Author Archives: Obie Holmen

June numbers of ELCA congregational defections

Lutheran CORE prepares for its August Convocation when it will birth a new denomination called the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The WordAlone Network has become WordAlone Ministries and has revised its strategy away from influencing the ELCA toward supporting dissidents, but with an apparent tilt toward CORE and its progeny, prompting a Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) supporter to whine, “I thought that Word Alone was going to be supporting both LCMC and NALC.” Meanwhile, the LCMC eagerly welcomes the vast majority of defecting ELCA congregations into its loose association while sniping at the anticipated high church structure of NALC: “ … this is why I am glad to be LCMC … Among the members of the [NALC] Ministry Processes Working Group are six former ELCA bishops,” and “We certainly don’t need any more rings to kiss.” At local congregations pondering defection from the ELCA, dueling representatives of LCMC and CORE make appearances to advocate for their preferred brand of schism. (LCMC quotes from “Friends of LCMC”, a Google online discussion group)

Meanwhile, in central Minnesota, the local newspaper is running a letter to the editor that wonders why such a small percentage of eligible voters actually voted in two local congregations that voted to sever ties with the ELCA.

[P]erhaps the support for leaving the ELCA wasn’t quite as overwhelming as the church leadership might have people believe.

The writer then questions the level of pastoral manipulation behind the process:

[D]ecisions are often made based upon information shared with the members through the pastor. Indeed, the direction that any church takes often reflects the direction the pastor wishes to take that congregation. Truly, if only one point of view is presented to the congregation through the pastor and the elders of the church, and contrasting views aren’t embraced or encouraged, it would stand to reason that the church membership would vote in line with the church leadership.

One day when the smoke clears, it will be interesting to correlate pastoral leadership and congregational defections. From the evidence available thus far, it would appear that defecting congregations almost always are led out of the ELCA by their pastor. Talk about shepherding the flock.

Finally, the latest statistics from the ELCA (June 3) are reported in an email received from the office of the ELCA Secretary:

As of June 3, we have been advised that 419 congregations have taken first votes to terminate their relationship with the ELCA (some congregations have taken more than one first vote). Of these 419 congregations that have taken first votes, 283 passed and 136 failed. Synods also have informed the Office of the Secretary that 161 congregations have taken a second vote, 140 of which passed and 21 failed.

I have previously characterized the number of defecting congregations as a trickle and not a torrent. Ten months after CWA09, that characterization still holds true, and the vast majority of the 10,400 congregations of the ELCA remains in place. While the dissidents have stirred up hard feelings and created conflicted congregations, they are far from “realigning North American Lutheranism” as CORE professes.

As we approach the the birthing of NALC and the one year anniversary of CWA09, it will be curious to watch the strains on the publicly professed coalition of LCMC, WordAlone, and CORE. A commenter on the “Friends of LCMC” discussion groups suggests:

Where much of the 20th century was spent with “mergers”, bringing many smaller synods into one large tent, the early years of the 21st century are being marked with many of these mergers being “undone” in a way, with smaller synods once again emerging, each with its own unique polity and structure to it.

Reminds me of the old saw, “if you keep leaving a church to find another that is a perfect fit, soon you will be a church of one.”

Looking forward to Presbyterian General Assembly (GA219)

The 219th General Assembly of the PCUSA (Presbyterian) will convene in Minneapolis on July 3rd. This past Sunday, many Presbyterian congregations anticipated GA219 by celebrating “More Light Sunday” in reference to the Presbyterian LGBT advocacy group known as More Light Presbyterians (MLP). Pastor John Shuck, a Presbyterian pastor and provocateur to more conservative Presbyterians, noted the occasion in his Shuck and Jive blog. Here are the ten MLP affirmations.

1. We celebrate the unity we create in the midst of our diversity.
2. We affirm the inherent beauty, worth, and dignity of every GLBT and straight person.
3. There are many paths to the sacred. The spiritual paths of GLBT persons are among
them.
4. The choice is not whether to be GLBT or straight but whether or not to live an
authentic life.
5. Coming out is a courageous and spiritual act.
6. Sexual expression is one of the many sacred ways that GLBT and straight adults can express the depth of love in their relationships.
7. We support each person’s journey of integrating spirituality and sexuality which
leads to wholeness.
8. Marriage is a sacred union for people who are committed to each other without regard to gender. Love makes a family.
9. Spiritual leaders must take responsibility to lead, protect, and affirm GLBT people:
children, adults, and their families.
10. No one is free when others are oppressed.

