Editor’s Note: The article below by Pastor Steven K. Gjerde originally appeared in the Summer 2018 Newsletter.

Click here to read the article.

Click to access the 2018 Newsletter for Lent.

“Rejoice always.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

“Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!”  We sang that hymn next to a grave yesterday, a bitterly cold wind beating on our backs.  Our sister in the faith had died suddenly, grieving us all, but still we called out the truth: Jesus is on His way, and so, even in grief, we rejoice in Him.  

That’s what St. Paul intends by this command.  He’s not calling for Pollyanna thinking, a way to shield ourselves from feeling the pains of our losses.  No, but having just set forth the promise of Christ’s return, he’s telling the believers in Thessaly to confess that gospel in every situation, happy or sad.  Feel the pain, and then meet it with the promise.

So what do you face today?  What sharp winds of challenge, blessing, disappointment, or fear will pound on your heart?  Approach every situation in this conviction: you are one for whom Christ Jesus came to Bethlehem; with you He still abides; and He is on His way to give you a full share in His victory.  What happens today passes away tomorrow, but rejoice!  Emmanuel, God-with-us, God-with-you, is forever.

LET US PRAY: O Lord, as I, with Your Church, prepare to celebrate the birth of Your Son, grant me Your Holy Spirit, that I may see in His first advent the brilliance of His final appearing in glory; and by the promise of that glory, strengthen me to rest and live in hope each day; through Christ my Lord.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau  

© 2017

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

OCTOBER 2017

Something that for me has been absolutely astounding – as we have been celebrating the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation – are some of the things that that milestone has been used to justify and support. I have seen the anniversary of the Reformation being used to advocate for environmental issues, even though the only time that I am aware of when Martin Luther promoted ecological concerns was when he said that if he knew the world would end tomorrow, he would still plant a tree. Luther’s antisemitism later in life as well as his not supporting the peasants in the peasant revolt have been made into a jumping off point to rail against racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and all the other awful things that people are guilty of these days.

An observance that was held on Reformation Sunday in a church in the ELCA synod in which I was rostered before I retired used in its publicity an interesting version of the Luther rose. The outer perimeter was made up not of the typical colors, but instead of the hues of a rainbow, and in the center of the rose was not a cross but an angry looking fist holding a hammer. Concerned and alarmed, because I saw Christ and the cross as being replaced by human anger and political activism, I telephoned the church that was hosting the event and left a message for the pastor, asking what was intended to be communicated by that form of the Luther rose. As I expected, I have not received a reply. Because the bishop of that synod was participating in the event and the synod was helping promote the event, I also wrote to the synod, expressing my concern that that symbol was replacing Christ and the power of the cross with the power of human efforts and anger. Again, as anticipated, I have not received a reply.

And so it was so refreshing for me to attend the LCMC gathering in Minneapolis October 8-11, where the real message of the Reformation was kept at the heart of the celebration of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation.

LCMC GATHERING: KEEPING THE REAL MESSAGE AT THE HEART OF THE CELEBRATION

Under the theme “We Confess Our Faith,” the gathering was structured around conversation about three of the fundamental teachings of the Reformation: Justification, the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms, and the Priesthood of All Believers. Presenters first described the basic principles of each of those three teachings, then a panel made up of people serving in diverse ministry settings – both in the United States as well as in other parts of the world – discussed how that major teaching impacted their ministry in their own particular place of service. The panel discussion was then followed by discussions at tables where those attending the gathering were able to apply that teaching to their own lives and ministry settings.

My soul was stirred and my thinking was stimulated by the presentation of Steve Turnbull, pastor of Community of Grace Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He spoke on the doctrine of justification. Maintaining the real message of the Bible and the Reformation while also applying that message to real life issues today, Pastor Turnbull talked about how Paul often discussed the concept of justification within the context of Jew-Gentile relationships. For example, in his letter to the Ephesians Paul describes God as pointing to the Church and saying, “See what I have done. Sin wrecks human community. I have put it back together again.” Pastor Turnbull then shared how Paul’s evangelism had created multi-ethnic communities. He needed a way to explain theologically what was happening. And so he wrote, The cross is enough to tear down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. Pastor Turnbull then applied that principle to life today when he asked, “Is it enough to unite people today?”

