Editor’s Note. This article first appeared in our January 2019 newsletter; the author is Pastor Dennis D. Nelson.
As Lutheran CORE seeks to be a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH and a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS, we look back upon 2018 with thanksgiving and forward to 2019 with eager anticipation. We thank God for His many blessings, and we thank our friends for their faithful and generous prayer and financial support.
2018
- As a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH during 2018 we challenged the ELCA to live within the boundaries of what was actually approved by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly and to live up to the commitments that were made at that gathering to give a place of honor and respect also to those who hold traditional views on human sexuality.
- We wrote to the presiding bishop of the ELCA as well as to all sixty-five synodical bishops to confront them with the fact that lifestyles that were never approved were promoted at the summer youth gathering and the traditional view was called a lie. (See article in the September #5 issue of CORE Voice.)
- We alerted faithful members of the ELCA to the amount of power and influence that have been given to the LGBTQIA+ community as we reported on the way in which that group was able to force the firing of a seminary president simply because she held traditional views twenty years ago. (See articles in the Lent #2 issue of CORE Voice and the June Letter from the Director.) We also alerted people to the kind of strange, even heretical, and radical leftwing agenda teachings that are being given to future pastors who are attending ELCA seminaries. (See articles in the August Letter from the Director and the November # 6 issue of CORE Voice.)
- As a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS we worked with call committees of ELCA congregations to help them find an orthodox, Bible-believing, and outreach-oriented pastor to be their next pastor.
- We held our annual Latino ministries Encuentro (Encounter) at an ELCA church in northwest Chicago. This was a day of information, fellowship, encouragement, and renewal for pastors and congregations who are already involved in, as well as for those who are considering becoming involved in, Spanish language and bilingual (English-Spanish) ministry and outreach.
- We offered resources on our website such as daily devotions, prayers of the church, and hymn suggestions for each Sunday of the year.
2019
- We will be a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH in 2019 as we continue to expose the ways in which the Women and Justice social statement, which will be voted on at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, rejects the authority, reliability, and truthfulness of the Bible as it promotes its radical feminist agenda. (See article in this issue, as well as in the July # 4 issue of CORE Voice.)
- We will alert faithful members of the ELCA to the ways in which the leaders of that church body are refusing to stand up to movements within the church that are in direct violation of what the ELCA claims to believe. (See article in this issue of CORE Voice about the recent meeting of the ELCA Church Council.)
- As a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS during 2019 we will hold an event for pastors on May 1 in northeast Virginia that will be a day of inspiration, encouragement, and renewal as we ask God to rekindle our first love for Christ, for the church as the body of Christ, and for mission and ministry as the work of Christ in the world. (See flier in this issue.)
- We will partner with NALC pastor Don Brandt to offer an at-cost coaching and consulting ministry called Congregations in Transition (CiT). In early April we will hold an event in the Phoenix area for (mostly retired) Lutheran pastors to train them to become coaches who will walk with congregations through the transition process between pastors. (See article in this issue of CORE Voice.)
- We will work to provide a network of encouragement and prayer support for students with traditional views at ELCA seminaries as well as for recent graduates with traditional views.
- As we begin a new year we will continue to ask God to direct, guide, bless, and use our efforts for His Kingdom as we thank our friends for their faithful and generous prayer and financial support.
