Editor’s Note: this article first appeared in the March 2019 edition of CORE Voice.

Lutheran CORE strives to be a voice and network for “confessing Lutherans.”  But just what is a confessing Lutheran?  People sometimes ask that question, and it deserves a good answer.

Historically, the terms “confessing” or “confessional” hearken back to the Lutheran confessions, or statements of doctrine, published in the Book of Concord in 1580.  These documents, which include writings by Martin Luther, his friend and colleague, Phillip Melanchthon, and their successors, have served as touchstones of Lutheran orthodoxy across place and time. 

Most if not every Lutheran pastor has vowed some kind of allegiance to this set of documents at ordination, and Lutheran laity will (hopefully) recognize one of its most beloved portions, Luther’s Small Catechism.  At the book’s very start stands perhaps its second most famous document, the Augsburg Confession.   This document was written by Melanchthon in 1530 to set forth the doctrine of the churches in Germany (the “evangelicals”) that had embraced Luther’s teachings.  For this reason it carries the label of confession: it publicly states, or confesses, what the evangelical Germans believed. 

This history brings us to a simple definition: confessing or confessional Lutherans are Lutherans who adhere to the teaching of the Book of Concord over against all doubts and doctrinal assaults.  They stand in line with those earliest confessors of the Lutheran church and say, “Our churches teach thus and so.”  Lutherans do disagree over the status of some of the writings in the Book of Concord (notably, the Formula of Concord), but all would agree that confessing or confessional describes a Lutheran’s fidelity to the contents of this book.

Digging a bit deeper, we may look at the term confess in light of Scripture.  There we find that the term most frequently connected with “confess” is the Greek term homologeō: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  The term used here and in similar passages is a simple combination of two words, logeō (to say or speak) and homo (same).  To confess is to “say the same thing.”  

A beloved Lutheran theologian named Norman Nagel expressed this aspect of confession in his description of Lutheran worship from 1982:

Our Lord speaks and we listen.  His Word bestows what it says.  Faith that is born from

what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise . . . .

Saying back to him what he has said to us, we repeat what is most true and sure.

(Lutheran Worship [St. Louis: CPH, 1982] page 6).

The Book of Concord and the churches that cherish it seek to confess or say the same thing that the Lord has said through His prophets and apostles, trusting that word to be “what is most true and sure.”  We could therefore say that confessing Lutherans say the same thing as the Lutheran confessors before them because those confessors said the same thing as God says in His word. 

One famous use of the term confessing comes from May 1934, when German Protestants, under the leadership of such men as Karl Barth and Martin Niemöller, adopted the Barmen Declaration, resisting the racist, Nazi-inspired “German Christian” movement.  The Declaration condemned the attempt of National Socialism to change church doctrine and dictate church polity in support of Hitler’s “Aryan” ideology.  Indeed, whenever the church resists changes to the doctrines of its Lord, it becomes a confessing church, saying what God has said over against all falsehood.

With churches across America struggling to know and believe what God has spoken, and with attempts at changing church doctrine multiplying daily, Lutheran CORE exists to support Lutherans engaged in this act of confession.  As the Danish pastor and hymnwriter, Nicholas S. Grundtvig, teaches us to sing,  

             God’s Word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever;
		to spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor.
		Through life it guides our way, in death it is our stay.
		Lord, grant while worlds endure, we keep its teachings pure
		throughout all generations. 

May God grant us the strength to will and to do this good and loving work.

Editor’s Note: this article first appeared in the March 2019 edition of CORE Voice.

Click here to read the article.

Editor’s Note: this article first appeared in the March 2019 edition of CORE Voice.

Click here to read the article.

March 2019 Lutheran CORE Newsletter

March
14, 2019

Dear
Bishop Collins –

I
read with considerable confusion and concern your letter to the Rev. W. Stevens
Shipman informing him that action had been taken by the Upper Susquehanna Synod
Council to remove him from the Word and Sacrament roster of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America.