I heard a similar emphasis during the discussion of the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. One of the panel participants said, “We have got to be about reconciling things. If we are not reconciling things, we might not be the church.”

I was struck by the number of people who attended the workshop entitled “Next Generation Leaders,” taught by Dr. Kyle Fever, director of the Nexus Institute of Grand View University in Des Moines. We of Lutheran CORE have known that many Lutheran pastors and congregational leaders and members are deeply concerned over where their congregation’s next Bible believing and outreach oriented pastor will come from. That concern is the reason why we of Lutheran CORE are involved in our pastoral formation project. The extent of the concern, as well as the importance and immediacy of the concern, were brought home to me by the number of people attending that workshop, which Kyle Fever entitled, “Resurrecting Timothy.”

The idea behind the title is this. Timothy was different from Paul, and Paul was willing to allow Timothy to be Timothy. In other words, Paul let Timothy be different from Paul. Dr. Fever shared how youth today are interested in spiritual things, but many of them in ways that we do not know how to deal with. We have virtually no training for non-traditional ministries. We have very few Timothies, who are different from Paul. Dr. Fever challenged us, What kind of church leaders do we want? Ones like what we already know? Or are we willing to be like Paul and let Timothy be Timothy?

Kyle Fever said that we need to find ways to raise up not future leaders for the church as we know it now, but future leaders for a church that we do not yet know what it will be like. We need to give young adults opportunities to participate in the vitality of the congregation, and not necessarily within the four walls of the church. We need to cultivate in them a yearning to be a part of the work of the Gospel in the world, rather than try to cultivate in them a yearning to be part of preparing the communion table for Sunday morning. He got down to basics when he asked us, “How many here are intentionally mentoring a high school sophomore or junior?” He challenged pastors, “The next time you write a sermon, target it to sixteen to twenty-two year olds.” He concluded by saying, “There are no easy answers, but there are resources.”

LATINO MINISTRIES ENCUENTRO (ENCOUNTER)

After being home from Minneapolis for a few days, I left for Chicago to attend the annual Latino ministries Encuentro (Encounter) October 17-19. This event is sponsored by Lutheran CORE and was planned and put on by Pastor Keith Forni, member of the board of Lutheran CORE and pastor of First/Santa Cruz Lutheran Church in Joliet, Illinois. Pastor Forni has an unusual gift for Latino ministries. He has an unbelievable number of contacts within the Lutheran Latino ministries community, and he is natural and comfortable leading bi-lingual worship.

One of the two main presenters was Dr. Alberto Garcia, professor emeritus of theology at Concordia University Wisconsin and co-author of the book, Wittenberg Meets the World: Reimagining the Reformation at the Margins. I was struck with how much he emphasized one of the same themes that I had heard so much about at the LCMC gathering – the theme of reconciliation. It made sense to me. Because we live in such a divided nation and divided world, one of the particular gifts that the Church has to offer our nation and our world is the power of reconciliation. And one of the chief ways in which the Church can demonstrate the power of the Gospel and give credibility to its message is if we as God’s people are able to become reconciled with those from whom we have become estranged.

The other main presenter was Ken Elkin, a retired ELCA pastor from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. During his presentation, entitled “A Pilgrim People,” Pastor Elkin described his recent pilgrimage walking the entire, approximately five hundred mile long route of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. After describing the characteristics of a pilgrimage as well as the place of pilgrimage in the history of the church, he then told of his own experiences in walking that route. He described what he called “the spirit of the camino” – how people are very open to each other as well as very caring for each other while on the pilgrimage. Some people who are on the camino are dealing with major issues in their lives. He presented the challenge of then bringing that spirit of the camino back into the rest of your life. He shared two of the great life lessons that can be learned from the camino. One of them he had found written as graffiti along the way – “You are capable of more and you need less than you think.” The other one was the title of a book – “To walk far, carry less.” He concluded his presentation by saying, “The popularity of this pilgrimage shows that there is a genuine spiritual hunger in people, and we are not reaching them.”

saw us, walked up to us, and then began sharing how her fiancé had just been killed in a motorcycle accident. She had felt abandoned by God until she saw us. Dr. Alberto Garcia responded to the moment beautifully. He shared the love and comfort of God with her and prayed with her. She was certain God had brought her to us and us to her. How wonderful it was to be part of an answer to someone’s prayer.

