Conservative Lutherans Band to Battle 'Liberal Take-Over' of ELCA
Reformed groups within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have joined forces to battle what they call the
Reformed groups within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have joined forces to battle what they call the "liberal take-over" of a church they say has lost sound theological teaching and direction.
“We’re going to be working together in every possible way to bring about change,” said Mark Chavez, director of the conservative Word Alone Network. “Basically our goal is to change the course of the denomination and change the leadership.”
Some 250 representatives from over a dozen reformed groups within the ELCA gathered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from Nov. 6-8 to “come to an understanding on working together for the common good.”
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Conservatives in historic mainline denominations have long grumbled against what they call a “liberal take-over” of the churches’ leadership since the early 20th century.
According to statistics, in the ELCA, the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. – America's largest Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations respectively – the people at the pews are notably more conservative than those serving in leadership positions.
The issue of homosexual ordinations is a case in point. Polls taken in all three churches show that compared to pastors or theologians, a larger majority of laymen believe the homosexual lifestyle is incompatible to the gospel.
But beyond the obvious scuffles over sexuality, conservatives say there are deeper, theological problems at the core. “It’s about the centrality of Christ and the authority of Scripture,” said Chavez. “That’s where it all starts.”
At that end, Chavez said the Coalition for Reform will rally around larger issues on interpreting scripture and maintaining a missions-oriented mindset. They will also address the possible adoption of a new gender-neutral worship book that removes references to God in the male form.
“The renaming of God is just a direct assault on the orthodox faith and the church,” he added.
This new coalition will be bounded by a common confession of faith, and marks the first time reformed leaders officially joined together to bring about wide-scale, fundamental changes.
“This is definitely the first time,” said Chavez. “I know in mainline denominations, it’s been hard to pull these reformed groups together, and I’m really encouraged and hopeful that we got a good beginning at this conference.”
Differences still remain within the conservative circle on “non essentials,” such as understanding ecclesiology (the make-up of the church), the role of bishops and the importance of ecumenical relations.
But as for now, the coalition will focus on “the essential matters that threaten the ELCA” and plan how to literally “take over the leadership.”
“One by one we will get people that are more faithful to the orthodox faith of the church to get elected and appointed,” said Chavez. “We’re kind of limited and we look at this as a long term project, but its comforting to know that we’re in this together.”
