Insights and Process for UALC

Below are the thoughts and process whereby Upper Arlington Lutheran Church disaffiliated with the ELCA.  These are shared by the chair of their taskforce, a lay member of the congregation.

 

PROCESS

The Upper Arlington Lutheran Church (UALC) Church Council voted to create an ELCA Review Committee in September 2009.  The committee was charged to develop and recommend a plan to terminate the congregation’s relationship with the ELCA, including a recommendation for affiliation with another Lutheran body, and to consider whether there is any reason why the Lord may want the congregation to remain in the ELCA.  The committee made a preliminary oral report in February 2010 and a final written report in March 2010, both to the church council.  The church council passed a resolution in early April recommending to the congregation approval of the committee’s recommendations and calling a special congregation meeting in June.

 

May was devoted to a series of teachings and forums related to the upcoming vote.  These included teachings by the senior pastor on the authority of scripture and on human sexuality.  The ELCA Review Committee made a report to the congregation.  All pastors and community leaders shared with the congregation their views on the issue.  In addition, open forums were held to answer questions related to the vote from congregation members.

 

Procedures for the June vote were carefully developed, approved by the church council and adopted by the Congregation.  This was done to make sure the meeting was conducted in a manner that would be pleasing to the Lord.

 

After the period of consultation with the Synod Bishop, a second series of teachings and forums were held in preparation for the second vote in October 2010.  Some of these were a reprise of those leading to the first vote.  New forums focused on the North American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ were offered since resolutions related to these groups were considered at the second vote.  The procedures for the second vote were essentially the same as those for the first vote.

 

Underlying Elements

A prayerful, deliberative process is important to making a decision to leave the ELCA.  The lack of significant acrimony throughout the decision making process was, at least in part, fueled by the fact that the decision was not a knee-jerk reaction made in the heat of the moment. From start to finish, 13 months were invested in the decision process.

 

It is important to be forward looking throughout the process.  While past events need to be considered to the extent they help understand how one gets to the present, it is important to not dwell in the past.  The past cannot be changed.  It is important to live in the present and look forward to the future.  In other words, the process must be future oriented.

 

To facilitate focusing on the future, a guiding principle was that whatever is done must be in the best interest of the life and mission of UALC.  This perspective was important since it helped keep the focus on what can be and not on what has been.

 

A decision to disaffiliate from a denomination is deeply emotional regardless of one’s view of the issue.  To reduce the negativeness that can emerge in such a situation, it was stressed at all meetings and forums that everyone needed to be respectful of the beliefs and opinions of others—even when not agreeing with a belief or opinion.  Individuals were asked to not applaud, make verbal comments nor make facial expressions to indicate support or lack of support for a particular perspective on the issue.  Such actions are disrespectful towards those with differing viewpoints.

Regarding License to Marry after Changing Denomination

An important insight from Alan Knoke.

I have checked with the secretary of state office and they told me that a minister who changes “denominations” is required to reapply for their license to marry from the state.  I understand that the license is attached to the “denomination” and so a change from ELCA to NALC or LCMC means a refilling is necessary for us.  The forms can be accessed online at www.sos.state.oh.us on the home page click on “other records (on the left of the page)

Then go to “minister license” ( on the left of the page).  All the information to change your status will be found in that section.

Thanks Alan!

A Different Way Forward

St. John’s Lutheran church in Grove City, Ohio has taken a different route than some churches looking to disaffiliate with the ELCA.  Most vote to leave first–or at the same time as they vote to join a new church body.  St. John’s voted to join the NALC and be dual affiliated for a time.  Below is Pastor Don Allman’s timeline and shaping for the new direction for St. John’s.

The process that we have been following at St. John’s can be seen below.  We first looked at our goals and objectives (this page), we then set a timeline for join the NALC (page two).  Since the NALC had not formed when we took this vote, be delayed the vote on disassociating from the ELCA.  The third page called Next Steps, is where we are now.  The council is calling for our first vote on the ELCA in January 2011.

Goal: To prepare the congregation for a vote regarding the NALC and severing our relationship with the ELCA.

Objectives:

1. Send a letter to the congregation explaining the differences between C.O.R.E and the NALC

2. Ask the council to visit the C.O.R.E website.

a. Review “A Vision and Plan for The North American Lutheran Church

b. Review the Common Confession

c. Review the proposed changes to the CORE constitution.

d. Watch for any constituting documents for the NALC.