St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church ELCA, the host congregation, is in the Hermosa neighborhood of northwest Chicago, which has changed dramatically in the last few decades from being totally Caucasian to totally Latino. In the basement there are pictures of confirmation classes from the 1960’s, made up of thirty to forty very Caucasian looking young people. We were able to experience how the congregation still has a vital opportunity for ministry, though a very different opportunity for ministry, as some of the neighbors joined us for dinner and a prayer service one evening. That evening we also held an outdoor candlelight prayer service for peace in a city that has experienced the tragedy of five hundred homicides so far this year. The neighborhood is a fairly high density neighborhood, so we know that nearby residents witnessed our service. The need for prayers for healing and peace were brought home to us by some graffiti we saw on the way to the church – “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

Pastor Keith Forni, who serves St. Timothy’s congregation in Chicago, as well as First/Santa Cruz in Joliet, told of how dozens of children and their parents walk right by the church each day on their way to and from their school, which is only two blocks away. Pastor Forni uses the strategic location of the church as an opportunity to reach out to the children and their parents, and invite them to an afternoon children’s program at the church.

We were very honored and pleased that the Rev. Hector Garfias-Toledo, Assistant to the Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod ELCA, stopped by and visited the Encuentro and brought greetings from Bishop Wayne Miller. It is our goal that future Encuentros will continue to provide inspiration, resources, fellowship, and encouragement for those involved in or considering becoming involved in Latino, Spanish language, and/or bi-lingual ministries. We hope to find ways to make the Encuentro more accessible to more people so that this annual gathering will be a resource for Lutherans of all church body affiliations.

May your celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation be a time for you of giving thanks to God for His abounding love and His amazing grace.

Blessings in Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

909-274-8591

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

Seeing the movie, “Dunkirk,” which is currently playing in theaters nationwide, made me think about and appreciate even more the very excellent article which Steve Shipman wrote for the July 2017 issue of CORE Voice, “Does Faith in Jesus Matter?” In this article Pastor Shipman alerts us to the very disturbing and alarming resolution which was recently passed by the New England Synod assembly, which would seek to amend the phrase “bring all people to faith in Christ” in the ELCA constitution to be more in line with the ELCA’s understanding of Christian witness and the mission and purpose of the church. A link to Pastor Shipman’s article can be found here. A link to the New England Synod’s resolution can be found here.

This movie powerfully portrays the evacuation of several hundred thousand Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, in northern France, between the dates of May 26 and June 4, 1940, a few months after the beginning of World War II. After the invasion of France by Nazi Germany, thousands of British, French, and Belgian troops were cut off and surrounded by the German army. As they retreated to the seaside city of Dunkirk, and as the Allied perimeter continued to shrink, their situation became increasingly hopeless.

The tagline for the movie is, “When 400, 000 men couldn’t get home, home came for them.” What a powerful picture of the human situation and therefore what God did. When sin, death, and the power of the devil had us surrounded and we were helpless to do anything about it, God sent His Son, to die on the cross for our sins and to rise from the dead to defeat Satan and death. As 1 Peter 3: 18 says, “For Christ also suffered for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring us to God.” When we could not get to our heavenly home, Jesus came to and for us.

In the Dunkirk evacuation several hundred thousand soldiers were rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of over eight hundred boats, which included thirty-nine British destroyers and civilian merchant ships, but also a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats that were called into service from Britain for the emergency. These other boats came to be known as the little ships of Dunkirk.

There is a scene in the movie where the British Royal Navy is commandeering private boats to participate in the evacuation. A man by the name of Mr. Dawson cooperates without question, but rather than let a navy crew take his boat, he and his son Peter take her out themselves. Mr. Dawson and Peter are outstanding examples of people who are willing to go way beyond inconvenience to put themselves and their property at great danger and risk in order to save and rescue others.

Another one of the characters in the movie, Farrier, a British Royal Air Force fighter pilot, is making his way across the English channel to provide air support to the troops waiting at Dunkirk. He and the other pilots in his squadron have been instructed on how much fuel they can spend before they need to return. Farrier’s fuel gauge malfunctions, but he continues with his mission. After burning all of his regular fuel in maneuvers along the way and switching to reserve fuel, he finally reaches Dunkirk, where evacuation efforts are being attempted under heavy enemy bombardment. He takes out a bomber, saving ships and troops. As he flies over the beach, Allied soldiers clap and cheer for him. Finally out of fuel, he glides towards a landing on the beach and barely cranks his landing gear down in time. But he lands outside the Allied perimeter, so he sets fire to his plane before he is taken prisoner by the Germans. Here is another person who is an inspiration and a huge source of encouragement to others because of his commitment, dedication, and sacrifice, and willingness to pay the price in order that others might be saved.

