“Navigating a Course for the ...

“Navigating a Course for the Good Ship Missouri”

Rev. John C. Wohlrabe, Jr., Th.D.

Captain, US Navy

There is an old sea story—one I’ve often heard in the course of my 25 years as a Navy chaplain—involving the Skipper of a U.S. Navy battleship who, one dark and dreary night long before radar and our current GPS system, ordered the Officer of the Deck and the ship’s helmsman to set a new course. Suddenly a report came down from the signal bridge: “navigational light directly ahead intersecting our heading.” The Captain quickly instructed the signalman to flash a message for the oncoming vessel to change course. Shortly, the signalman informed the Commanding Officer that the contact responded by directing them to change course. In a huff, the senior officer ordered the signalman to send a message stating: “This is Captain John Paul Jones VI of the United States Navy ordering you to change course.” The response from the other contact came quickly: “This is Petty Officer Third Class Simon Schmuckatelly of the U.S. Coast Guard telling you to change course.” Well, you could see the Captain’s face redden, even on the dimly lit bridge of the ship. He shouted, “You tell that blasted ‘Coasty’ that this is a United States Navy battleship, and if he doesn’t change course I’ll see that he is court-martialed and confined to the brig on bread and water, after we fish him out of the briny deep.” The message came back: “Please inform the Navy Captain that, with all due respect, this is a U.S. Coast Guard Light House, and if he continues on his present course, he is going to crash his U.S. Navy battleship onto the rocks, running aground. Then we’ll see who’s court-martialed!”

Of course, like many sea stories, this one is undoubtedly apocryphal. However, also like many sea stories, there are valid and practical lessons that can be learned as applications are made to real life situations.

If we can compare The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to a ship, whether that’s a combatant, merchant or luxury vessel, then we must acknowledge that the good ship Missouri (which does sound like a battleship, doesn’t it?) has changed course; she is heading away from proclaiming the pure, sweet Gospel of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; and I believe that she is now steering toward rocky shoals and possible destruction if she continues in this current direction. We need to return our ship to her original course, that set by our founding fathers and which was maintained for over a century of her history; the course that is clearly articulated in our Synod’s Constitution.

In saying that, please understand that my overall concern about the heading of the good ship Missouri is not as much that she is abandoning her constitution, but that, in doing so, she is heading away from Christ. There are four areas that need to be considered in returning the good ship Missouri to a direction that avoids destructive rocks, reefs, shoals, and other sailing hazards. They concern concordia or unity of doctrine and practice, mission focus, the Office of the Holy Ministry, and synodical polity or government.

1. Conserve and Promote Unity of Doctrine and Practice

A primary purpose for the forming of a synod or a “walking together” of Christian congregations is to “conserve and promote the unity of the true faith” according to Ephesians 4:3-6 and 1 Corinthians 1:10, as articulated in Article III, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. This conservation and promotion of unity is based on an unreserved acceptance of the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and practice, as well as all the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, as maintained in Article II of our Synod’s Constitution. According to our synodical Constitution, this is done through several means, including the strengthening of congregations and assisting them in extending their Gospel witness into all the world, or missions, recruiting and training of pastors, teachers, and other church workers, aiding congregations to develop processes of thorough Christian education, providing resources to recognize, promote, express, conserve and defend their confessional unity, and encouraging congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice. (Article III, 2-7).

To apply our nautical analogy, the course and objectives for the crew of the good ship Missouri have been established on the foundation of Holy Scripture as God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions as a correct exposition Scripture. This foundation is vital because God’s Word and our Confessions direct us to Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is salvation in no other name. The Scriptures and our Confessions norm what we believe, teach and confess about Jesus.