The issue of gay and lesbian clergy will certainly arise again at GA219 as it has in previous years and as in other mainline denominations. Coincidentally, the venue of GA219 is precisely the same Minneapolis convention center that was the site of last year’s momentous decisions by the ELCA regarding gay clergy and LGBT relationships. The precise provision at issue for the Presbyterians is known as G-6.0106b, which restricts LGBT persons from serving as clergy. Yet, Pastor Ray Bagnuolo of Jan Hus Presbyterian Church and Neighborhood House in New York City suggests that removal of the onerous G-6.0106b would be a mere formality, a de jure recognition of the de facto status quo. In the following article, he spoke of ministering to a homeless man:

It didn’t matter that as the pastor of the church I am gay. In fact, being gay in the PC(USA) no longer matters any more than being straight does. People will argue about that, but we, as a church, have already deleted G-6.0106b. It’s gone in our hearts and in practice. True, some still find comfort in the same kind of teachings that once held women and people of color to be second-class in God’s eyes. However, the reality is that we already work together and serve God as a community of great diversity that includes gender identity fully.

I honestly do wish to continue to dialogue with those who disagree, because I believe they are being faithful in their own ways and we need to pray and talk together. However, those who are unable or unwilling to accept the truth that this artificial division between us is no longer valid cannot be allowed to prevent others who believe differently from full inclusion in this church. The lives of faithful people cannot be divided along gender identity any more than they can along the lines of the sexes or color.

In a short time, we will all gather in Minneapolis for our General Assembly. We will worship together, work together, share meals, cabs, and conversations. We will pray and seek God’s will. And, the “we” will include many of us who identify themselves as gay, whether spoken aloud or not. We will agree and disagree. Sooner or later, it will be apparent that, in fact, G-6.0106b has been deleted in the way God has moved this church and its people. Sooner or later, the constitution will catch up. In the meantime, none of us can be held hostage by what we know in our hearts to be wrong.
Like the gentleman who found us on that cold night, there are too many people “seeking God” for us to deny any qualified candidate from ordination based on G-6.0106b.

Scott Anderson is clearly qualified to be ordained. To hold G-6.0106b against him or anyone else is to hold this church hostage to an aberration in our constitution. We no longer allow the few who still hold onto prejudices against women and people of color to hold us hostage to their beliefs, nor should we allow those who have yet to embrace the gay community to marginalize or exclude us.

It is no longer about G-6.0106b.

Scientific study: children of same sex partners are well-adjusted

Opponents of the ELCA ministry policies that allow gay clergy frequently trumpet the Reformation cry Sola Scriptura. The WordAlone Ministries bases its name on this slogan, and ELCA critics decry any other influence in ethical discernment beyond strict application of Biblical law. Such critics conveniently overlook Luther’s own two-pronged analytical approach–“the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason”–to inform conscience. One expects that the Lutheran CORE, WordAlone, & LCMC spokesmen would cite scientific or empirical evidence if they could, but they are left with unsound science such as reparative therapy (CORE brought along fellow-travelers from the debunked Exodus Ministries to CWA09). Lacking sound scientific support for gay-EXCLUSIVE policies, it is understandable why ELCA opponents wrap themselves in unscientific and uncritical Biblical interpretations. Oh, we hear platitudes now and again about “family values” or “traditional marriage”, but the evidence doesn’t support their case.

Thus, we don’t expect the CORE types to pay much attention to the scientific study report in today’s issue of Pediatric Journal which concludes “Being raised by a same-sex couple is no hindrance to healthy psychological development”. In fact, 17 year olds who had been raised entirely by a lesbian couple following artificial insemination of one partner, actually seemed better adjusted than their counterparts who had been raised by heterosexual partners—except when subjected to homophobic bullying.

When comparing the results to how mothers living in conventional families rated their teenagers, children of same-sex couples were more competent in school, had fewer social problems, broke fewer rules and were less aggressive.

Based on what the children reported themselves, they did just as well whether or not they knew the identity of their biological father.

However, those teenagers who — according to their mothers — experienced homophobia and bullying did turn out to be more anxious and have more depressive symptoms than their peers.