My
area of confusion was in your quotation from section 8.62.15.d of the ELCA’s
constitution which says that “ministers on the Word and Sacrament roster of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America must accept and adhere to this church’s
Confession of Faith, as well as abide by this church’s standards and policies
for ministers of Word and Sacrament.”

We
all know that there are pastors of the ELCA who do not adhere to the ELCA’s
Confession of Faith.  One needs to look
no further than Ebenezerher Church in San Francisco, which promotes goddess
worship; the various versions of the Lord’s Prayer which were options in the
service after 2009 which welcomed or welcomed back people to the ELCA Clergy
Roster; and any followers of Marcus Borg and his version of “Progressive
Christianity,” which denies the deity and physical, bodily resurrection of
Jesus.  There were pastors on the clergy
roster of the synod in which I served before I retired (Southwest California)
who did not believe in the basic tenants of the historic, orthodox Christian
faith as expressed in the ELCA’s Confession of Faith, but the bishop just
looked the other way.

One
needs to look no further than the signers of the “We Are Naked and Unashamed”
movement to find people who are objecting to – and one can safely assume are
not living up to – the ELCA’s standards and policies for ministers of Word and
Sacrament.  And yet not only are they
allowed to remain on the ELCA clergy roster, they are celebrated, endorsed, two
of them were chosen to be keynote speakers at last summer’s youth gathering,
and in many ways one of them, who openly advocates for “ethically sourced porn”
and sex outside of marriage, has been allowed to become the most prominent,
public spokesperson for the ELCA.

In
a letter to Bishop Eaton I expressed my concerns regarding last summer’s youth
gathering.  She wrote back, “Regarding
the ‘We Are Naked and Unashamed’ movement, it is not an official group or
policy of the ELCA.  I do not wish to
give more attention and credence to a movement that is outside this church’s
social teaching by speaking about it publicly.” 
Again, nothing is being done.  It
is not being addressed.  It is being
allowed to continue and even flourish even though it is in violation of “this
church’s standards and policies for ministers of Word and Sacrament.”

In
their “Pastoral Message”, which was released on March 6, 2019, the ELCA
Conference of Bishops said regarding “Visions and Expectations,” “We recognize
and acknowledge that its application has been uneven and inequitable.”  They ended by saying, “We aspire and pledge
in the future to apply the church’s standards for ministry with equity and
compassion.”  Is your removing Pastor
Shipman from the ELCA’s clergy roster while other people are being allowed to
remain on the roster another example of ELCA standards being applied unevenly
and inequitably?

My
area of concern has to do with the Synod Council’s motion, which you quoted at
the end of your letter, in which the Synod Council expressed its support for any
decision that you would make that would prohibit Pastor Shipman from even
attending a synod function and or event, “especially as a representative of
Lutheran CORE.” 

Is
the Synod Council saying that no representative of Lutheran CORE would be
welcome to attend one of your synod’s functions and or events?  Would I, as Executive Director of Lutheran
CORE and a retired pastor on the ELCA roster, or a pastor or member of a
congregation that is a part of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, also not be welcome
to attend a synod function and or event, such as to set up a display table at a
synod assembly?

Bishop
Eaton began the letter which I previously referred to with these words: “Grace
and peace to you and to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are part of the
Lutheran Coalition for Renewal.”  Pages 19-21
of the “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” social statement, which was approved
by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, laid out four different positions on
same-gender relationships and behavior, which the document said are held to by
people “with conviction and integrity.”  The
social statement also said, “This church . . . encourages all people to live
out their faith . . . with profound respect for the conscience-bound belief of
the neighbor.”  That same paragraph ended
by saying, “Regarding our life together as we live with disagreement, the
people in this church will continue to accompany one another in study, prayer,
discernment, pastoral care, and mutual respect.”

