Sun, Aug. 22, 2010 Posted: 08:44 PM EDT
More than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America
will gather this week in Grove City, Ohio, to form a new
church body for confessional Lutherans.
At this week’s two-day gathering, members of Lutheran
CORE will adopt a constitution that will give birth to the
North American Lutheran Church (NALC), which the
movement’s director says “will embody the center of
Lutheranism in America.”
“The NALC will uphold confessional principles dear to
Lutherans including a commitment to the authority of the
Bible and the Lutheran Confessions," said the Rev. Mark
Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, in an announcement.
"We have a great opportunity before us,” added the Rev.
Paull Spring, chair of Lutheran CORE. “We not only want to
look back toward the past, but to look ahead to the
mission God has given us – to confess Christ faithfully,
to witness to others, and to grow in God's mission. This
is our opportunity now in Lutheran CORE and in the North
American Lutheran Church."
Lutherans throughout the United States have been reacting
to actions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
in recent years, including the approval of a policy to
allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships and to
officiate at same-sex union ceremonies.
Though national and international media have focused on
the church body’s struggle over sexuality issues, Lutheran
CORE leaders note that the problems in the ELCA are really
not about sexual behavior but rather about an ongoing
movement away from the authority and teaching of the Bible
throughout the ELCA.
"It was not our choice to leave the ELCA, but the ELCA
has chosen to reject 'the faith once delivered to the
saints,' so now we are acting to maintain our position
within the consensus of the Church catholic," remarked
Ryan Schwarz, chair of Lutheran CORE's Vision and Planning
Working Group.
At the upcoming Convocation of Lutheran CORE, the
proposals to be considered have been designed to provide a
way for Lutherans who uphold biblical teaching to move
forward together.
In addition to creating the NALC, Lutheran CORE's 2010
Convocation will also consider proposals for the
continuation of Lutheran CORE as "a confessional and
confessing unity movement" for traditional Lutherans
regardless of their church body affiliation, including in
particular those traditional Lutherans who will remain in
the ELCA for the time being.
The convocation will open Thursday afternoon with Holy
Communion at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove
City, Ohio, near Columbus, and conclude Friday with the
installation of officers for Lutheran CORE and the North
American Lutheran Church.
Preceding the convocation will be a theological
conference in Hilliard, Ohio, featuring some of the most
significant Lutheran scholars in America. The conference,
with the theme “Seeking New Directions for Lutheranism,”
will be held Aug. 24-26.
Joshua A. Goldberg
Christian Post Reporter