The course and objectives for the Synod are well defined and articulated in the Synod’s Constitution – to maintain unity of doctrine and practice through the strengthening of congregations and mission work, the training of pastors and other church workers, and Christian education within our congregations. We all should be clear in our understanding of this direction. However, in the event that we are not, the Constitution defines the Synod’s direction even further by way of Conditions for Members, similar to the oath of enlistment or commissioning for the U.S. military based on the U.S. Constitution, regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The conditions for membership in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod include unconditional acceptance of the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions as a correct exposition of the doctrines in Scripture, renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description, regular call of pastors, teachers and other church workers, and exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and catechisms in church and school (Article VI Conditions of Membership).

Unfortunately, the good ship Missouri has diverted from this course over the past several years. A number of issues have divided the crew, including disagreements over the understanding and practice of fellowship, specifically the renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description and the practice of close communion, disagreement over the Scriptures as the inspired, inerrant Word of God, disregard of our confessional position on the regular call of pastors, teachers and other church workers, and the exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks and catechisms in our congregations. Sadly, instead of encouraging unity in these areas, some in our synodical leadership have set their own course and encouraged disregard and disunity, including the practice of open communion and the use of unscriptural, human-centered worship resources and educational materials in our congregations, as well as the authorization and participation of church leaders in public worship events involving people of other confessions and even non-Christians. Brothers and sisters in Christ, these things should not be! Such practices together with the disunity they foment divert us from focusing on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Such practices can cause us to cloud the sweet message of the Gospel in a fog of human sentiment so that we lose our bearing.

With all due respect, I am signaling the good ship Missouri that she needs to get back on the course that has been set and established in our Constitution, and to which we have all been pledged. This can be done only with leadership that is intent on maintaining the original course of the Missouri Synod and intent on providing sound, Scriptural and Confessional resources for our pastors to educate or catechize the members in our congregations. It can only be done with synodical leadership that will uphold our pledge in the conducting of their offices and in their ecclesiastical supervision of others.

2. Return to a Mission Emphasis That Is Congregationally Focused

The second objective of our synodical Constitution, coming immediately after conserving and promoting unity in doctrine and practice, is to “strengthen congregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that Gospel witness into all the world.” (Article III, 2) Since the original sixteen congregations and pastors joined together in 1847 to form the church body we now call The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, mission outreach has been an integral aspect of our Synod’s course. If doctrinal integrity is our longitudinal direction, then one might say that mission outreach is the latitudinal direction. In gratitude for God’s love poured out upon us in Jesus Christ, we should be eager to share this Good News with others.

In line with our doctrine of church and ministry, mission outreach has always been closely linked with either existing congregations or the establishment of new congregations. Individual believers need to be connected to a congregation where God’s Word is purely proclaimed and the Sacraments are rightly administered. Through these Means of Grace, the Holy Spirit connects us and others to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

In the early history of the Missouri Synod, growth took place by established congregations initiating preaching stations in their general area of the frontier. Those preaching stations grew and then became established congregations, calling their own pastors so that the Word could be proclaimed and the Sacraments administered in their midst. The first Missouri Synod congregation in St. Louis, Trinity Lutheran Church in the Soulard area, branched out to establish Holy Cross, Immanuel, and Zion Lutheran congregations. Similar “church planting” happened across the frontier. To be sure, lay people were taught and equipped to bear witness to their faith in Jesus Christ as they fulfilled their vocations in their day-to-day lives. However, this was always in association with inviting others into our Lutheran congregations. Similarly, when foreign missionaries were eventually sent to India, China, and then to other countries, the missionaries were ordained pastors who established Lutheran congregations which eventually called their own pastors, including indigenous pastors trained in their own seminaries.

Unfortunately, we have departed from this course in our mission emphasis. Current synodical programs focus on individuals and number of contacts. At home, individual congregants are encouraged to share their faith with others and then record their successful encounters so that a certain number of successful contacts can be reached by a specific date. Yet, little is said about connecting individuals to congregations. Also, as congregations grow, little emphasis is given to establishing preaching stations or mission outposts in outlying or growing areas. If and when such mission planting is done, it is more often a district coordinated endeavor, not through established congregations within the districts in the area that the mission is to be started. Similarly, overseas missions are now also focused on individual contacts instead of establishing orthodox Lutheran congregations. Missionaries are no longer ordained clergy. Now, the wives of pastors who are sent as missionaries as well as teachers of the English language are classified as missionaries. Despite this “juggling” and “redefining”, the number of LCMS missionaries has been on a steady decline.