3. Ask council to review and approve St. John’s signing the Common Confession and thus affiliating with CORE.

(This will allow any member of St. John’s to vote at CORE meetings)

4. Ask the council to review Pastor Allman’s article

5. Ask the congregation to visit the C.O.R.E website.

6. Ask the congregation to review Pastor Allman’s article.

7. Hold open forum meetings about joining the NALC and leaving the ELCA.

8. Teach a class on the Common Confession using “We Still Believe”.

9. Eagle articles about the NALC and leaving the ELCA.

10. News-note articles about the NALC and leaving the ELCA.

11. Call a congregational meeting to vote on joining the NALC.

11. Vote on a motion to join NALC.

12. Follow procedures for the vote process to leave the ELCA

13. Form a legal team to oversee the process constitutionally.

14. Keep the Synod Office updated on our progress.

15. Post all the information on the web-site.

16. Update “active roles” for voting purposes

17. Council should set a policy for who and how the voting will happen.

Timeline for NALC Vote

Set up prayer teams                                                                                    June 2010

Register for CORE convocation (pastors and ?)                                    June 2010

Vote to affiliate with C.O.R.E. (Church Council)                                    June 21, 2010

Form constitution/legal team            (Church Council)                        June 21, 2010

To follow proper procedures

To recommend amendments if we leave the ELCA

Check on 501 c3 tax status and take action                                              June 2010

Encourage Congregation to visit CORE website                                     June 2010

(News-note, announcements, Website, July Eagle)

Mail Iceberg article with letter (and Website)                                       June 2010

Eagle Article (Pastor Allman)                                                                   July 2010

Three session study on Vision for the NALC document                       July 2010

Open Forum meetings                                                                                July 2010

Call a meeting to vote on joining the NALC                                           June church council

Vote to join NALC                                                                                       July 25, 2010, 9:30am

Eagle Article (Pastor Ness)                                                                       Aug. 2010

Call a meeting to vote on leaving the ELCA                                                ?

Vote to leave ELCA                                                                                    after Aug 28, 2010

Follow the steps for the 90 day process (We may wish to time this so that we are not voting close to holidays even if we delay leaving the ELCA into 2011)

Second vote to leave the ELCA                                                                     ?

Amend Constitution                                                                                       ?

Next steps

Establish a timeline for the following:

Constitution

1.  Review the procedures for voting to withdraw from the ELCA and advise the             Church Council regarding any actions that they take.

2.  Review the constitution and by-laws and recommend changes that will need to             occur because of our membership in the NALC and if we vote to withdraw from the ELCA.

3.  Recommend a process for implementing these changes.

Tax exempt status

1.  Check that our non-profit status will continue

Introduce new constitution

Hold open forum meeting

Pastors apply for status in the NALC

Resolve any changes with pension funds, medical and disability insurance

Draft procedures for voting

1.  Up to date list of active members

2.  Rules of procedure for discussion

3.  Distributions of ballots

4.  Counting of ballots

Vote to withdraw from the ELCA in accordance with present constitution

1.  Call special meeting

2.  Properly notify congregation

Notify Synod Bishop and satisfy the consultation requirement

Second vote to withdraw from the ELCA

Vote to replace constitution with new constitution

Information from the pastors and leaders:

1.  Mission of the NALC

2.  Emphasis on our mission and how best to fulfill this

3.  Reminders of what we are going to as well as why we are leaving

Reflections after the vote

Pastor Paul Ulring is the senior pastor at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church (UALC) in Columbus, Ohio.  He is also the moderator for Lutheran Core.  UALC took their second vote to disaffiliate from the ELCA on Reformation Sunday.  Their vote passed at about 95%.  I asked Pastor Paul to share some reflections of their journey to help others who are following similar paths.  Here is part of his response:

The most important thing I would share is “take the time it takes.”  That’s the accompanying statement to “don’t take the vote until you have the votes.”  More pain has been caused by hot heads than anything else in all this, and that’s probably saying quite a lot.  Pastors or hotheads in congregations that push too fast…always have more casualties.

We were fortunate, of course.  The train left the station here years ago in many ways.  But churches like Grace in Springfield have done a really quality process with much less beginning consensus.

Redundancy of information; repeat the same stuff; make it available in several forms like printed for those who need it and electronic.  What groups already meet in your church; ask for half an hour to just listen and talk with them—that’s how we “sold” early communion to old German Lutherans in Minneapolis in 1971.

Gently press the real issues, again and again, over and over.  Understand and help others to know that the agenda is not set by us on a good idea.  We’re trying to hold a steady course.  Just because someone accuses doesn’t mean you’re guilty….unless you act like you have to defend yourself.

Help people get good, churchly stuff,  not just anti-ELCA dirt.  There’s plenty of that, but it doesn’t help people see through to where they need to go.  It just produces anger and angst; churchly materials help people think and make decisions.

