WELS. Other. Second Edition. John F. Brug. Northwestern Publishing House Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Transcription

1 WELS & L Other Second Edition 2 John F. Brug Northwestern Publishing House Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2 Art Director: Karen Knutson Designer: Pamela Dunn All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. This publication may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machinereadable form in whole or in part, except for brief quotations, without prior written approval from the publisher. Library of Congress Control Number: Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI , 2009 by Northwestern Publishing House First Edition Published 1995 Second Edition Published 2009 Printed in the United States of America ISBN

3 Contents Index of American Lutheran Churches Discussed in Part Three... iv Index of Common Acronyms... vi Introduction... 1 Part ONE WELS and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod... 5 Part TWO WELS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Lutheran Merger Charts Part Three WELS and Other Lutheran Church Bodies in the USA Part FOUR WELS and Lutherans in Other Lands APPENDIX Where Are the Lutherans?

4 iv Index of American Lutheran Churches Discussed in Part Three Alliance of Renewal Churches American Association of Lutheran Churches Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church Apostolic Lutheran Church of America Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches Association of Free Lutheran Congregations Association of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Churches Athanasian Catholic Church of the Augsburg Confession Augustana Evangelical Catholic Communion Catholic Church Lutheran Rite Church of the Lutheran Brethren Church of the Lutheran Confession Communion of Lutheran Catholics Concordia Lutheran Conference Conservative Lutheran Association Eielsen Synod Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Evangelical Catholic Church Evangelical Community Church Lutheran Evangelical English Lutheran Missionary Society Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America Evangelical Lutheran Federation Evangelical Lutheran Synod Fellowship of Confessional Lutheran Churches Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations Illinois Lutheran Conference

5 v International Lutheran Fellowship Laestadian Lutheran Church Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Diaspora Lutheran Churches of the Reformation Lutheran Conference of Confessional Fellowship Lutheran Confessional Synod Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church Lutheran Ministerium and Synod USA Lutheran Orthodox Church Old Lutheran Church in America Orthodox Lutheran Alliance Orthodox Lutheran Conference Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference of Independent Congregations Protes'tant Conference Reformation Lutheran Conference WordAlone Network World Confessional Lutheran Association

6 vi Index of Common Acronyms AELC...Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches ALC...American Lutheran Church CCM... Called to Common Mission CELC...Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference CICR...Commission on Inter-Church Relations CLC (CoLC)...Church of the Lutheran Confession CLCL...Confessional Lutheran Church of Latvia CTCR...Commission on Theology and Church Relations ELC...Evangelical Lutheran Church ELCA...Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCL...Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ELS...Evangelical Lutheran Synod ILC...Illinois Lutheran Conference LCA...Lutheran Church in America LCMS...The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod LCR...Lutheran Churches of the Reformation LCUSA...Lutheran Council in the USA LWF...Lutheran World Federation ULCA...United Lutheran Church in America WELS...Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

7 1 Introduction Lutheranism moved from Europe to America by means of a long series of migrations that spanned three centuries. The immigrants founded dozens of Lutheran church bodies that preached the gospel in nearly a dozen languages. Through the years these groups experienced a bewildering array of mergers, splits, and reconciliations. Today the net result of all this action and interaction is two large Lutheran church bodies that number in the millions, namely, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS); one medium-sized church body that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, that is, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS); and about 46 small church bodies of various sorts that individually count their membership in the tens of thousands, the thousands, and even the hundreds. Many of these small groups are independent churches or synods, just as the ELCA, LCMS, and WELS are. Some of these, however, are protest groups that form a church within a church in a larger church (most often the ELCA) in an effort to reform that body. Some serve as organizations with a special-interest agenda (such as promotion of charismatic gifts or opposing the imposition of apostolic succession). Often their memberships include congregations and pastors who still are members of different churches. The aim of this book is to provide a brief, popular overview of these church bodies. What are their origins? What are their doctrinal positions today? What are the differences that cause them to remain separate? Why isn t the WELS in fellowship with them?