I saw that movie and I was saddened even more that there is a movement in the ELCA to eliminate bringing people to faith in Christ as a prime part of the mission of the church, and to do so in the name of cultural sensitivity and interfaith dialogue.

For Dawson, Farrier, and the other characters in the movie, and for all the real-live people who participated in the Dunkirk evacuation, it did matter whether Allied troops were rescued from the Nazi German army. It did matter whether several hundred thousand soldiers were rescued or whether they were slaughtered on the beaches of northern France. But there is a movement within the ELCA – and we assume that it will be a growing movement – of people who say that faith in Jesus does not matter, at least in the way that the Bible says that it matters because “there is salvation in no one else.” (Acts 4: 12) We understand that this resolution passed overwhelmingly, and that there was little or no expressed objection.

That a resolution like that would pass should be a cause for great concern, sorrow, and soul-searching for all Biblically faithful Lutherans of all Lutheran church bodies. The fact that there is a movement within one Lutheran church body that is saying, “Faith in Jesus does not matter,” should lead all of us to ask ourselves, Do I believe that faith in Jesus matters? Do I care whether people know Jesus? And if I say that I do, what am I doing about it?

UPCOMING TRAVEL

As I am writing this, I am preparing for the NALC convocation in Nashville August 9-11. By the time you receive this, the convention will have happened. Many thanks to everyone who stopped by the Lutheran CORE table. I am looking forward to telling you about the event in the September 2017 issue of CORE Voice. We of Lutheran CORE value our ministry partnership with the NALC. It is a joy to be so warmly welcomed at the convocation, to reconnect with friends, and to make new friends.

I am also looking forward to attending two events in October – the LCMC gathering October 8-11 in Minneapolis, and the Lutheran CORE-sponsored Latino ministries Ecuentro in Chicago October 17-19. We also highly value our ministry partnership with LCMC, and we count it a great privilege to help sponsor the Hispanic ministries gathering which gives encouragement and resources to those currently involved in Spanish speaking ministries, as well as to those considering transitioning their emphasis or beginning a new, additional emphasis in outreach to Latino people. Many thanks to Keith Forni, ELCA pastor and member of our board, for all his hard work putting together such a great event. For more information about the Encuentro, or to register, contact Pastor Keith at 815-600-3030 or KeithLForni@gmail.com.

Blessings in Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

909-274-8591

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR – JUNE 2017

Dear Friends of Lutheran CORE –

The June 2017 letter from the director will be in two parts. This first part is coming to you as we anticipate the summit on pastoral formation, which is only a week away. You will receive the second part after the summit, as we share with you ways in which God blessed our time together.

A week from today, June 21, the board of Lutheran CORE will be gathering at Grand View University in Des Moines with ten invited participants from four different Lutheran church bodies to wrestle with the question –

How can we best raise up, nurture, and support a whole new generation of Lutheran pastors who will be Biblical and confessional in their theology and evangelistic/outreach-oriented in their perspective and practice?

We are very grateful to all the friends of Lutheran CORE who are praying for the gathering. We also wish to thank all those who have given a gift in support of this event.

On the day of the summit we will be distributing information about the summit through posts on the blog on the home page of our website, www.lutherancore.org. Each blog post will then go out on Facebook and Twitter, so that you will be able to follow the progress of the discussions. Also, a member of our board will be recording the audio and posting it as a podcast on his blog. A blog post on our website will then be created, which will have a link to the audio post on his website. Please join us through electronic media and follow along with the discussions as they take place on the day of the summit.