The
March 6 “Pastoral Message” from the ELCA Conference of Bishops ends by saying,
“We aspire and pledge in the future . . . to listen and take seriously the concerns
of all our leaders – particularly those who historically have been
marginalized.”  Do the leaders of the
ELCA, including the leaders of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, wish to “listen and
take seriously the concerns of all our leaders” – not just those who are
described as “historically . . 
marginalized,” but also those who are currently the most marginalized –
those with a historic, traditional view?

Thank
you for your leadership in the Upper Susquehanna Synod and your attention to my
confusion and concern.  I will look
forward to receiving your response.

In
Christ,

Dennis
D. Nelson

Executive
Director of Lutheran CORE

Retired
ELCA Pastor

NALC LIFE CONFERENCE AND MARCH FOR LIFE
WERE AWESOME AND INSPIRING

Many thanks to Pastor Dennis DiMauro for organizing and to the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenton, Virginia for hosting the NALC Life Conference the day before the March for Life in Washington D. C. They were both amazing events.

Pastor DiMauro, who holds a Ph. D. in church history, began with a strong Biblical defense of the pro-life position along with a summary of how many great Christian leaders have spoken out in defense of life in the womb. We were all mightily encouraged as we heard how the current number of abortions is the lowest since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision in January 1973. We were also told that three-fourths of Christianity is pro-life and to anticipate 100,000 participants in the March for Life the next day.

The next speaker, Mona Fuerstenau, from Bethesda Lutheran Communities, has been a disability advocate for over thirty years. She reminded us of how as followers of Jesus we need to speak up for all people, no matter the age, stage, or level of ability or disability. She referenced two passages of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 12: 22 and 1 Peter 4: 10. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” Those who “seem to be weaker,” such as the disabled, can be seen as having nothing to contribute. On the contrary, God calls all of us to minister in His Kingdom. The title of her talk was “Everyone is necessary in the body of Christ, and we have a lot of work to do!” She also quoted 1 Peter 4: 10. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” The verse contains no qualifier and gives no exception. Instead it says, “each of you.”

Mona has a son with a significant disability. He accompanies her as she goes around to speak. Mona finds that the way people respond to her son is a good litmus test for the congregation. She can tell within the first five minutes in the way in which she and her son are greeted whether this congregation will be welcoming to people with disabilities.

The third speaker, Melissa Ohden, was amazing. She is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion. I am in awe over people who are able to tell their personal life stories, including sharing their deepest hurts and greatest struggles, in a way that is clear, confident, and compelling.

According to Melissa, we have been fed the lie that abortion prevents suffering. Instead abortion causes suffering – to the parents and grandparents, to say nothing about to the fetus that has been killed. She asked, “If we have lost sixty million lives to abortion, how many hundreds of millions of lives are and have been affected?”

We have also been fed the lie that abortion is about choice. The truth is that the majority of women do not have a choice. Sixty-four percent of women who have had an abortion tell about being coerced into having the abortion. Melissa said, “It is not about empowerment.”

Melissa shared how her maternal grandmother had pressured her birth mother into having an abortion, and for thirty years her birth mother did not know that actually she had survived. She told the amazing story of how she was able to come across her own birth records and then was able to find her father and birth mother. She shared how her ten years of searching were a “journey of mercy.” “God allowed me to learn what I needed to learn and not the rest.” After she truly surrendered her search to God, “everything happened.” She said, “God performs miracles still today; it is not just in the Bible.” “God blessed me with finding my medical records so that I could agitate in this world.” “I loosened my grip on my career so I could fulfill my calling.” “My birth mother is one of my greatest supporters. She tells me, ‘I need you to keep doing this.’”

Melissa concluded by saying, “Women, families, our culture deserve better than abortion.” She then spoke of the March for Life the next day as she shared, “We are not here to have fun. Rather we are here to grieve the loss of life and to find joy and support in each other.”

MARCH FOR LIFE

We have all heard much about the March for Life, especially in light of the events that took place near the Lincoln Memorial. I personally was not near the Memorial, so I cannot speak from personal observation. But I am very glad for recent reports which have exonerated the students from the Catholic school in Kentucky.