8 2 WELS & Other Lutherans It is intended for laypeople who are seeking basic, intro - ductory information about these church bodies. No extensive documen tation or footnotes are provided in the main text, but each major section will conclude with a few suggestions for further study for the benefit of readers who wish to make a more thorough investi gation of the subject. This study is not written from the viewpoint of a detached, neutral historian but from the doctrinal perspective of a member of the Wisconsin Synod. It is written primarily to inform members of this church body about the relationship of their church to the other Lutherans. Because of its purpose, it necessarily focuses on the differences that divide these churches from one another rather than on the points they still have in common. Its goal is to provide an evaluation of the public teaching and the sanctioned practices of these church bodies. It is not a judgment on the personal faith of individuals who remain in these groups. This study has four major sections. These sections necessarily differ in style and scope because of the differences in subject matter. The sections on the LCMS and ELCA are relatively long. The sections on some of the smaller churches are quite brief, since information is hard to come by. The section on Lutheran churches outside the United States is, for the most part, just a list of the major groups. Part One reviews the century-long relationship of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod from the time of their first contacts in the 1800s until the breakup of the Synodical Conference of North America in It also summarizes the doctrinal differences that continue to keep these synods apart nearly 50 years after that breakup. This section has special importance for WELS members because the Missouri Synod was for decades our closest partner and because many confessional Lutheran families had and have members in both the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods.

9 Introduction 3 Part Two traces the complicated series of mergers that by 1988 had swept nearly all of the Lutheran church bodies in the United States into one large church the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It also demonstrates the great doctrinal gap that separates the ELCA from the Wisconsin Synod and the Missouri Synod. This section is lengthy because of the complexity of the origins of the ELCA and the many and great differences that separate us from them. The Missouri Synod and the ELCA contain approximately 94 percent of the Lutherans in the United States. The WELS is the home of about 5 percent. In recent years the percentage of American Lutherans in the WELS and other smaller bodies has been increasing. This is not due to a great increase in the size of these smaller groups, but to a more serious membership decline in the two larger bodies. Part Three provides capsule descriptions of 46 of the small Lutheran bodies that comprise about 1 percent of American Lutheranism. These brief descriptions focus on the reason for being that keeps these bodies independent of the larger Lutheran churches. Part Four lists the international Lutheran fellowships associated with the WELS, the LCMS, and the ELCA. Within the WELS, questions about other Lutheran churches in America usually arise when its members come into contact with these other Lutheran church bodies through friends or relatives. It is the author s hope that this volume will serve as a ready reference in such circumstances.

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11 PART ONE WELS & The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

12 6 PART ONE The Wisconsin Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) was founded in 1850 by congregations in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It began as a church of German-speaking immigrants. When it merged with the Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska Synods in 1917, its membership spread over the midwestern states. Although the synod has expanded its work into many states since the mid-1900s so that its membership of more than 394,000 members and more than 1,200 congregations now is distributed throughout the United States and into several provinces of Canada, it continues to have a very high percentage of its membership concentrated in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. In recent years it has suffered a small numerical decline. It had 420,000 members at its peak. It is the third largest Lutheran denomination in the United States by a large margin. Since 1863 the synod has supported a seminary for training its pastors, which is now located in Mequon, Wisconsin. At present two preparatory schools one in Saginaw, Michigan, and one in Watertown, Wisconsin and one college in New Ulm, Minnesota, round out the synod s educational system for the thorough training of its pastors and teachers. Congregations operate many Lutheran elementary schools and high schools. Since World War II, the WELS has expanded its world mission effort into more than 15 countries. In 1993 the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and the WELS, working with a number of other Lutheran churches around the world many of which had been founded through mission work of those two synods founded a new international fellowship organization: the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC). (See Part Four for more information.) The Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) was organized in Chicago in The name Missouri Synod was derived from the home base of the synod s founders St.