Consider spending some time at the UALC website (www.ualc.org).  You will find some helpful position papers, rational for the actions that this congregation took, and the actual resolution that the congregation voted on at the two required congregational meetings.

Comparison of 4 Lutheran Church Bodies

Attached is a helpful comparison

Pastor Jeff Lee and the people of Faith in Christ, Springfield, Ohio put together this comparison.  It provides a thoughtful comparison between four Lutheran church bodies.  They include: Lutheran congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC); the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMC), and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  The document lays out the differences between these church bodies with regards to topics such as: church wide decision process; oversight of governing body; missional outreach; pastoral call process and several others.

Affiliation Criteria.rtf

The Springfield Covenant

PREAMBLE

We, the signers of this Springfield Covenant intend to be an Association of Confessing Lutherans who acknowledge that Scripture is the rule and the norm in matters of faith and life and accept the Lutheran Confessions as a faithful and trustworthy witness to the Word of God.  This Association will be composed of individuals, congregations, renewal movements, and church bodies who agree with and adhere to the Theological positions in section I of this document.  We will seek partnerships with other like minded individuals, bodies and associations and with them engage in mission as:

1. a confessional and confessing movement unifying Lutherans who agree with our Theological positions outlined in chapter I,

2. a churchly community grounded in Word and Sacrament and rooted in Scripture, the Ecumenical Creeds, and the Lutheran Confessions,

3. an Association providing a sense of Christian community and Lutheran identity that makes resources available for mutual mission, theological and lay education , and

4. a coalition of congregations, individual laypersons, ordained clergy, lay professionals, reform movements and other church organizations that accept this Theological positions outlined in chapter I.

I.     THEOLOGICAL POSITIONS:

We believe and proclaim that:

1. The God revealed in the Bible makes Himself known to us as one God.  His name is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the name in which we baptize.

2. God the Father created the universe, sustains it, and desires to relate lovingly to His creation and all people.

3. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is “a mirror of the Father’s heart” (Luther’s Large Catechism), who was sent to rescue us from sin, death and the devil by means of His incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension. The cross of Christ is the Triune God’s unique eternal promise and demonstration of His love for all. The living Christ is the Savior and Lord of all creation, who calls all persons to be one with Him for the sake of His love for the world.  No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6b).

4. God the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son, calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies and keeps believers who are by baptism the body of Christ, the Church. The Church, in Christ, is commissioned by Him to proclaim and share His Gospel with all people. By the power and authority of the Holy Spirit, working through the proclamation of the Word of God and the administration of the Sacraments by the Church, believers’ sins are forgiven, they are made one with Christ, and are given the sure and certain hope that they will be raised from death to eternal life with God and all believers.

5. The Good News, centered in Christ, clearly is revealed in the written Word of God, the canonical Holy Scriptures. “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Through the Law, God preserves good order and safety in creation. As sinners violate His gracious will, the Law also exposes and condemns their sin. Through the Gospel, God forgives sin and grants salvation through Christ Jesus. In this way, sinners are put to death and raised to “walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:5)

6. The ecumenical creeds and Lutheran Confessions provide faithful and trustworthy witnesses to the Word of God. Simultaneously, the Confessions call the Lutheran community to a reforming ministry based on the Word of God within the one body of Christ.

II. PURPOSE

A. The purpose of this association is to:

1. provide for theological conferences, worship opportunities and places for respectful theological debate on issues of the day,

2. create sound teaching materials in accordance with the theological positions outlined in chapter I

3. provide for education, worship and mutual support in agreement with our theological positions outlined in chapter I,

4. foster growth in faith and excellence in ministry, and provide for mutual care as needed or requested.

5. maintain an official relationship with Lutheran Core.

III. METHOD

A. To assist us in this endeavor we establish Officers, Work Groups, and a Steering Committee.

B. OFFICERS shall be elected bi-annually for a two-year term at a time and place directed by the Steering Committee. There shall be a

1) convener to call and direct meetings, set agendas and respond to requests for care from individuals and groups, and a

2) secretary treasurer to handle all official correspondence, keep the official list of member(s), take minutes of Steering Committee meetings and collect and distribute funds (if any), and

3) liaison(s) (no more than 3) to provide an official presence at gatherings such as Synod and Church Wide Assemblies and communicate and interface with other faith based organizations and groups that share our theological values.

C. WORK GROUPS meet to plan and do work specifically assigned to them.  New Work groups can be formed by the Steering Committee as needed. Initially there shall be 3 Work Groups

1. Technology/Communications Work Group, to develop an email presence, to link/interface with Southern Ohio Synod to create a web presence and a Face Book page, to make use of YouTube teaching videos and to elicit participation through Skype, Email, and other media.