St Olaf grad elected bishop

Bill Gafkjen, my first cousin and eldest of six sons of my mom’s sister Joanie, was recruited to pitch for St Olaf by coach Jim Dimick out of Colombia Heights High School in the mid ‘70s. After one year, Bill met with the coach to tell him he had decided to quit playing baseball to concentrate on studies. “We both cried,” Bill said. Bill also said his Gafkjen kin were greatly disappointed based upon their tradition of town team ball on the western prairies of Minnesota in the Willmar area.

Even though he only spent one year on the team, Bill considers coach Dimick to have been his mentor, and he asked me to extend his personal condolences to the coach following the recent death of his beloved wife, Nan. Coach Dimick and I both belong to Bethel Lutheran Church of Northfield. Yesterday I did so, along with a big hug, as I reported to coach that one of his boys had just been elected to become Bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

Bill was baptized in our family’s home congregation, Gethsemane Lutheran of Upsala, the same church where our mothers grew up, the same church where Grandma Hilma and all her siblings were baptized and confirmed, and the same church where our great-grandparents were immigrant pioneers and amongst the earliest members of the old Sandvikens Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. Bill’s first name and my middle name are based in part in remembrance of great-grandfather Wilhelm who became surrogate father to his six granddaughters, Hilma’s six girls, when Hilma’s husband Olaf was killed in a car-train collision in 1936.

Bill’s mom died of breast cancer over 35 years ago, and my mom died of ALS about 6 years ago. The other four sisters are alive and well, together with Bill’s dad, Guffy, and five brothers, and over a dozen first cousins (we lost cousin Rick to a car accident). I speak for the whole family in expressing our pride and extending our prayers and well-wishes for cousin Billy as he answers the call to be the pastor to the pastors of the 220 congregations and 71,000 members of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

The ELCA news release is reprinted below in its entirety:

William Gafkjen Elected Bishop of ELCA Indiana-Kentucky Synod

     COVINGTON, Ky. (ELCA) — The Rev. William O. “Bill” Gafkjen (GUFF-ee-ehn) was elected June 5 to a six-year term as bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly in Covington, Ky.
     Gafkjen, 52, assistant to the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop with 301 votes to 168 votes for the Rev. Steven L. Schwier, Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind. The Rev. Michael R. Brown, Risen Lord Lutheran Church, Bargersville, Ind., was also a nominee on the fourth ballot for bishop. There were 56 names on the first or nominating ballot. Gafkjen led on all ballots.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, presided at the election.
     Gafkjen will succeed the Rev. James R. Stuck, the synod’s bishop for 12 years, who announced he will retire when his term ends Aug. 31. The synod has made tentative plans for the bishop-elect’s installation to be held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, on Sept. 11, Gafkjen said.
     In an interview with the ELCA News Service, Gafkjen said his election brought to him “a sense of humility that’s inspired with the sort of trust that comes with this call.”
     Along with a commitment to the synod, his new call “is an invitation to walk alongside people in a difficult time to try to figure out what it means to be the church in mission. It’s an opportunity to work with some great people and to build on the foundation that Bishop Stuck built in this synod,” Gafkjen said.
     Among the priorities he sees for the synod, Gafkjen said the synod needs to assist members to have public conversations together in a way that honors differences. He also named priorities such as staying focused on mission in the midst of financial challenges and stewardship concerns, and building connections and communication across the synod.
     Gafkjen has served with Stuck since 2002. “He is a man with a deep pastoral heart who is centered in prayer. He has a deep commitment to sharing the good news,” the bishop-elect said.
     Born in Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada, Gafkjen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. He earned a master of divinity from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. St. Olaf College is one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
     Following his ordination in 1985, Gafkjen served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Mora, Minn.; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Niles, Mich.; Lutheran Campus Ministries at Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.; Evangelical Lutheran Church, Duncanville, Pa.; and Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind.
     Gafkjen and his wife Janet are the parents of two children, Nathan and Kira. They reside in Fishers, Ind.
     The Indiana-Kentucky Synod is 71,097 baptized members in 220 congregations in Indiana and Kentucky. The synod office is in Indianapolis.

Novel study guide

Numerous purchasers of A Wretched Man novel have asked about a study guide suitable for group discussions. In response, I have prepared a five page pdf document that offers numerous questions, section by section. Some questions are simple (discuss the Aramaic or Greek names of the characters) and others are designed to be open-ended and thought-provoking (think of the times in your life when you felt the presence of God. Do you think your experience was similar to or different from Paul’s experience on the Damascus road?) Many of the questions require looking up a Bible passage so the study guide will get your group into the Bible.

