the ELCA, for example, greatly resembles the right turn of the LC-MS a generation ago.

So now, the ordinary people of the Church must wrest power from this newer generation of special-interests, however well-intentioned they may be. Whether this can be done within existing structures (such as the ELCA with its Quota System), or whether a new denomination is necessary, remains to be seen; what we can now clearly see is that one (the ELCA) should have been enough, and that more than one replacement is at least enough.
                                                                                                  
Why Just Texas?

The work of the ELST is being done nationally by Lutheran CORE, and done well. We in Texas have been given a special assignment – is it possible that by working at the local level in one place, contacts, relationships and solutions might bring about results which would elude the national effort? And if so, might not Texas be that place – given the natural optimism, goodwill, and confident nature of Texans?

The ELST invites the participation of Texas Lutheran congregations, pastors and members in this effort as we pursue a different future for the Lutheran confessional movement in America.

What Is the “Lutheran Confessional Movement?”

Martin Luther did not want or intend to start a “new church,” any more than many of us want to do so. What he did intend was to begin a “confessional movement” within the Church, which would someday reform the Church so that the “one holy, catholic and apostolic church” would become manifest among us, bear witness to the Gospel, and be home to all of us (“Mother Church”). That day has not yet arrived; and so it is that we remain a “confessional movement” within the “church catholic.”

We pray not just for the unity of the “church catholic,” but also in the interim for the unity of our “confessional movement.”