A group of ELCA pastors huddles over coffee for their weekly text study, but sermon ideas are not the center of discussion this week. “What’s happening in your congregation?” is the question for each in turn. “Just talk, so far,” reports one. “My congregational president has resigned,” says another, “but that prompted two families who didn’t like his heavy handed leadership to return!”
It seems that there is a trickle of disaffected parishioners who are leaving or threatening to leave the ELCA over the new LGBT policies but not a trend–much less a torrent–at least not among this coffee shop gathering.
Word Alone and Lutheran Core, the voices of the opposition, are counseling patience and due deliberation:
We will want to give ourselves time for patient and careful reflection. Now is not the time to make rash, hasty decisions. Most people make serious mistakes when they make decisions under pressure. We do not want to make this mistake now. Our relationship with the ELCA is a serious matter for us. I ask that we all take time to reflect patiently with ourselves and with others and not to make rash decisions now. We all have the time for God to disclose his will for us. Lutheran CORE and our supporters have consistently urged us to maintain at least a formal relationship with the ELCA. The question now before us is the level of our participation within the ELCA.
Around the country, there is anecdotal evidence that the Lutherans are not jumping ship, at least not yet and not in great numbers, over the ELCA 2009 convention actions approving gay clergy and gay marriage. Many congregations are promoting discussion, and folks are seriously wrestling with the question, “what is the Bible and how do we use it?”
Those who leave echo a common refrain, “But there’s this line in the sand. It’s about the Bible and whether we believe what it says.” The Lutheran Core talking points include the statement: “Lutheran CORE is continuing in the Christian faith as it has been passed down to us by generations of Christians. The ELCA is the one that has departed from the teaching of the Bible as understood by Christians for 2,000 years.”
It pains me when some suggest that the ELCA decision was unbiblical, that those of us who agree with the inclusive actions of the assembly don’t “believe what the Bible says.” While we may disagree over interpretation of Scripture, it is self-righteous and judgmental to dismiss contrary opinions as unbiblical or even unchristian.
To the contrary, we believe in the heart of the matter, the “canon within the canon” (Luther’s terminology), the “core testimony” (Walter Brueggeman’s terminology) that compels us to open our arms, our hearts, and our pulpits as we did forty years ago to our sisters despite apparent Biblical admonitions. Luther suggested that all Scripture is not equal, that all passages do not carry the same weight, that some verses must surrender to the greater authority of the core testimony. We agree with Luther, but that does not mean that we reject the authority of the Bible, as charged by some in Lutheran Core and WordAlone.
The Bible says, “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh” 1st Peter 2:18 and “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent” 1st Timothy 2:12. Yet, despite nearly two millennia of teaching and tradition, the church now rejects slavery and sexism, by finding deeper streams of meaning in the core testimony of the good news of Jesus of Nazareth, the one who included those that society rejected, those who failed according to the purity rules of the church of his day, those deemed unclean by the Levitical holiness code–the same wellspring that spills out the harsh texts that “clobber” our gay fellows.
The gospel text for yesterday that most Lutheran pastors preached on around the country was Mark’s narrative of the foreign woman who pushed against the traditional Jewish walls of exclusion. For the early church, the question was not “gay” but “Gentile”. Should the Jewish Jesus movement include non-Jews, the Gentiles? Despite their uncleanness? Despite their failure to follow the Jewish law? Despite centuries of tradition and teaching that these did not belong to the family of God?
Halfway through his sermon, my pastor interrupted himself. “There he goes again, some of you are thinking, he’s promoting the gay agenda. It’s not an agenda,” he said. “It’s the gospel.”
There it is. The heart of the matter. The canon within the canon. The core testimony. It’s not unbiblical. It’s not unchristian. It’s the gospel.
Obie, the wonder of the Bible for me is just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, just when you’re ready to write the rule or proclaim the doctrine, someone comes along to show you something new. Jesus did that over and over again.
He always shows us something new and calls us to do the same for others. It drove the religious authorities crazy back then and continues to do the same today. Jesus invites imagination not edicts, creativity more than commandments. Phil Eaves
Wow, was I surprised to find you while reading Common Dreams last evening!!! Was reading the Rev Digby’s piece and then scrolled down to read some of the comments and saw what I thought must be you!!! Followed thru and found your blog! Great !!
Just when I was getting so discouraged and thinking perhaps it was time to move to Canada. think so many folks hereabouts have gone off the deep end. Tried to find a phone number for you but no luck!!!!
It’s amazing how you guys can twist scripture around to fit your point of view. Can you just show me ONE..that’s all, just one.. bible verse where homosexuality is approved of.
@dave
Did you read the post? Too complicated for you? Would you like your ethical discernment cut into small pieces that are easy to chew on? 19th century theologian James McCosh put it this way, “The book to read is not one which thinks for you, but the one that makes you think. No other book in the world equals the Bible for that.” Would you like your Bible to do your thinking for you? The Bible is not merely a series of one-liners that provide guidance for any and all situations. Sorry, but the Bible is deeper and more sophisticated than the simplicity you demand.
Obie: You can do better than that.
Those of us who know that the decision to allow those who practice same sex to be Pastors in our congrations and leaders in our the Church is not in the Word given to us in the Bible as the Truth that never changes have been given but one choice to leave the fellowship of those who have made a choice of not living by Gods Words. Therefore, we need to form a New Luthern Church that will meet our Chirstian beliefs and needs. CORE is but notheing but a organizaion that we need untile in order to get organized, organization has a cost unless those in ECLA who have had the use of our giving for years would be willing to help us regorganizae.
GOD Is Good.
John: That’s not true. The ELCA clearly gave local congregations the right to pick their own theology on same-sex marriages. I think that is Braaten’s complaint with the Social Statement – it is unchurched.