Recent events have convinced me even more of the importance of this gathering. Every orthodox Lutheran should be alarmed over the movement that has risen out of the student body at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Taking the name “We Are Naked and Unashamed,” this group rejects marriage by any definition as normative for sexual relationships. There are some who would dismiss our concerns by saying, “It is only a group of seminarians who are promoting this.” We would respond, “But the list of signers also includes many pastors and other ELCA leaders.” And even if it were only a group of seminarians, just the fact that so many seminarians are advocating for ELCA approval of sexual intimacy and cohabitation outside of marriage should cause great concern for the future of the church. And the fact that we are not aware of any statement from the administration of the seminary, the Council of Bishops, and/or Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton rejecting this movement should also cause great concern. A link to the website of the movement can be found here (LINK), while a link to Lutheran CORE’s response can be found here (LINK).

If that were not enough, a recent letter from the president-elect of United Lutheran Seminary, formed by the merger of the ELCA seminaries in Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, should also raise concerns.

Now I for one am all in favor of peacemaking, nonviolence, and standing in solidarity with those who suffer under oppressive systems and structures. I totally agree that what we believe must impact what we do and how we live for our witness to have any credibility. But I know that when I personally entered seminary, I did not know the Bible and the Lutheran confessions well enough so that I did not need a seminary that would teach me the Scriptures and how the great Lutheran theological writings help me to understand the Scriptures. Also, during the forty years that I served as pastor of a congregation, I needed a whole range of skills beyond peacemaking, nonviolence, and cultural competency.

I think of the apostle Paul and his letters to churches. Even more so as Paul was reaching out to the Greco-Roman world, he was encountering people who did not have any idea at all of the story of God’s accomplishing His great work of salvation through the history of the nation of Israel and the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So in his preaching and letter writing he first had to teach the people the basic essentials of the Christian faith. Typically in his letters he spends the first half or so talking about what is true, what we should believe, and what God has done, and then the second half talking about what is right, how we should live, and what we should do.

If we lived in a day when everybody – all members of churches, all people whom our congregations are seeking to reach, all seminary students, and even everyone anticipating attending seminary – already knew the Bible and the Lutheran confessions, it would make sense to focus seminary education on peacemaking, nonviolence, and cultural competency. But in a day when most people do not know the basics of our faith, and members of our churches and even many people preparing for seminary, have only a limited knowledge of the Bible and the Lutheran confessions, then seminary education needs a different focus.

We certainly pray for Dr. Latini as she begins her work as president of United Lutheran Seminary. And we also pray for the leadership, faculty, and student body of every one of the Lutheran seminaries. But we also pray that God will use the upcoming summit on pastoral formation to begin a new movement of raising up pastors who know, love, value, believe, and obey the Bible and who are committed to helping people come into a faith relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Blessings in Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

909-274-8591

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

This is Lutheran CORE’s response, dated April 2017, to the “Naked and Unashamed” movement, which has come out of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.  CORE is doubly concerned because it is unaware of any response from the administration and faculty of the seminary, the ELCA Council of Bishops, and Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton rejecting or distancing the ELCA from this movement.

RESPONSE TO “NAKED AND UNASHAMED”

ELCA PASTORS AND SEMINARIANS NOT ASHAMED

TO REVEAL BLATANT AGENDA

In 2009 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly rejected as normative the traditional, Biblical definition of marriage as it approved changes to policy and practice which allowed for the endorsing of and ordaining persons in publicly accountable, “lifelong, monogamous, same gender relationships.”  There is now a movement within the ELCA which would reject any definition of marriage as normative for sexual relationships.

Known as “Naked and Unashamed,” this movement was started by seminarians at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and since then has been reaching out to other pastors, leaders, and seminary students in the ELCA who share their beliefs and values.  Their purpose and agenda are clearly revealed on their website, www.wearenakedandunashamed.org, which contains such statements as the following in regard to current ELCA policy and practice –

• “The limited and hierarchical focus on marriage and family life over alternative forms of relationality is oppressive, preferential, manipulative, and culturally irrelevant to the variety of healthy sexual, emotional, contractual, and/or romantic expressions that could be part of an appropriate Christian lifestyle.”
• “Life and liberty are being oppressed in the pressure for church leaders to be in marital relationships, or otherwise abstain from all sexual intimacy.”
• “Marriage is not the only healthy relationship model within which sexuality can be safely enjoyed.”

As seminarians and pastors who have recently been ordained, they are objecting to “overt policies and direct questioning during the ELCA candidacy process that disallow sexual intimacy, cohabitation, and committed relationality outside of civil marriage.”