Click here to review or download the study guide

Now it’s the Presbyterians’ turn

The Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) is commonly labeled “mainline Protestant”. According to Wikipedia, the attribution “mainline Protestant” suggests the following:

Mainline or mainline Protestant (also sometimes called mainstream) denominations are those that comprised the vast majority of American Christianity from the colonial era until the early 1900s. Most were brought to America by their respective historic immigrant groups. Today, most are rooted in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States.

As a group they have maintained theologies that stress social justice concerns together with personal salvation and evangelism.They have been credited with leading the fight for social causes such as racial justice and civil rights, equality for women, rights for the disabled and other key issues. Many of the issues that such groups have advocated for have been embraced by American law and society, but at the same time mainline denominations have been somewhat marginalized. In addition, mainline churches and laity founded most of the leading educational institutes in the US.

In typical usage, the term mainline is contrasted with evangelical. Mainline churches tend to be more liberal in terms of theology and political issues. This places them to the ideological left of the evangelical and fundamentalist churches.

With approximately 2.4 million members, the PCUSA is the third largest of the mainline Protestant denominations behind the United Methodists (UMC–8 million) and the ELCA (4.4 million) and just ahead of the Episcopal Church (2.1 million). Many of these denominations hold formal agreements with each other that mutually recognize clergy and sacramental practice. For instance, the ELCA has full communion agreements with six other denominations, including the UMC, PCUSA and Episcopal Churches.

After wrestling with women’s ordination a generation or two ago, that issue is now settled and females comprise a significant percentage of the clergy within these mainline Protestant denominations. Presently, LGBT issues roil these denominations. The United Church of Christ (UCC) has the longest record of allowing gay clergy, and LGBT issues seem less contentious for that 1.1 million member denomination. The Episcopal Church now has two LGBT bishops and adopted policies a year ago that succinctly offer “all the sacraments for all the baptized”. But, the Episcopalians’ relationship with the worldwide Anglican communion has been strained and a conservative, dissident group of American Episcopalians has splintered away. Also last summer, the ELCA changed its policy and now recognizes and affirms committed gay relationships and allows partnered gay clergy, but not without defecting individual and congregational membership.

All of this is background to the PCUSA weeklong 219th Annual Assembly that convenes in Minneapolis on July 3rd. Coincidentally, the venue is the same Convention Center that was the location of last year’s momentous ELCA church wide assembly (CWA09). I was present last summer as a volunteer for Goodsoil, a coalition of LGBT advocacy groups, and regular followers of this blog know that I have posted extensively about that experience. The parallel LGBT advocacy organization within the PCUSA is “More Light Presbyterians (MLP)”, and they will advocate for repeal of provision G-6.0106b within the PCUSA Book of Order.

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

At the 2006 assembly, the delegates voted by a 57% majority that this provision was “non-essential” but without repealing it, which would have required ratification by the various presbyteries (regional bodies) of the PCUSA. Detractors decried this “end run” around the PCUSA constitution. Indeed, at the next assembly in 2008, the provision was amended by the delegates, but the amendment was subsequently derailed by the Presbyteries that failed to ratify the assembly action.

In addition to regular business of the assembly, including the election of a new moderator, the issue will certainly arise next month in Minneapolis. I intend to blog extensively on this issue in the coming weeks so stay tuned. As a non-Presbyterian, I also confess to partial knowledge of the details, and I welcome any Presbyterian comment or correction.

K Company, 75th Infantry (Rangers) Viet Nam

On this Memorial Day weekend, I’m thinking of my Viet Nam buddies from 1969-70. Luther “Jim” Doss and Will Koenig didn’t make it home, and neither did two friends from my high school, Jim Theisen and Jerry Kalis.

The mission of our outfit (K company, Ranger, 75th Infantry) was Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP: pronounced lurp). We worked in four man teams that were flown by helicopter into remote areas and dropped off in the jungle for reconnaissance. After four or five days, the choppers would return to pick us up. Because subterfuge was our primary defense, we would be retrieved by the birds ASAP in the event we were exposed. We played hide and seek well.

