No Way to Slow Down
This January marks the end of my term as President of Lutheran CORE. I have been on the board of CORE since 2019. In that time, my own congregation held a successful vote to leave the ELCA. As a result, the fate of the ELCA will not have a direct impact on me and my congregation. Nevertheless, with the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly approaching, I wanted to share some final thoughts about the denomination of which I was a part for 35 years.
When I think about the direction of the ELCA in 2024, the words “no way to slow down” come to mind. In case you don’t recognize those words, they come from the song Locomotive Breath by the rock band Jethro Tull. It tells the story of a runaway train. The refrain says, “Old Charlie stole the handle / and the train it won’t stop going / no way to slow down.”
I have begun to wonder whether the bishops of the ELCA are less like the engineer of the train, and more like the unwilling passenger. In my interactions with bishops and various other church leaders over the years, they always seemed to have a standard response to any question about the future of the ELCA. Whenever I would share a concern, the answer I would get was, “Don’t worry. That will never happen.”
Are you concerned that “bound conscience” will be ignored, or worse yet, rescinded? “Don’t worry. That will never happen.” Are you afraid that ELCA pastors will be required to preach and teach in accord with ELCA social statements? “Don’t worry. That will never happen.” Are you afraid that the ELCA will close congregations and seize their assets to fund the church’s bureaucracy? “Don’t worry. That will never happen.”
That is what we are told. However, I also remember being told that the group “Naked and Unashamed” was a fringe group that would have no influence on the ELCA. I remember being assured that seminary faculties would not be purged of those holding to orthodox teaching on marriage, the Trinity, Christology, or salvation. I remember being assured that ELCA Advocacy would defend the right of religious organizations to adhere to traditional teachings on marriage. All of those assurances proved to be empty.
In 2019, one of the primary demands of “Naked and Unashamed” was met. The ELCA removed the requirement that unmarried rostered leaders remain chaste and abstinent from Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline. At least three seminaries have seen purges of faculty or staff take place. ELCA Advocacy declined to publicly support the freedom of religious institutions to follow their bound consciences in regard to marriage.
Why do bishops resort to such empty promises? You could argue that they are simply dishonest. That may be true in some cases. However, I think that explanation is too easy. I think it might be the case that the bishops are afraid. They are afraid to tell people the truth. First of all, they are afraid of what will happen to the ELCA if too many people decide to leave at the same time. Secondly, they are afraid of what will happen to them if they tell the truth. There is an unnamed group of people who will make life very difficult for any bishop that steps out of line.
Who are these unnamed people? I can’t say for sure. All I can say is that there is a sense in which the ELCA is a runaway locomotive that is outside of the control of its bishops. Someone else is at the throttle and the brake handle has been stolen. Even if a wreck is imminent, some think it is better to keep the passengers calm. That’s why groups like Lutheran CORE have to sound the alarm.