2. Theology Work Group; to provide responses and encourage papers on current theological issues of concern to us and the greater Church;

3. Resource Work Group to summarize and publish theological conferences and papers arranged by Theological Work Group; compile and edit a list of resources, provide material to aid in teaching that is in concert with our Theological positions outlined in chapter I, and to provide discipleship materials for lay and clergy members.

D. STEERING COMMITTEE shall be elected bi-annually for a two-year term at a time and place directed by the Steering Committee.  It consists of at least 7 association members comprised of officers and 2 – 4 at-large members.  It shall meet as needed between Association Meetings and has the specific following duties:

1. work with the convener to set meeting times and agendas and to secure resources for same

2. address stated goals for this Association and annually reviews them; proposing changes as needed.

3. oversee special events (educational, worship, etc.) planned by Work Groups

4. secure sites for all meetings.

5. coordinate and direct the efforts of the liaison(s).

6. responsible for the collection and distribution of any monies received by the Association.

7. This document can be amended and changed by proposal of the Steering Committee and by the majority vote of the membership at any scheduled meeting.

E. MEMBERSHIP is open to any individual, congregation or entity who shares our theological positions.  Anyone can become a member of this Association by informing the Secretary/Treasurer of their intent via email or direct mail and signing the membership list.  To remain active, signers must attend one meeting every two years.

Just the Tip of the Iceberg by Pastor Donald Allman

Do you know what it is that makes an iceberg so dangerous?  The major portion of it is under the surface.  The really dangerous part is hidden out of sight.  People tend to focus on the part that sticks out of the water, and they miss where the real danger lies.

I believe that same thing happens in looking at the actions of the ELCA Church Wide Assembly (CWA) from last August.  The sexuality issues made the headlines and attract all the attention.  They are like the tip of the iceberg.  The ELCA wants sexuality to be the issue because it is emotionally charged. They can use that emotion to make anyone who is opposed to their actions seem judgmental and unloving. It also keeps us from discussing the more dangerous issues.

Just like with the iceberg, one has to look beneath the surface to see the real danger.  I believe that we have let the ELCA define the subject of discussion for too long.  Now it is time to raise the issues of real danger to our church.  In this paper I will raise what I believe are the issues that we should be focusing on as we discern our future relationship with the ELCA.  These issues include Biblical authority, mission, organizational structure, theology, and ecumenical relations.

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

Biblical authority and Biblical interpretation are central to the divisions in the ELCA.  Our confessions state that we “accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith and life.”  For Orthodox Christians this means that the Bible is the authority, not just one authority.  Inspired means, “God-Breathed”.  God’s Holy Spirit guided the writing of the Bible and it is the Word of truth from God.  Some argue that the Bible is the work of the authors and bear the cultural bias of the authors.  They disregard traditional understanding of the scriptures and seek to find a new understanding based on their insights and knowledge.  In doing so they undercut the authority of God’s Word.  If some parts are questioned and discarded then the whole has lost its authority.

Two basic approaches to Biblical interpretation are exegesis and eisegesis.  These terms describe the process pastors and theologians use when studying a text of the Bible.  In seminary I was taught exegesis as the proper method of Bible study.  Exegesis is digging into a text in an attempt to bring out its truth.  To do this properly one needs to set aside ones own bias, as best as one can, and let the text speak to us.  We sometimes use Biblical criticism tools to help us understand the way that the original hearers would have received the Word.  We compare our findings with 2000 years of interpretation by fellow Christians.  Doing this protects us from twisting the scriptures to our biases.  In this method one’s experiences in this world are judged by the scriptures.  God’s Word is the light shining His truth on us.

Eisegesis, the other approach, starts with ones own beliefs and experiences.  One brings these “truths” into the text.  If the traditional interpretation of a text does not fit their “truths”, then they need to discover a new interpretation that will fit their beliefs.  In this method the Scriptures are judged by ones experience and beliefs.  Ones own truth shines into the Scriptures.  This is a dangerous practice because our knowledge and understanding are flawed by sin.  We can not judge God’s Word.  In the first temptation the serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say…”, and the scripture twisting began.  Today there is a strong voice asking, “Does the Bible really say…”, with the implication that for 2000 years we have not really understood.