For 5-6 months, I worked with the same three teammates—Mark Estopare, Billy Powers, and Gary Heald—operating as R-18 (Ranger 18 or Romeo 18 according to the phonetic alphabet). We were stationed in the central Highlands of Viet Nam, in conjunction with the 4th Infantry Division, and lived in base camps near An Khe, Pleiku, and Ban Me Thuot when we weren’t in the field.

Mark was barely 18 and from St. Louis. I haven’t seen him since Viet Nam, but we have spoken by phone a couple of times. I understand he has had a hard time of it with PTSD.

Billy wasn’t much older and spoke with a Texas twang. I saw Billy in San Antonio at a Ranger reunion about three years ago, and the drawl was still there as well as his buoyant humor. He suffered a back injury from a work accident a few years earlier and was receiving worker’s comp. Still in Texas with grown kids.

Gary was the oldest at 23 (I was 21). Gary flew to Minnesota to be one of the groomsmen in my wedding in 1971, I had dinner with him in Los Angeles in 1987, and he was at the same Ranger reunion in San Antonio three years ago. We stay in touch via email. Gary grew up in Oklahoma but settled in California. Remarried with adult kids.

We have animal stories: a rat perched on my shoulder as I pulled midnight guard duty; a tiger silhouetted against the moon as he sauntered along the edge of our night location; and monkeys passing by in the treetops, sounding like the whole God damned North Viet Namese army crashing down on us as we hunkered to the ground, butt muscles tight, and lungs unbreathing. We have drinking stories, and drugs, too. Filipino bands singing rock and roll; movie stars and football players snapping photos of us and we of them; the Beatles partying late on the Panasonic bought at the PX; poker players with military script; and personal AO’s. We have stories of searing sun and monsoon rains. Ponchos. Poncho liners. Prick 25s. Rucksacks. C4. Fragmentary grenades. Smoke grenades. White phosphorous grenades. Later, Bronze stars with V devices. We have flying stories of door gunners and cobra gunships and hot LZs. We have mountain stories, river stories, hooches under triple-canopy jungle stories, and stories of elephant grass much taller than our head. In our stories, there are many faces with names long forgotten. We have shooting stories that come to us in the pale light between wake and sleep, and non-shooting stories, too, of young men from the north passing unknowing in front of our claymores and M16 muzzles, smokin’ and ajokin’ down the mountain, alive still and so were we. We became fathers and grandfathers with stories; I think they did, too.

This is a repost from last Veteran’s day.

UPDATE: SINCE PENNING THIS POST, I HAVE CREATED A SEPARATE WEBSITE ENTITLED “LRRPS OF VIETNAM”, AND I HAVE ALSO PUBLISHED FIVE SHORT STORIES BASED ON MY NAM EXPERIENCE. THE SHORT STORIES, ENTITLED PROWL ARE AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK FOR $6.99 OR PAPERBACK FOR $9.95.

Paul the apostle: a view from down under

I happened upon a Catholic forum from Australia (Catholica—a global conversation) that appears to have pretty heady theological discussions. The post I found was written by Ian Elmer, and I note a lengthy list of contributions by this Pauline scholar.

The lengthy article summarized Paul’s personal history with a view toward understanding the source of his insight, especially since he was not an original follower of Jesus and only became so after the crucifixion. To what extent did Paul learn from conversations with or instruction from the first disciples? Paul denied any such influence, but was his denial colored by his later dispute with the Jerusalem leadership? What was revealed to Paul on the road to Damascus? In continuing revelation? From his theological reflections in the decades following the crucifixion but before he wrote his letters? Was Paul’s experience different in kind from other disciple’s Christophanies? Theophanies in general? Epiphanies? Meditations? Contemplation? General life experiences?

[Paul’s Galatians letter] is leaving out some very important aspects of his former life that have clearly shaped his understanding of his initial experience on the road to Damascus. Still, this does highlight the whole process of revelation and inspiration. Whatever the nature of Paul’s revelatory experience, he took a considerably long time for him to fully comprehend the import of the message for his new-found Christian faith, as well as its impact on his life.

To pursue this thought further, Paul’s later understanding of his Damascus Road experience came only as a result of a series of conflicts at Jerusalem, Antioch and then in Galatia. By the time of writing Galatians Paul had been both marginalised from the mainstream “church” and forced to embark on an independent mission — for which he was being criticised by the Galatian opponents.

