In the classic movie, Casablanca, the Claude Rains character speaks the immortal line, “I’m shocked … SHOCKED to see that there’s gambling going on in this establishment … Round up the usual suspects.” Of course, the humor lies in the fact that the character was not surprised at all, a point made when the croupier handed him his winnings.
For those who have been listening to the incendiary rhetoric of Lutheran Core, it comes as no surprise that they have announced the formation of a new Lutheran denomination.
Leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) have voted to begin work on a proposal for a new Lutheran church body for those who choose to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, they announced Wednesday, Nov. 18.
The proposed new church body is intended to provide a place for congregations that desire a more traditional denominational structure.
And, the announcement comes with CORE’s typical judgmental, self-righteous, self-congratulatory tone of voice:
We are not leaving the ELCA. The ELCA has left us. 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.
And, with big elephant tears that barely mask their glee:
We grieve that it has become necessary for so many to leave the ELCA.
If they are truly saddened by ELCA defections, why has CORE been the rabble-rousing cheerleader?
Nor is it surprising that the announcement should come from the offices of the WordAlone Network, the conservative group that has been an ELCA irritant for over a decade, formed initially to resist the ELCA’s ecumenical agreement with the Episcopal Church. For many, the decisions at the 2009 ELCA assembly are merely the occasion to press long-standing anti-ELCA resentments.
CORE’s press release favorably mentions Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), a loose affiliation of congregations that is something less than a denomination. “Lutheran CORE has been in conversation with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ …and will continue to work closely with LCMC,” states the CORE press release. LCMC’s website includes a list of seminaries from which their congregations may seek Pastors, but they are mostly Baptist or non-denominational! So much for maintaining a purer stream of Lutheranism.
Pretty Good Lutherans blog has a post with links to numerous newspaper articles about the CORE press release. One of the comments to the post offered the following insight:
Lutheran CORE said that it would wait a year to make any decision about leaving the ELCA (see their Sept 26 press release). Clearly they’ve been moving in this direction, but accelerating their formal plans for creating a new denomination, and abandoning their own calls for a deliberative, slow, cautious move, is a rather swift change in policy. Though surely a lot of trust was already broken between Lutheran CORE and those of us committed to staying in the ELCA, this breach of their own self-imposed commitment to wait one year surely doesn’t give any reason for those who are suspicious of Lutheran CORE to believe a word that they say.
Round up the usual suspects.
There has been something phony all along about the hand-wringing distress over the August churchwide assembly and this lament “The ELCA has left us” exposes it. Most if not all the congregations preparing to leave have been on the ELCA’s fringes from its inception. Why not just be honest and say, “We never belonged here in the first place”? It would be honest and eliminate the need to demonize the other side in a simple but fundamental disagreement. (More of my take here: http://cyberspiritcafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/elca-has-left-us-not-exactly-ctd.html.)
Why does this phrase keep entering my mind…”don’t let the door hit you in the back on the way out”….?
don’t worry – I’ll lock up.
Your sarcasm is distasteful and unnecessary. Your assumption that any of us who are devastated by the decisions made by the ELCA are some how impulsive in our decisions or that we had been hoping for an opportunity to split the church is not only hurtful, but wrong. I am a life-long Lutheran and it is both my heritage and faith custom. I am still working toward a decision as to what my response will be. Among other things, I am still feeling sad, hurt, angry, and frustrated that our CWA has made decisions which could only lead to disharmony and schism in the ELCA. If or when I leave the ELCA, the decision will not be made lightly. The current comments posted show how hateful my own church members have become over this issue. There will be no glee in my eye behind my elephant tears – my tears are genuine.
@Allison F
If you will read my post more closely, you will note that my sarcasm is directed at the CORE leadership and their comments and their attitude. If you are not one who subscribes to or passes along their hurtful comments about those of us who choose to support the ELCA (unBiblical, unchurched, the ELCA has left us, etc.), then my sarcasm was not meant for you.
Oh no! Not that! Even our ELCA seminaries have many faculty that are not “Lutheran”. I had classes from Presbyterians, Methodists, and even a Catholic at Luther Seminary. It is still possible to get a great theological education with a strong Lutheran framework from a variety of institutions…Princeton, Fuller, Bethel, etc. Bethel has a high number of Lutheran students attending, and they are able to take Lutheran Confessions classes at Luther. And Obie, I thought you would realize something in regard to Baptists…we’re on the same team!
