Lutheran Dissidents Mull a Separate Future

Sadly, some within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ("ELCA") continue to froth at the mouth and have conniptions over the ELCA's recent decision to allowed partnered gay clergy and to provide recognition and support for same sex couples, although marriage is reserved for heterosexual couples. It continues to amaze me that these folks hold a few Bible passages that arguable condemn homosexuality to be sacrosanct while many others - such as the ban on divorce stated in the Gospels - are completely ignored. These Bible literalists are certainly disingenuous when it comes to demanding compliance with Scripture. I guess a literal application is fine when your ox is not being gored, but as soon as these folks have it impact them personally, they throw literalism out the window. Why does the word hypocrisy spring to mind? Here are some highlights from Beliefnet:

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The dilemma for conservatives in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America could be summed up in the familiar refrain from The Clash's punk-rock tune: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" The answer seems to be: Yes -- and no. Many conservatives are deeply unhappy that the ELCA, the nation's largest Lutheran denomination, voted in August to lift its ban on noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy. The 4.8 million-member church also voted to allow congregations to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships."

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Conservatives say the ELCA's confessions -- or statements of faith -- clearly call for fidelity to Scripture, which clearly condemns homosexuality. So, next week (Sept. 25-26), a conservative network of clergy and lay Lutherans plans to gather and hatch plans to "reconfigure" Lutheranism in North America.

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The leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) are not encouraging fellow believers to bolt from the ELCA for a more conservative denomination, but neither do they want to remain part of one that has "fallen into heresy," they say. Thus, CORE is laying plans for a "free-standing synod" that would include current members of the ELCA along with others that have exited, or plan to exit, from the denomination.

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"There are lots of congregations that are going to leave, lots of traditionalist congregations that are going to stay, and lots that have already left," said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, a member of CORE's steering committee. "We want to create a churchly structure that gathers all those categories." About 1,200 people have registered for CORE's summit in Indianapolis, according to organizers. Participants at the Indiana meeting are expected to draft bylaws for their new organization, develop fiscal plans and begin reaching out to other "compatible" denominations.
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The free-standing synod, should the idea be accepted, would hire and train its own clergy, redirect donations from ELCA headquarters to CORE, plant churches and support missionaries, Chavez said. Some members will disassociate from their local (geographic) synods and stop participating in the ELCA's biennial assemblies. But others who are part of conservative synods that are not expected to hire gay and lesbian clergy may choose to remain part of the ELCA, he added.
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There is some precedent for a free-standing synod; one of the ELCA's synods is home to Lutherans of Slovakian descent, not regional like the other 64. There was similar talk of creating a free-standing synod about a decade ago, when the ELCA approved a full communion agreement with the Episcopal Church, said the Rev. Michael Cooper-White, dean of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. The issue at that time was differing views on the authority of bishops, he added.

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For now, they are taking a "wait and see" approach to the new synod, said ELCA spokesman John Brooks, and still consider CORE members part of the national church. "We're interested in seeing how a free-standing synod takes shape, it's really hard to know," he said. "We've had groups formed within the ELCA gathered around certain topics or issues as long as the church has been around. We're hoping that people will recognize that (the ELCA) is much more than one topic, one issue, one decision."

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Meanwhile, some conservative Lutherans think a free-standing synod plan doesn't go far enough. Robert Benne, director of the Center for Religion and Society at ELCA-affiliated Roanoke College in Virginia, said conservatives should strike out on their own.

Lutheran CORE and Anti-Gay Lutherans

As my immediately prior post illustrates, those who selective pick to enforce passages of the Bible to discriminate against LGBT Christians are, in my opinion, hypocrites and I would argue false Christians. Sadly, this label applies to some within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who are convulsing on the floor over the Churchwide Assembly's decision to allow partnered clergy in same sex relationships to be full Lutheran clergy. All those other Bible passages and prohibitions against divorce do not matter a bit to these folks - just the purported anti-gay passages. Crosswalk.com has a story on the doings amongst the anti-gay elements of the ELCA. Here are some highlights:

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had debated lifting its ban on non-celibate gay clergy for years, with tensions flaring at each biennial Churchwide Assembly. Still, when the ban was finally lifted late Friday (Aug. 21), it came as a surprise -- and an unwelcome one at that -- to some conservatives in the nation's largest Lutheran denomination. "The first reaction is that they are stunned," said the Rev. Jonathan Jenkins, who addressed the new clergy policy at his Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon, Pa. "We've been talking about this as a possibility for some time, but I think most of our people did not expect this to happen."

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Even before last week's convention in Minneapolis, conservatives in Lutheran CORE, which counts about 300,000 members, planned to hold their own gathering next month in Indianapolis. CORE leaders said the group will consider a range of options, from creating a separate church within the ELCA to directing donations away from the ELCA's Chicago headquarters.

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Delegates at the ELCA's convention said opening the pulpit to gay clergy in committed, monogamous relationships accords with the Bible's overall message of tolerance and inclusion. But conservatives say the Bible clearly denounces homosexual activity, and that any church that condones homosexuality has turned its back on Scripture.

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"We are being inundated with calls from former ELCA congregations," Sullivan said. "I expect that at the very least, we will double in the next year and a half." The LCMC has about 175 member congregations in the U.S.; the ELCA has approximately 10,000 congregations. Sullivan said he had talked to 25 congregations on Monday alone.

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Robert Benne, director of the Center for Religion and Society at the ELCA-affiliated Roanoke College in Virginia, said conservatives will likely head in many different directions, and predicts that at least 200 congregations will soon distance themselves from the ELCA. "It's going to be very diffuse," said Benne, who serves on the advisory board for Lutheran CORE. "Some lay people will want their congregation to leave, some will want to be assured that their congregation" will not hire a gay pastor. Still others will withhold sending money to ELCA headquarters and some will "reluctantly go along with what happened," Benne said.

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It must be wonderful to believe that you have a direct link to God and can get dispensation from a multitude of Bible passages yet selectively invoke a handful against other human beings in an effort to keep them marginalized and subject to discrimination. Doesn't seem like something Christ would condone.