Paul’s only recourse was to attribute both his gospel and his commission to his initial revelatory experience on the road to Damascus. This was not strictly a “lie”, but there is certainly a degree of expedient selectivity in the telling. Was it justified? Or is this simply an excellent example of God’s inspiration at work in the everyday experiences of one’s workaday life? How often do we find God amidst conflict and debate? Is it not in the midst of such debates that our understanding of God’s “call” can be clarified?

I commend the whole article which highlights the controversies between Paul and the Jerusalem establishment, which is also the conflict that drives the plotline of my novel, A Wretched Man.

Anti-ELCA Benne makes the case FOR the ELCA

This blog has previously posted on three theologians who have attempted to provide intellectual cover for the the ELCA schismatics of WordAlone, Lutheran CORE, and LCMC. (Click here for prior posts regarding Carl Braaten, here for James Nestingen, and here for Robert Benne).

Now, Benne, one of the “neo-cons” who influenced Bush Iraq policy, is at it again in a May 27 article entitled “Lutherans in search of a church”.

A common theme of these three ELCA irritants is that their opposition goes way back to the very beginnings—the merger of three prior Lutheran bodies into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that became a reality in 1988. For each dissident, the focus of their dismay is the polity of the ELCA that mandates a) that voting members shall be 60% laity and only 40% clergy, b) that lay and clergy voting members shall each consist of 50-50 male and female, and c) that 10% of the voting members shall consist of persons of color. For these three white-male-elites, the ELCA allows too much minority influence, too much female influence, and too much lay influence but not enough influence for the good old boy network. A subtle subtext to this theme is that Lutheranism got onto the wrong track when some denominations began to ordain women half a century ago.

Benne’s latest missive suggests this system “insured that the more ‘progressive’ elements of the church would be overrepresented.” As opposed to the regressive-white-male-elites? Who does Benne expect to persuade with this argument?

For those of us who support the ELCA generally and the decisions of CWA09 in particular, we can be thankful for the public statements of the “intellectual” spokesmen for the schismatics. They make our case for us.

For Facebook users, there is a discussion of Benne’s article on the “Lovin’ the Lutheran Church” page. Here’s a sprinkling of the comments:

Kate Wulff says, “Well, it apparently ruined things for ordained straight white men who are mad the church isn’t their personal fiefdom.”

Robert Lewis says, “And speaking as a white male ELCA pastor, I’m quite thankful that my role has been reduced in this denomination. I personally … and we as a denomination … are richly blessed by the women and people of colors and races other than white … as well as the clergy that fit that description.”

Kirsten A.S. Mebust says, “How odd that Benne defines the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church as primarily white (presumably Euro-descended) and male! It’s as if history and orthodoxy began and ended with the first half of the 20th century in the Upper Midwest of the United States! And even then, it excludes the women who established many of the mission churches, including the one I belong to. The church of his fantasy never existed.”

Shelley Barnard says, “Is he really saying that only white males can provide adequate theological guidance? That’s just… bizarre…”

Jim McGowan says, “If CORE and NACL are the ‘last, great efforts to live out the promise of Lutheranism as a church on this continent’ then we are really in trouble.”

And on and on.

Unity or justice? Must we repeat history?

The two church leaders and longtime friends saw things differently. At the risk of their friendship, they openly opposed each other as they argued before the assembly.

One of them sensed that church unity was jeopardized, that the break from tradition that his friend proposed would splinter the church, that his friend’s radical views of justice and inclusivity were misguided. He was sure that his friend’s insistence upon full participation for those whose behavior insulted the norms of their religious tradition would offend and frighten the faithful core. It was not that his faction was unwelcoming–they merely asked that all obey the traditional understanding of God’s own law, affirmed by countless generations of God’s faithful. By refusing to conform, were not these radicals denying the very authority of God?

When his friend stubbornly insisted on full participation for those unwilling to follow the law, the fabric of the church was irreparably ripped apart. The hurtful words spoken by his once dear friend lingered long in the collective memory of his faction. Why, he dared to accuse them of hypocrisy and failing to act consistently with the truth of the gospel.

“How can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

His friend Paul spoke those words, but Peter and the faithful core persisted, remaining true to tradition and Torah. They would not break bread with unclean Gentiles. Peter was right about Paul’s inclusive agenda splintering the church. After this confrontation before the assembly–this incident in Antioch–the rift between the Torah-abiding traditionalists and the Torah-breaking, uncircumcised Gentiles became a gaping chasm.