What can those who hold to the traditional, Biblical view of marriage as a life-long, committed relationship between one man and one woman, and even those who hold to what was approved in August 2009, which allowed for the ordaining of persons in publicly accountable, “lifelong, monogamous, same gender relationships,” now expect?  Based upon experience of what happened before, we can only expect that those who wish to reject marriage altogether are going to pursue their agenda relentlessly until they achieve their goals, and once they do so, then all conversation is to stop and anyone who still advocates for the traditional view, and even the approved-in-2009 view, will be criticized for being disruptive, divisive, schismatic, and trouble-making.  That is what happened during the time leading up to and since the August 2009 decisions.  Why should we expect it to be any different this time?

Never is there any Biblical basis given for this group’s thinking.  And why would we expect that there would be?  Just as the documents that were approved by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2009 were based not upon the Bible, but upon psychology, sociology, and the dynamics that build trust between and among people, so this group is arguing for their desired changes on the basis of such vague reasons as “the common good,” the fact that they are “healthy” and “life giving,” “the plethora of stories we hear,” and “our values and lived experience.”  

Even in their use of the phrase, “Naked and Unashamed,” this group is turning its back on the Bible’s description of God’s judgment and mercy.  Adam and Eve were described as “naked and unashamed” before their distrust of God’s word and their disobedience.  Their transgression caused them to be ashamed, to hide, to clothe themselves in fig leaves.  Their self-justification was their primary clothing.  When God sent them out of Eden, He gave them something better.  He did not send them into the world “naked and unashamed” to make a “fresh start” of things.  Rather He clothed them even more fully – with the skins of animals who died in their place, as a forerunner of Jesus who would die in our place and whose blood would be shed to cover our sins.

According to the Lutheran understanding of the Bible, God gives us a “fresh start” in baptism.  Spiritually we go into the water naked.  Our old, sinful, deathly self is drowned in Jesus’ own death for our sake.  And when we rise in the power of His resurrection, we are immediately clothed in white robes that signify that we are more fully clothed in the righteousness, purity, and holiness of Jesus Himself.  As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5: 4, in our redemption in Christ we are not unclothed.  We are more fully clothed!

This group’s website claims that the ELCA’s teaching, expectations, and documents surrounding sexuality are “heteronormative, white-centric, economically oppressive, and non-Lutheran.”  Standards of monogamy, commitment, and chastity are deemed oppressive and demeaning.  Ideals of faithfulness and purity are rejected.  Biblical norms of “life together” are dismissed as the invention of elite, wealthy, and white Europeans.  This group asserts that other cultures have different understandings of sexual good.  In so doing, they are not only ignoring the very staunch standards for sexuality of our African fellow Lutherans, they are also ignoring the stringent sexual ethics of the Old and New Testaments, which certainly are neither elite, wealthy, white, nor European.  

Those who thought and hoped that the decisions of August 2009 to accept same gender relationships if they are publicly accountable, lifelong, and monogamous would be enough, would satisfy those who were pressing for changes, and would be as far as this issue would go, should be alarmed to read on this group’s website that they reject those decisions because of the way in which those standards define what is a “decent and acceptable marriage in the ELCA.”  They reject the 2009 decisions because they say that “acceptable same-gender relationships must look the same as acceptable heterosexual relationships.”  

The documents of this group even give a place for advocating for polyamory (multiple partners), as evidenced in these statements.  

• “This is what we are pushing back on:  the idea that one person in your life must be the one whom you trust the most, and with whom you simultaneously work together financially, domestically, sexually, emotionally, and parentally.”
• “There exists in the ELCA multiple positions on (several different relational patterns are listed, including polyamory).  We lift this multiplicity up and demand that its full diversity be recognized within the Christian lifestyle in our church.”

There is no sense of marriage as based upon our creation as male and female, and as given its most perfect expression in the model of God’s faithful and permanent love for His people and Jesus the bridegroom’s love for the Church, His bride.  Rather this group says that “understanding and practices of marriage, relationality, and sexuality also change over time, and must be understood as contextual.”  There are “many possible forms of ‘Christian’ relationality, just as we see diverse forms of Christian worship.”  To see different expressions of sexuality as no more significant than the difference between traditional and contemporary worship would be absurd if it were not so alarming.

