Conservative Lutherans Battle back.

Well, Lutherans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America began the long road back to a scriptural church, this past week, as they met in Florida and voted to stay unified, voted not to bless gay marriages, and not to allow practicing gays to pastor a church. Had the two latter votes gone the other way, the first vote would have had no validity. The church would have split immediately.

What all these votes represent is a church finally showing its determination to remain a church based solely on the scriptures.

There has been a liberal movement afoot in the church for a number of years. Many of us, and I include myself in that number, are from the “old” church. We saw the movement away from scripture, and towards modern political correctness, as the destruction of a church... a church, which came directly, out of the Reformation and was founded on "scripture alone". Nothing could change that. Scripture is NOT politically correct.

But, in recent years an attempt has been made... and was partially successful.

Lutherans are slow to accept change and even slower to move against change they do not like... until momentum is built up. Over the past few years that momentum has been building.

Lutherans have been asked to accept so many “non Lutheran” practices in recent years that we were/are in fear of losing our church. Things like the “Historic Episcopate” which is not a part of Lutheranism. Some of us refused to accept that. I was among them.

Old Lutherans still believe what the scripture has to say about homosexuality. It is wrong, and it is a sin. As a result, we cannot bless a union of men, or women, living in what is obviously a "state of sin". Neither can we accept allowing a homosexual pastor to stand as the leader of a congregation and setting an example for others to follow.

A sharp dividing line was drawn between the Lutherans who believed the scriptures and those who did/do not. The disagreement was just that simple. But it was a disagreement, which would split the church apart... and may yet.

The past few years I have not participated in ELCA services. Instead I attend a Missouri Synod Church some 50 miles away. My tithing to the church continued, only to the Missouri Synod church, not to the ELCA Church of which I am officially a member. I simply could not bring myself to compromise on those things I felt were right... those things I felt were scriptural.

Finally, this last week, in Florida, my faith in the Lutherans was restored… partially. We still have a long way to go, and a lot to do, to regain our former position as a scriptural church. But… we are, at last, on the way.

“Here endth the lesson for today”.

“Longstreet”