13 WELS & The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 7 Louis and Perry County, Missouri. A group of Saxon immigrants had settled there after fleeing from Germany in order to escape government pressure to compromise their Lutheran convictions. The second key component in the founding of the LCMS was a group of missionaries sent to America from Germany by Wilhelm Loehe. Their work was concentrated in Michigan and adjacent states. The founder and first leader of the Missouri Synod C. F. W. Walther had emerged as the leader of the Saxon immi grants as a result of turmoil among the immigrants due to the unfaithfulness of their first bishop. Walther quickly established himself as the leading spokesman for strong, confessional Lutheranism in America. His clear, firm doctrinal position strengthened confessional Lutheranism in America and, indeed, throughout the world. The synod experienced rapid growth as it quickly expanded into many states, even beyond the Midwest. By 1884 it had nearly 350,000 baptized members. By 1935 it had grown to over one and a quarter million. Its present membership is about 2.4 million (down from 2.7) in more than nine thousand congregations. It is the 14th largest church in the USA. This membership is well dispersed throughout the United States with about half in the Midwest. The state of Missouri ranks well down the list with only half as many LCMS members as Illinois, the leading state. Among the midwestern states, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all rank ahead of Missouri in LCMS membership. In fact, the LCMS has significantly more members in these three states than the WELS does. Unlike the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the LCMS is primarily the result of internal growth rather than mergers, though it has absorbed some smaller groups. In 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, historically Finnish-American, merged with the LCMS. In 1971 the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, historically Slovak-American, merged with the LCMS.

14 8 PART ONE The LCMS has an extensive system of Christian education, culminating in ten colleges or universities known as the Concordia University System and two seminaries: one in St. Louis, Missouri, and one in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The LCMS has missions or sister churches in more than 30 countries. It has international fellowship in the International Lutheran Conference. (See Part Four.) For nearly a century, from 1868 till 1961, the WELS and the LCMS were in fellowship with each other and with many sister churches throughout the world. Besides practicing pulpit and altar fellowship, they carried on joint educational and mission projects. The end of their fellowship in 1961 was a very traumatic event because so many families had members in both synods and there were so many cooperative efforts on the local level. What originally brought these two synods together? On what basis did they practice fellowship for almost a century? What caused the break in fellowship after nearly one hundred years together? What is the present status of their relationship? These are the questions we will address in this section. Past Relations of Wisconsin and Missouri Both in the establishment of church fellowship between the two churches in 1868 as well as in the break of the fellowship bonds in 1961, the doctrine and the practice of church fellowship were decisive factors. From its beginning, the LCMS was firmly committed to orthodox, confessional Lutheranism. Its confessional basis was Holy Scripture of the Old Testament and New Testament as the written Word of God and only rule and norm of faith and life, and all the Lutheran Confessions as the pure and unadulterated explanation and presentation of the divine word. C. F. W. Walther, already known for his faithfulness to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, was chosen as the first president. Under his capable leadership, especially also

15 WELS & The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 9 as its seminary president, the Missouri Synod grew into the preeminent confessional Lutheran church body in America. This was reflected also in the synod s scriptural fellowship practices. It was not until 1868 that the Missouri Synod was ready to recognize the Wisconsin Synod, founded in 1850, as a sister synod with which it could practice church fellowship. At its founding, the Wisconsin Synod under its first president, Pastor John Muehlhaeuser represented a mild Lutheranism, committed to Scripture and the gospel but with less emphasis on the Lutheran Confessions. Through its founders it was associated with a number of German mission societies. For these mission societies, the confessional differences between Lutheran and Reformed churches were not a hindrance to joint communion. However, very soon, when Pastor John Bading became president (1860) and with the arrival of Adolph Hoenecke as a theological leader, the Wisconsin Synod broke its ties with the mission societies and embraced a sound confessional Lutheranism on paper and in practice. Only then did the Missouri Synod enter into fellowship with the Wisconsin Synod. Thus, it was especially in their doctrine and practice of fellowship that these two synods showed each other that they were serious about their commitment to Scripture and the confessions. Until they were agreed on this, the Missouri Synod did not consider the Wisconsin Synod an orthodox Lutheran synod with which it could make common cause. Once agreement had been reached, both synods very soon played prominent roles in founding the Synodical Conference of North America (1872). This conference was committed to the same doctrinal, confessional position held by Missouri and Wisconsin and the other synods uniting in this federation. These synods had been disappointed in the General Council (organized in 1867). While this council sought to bring together into one body those synods that wanted to be soundly confessional, it failed to commit itself to scriptural practice in regard to pulpit and altar fellowship. It did not take a strong stand