One must ask, with all this emphasis on individual witnessing and individual contacts, in what way are we connecting individuals to the Body of Christ where their faith can be nourished through the Means of Grace? With all due respect, I am signaling the good ship Missouri that she needs to get back on her true and proper course where Lutheran congregations are intricately connected with our mission focus.

3. Renew Emphasis on the Office of the Holy Ministry

Thus far, we have been discussing the course of the good ship Missouri. It is also important to talk about something that has an indirect bearing on the ship’s course, what might be identified as personnel issues. Specifically, I am referring to issues that relate to the doctrine of the ministry. The Lutheran Confessions are very clear about who should serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry or the Pastoral Office: “It is taught among us that nobody should publicly teach or preach or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call” (Augustana XIV). Over the past fifteen years, greater confusion has crept into our understanding of the Office of the Holy Ministry through the establishment of churchly offices such as lay ministers, which ignore or negate this clearly articulated confessional understanding of the Office of the Holy Ministry. Either someone is qualified to serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry to preach and administer the Sacraments and called to such, or they are not. There can be no other understanding of Augsburg Confession Article XIV. Additionally, alternate programs for training pastors have been recommended apart from our established seminaries, programs which seem to deemphasize theological training while emphasizing mentorship in congregations that are primarily focused on church growth programs. Such church growth programs stress adding numbers to congregations through various humanly devised programs instead of emphasizing the God-established means by which the Holy Spirit has promised to work – namely through THE Means of Grace: God’s Word and Sacraments. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, these things should not be! If the primary focus of church growth is upon programs that “meet people’s felt needs,” then justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ may well be left in Missouri’s wake. The lost will not hear the saving Word on this new course that Missouri is following.

Concurrently, the Divine Calls of pastors, parochial school teachers, and other church workers have been abrogated by some congregations, leaving these rightly called and highly trained professionals destitute. On the other hand, there have been pastors who have misled their congregations regarding church practice through a domineering attitude causing the sheep, the congregational members, to scatter or divide. Under Article III of the Synod’s Constitution, there are two objectives that are not currently being upheld uniformly throughout the Synod:

8. Provide evangelical supervision, counsel, and care for pastors, teachers, and other professional church workers of the Synod in the performance of their official duties;

9. Provide protection for congregations, pastors, teachers, and other church workers in the performance of their official duties and the maintenance of their rights;

These objectives of the Synod’s Constitution require renewed attention.

Further confusing the issue, as well as dividing and demoralizing the crew, is the vacillating position our Synod has taken at its last convention on the role of women in congregational offices (LCMS 2004 Convention Resolution 3-08A). Previously (see, for example, 1969 Resolution 2-17), the Synod had employed two criteria to determine whether women could serve in various lay congregational offices such as elder or president of a congregation without violating Scripture (1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:11-14): by serving in a given office, does a woman do things that only pastors should be doing; and might a woman be violating the order of creation by serving in certain congregational offices? Now, under Resolution 3-08A adopted at the 2004 synodical convention, the scripturally established order of creation is ignored. Further, despite the directive that women should not serve in offices that involve things that only pastors should be doing, including assisting with the distribution of Holy Communion, “reading” sermons in the absence of a pastor, and leading worship, there are congregations in the Missouri Synod that have women elders and presidents who are doing these very things.