In a culture that has trouble believing in absolute truths, we as God’s children are called to believe in the Bible as truth from God.  Even if we find that this Word is counter cultural or politically incorrect we still need to stand on the Word.  If there is no absolute truth and no supreme authority, then what will be the basis for life in community?  We will go back to the main sin in the book of Judges.  A generation rose up that did not know God, and each did what is right in his own eyes.  Our society is already showing the destructive results of this way of thinking.  Violent crime is increasing and people are showing no conscience, because there is no belief in an absolute truth of right and wrong.  Without God’s Word, how does anyone decide what is right and wrong?  We would each be left to our own self-centered desires and subject to the will of those strong enough to hold a position of power.

MISSIONS

In the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives the disciples and us, the mission for His church.  We are to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching all peoples.  This needs to be the central function of our congregation, our synod, and our national church body.  I believe that the ELCA has replaced this central mission.  Over the past few years the ELCA has spent over a million dollars on developing a social statement on human sexuality.  During this time funding for missionaries has been cut, churches have closed and the ELCA has declined in membership.  Now the ELCA has called for more social studies on genetics and feminism.  These studies are not carried out by trained theologians, but by teams that reflect politically correct quotas for balanced gender, race, lay, and clergy.  I do not believe that the statements that have been produced are based on Biblical authority nor speak for the majority within the ELCA.

While the church can provide an important voice on social issues, that voice needs to be Biblically based and in line with our Lutheran Confessions.  This is the work of theologians.   The work of the church needs to be the mission given to us by Christ.  This mission of making disciples should receive the priority in the spending of time and resources. Discipleship, teaching and evangelism need to be central in what we are as the church.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The ELCA claims to have three expressions of church.  The expressions are congregations, synods, and church wide.  The actions of the policy changes and the passing of the sexuality social statement at the Church Wide Assembly, shows clearly that only the Church Wide expression is recognized.  The majority of the responses by individuals and congregations were against the passage of the social statement.  The conference of bishops asked that any action on changes would require a two-thirds vote.  All this was disregarded as the CWA pushed forward.  There is no requirement for confirmation of their actions by either synod or congregational vote.  This means that the 1,000 delegates to CWA get to make decisions with no checks or balances.  In addition they are instructed that they are delegates not representatives, so they can vote their own beliefs disregarding the synods that elected them as delegates.  Some special interest groups lobbied the delegates prior to the assembly to influence their votes.  An example is Lutherans Concerned who received a grant of $250,000 from the Arcus Foundation to be used in an effort to change ELCA teaching and policy on marriage and homosexual behavior.  Church issues should not be decided by a “political process” with lobbying and outside funding.

Part of the Reformation was in protest to a structure in the church that was top down.  As Protestants we believe that authority belongs to all the believers as the church.  We have called pastors and bishops for church order, not to subvert the authority of the church.  I believe that the majority of the people who seek to attend the CWA are on the extreme sides of the issues.  I believe that many attend to advance their own agendas.  Therefore I believe that our structure of making important decisions is extremely flawed.  I would like to see a requirement of congregational voting to ratify CWA actions.

THEOLOGY

Theology is the study of God.  Theology is meant to help us better understand God and His will for our lives.  Good theology is grounded in the Scriptures and should be at the foundation of any social statement that the church produces.  As the church we should speak God’s Word into the issues of society.

Recent ELCA social efforts have relied too much on emotions, science, and social norms.  If we are just repeating what others are saying then our voice is not needed.  The unique thing that the church has to offer to the world is the Word of God speaking through the Bible.

ECUMENICAL RELATIONS

Since the CWA policy changes our national bishop has been voicing a call for unity.  We need to remember that as the ELCA we are but a minor part of the Lutheran family.  We are even a smaller part of the Christian family around the world.  With the actions of the CWA we stepped out of unity with the majority of Christians in the world.  Lutheran bishops from Ethiopia and Tanzania have sanctioned us for the actions taken.  Other church bodies are turning away from relationships with the ELCA.  These ecumenical relationships took decades to build.  Bishop Hanson’s call to unity within the ELCA is becoming a united front against the majority of Christians around the world.

I believe in the oneness of the Body of Christ in the world.  I believe in unity among believers.  But, that unity needs to be based on agreement with God’s Word not on agreement with the actions of one CWA.

CONCLUSION

The process in reaching the policy changes at CWA and the structure that supports this process is far more dangerous than the policies themselves.  There is a need for major changes in the ELCA.  I do not believe that these changes are possible because the structure itself is preventative of such change.  There is also a need to return the ELCA to Orthodoxy.  We need a firm stand on Scripture and our Lutheran confessions.  We also need to step back into line with Christian tradition.  We should continue to pray that this may happen.  At the same time, we need to seek the path for our congregation which will allow us to carry out the mission of Christ faithfully.  Please be faithful in asking for God’s guidance as we make some very important decisions about our future.

Revised 6-3-2010