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MEMORANDUM
To: The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
From: Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
Subject: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Document
"Report and Recommendations on
Ministry Policies"
Date: February 22, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace be with you, from God our Father and
from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
It is with great disappointment and deep sadness that I
share with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod these
brief comments on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America's Task Force on Sexuality document "Gift and
Trust" and the "Report and Recommendations on Ministry
Policies." The "Report and Recommendations" document
recommends that the ELCA undertake a process that would
result in the incorporation of "structured flexibility
in decision making to allow, in appropriate situations,
people in publicly accountable, monogamous, lifelong,
same-gendered relationships to be approved for the
rosters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America."
The two documents were released February 19 by an ELCA
task force and are expected to be considered by the ELCA
Churchwide Assembly in August.
If this recommendation should be adopted by the
Churchwide Assembly, it would constitute a change in the
ELCA's present position, which precludes "practicing
homosexuals" from being included on its rosters. More
importantly, it would constitute a radical departure
from the 2,000-year-long teaching of the Christian
tradition that homosexual activity, whether inside or
outside of a committed relationship, is contrary to Holy
Scripture.
As the ELCA Task Force Report itself states, "This
church [the ELCA] does not have biblical and theological
consensus on this matter." It therefore concludes that
the ELCA "must seek a common way to live and serve in
the midst of disagreements" such as "the understanding
of the nature of sin," "the interpretation of the
Bible," "how the Bible guides our lives," and "the level
of disagreement the ELCA can bear."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has repeatedly
affirmed the biblical truth and historical understanding
of the Christian church that the Bible condemns
homosexual behavior as "intrinsically sinful" and is
therefore contrary to the will of the Creator and
constitutes sin against the commandments of God (Lev.
18:22, 24,20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9-20; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and Rom.
1:26, 27).
Our prayer in the LCMS is that our gracious God will
penetrate the lives and hearts of the leaders and
members of the ELCA in the coming months as they
discuss, debate, and determine the outcome of the task
force report and its recommendations.
In the meantime, it behooves us in the LCMS, in a spirit
of sincere humility, love, care, and concern, to
continue to endeavor faithfully to honor Resolution
3-21A of the 2001 Convention of our Synod that while "we
cannot consider [the ELCA] to be an orthodox Lutheran
church body . we of the LCMS recognize that many of our
brothers and sisters of the ELCA remain faithful to the
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and we resolve to reach
out to them in love and support ."
God's grace, mercy, and peace be with us all.
Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
"Transforming lives through Christ's love ... in time
... for eternity ..." John 3:16-17
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