With all due respect, I am signaling the good ship Missouri that the current leadership is not properly caring for her crew according to the established Constitution of the Synod. Furthermore, they are dividing and demoralizing the crew by permitting unscriptural practices to occur within our congregations. Resolution 3-08A from the 2004 Synodical Convention needs to be rescinded and a uniform practice regarding the role of women in congregational offices needs to be maintained. Ecclesiastical supervisors need to mentor pastors and other church workers under their care evangelically through regular visits so that those church workers, particularly those new to their positions, do not inadvertently misuse their offices. Meanwhile, ecclesiastical supervisors should strictly uphold the divine calls of church workers when congregations seek to remove them improperly, even if that involves disciplining or removing the congregation. Furthermore, we should study the retention and attrition rates of our pastors and teachers, and then implement measures to better retain our faithful church workers, including implementing efforts so that our church workers receive salaries adequate to support themselves and their families.

As articulated by our Synod’s first president, C.F.W. Walther, there should be a reemphasis on the pastoral office as the highest office in the church. By the pastoral office, I mean one who is serving as the pastor of a congregation or a missionary involved in Word and Sacrament ministry. This would involve a de-emphasis on district and synodical offices, possibly establishing term limits and salary caps for these positions, and requiring that ordained ministers serving in such bureaucratic positions also have some ministerial connection to a local congregation (assistant or associate pastor -- such as was done in the Missouri Synod into the 1950s). With all due respect, I am signaling the good ship Missouri that she needs to get back on her true course with a renewed emphasis on the office of the holy ministry.

4. Return to a Democratic Synodical Polity

The polity or government of a ship at sea, regardless of whether it is a combatant, merchant, or luxury vessel, is strictly hierarchical. Because of the dangers faced and the quick responses required in emergent and even routine maneuvers, there must be a direct chain of command with orders followed promptly without question. Here is where our ship analogy breaks down somewhat, although even a ship’s captain is responsible to a commodore, admiral or some higher authority. In addition, even the lowest seaman recruit has proper recourse up the chain of command, even beyond the ship’s commanding officer.

The polity or government of the Synod has not been hierarchical since the Synod was founded in 1847. Because of issues involving the doctrine of church and ministry that developed amongst the original immigrants that formed the Synod, together with their interaction with other Lutheran church bodies in America and Germany, it was determined to initiate a democratic polity for the Missouri Synod. It was recognized that a specific form of church government is not prescribed in Scripture, and so it was decided where the church is independent of the state in a country that has a democratic form of government, a democratic polity that includes both clergy and laity seems most reasonable for the Synod. Yet, a system resting upon the vote of one pastoral and one lay delegate from each congregation at district conventions and one pastoral and one lay delegate from each circuit at synodical conventions also provides a balance between laity and clergy, between church and ministry. It provides both pastors and lay people the opportunity to sit on ecclesiastical courts, particularly since all disciplinary cases prior to 1965 were handled at conventions. After 1965, various other forms of adjudication courts or dispute resolution panels were utilized. Even so, until 2004, both pastors and lay people were elected to serve on these courts and panels so that a balance was maintained.

Since 2001, several changes have occurred within our synodical government, which have moved us in a hierarchical direction where control rests more and more with the synodical and district presidents. Checks and balances have been removed. For example, the synodical president currently appoints the members to the Commission on Constitutional Matters, a commission which determines whether an issue is in accordance with our synodical constitution. The synodical president also appoints members for the various floor committees that determine whether or not resolutions submitted by congregations, circuits and districts go before a convention to be considered by the delegates. This presents an incredible conflict of interest and a means by which one man can manipulate and dominate the government of the Synod. Also, when a synodical president is allowed to grant unlimited exceptions in order to create new circuits, which then creates additional delegates for a synodical convention, this too presents a horrific conflict of interest and the means for maintaining control of the office.

Further course change toward a hierarchical synodical government took place at the last synodical convention when Resolution 8.01a created a judicial system that is dominated by the district presidents. Not only do district presidents alone judge cases requiring ecclesiastical adjudication, but Resolution 8.01a declares that rulings made by the Commission on Constitutional Matters and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations at the behest of the district presidents in judicial cases are to be considered binding and irrevocable.