The main thing I would want to share is how deeply impressed I was with the very large number of young adults who were enthusiastic participants in the March. We constantly hear about the conspicuous absence of young people from our churches. Younger people are not attending traditional denominational churches. And it is not just the Lutheran churches. We wonder what will happen to our churches if we continue to be unable to reach younger people. And yet somehow the pro-life movement has been able to catch the attention and capture the enthusiasm, energy, and commitment of the millennial generation. Our churches, and many other groups that promote traditional values, have much to learn from the pro-life movement. How could we place ourselves in a position for that movement to teach us?

There are two other things I would like to say. First, how clean the march route was after the event. The crowd was huge, but they were polite and respectful in addition to being massive. Second, how deeply I was moved at the end of the route, in front of the Supreme Court Building, by all the signs which read, “I Regret My Abortion.” What can we do to help keep more women from making a choice and taking an action that later they will regret? The song that was sung at the end of the National Memorial Service for the Pre-Born and Their Mothers and Fathers earlier that morning contained these words: “What was your name? What were you meant to be? I wish I could have known.”

“REKINDLE YOUR FIRST LOVE” EVENT

I remember a several year period – during the years when I was serving as a pastor before I retired – when I would have jumped at the chance to be able to attend a gathering which was intended to help me regain my first love. I recall the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism with which I began my ministry. I served the same congregation for forty years. After eighteen years there we completed a major, two-million-dollar development of the property, including the building of a new sanctuary and fellowship hall. But then, immediately afterwards, began a process in which all hell broke loose.

One of the major families in the congregation became intensely angry with me. For a full year I received hate mail from them, as often as three times in the same day. When the congregation council finally stood up to them, they left. During the same time, as well as immediately afterwards, I was accused of having an affair with one of the staff members, our school principal was accused of embezzling funds, and the rumor was that there must be a reason why the school principal was able to blackmail me into being silent. For years this kind of behavior was tolerated and allowed to continue. When it was finally confronted, the inevitable blow up occurred, and everyone who was contributing to the problem, as well as everyone else whom they could influence, left within a matter of a few weeks. I gained a new appreciation for Paul’s image of the church as the body of Christ. In order to be able to survive, a living organism must be able to get rid of highly toxic material. The church finally stood up to and was delivered from everyone who was engaging in highly toxic behavior. But the damage was done – to the congregation, as well as to my relationship with the congregation. I could have used a “Rekindle Your First Love” event.

For most of you I do not know what you are going through and have gone through. But I do know that ministry is tough. Jesus said that it is going to be tough. No wonder we need to put on the full armor of God.

I would strongly urge you to sign up today. We have a great group of presenters who will lead us in rekindling 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. In addition we have a fourth presenter who will help us take the next steps as we move from rekindling to re-establishing the fire of our first love. The presenters represent a wide-range of church body affiliations – NALC, LCMC, and ELCA.

The contemporary Christian singer/song-writer, Keith Green, in his song “Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful,” sings these words –

“Oh Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clear.
Replace the lamp of my first love.”
 

The date is Wednesday, May 1. The location is Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenton, Virginia (the same location as for the NALC Life Conference). Here is a link that will take you to the flier that will tell you more about the gathering and how you can register. I urge you to do so today.

Blessings in Christ,
Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com
909-274-8591

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.

Lutheran CORE has sent a letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as well as Bishops McCoid and Macholz asking them for a public response to the recent abortion decisions made in New York. Click here to read it.

Editor’s Note: this article first appeared in the January 2019 edition of CORE Voice.

Click here to read the article.

The official report from the November 8-11 meeting of the ELCA Church Council, dated November 19, 2018 said that “the council engaged in discussions around a ‘well-governed, connected and sustainable church.’” I do not see how the Church Council could call the ELCA well-governed, connected, and/or sustainable.

