Posted on 02/05/2011 2:20:30 PM PST by SmithL
The Rev. Matthew Harrison has a vision of what the future of American Protestantism might look like – and it includes a potentially big realignment.
Harrison, who was pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne in the 1990s and early 2000s, was elected last year to head the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a 6,200-congregation denomination with 2.3 million baptized members. The synod is the second-largest and most traditional among the branches of Lutheranism in North America.
In an interview last month during a visit to the Synod’s Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Harrison said he sees opposition to homosexuality and support of traditional marriage as leading to new ties among dissident members of diverse Protestant groups.
“I certainly see it happening,” he said. “It’s a very interesting moment worldwide.”
In recent years, several U.S. denominations including Lutherans, Episcopalians and Presbyterians have seen splinter groups form in reaction to policies that broadened acceptance of homosexuals.
Now, he says the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s recent move to allow some non-celibate gay clergy is affecting the church’s mission in the developing world, where different branches of the faith have traditionally cooperated.
He called the decision “the worst blunder in the history of Lutheran missions,” saying it makes it harder for the church’s message to be heard.
In Africa it’s because of homosexuality’s connection to the AIDS epidemic, he said. In countries such as Indonesia where Islam is prevalent, he added, Islamic radicals seize on the issue as proof that the Western Christian church is decadent and should be rejected.
Harrison said the issue may present an opportunity for his denomination in some countries.
In the past several years, Lutheran groups in Madagascar, where the population is 25 percent Lutheran, have made informal overtures to the Missouri Synod. Lutherans in the country have historically aligned with the ELCA, he said.
Another sign of the realignment, he added, is that his denomination and the Anglican Church in North America have begun formal dialogue seeking common ground.
The Anglican body formed in 2008 in a split from the U.S. Episcopal Church largely over the issue of allowing homosexual bishops and priests. It has ties to Anglican churches in Africa that opposed homosexuality, including Uganda, Nigeria and Rwanda.
Anglicans and the Missouri Synod are talking “to be able to affirm each other in significant ways as fellow Christians, stand together against certain societal and ecclesial trends and cooperate together in works of mercy,” according to the synod’s description of the dialogues. They began in November and will continue this year.
Still another sign of movement is a declaration signed by Harrison in December on marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The declaration was endorsed by leaders of about 20 Protestant Christian groups as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church.
Harrison said for Missouri Synod Lutherans, the issue of homosexuality strikes at the root of the authority of Scripture.
“The difficulty we have runs to the very heart of the Gospel – is there salvation outside of Christ? The Bible says no,” he says, adding that those who claim acceptance of homosexuality are imposing their interpretation of the texts.
Harrison last year also wrote a letter to U.S. lawmakers saying that the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the U.S. military “will sorely inhibit our chaplains’ ability to call all sinners to repentance.”
He said the new policy will likely lead to openly homosexual chaplains and added that Missouri Synod members may be counseled not to partake of their services.
“But the challenge for the Missouri Synod on this whole issue is simply not to be the denomination of ‘no.’ ” he said.
“It is my deep desire to refrain from statements against homosexuality, at the same time affirming the biblical stance and that the church has a role in assisting people who struggle with this issue,” Harrison said.
In Fort Wayne, Harrison was known for spearheading a project with neighboring St. Peter Catholic Church that rejuvenated the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood.
Dilapidated homes were cleared from a 10-block area around the churches and replaced with new development, such as the Pontiac branch of the Allen County Public Library and the headquarters of the Urban League.
After leaving Fort Wayne, Harrison served as executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care.
Actually there are cases where women in the LCMS are not only preaching but administering sacrament. And I don’t mean as assistants.
They don’t ordain them as pastors instead they sneak thru under the office of “Lay Minister”. Some more creative districts and congregations are using that angle to let women into both preaching and sacrament. They do this by creatively interpreting official documents and statements but it has yet to be stopped so it will continue.
The last convention tried to quietly plug this hole without talking about it but after two revisions to the proposal it was never voted on.
It has some members of the LCMS clergy quite upset.
We are having a constructive discussion here. Go pick a fight somewhere else, please.
I am certain that there are no women pastors in the LCMS. LCMS does have some (but not all) congregations that let women read the bible aloud in church and serve on the church council.
WELS and LCMS both practice close communion, although LCMS has a wide range in what its congregations consider to be close communion. When I was in the Navy, I was allowed to commune at any LCMS church I attended, but I always introduced myself before the service. The WELS congregation I attended would not let me commune until I attended classes and joined the congregation.