@Zach Thompson
I’m certainly not against cross-fertilization of religious traditions. My own post graduate theological studies were with the Benedictines at St John’s School of Theology in Mn. No, my criticism stems from the call for a return to “confessional Lutheranism” but as taught by the Baptists?? I find the irony curious.
I read your post several times before I commented. I am not a frequent poster (can count on one hand…) and so was not impulsive in my response to your post. As it happens, I do share some of the beliefs expressed by the CORE group. I have not spent my energy calling names and believe that you are feeling somewhat defensive because you can’t justify arguing the valid points they are making. Ultimately I would ask you if there is room for sarcasm directed at anybody if what you want is to love others and keep the church united.
Speaking of which, just wondering if other Christians are actually Christians in your eyes? Is there only room in our Father’s house for the ELCA Lutherans? Maybe we need to quit drawing lines to keep others out and find ways to include all of God’s children. This does not mean soften God’s commands to mere suggestions to make people feel better about their behavior. Jesus loves us as we are, and loves us too much to leave us unchanged after encountering him. I’m just thinking that for folks who preach so much about love and grace there is so much disdain being thrown around. I don’t care if you believe they called names first – it gets us nowhere good to respond to evil with evil and it is also written that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. NOT do unto others as they have done to you!
In anticipation of your response – yes, when I am sinning, I expect my brothers and sisters in Christ to hold me accountable. It is loving and Biblical to do so. Sometimes (often?) scripture calls us to an uncomfortable place – a place where we have to admit we fall short and need our Saviour. And as you know, we ALL fall short and desperately need saving. Being aware of our sin is required to bring life. Only once it is exposed are we then ready for relationship.
@Allison F
“you can’t justify arguing the valid points they are making.”
I have spent many months attempting to argue that the points CORE is making are not valid.
“Is there only room in our Father’s house for the ELCA Lutherans?”
Of course not, and to suggest that I claim so is to seriously misread my posts. We have not said, “leave, there is no room for such as you in our church.” To the contrary, the CORE types are leaving because there is no room in their church for such as us. Do you not see that is the implicit message of schism?
“This does not mean soften God’s commands to mere suggestions to make people feel better about their behavior.”
Again, a gross misunderstanding of our position. We believe that Jesus calls us to a higher righteousness based on the command to love the neighbor, or as the prophet Micah said, “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” We make no suggestion to soften or disregard the law; however, we have serious disagreement as to what the law is or means in many instances.
To judge others, or to “hold accountable” as you suggest, would seem to run counter to Matthew 7:3 “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”
I’m sure you are a well meaning person and serious about your faith and your relationship with God. I do not question your faith or that of the CORE leadership; I do have serious disagreement with their Biblical interpretations and the consequences that flow therefrom .
Why don’t you leave Lutheran CORE alone? After all, you win. You have the whole ELCA to yourself. It’s yours– take ‘er away. You’ve gotten rid of all those nasty traditionalists who were holding the ELCA back. Now there’s nothing standing in your way. Onward! Upward! Congratulations!
Why is CORE such a threat to you? Is it because all you got was an empty shell– a little dying sect? CORE, on the other hand, will continue to uphold the catholic faith of confessional Lutherans and grow into a great Church. The ELCA will just get smaller and smaller until finally it will die out like Gnosticism and Arianism. For those of you who don’t know–those are heresies.
@Jack
Welcome to the discussion, but please note you are commenting on a post that appeared November 20th. When spokespersons for CORE, WordAlone, and LCMC bash the ELCA, I will continue to respond. Note my post appearing this week in response to the rant of the WordAlone President. Perhaps a better question is why those who are leaving the ELCA continue to be obsessed with a church body they no longer belong to. You’re pretty bold to suggest that CORE will ultimately represent Lutheranism while the ELCA will die out in light of the whopping 200-300 congregations that have left the ELCA to date compared to the 10,000 plus that remain.
@Jack
Oh,oh Jack, I think you just used a dirty word “catholic”. Our LCMC pastor changed the Apostles Creed back to “Christian” as one of his first acts to restore Confessional Lutheranism .