This group makes absolutely no mention of the long-standing and profound Biblical linkage between sexual sin and idolatry.  At the risk of being gross and offensive, I would refer you to an article entitled, “My clitoris keeps my faith alive,” posted on the “Stories” page of the “Naked and Unashamed” website.  A seminary Ph. D. student writes, “My clitoris became a gateway to the mystery of God’s presence. . . . My clitoris became more than an organ of pleasure, but a piece of heaven within me.”

How is this different from the pagan sexuality and fertility cults of the Canaanites, which the Bible clearly condemns?  This is idolatry, making a god out of part of my own body.  This is what the apostle Paul described in Romans 1: 25 as he talked about those who “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.”

Any faithful member of the ELCA should be absolutely alarmed to see this kind of thinking coming out of one of the ELCA seminaries.  Our concern for the future should be in overdrive, as we realize that our future pastors are being exposed to this kind of thinking during their seminary training.  Since this group is focusing especially on sexual ethics for pastoral candidates, are they saying that if a pastor or pastoral candidate has sex with a prostitute, it is okay, as long as s/he is respected as a sex worker?  Are they implying that if a congregation is not able to pay within guidelines, then a pastor or pastoral candidate is free to sell sexual favors to supplement income – again, as long as it is done in a healthy, life-giving, respectful, and mutually beneficial fashion?

This past February we were all reading and hearing with great alarm about the Oroville Dam in northern California.  Because of unusually heavy rains, the dam’s main and emergency spillways were significantly damaged, prompting the evacuation of more than 180, 000 people living downstream.  Those who oversee the Oroville Dam would be grossly irresponsible if they were to not take any and all necessary measures to repair the damage and ensure the future integrity of the dam.  Will the leadership of the ELCA – the Presiding Bishop, the Church Council, the Council of Bishops, those who oversee the ELCA’s seminaries – say, “Enough is enough; this has gone too far; this is not what was voted on and approved at the Churchwide Assembly in 2009”?  Or will they allow the damage and the erosion of Biblical values to continue – at probably an ever increasing rate?

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

Easter Greetings and Pastor Gjerde’s Letter Asking Bishop Eaton to Stand Against Abortion

• APRIL 20, 2017 – 9:55 PM
• LUTHERANCORE

The following letter was sent in June 2015 to the sixty-five synodical bishops of the ELCA and to Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton after the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in favor of same-sex marriages. Of the sixty-six people who received the letter, CORE heard back from only one – the bishop of the Oregon Synod – and he basically minimized our concerns.

June 28, 2015

Dear

Thank you for the ministry of oversight which you are providing for the Church.  God has entrusted you with the enormous responsibility to care for His flock, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life.

The social statement, “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” as approved by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 2009, describes four different positions that members of the ELCA hold “with conviction and integrity” regarding same-gender relationships.  After acknowledging that “at this time this church lacks consensus on this matter,” the social statement then continues with these words: “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.”  

I am writing as president of the board of Lutheran CORE on behalf of all the pastors and congregations of the ELCA who do not celebrate and agree with the recent Supreme Court decision regarding same-sex marriage.  Many are wondering what impact this ruling will have upon them both now and in the future.  Some are wondering whether the law will continue to allow them to marry and not marry according to their religious convictions, and what will happen if the laws were to be changed.   Some are wondering whether in the future churches will lose their tax-exempt status if they refuse to perform or host same-sex marriages.  Some are wondering what steps they should be taking now to preserve and protect their legal right to not perform same-sex marriages.  

The human sexuality social statement also states, “The ELCA recognizes that it has a pastoral responsibility to all children of God.”  I am writing to encourage you in your calling to uphold this principle and to ask how you will do so.  Since 2009, those who have supported the changes in our teaching on sexuality and marriage have seen those changes confirmed and supported in many concrete ways: the ordination of practicing homosexuals, public statements by various leaders of the ELCA, a new working group on ministry to same-gendered families, and an increased tolerance of transgenderism, to name a few examples.  Lutheran CORE and its constituents do not believe that equal confirmation and support have been afforded those of a traditional mindset.  How will you now unreservedly lend your affirmation, pastoral care, and episcopal defense to those who uphold the traditional view of marriage?     

Thank you, again, for your ministry of leadership, oversight, and pastoral care.  And thank you for your attention and response to our concern.  

Sincerely,

Dennis D. Nelson

Retired ELCA Pastor, President of the Board of Lutheran CORE