Being a Mason is not allowed in either LCMS or WELS. I’ve been told it’s against ELCA policy, too, but not enforced. And I still don’t understand WELS prohibition against scouting.
They've become much more progressive in recent years and I think they're down to just one synod represented (LCMS) in town, and a ELCA congregation on the North side.
So it's not like I don't know Lutherans ~ I know all kinds of Lutherans! It's possible I know more different kinds than most Lutherans do ~ but that is simply because my own people were NOT Lutherans ~ they were Dunkards (German Methodist, more or less, but that congregation didn't have a single German in it ~ it was an experiment by a ne'er do well minister who imagined he could attract non-Germans to his church ~ which he did ~ much to his surprise).
More recently it looks like the Lutherans are "breaking up", but is it back to the ethnically based synods, or is it geography, or could it be theology? The piece here suggests that one cause is the tendency of one or two brands to turn the homosexuals loose on their congregations. Frankly, I had not noticed any major significant difference between the Wisconsin synod and the Missouri synod beyond the private school thing, but I attributed that to a question of numbers. Looks like I was wrong. One group is holding the line at women.
Protestants hold out for the “many mansions” doctrine right down to the end of time ~ guar an tee!
Where?
I ask so I can start writing some letters, and maybe raising a little Cain.
The scouting thing is because Boy Scouts talk about religion, but not which one. So you have to believe in a god or gods, but don’t have to be Christian.
Many LCMS congregations have similar rules.
“Protestants hold out for the “many mansions” doctrine right down to the end of time ~ guar an tee!”
This is one thing most Catholics really don’t “get” about Protestants, despite it being completely obvious to anyone with any curiosity about other religions. Protestant practice and doctrine is varied. We aren’t monolithic, What brings us together, to varying degrees is that we don’t take kindly to being told what to do, say, or think by a central authority - some Protestants less so than others.
It’s not good or bad, it just is. Catholics believe what they do, the myriad and varied Protestant sects believe what they do. It’s part of living in a free society, and a society with freedom of religion.
We are all also free to believe other religions or sects are going to hell, and to whine that others are bigoted against one or another religion - though some do it a lot more than others.
So belittle Protestants as you wish, but you really should be a little more specific than just saying “Protestants” when you let loose your perceived religious superiority, otherwise the effort is wasted, and you sound like you don’t really know what you are talking about.
“We are having a constructive discussion here. Go pick a fight somewhere else, please.”
T’was but a benign statement of the obvious, nothing more.
What is your opinion of the new NALC? Just curious.
“Frankly, I’m holdig out for the “many mansions” doctrine ~ and YOU AREN’T?”
No. I also do not believe there is any exclusive “One True Path”. That said, I’ve known folks who were in congregations of no more than a couple dozen that met in an old 7-Eleven storefront church that were convinced that they had the One True Path.
The point is that Protestantism can not be legitimately referred to en mases when proclaiming one doctrine is better than another - So if I assumed you were posting from a Catholic perspective, I apologize - that is generally an error that is confined to the Catholic perspective, but I guess there are always exceptions.
You really do have to study up on this stuff. Nope, not a Catholic. Not a Lutheran either. Go read about John Leland ~ that kinda’ church.
He also appears to have been the main contributor to the language of the First-Amendment.
What I find most fascinating about his hymn is that it is considered foundational to the music genre meant by Black Gospel.
It's hard to find anyone of note in the field of Gospel who hasn't recorded that song. I played it in the background today when they were leading up to the talking part of the Reagan Memorial. Actually I played about ten versions of it sung by a wide variety of artists ~ including Aretha Franklin who has a few months left due to her cancer.
Ron Was a member of the Christian Church ~ so he'd known that song if he ever attended a funeral.
I suspect other people just accepted what the people running the program put on the chart. For this I came with my own, and his, music.
Tell you what: I will be seeing Rev. Harrison later this week. If I have a chance, I will ask him about this.
Apparently, it's a break-off group from the ELCA. However, they do allow women pastors, so while they may be less liberal than the ELCA, they're still liberal. The underlying issue is their view of the inspiration and authority of Scripture.
You are absolutely correct, homosexuality is not the issue, all sin is the issue.
I pray that you are correct in your assessment.
I meant to ping you also to post 55, which see.
Just curious as to how the Wisconsin Synod is to far right?
Not being confrontational, just curious.
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