The
Math Doesn’t Add Up

First, sustainable. The predecessor church bodies that merged in 1988 to
form the ELCA achieved their statistical peak in 1968 when they reported a
combined total of 5.9 million members. Fifty years later, in 2018, the ELCA
reports having only about 3.5 million members. That represents a 41% loss in
fifty years. How long can a decline like that be sustainable? The synod in
which I was rostered before I retired balances the budget by spending money
obtained by selling the buildings of closed congregations. These buildings were
built and paid for by faithful followers of Jesus whose view of the Bible,
orthodox theology, priority of evangelism, and views on such things as human
sexuality that synod rejects. How long can a synod continue to exist and how
can it be sustainable if it balances the budget by closing congregations?

Actions
Speak Louder

Second, connected. The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly said that a wide
variety of views on human sexuality, including the traditional view, would be
treated with respect. And yet a keynote speaker at last summer’s youth
gathering (who could very well be the prime spokesperson for the ELCA) led
31,000 young people in rejecting the traditional view as a lie. My letters to
synodical bishops were totally ignored when I wrote to them about the free
reign and amount of power that are being given to the LGBTQIA+ community and
about how the ELCA’s doing so is a blatant betrayal and violation of trust
because of the way in which the LGBTQIA+ agenda goes way beyond what was
approved at the 2009 assembly. How could a church that advocates for justice
but then acts so unjustly, and that claims to be inclusive and yet consistently
excludes, diminishes, and dismisses a significant part of its constituency call
itself connected?

Restore
Sanity

Third, well-governed. In a recent letter to Presiding Bishop Elizabeth
Eaton I challenged her to exercise the authority of her office and hold the
organizers of the youth gathering accountable for their choice of speakers. I
also called upon her to restore sanity to the ELCA’s teachings on human
sexuality by working with the administration and faculty of the Lutheran School
of Theology in Chicago to renounce the “We Are Naked and Unashamed” movement.
That movement rejects marriage by any definition as normative for sexual
activity. It was well-represented among the keynote speakers at last summer’s
ELCA youth gathering. Bishop Eaton gave a very limp reply when she said that
she will be “speaking to the leadership team of the Youth Gathering.” She also
said that she did not want to “give more attention and credence to a movement
that is outside this church’s social teaching by speaking about it publicly.”
As Bishop Eaton refuses to speak publicly about movements within the ELCA that
are out of control, Nadia Bolz-Weber is gaining visibility and notoriety as she
is promoting her new book, Shameless: A Sexual Reformation, and as she
is calling upon women to send in their purity rings so that she can melt them
down and make a statue of a golden vagina. How could a church that refuses
to address actions and behaviors that are in direct violation of what it claims
to be its beliefs and standards call itself well-governed?

Too
Late for Damage Control

Either the leaders of the ELCA are in agreement with Nadia Bolz-Weber or
they are not. If they are in agreement, we have a problem because they are
joining with her in calling the traditional view of human sexuality a lie. If
they are not in agreement, they have a problem because they have allowed her to
become so prominent. They did nothing about her at a time when it would have
been easier to do something about her. How would they be able to stop her now? When
a church body has allowed a situation that is doing great damage to become so
large and out of control, how could it call itself well-governed? The
situation created by Nadia Bolz-Weber is doing great damage because of the
message she is communicating to young people and the turmoil she is creating in
some congregations. 

Repent
and Re-Examine

That same report said that the ELCA Church
Council formed a working group which would develop a document which would
contain “a confession of this church’s bondage to the sins of slavery, racism,
discrimination, white supremacy and quietism, and a commitment to begin the
work of repentance, which this church confesses to be ‘the chief topic of
Christian teaching.’” The ELCA has far more that it needs to confess
besides racism, discrimination, white supremacy, and quietism. It also needs to
repent of its own acts of betrayal of trust, violation of agreements,
and marginalization and even bullying and intimidation of pastors and
congregations who hold to traditional views. It also needs to seriously
re-examine its own theology. How could it call itself confessionally
Lutheran when it says that our need to confess rather than God’s work of
salvation through Jesus Christ is “the chief topic of Christian teaching”?