Delegates who attended the recent biennial assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago opted to put off final action on a celibacy requirement for gay clergy until a special task force on sexuality releases its report in advance of the next assembly in 2009.
Current church rules ban non-celibate gay and lesbian ministers among the nearly five-million-member church body, the largest in North America, and the fifth largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.
Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, who was re-elected for a second six-year term during the five-day gathering in Chicago, was among those who said that the church should wait on the upcoming study, which he called a "social statement," before taking final action.
"The statement on human sexuality is intended to bring all of us into the conversation in the context of Scripture, our tradition and the context in which we live our lives to develop a bedrock social statement upon which then we will look at the policies and practices of this church and see whether they reflect that," Hanson said.
However, 22 of the ELCA's regional synods asked to revisit standards for gay clergy in Chicago, after the last Churchwide Assembly in 2005 voted to maintain rules that bar non-celibate gay clergy.
Following contentious debate, the assembly voted 538 to 431 to encourage the ELCA's synods, bishops and presiding bishop to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining" people and congregations who call qualified leaders on the professional rosters of the denomination "who are in a mutual, chaste and faithful, committed, same-gender relationship." The assembly also stated that the same restraint should pertain to the professional leaders who are on the official rosters and are in committed same-sex relationships.
On a related note, the more than one thousand voting members of the assembly also voted to postpone a decision on the blessing of same-sex unions until the 2009 statement is finished.
Some conservative groups within the church said, the disciplinary resolution that cleared the assembly contradicted church policy and provided a loophole for gay clergy to minister.
Lutheran CORE Chairman, Pastor Paull Spring, noted, "Some syndicated bishops will use this as an excuse to ordain people in same-sex relationships and to certify lay ministers, even though the ‘Vision and Expectations' and ‘Definitions and Guidelines' on ministry haven't changed. It's deceptive and lacks integrity.
The assembly spoke against making any changes now by referring the main resolution on ordaining practicing homosexuals to the human sexuality study task force. It's a shame that they opened this door allowing ordinations of persons in same-sex relationships," Spring said.
Likewise, WordAlone Network President, Jaynan England, added, "I don't know, as a Christian, as a pastor and as a parent, what really would be worse–a church with no Biblical standards to govern our ministry or standards we don't intend to enforce. To refrain from discipline in the home is bad parenting, but we're about to do so in Christ's Church.
Isn't this really a local option? Talk about introducing even more chaos to the ELCA's roster. Some bishops already are allowing people in same-sex relationships to serve. More may join them. But not all will look the other way, and still may discipline. This leaves the ELCA with inconsistent patterns of discipline and standards, and possibly increases the church's liability in legal cases involving sexual impropriety," England said.
Pastor Steve King of Maple Lake, Minnesota, with the Lutheran Churches of the Common Confession, (LC3) noted, "Lutheran Core and its supporters did a very good job in witnessing to the biblical faith, and making the argument for working with the whole church in its process. I was thankful for, and impressed by, the many faithful and orthodox Bishops who stood up to speak for sound deliberation and faithfulness to the Word. They deserve our respect. On the other hand, it was very disappointing to see revisionist Bishops actually lead the charge to violate church policy.
I honestly believe that people didn't realize they were voting for a resolution that had no limits whatsoever. In actual fact, the restraint resolution was addressed to all synods and bishops, it contained no time limit, and didn't even limit the restraint in the discipline to the particular case of same-sex relationships (ie. Instead of saying a pastor should not be disciplined for being in a same-sex relationship, it said a pastor in a same-sex relationship should not be disciplined–apparently for any offense).
There is no doubt that the wording of this resolution can, and will be, used to support much more than was imagined by many who voted for it. Revisionist synods and bishops will now consider themselves free to ‘stack the roster' as much as they can in the next two years and beyond," King said.
Also, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, with two-and-a-half million members, the second largest Lutheran body in North America, weighed in on the matter.
LCMS President, Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, expressed dismay over the resolution.
"News of this action troubles me greatly, and is causing serious concern and consternation among the members and leaders of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. We in the LCMS hold firmly to the conviction that, according to the Holy Bible, homosexual behavior is ‘intrinsically sinful.' We are deeply disappointed that the ELCA, by its decision, has failed to act in keeping with the historic and universal understanding of the Christian church regarding what Holy Scripture teaches about homosexual behavior as contrary to God's will, and about the biblical qualifications for holding the pastoral office.
The LCMS firmly believes that the sin of homosexual behavior, like every sin that fallen human beings commit, has been paid for in full by the life, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The LCMS also believes that we must continue to reach out in love to all people on the basis of what God's Word alone teaches about human sinfulness, God's grace in Christ, and the new life empowered by God's Holy Spirit.
I also pray that God the Holy Spirit will lead and guide all Christians and Christian denominations everywhere to seek wisdom and truth from God's inspired, inerrant, infallible Word on this and other critical issues in our contemporary church and culture," Kieschnick stated.
Groups seeking full inclusion in the ELCA praised the resolution.
A "great victory" is how Emily Eastwood, executive director of Lutherans Concerned/North America, responded to the disciplinary resolution.
"We've put the crack in the dam that will lead to policy change, and we've put a process in place whereby the church has mandated that there will be recommendations regarding the policy at the next Churchwide Assembly.
This church moved one giant step from the punitive rejection of partnered LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender) ministers to the willing tolerance of them. This is a great day for LGBT clergy who will walk into their pulpits knowing perhaps for the first time that this church values their gifts for ministry more than the policy that would exclude them. The church is on the road to acceptance. The end of exclusion is in sight. With this decision, the voting members signaled a desire for policy change, but the need for two more years to bring more of the church along.
And in the meantime, we've got the bleeding stopped so that hopefully we will have no more trials, and our pastors will continue to come out," Eastwood said.
Eastwood made reference to the case of the Rev. Bradley Schmeling, of St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, who was removed from the ELCA's list of rostered ministers in July after telling his bishops he is in a relationship with another man.
Also, Schmeling and more than 80 LGBT Lutheran clergy publicly opposed the celibacy requirement during the course of the Churchwide Assembly, in a move aimed at spurring the denomination to change the rule. For many of them, it was the first time they publicly acknowledged their involvement in same-sex relationships.
In the case of Schmeling, the congregation has kept him as their pastor, although his name will stay off the clergy list. Schmeling said, that would only present a problem if he seeks a job with another congregation, something he said he has no plans to do.
Bishop Ronald Warren, head of the ELCA's Southeastern Synod, has said he plans to take no further action against Schmeling or St. John's.
Following the vote, Schmeling told members of St. John's that the congregation had "given its gift" to the ELCA.
"The hard work, the struggle, has finally made a difference for years to come," Schmeling said.
Another clergyman who came forward was Rev. Robert Kriesat of New Jersey, who is now retired. "I've generally been very reluctant to press these issues–I am not confrontational. But I want to support the younger people who have their ministries in front of them and are not willing to live their life in a lie, or an assumed lie," Kriesat said.
Hanson, who is the 20-year- old ELCA's third presiding bishop, is also president of the 67 million member Lutheran World Federation, which is comprised of 140 member churches in 78 countries. Hanson said, he does not fear a split in the LWF over the gay clergy issue. "The Church of Sweden is in a very different place than the Mekane Yesus church in Ethiopia. Those differences should not become church-dividing or church-defining," Hanson said.
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