Soubds like a bunch of gutless wonders to me. Either do the Biblical and right thing and withhold sactions for homosexual marriages and clergy or doing the wrong thing and support them. Of course I prefer the former but I wish they make a decision so we know where they stand although we do have strong suspicions where they stand. It is important to just make a decision and live with it. Still, I say, heck with the bishops debating this back and forth for years, if I had the power, I'd make the decision and it would be for the natural, right and Bibically based decision not to saction homosexual marriages and clergy and it would stay that way. Looks like I'll be checking out the Missouri Synod. I don't think the Lutheran Church is lost but this section, ELCA, seems to be and I would say it is.
Do you really want to belong to an orangization that condems a rather significant part of society? You folks sound like racists... What happened to throwing the first stone?
These numbers, along with my own experience in ELCA congregations (I've been in several all across the United States) - belie a substantial majority of "biblically faithful" members.
I attended the Delaware/MD synod assembly meeting a couple years ago when we were debating the effective "cross-rostering" of Lutheran and Episcopal pastors in rural communities it may help. It was a very heated debate on the floor and the one thing I took away from it is there's a LOT of more conservative ELCA members (even in relatively liberal synods) than people realize. It just takes a lot (perhaps too much) to get them riled up.
At some point, we have to stop running away and engage these falsehoods and work to turn the Church around (and I'm not just talking about Lutheranism), otherwise we are merely succumbing to the powers of darkness and allowing the Church to be subverted. Where do we draw the line?
I'm staying on (in the ELCA) in the (perhaps vain) hope I can still have some influence in my local church to somehow counteract the influences of the liberal synodical leadership.
You describe the tenure of CFW Walther, 1st President of the LCMS