With all due respect, I am signaling the good ship Missouri that she needs to get back on her true course by reestablishing a judicial system that includes both lay and clergy judges, which are elected at district and synodical conventions. In changing this system the Commission on Constitutional Matters and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations should be considered merely advisory and not ultimate tribunals in judicial cases. Furthermore, positions on these two commissions should be posts that are elected by synodical convention and not appointed by the synodical president. Similarly, membership on floor committees for synodical conventions should be decided in an equitable, balanced way instead of being appointed by the president of the Synod. Systems of checks and balances need to be reestablished throughout our synodical government.

In addition, something should be done with regard to the ballooning bureaucracy in the Synod. A review must be conducted in order to trim synodical and district bureaucracies so as to eliminate the duplication of efforts and redirect the focus of Synod, including the redistribution of synodical funds into the Synod's two primary areas of purpose: training of pastors and other church workers and mission endeavors. As noted earlier, to aid in this effort, district and synodical elected positions should have term limits and salary caps so that pay for these positions is not disproportionate to that of our parish pastors.

Conclusion

Perhaps you’ve noticed, but in case you haven’t, I direct your attention to the fact that this “Petty Officer” in the lighthouse has not, with all due respect, directed his comments and recommendations to the current synodical leadership. These points are not new to me, and they have been made numerous times by many confessional members of our crew to our current officers aboard the good ship Missouri. Still, there has been no change in course. Rather, I direct these comments and recommendations to you, the ones to whom our senior leadership on the ship is responsible. For under God’s guidance, you have the ability to change the direction of our synodical vessel and return her to her original course. You have that ability by carefully studying the theological issues facing our Synod. I encourage you to search the Scriptures and our Confessions in relation to these issues. You have that ability by encouraging your delegates to the next synodical convention to elect confessional candidates who teach and practice in accord with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, and who will return our Synod to its original heading. You have that ability by encouraging your delegates to the next synodical convention to adopt resolutions that are in accord with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, and vote down those resolutions that are not.

Still, it is important to remember that The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a human organization developed to help Christian congregations remain united in doctrine and practice, educate and train pastors and other church workers, and carry out missions. That is the Synod’s proper course. As to the limits of a synodical organization, I think Herman Sasse said it best:

We all know that a good administration of the church is necessary . . . But the danger exists that what should be a means to an end becomes an end in itself. Here lies one of the deepest reasons for the crisis of the Christian ministry and of the crises through which all churches are going today. It is in vain to hope that this crisis will be solved by the big organizations of our time, on the “ecumenical” or “denominational” level. For they have no divinely given authority and no divine promise. But the divine promise is given to the Christian congregation gathered around the Word and the Sacraments. It has the promise that the Lord will be in their midst. And the divine promise is given to the faithful pastors who preach in all sincerity the unadulterated Word of the Gospel, the prophetic and apostolic Word of God in the Old and New Testament. To them the great promise is given that the Word that goes forth from God’s mouth “shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I propose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Is. 55:11). (Hermann Sasse, The Lonely Way, Vol. 2 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2002), p. 372.)

So far I’ve referred to our church body as “the good ship Missouri.” But as a sailor (and historian), I’m keenly aware of another vessel by the same name: the USS Missouri (BB 63), known to all as the “Mighty Mo.” This Iowa-class battleship, the last one ever built by the United States, saw action in WWII at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On April 11, 1945, she was struck by a kamikaze plane but sustained minimal damage. History records that on September 2, 1945, the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on the deck of the Missouri, bringing WWII to a close. After serving in the Korean War, the Mighty Mo was de-commissioned and mothballed. But she was later refitted and saw action again in the 1991 Gulf War. Are there parallels for our good ship Missouri? Certainly we are in the midst of a battle. We’ve been hit by the enemy but not sunk. Our ship can yet be a place where peace is made, though not by compromise. And though the ship may seem to some to be old, you can never count her out of the action.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).

Soli Deo Gloria