To Reaffirm, Enforce, and Restore Faithful Eucharistic Practice and Synodical Discipline concerning Unionism and Open Communion

Ov. 5-17

To Reaffirm, Enforce, and Restore Faithful Eucharistic Practice and Synodical Discipline concerning Unionism and Open Communion

WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures teach that pastors are stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1), charged to watch over souls as those who must give an account (Heb. 13:17), and are commanded to warn, instruct, examine, and withhold the Sacrament when necessary for the good of souls (1 Cor. 11:27– 29; Ezek. 3:17 –21;

Titus 1:7–9); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions explicitly teach and confess that the Sacrament of the Altar is to be given only to those who have been instructed, examined, and absolved, and that admission to the Sacrament belongs to the pastoral office and not to individual self-determination (AC XXIV; XXV; Ap XXIV; SA III VIII; LC V); and

WHEREAS, The writers of the Lutheran Confessions understood instruction and examination for admission to the Lord’s Supper as concrete, pastoral acts involving personal request for the Sacrament, confession of faith, catechetical understanding, repentance, and inquiry into life and conduct, as articulated by Martin Luther, who taught that the Sacrament is not to be given indiscriminately, but only after prior examination regarding what the communicant has learned from the catechism and whether he intends to forsak e sin, lest Christ’s Church be treated as a common trough rather than guarded as the communion of saints (Martin Luther, “An Open Letter to Those in Frankfurt on the Main, 1533,” in Closed Communion?, John T. Pless and Matthew C. Harrison, eds. [CPH, 2017], 14; Luther’s Works, 40:292–293; 53:32–34); and

WHEREAS, The Constitution requires the renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description as a condition of acquiring and holding membership in the Synod (Const. Art. VI), and mandates the removal of members who persistently violate these conditions after repeated admonition (Const. Art. XIII); and

WHEREAS, The President of the Synod and the district presidents are constitutionally charged with ecclesiastical supervision, including the duty to admonish, reprove, and, when admonition fails, to report and initiate disciplinary action against those who depart from the Synod’s confession and conditions of membership (Const. Art. XI, XII; Bylaw section 2.14); and

WHEREAS, The practice commonly referred to as “functionally open communion,” as defined by Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann, professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary, occurs when “the determination of who is an appropriate recipient (and not merely a ‘worthy’ recipient) of the Lord’s Supper is left exclusively in the hands of the individual contemplating eating and drinking, and when the church’s concern is limited to an individual’s worthiness without further consideration of that person’s confession,” such that professed adherence to closed communion is rendered meaningless by actual practice (Joel D. Biermann, “Step Up to the Altar:

Thinking about the Theology and Practice of the Lord’s Supper,” Concordia Theological Quarterly 72 no. 2 [2008]: 153); and

WHEREAS, A substantial number of congregations and pastors within the Synod currently practice open communion in its explicit or functional forms, thereby permitting participation in the Sacrament without pastoral determination of doctrinal unity, instruction, ex amination, confession, and absolution, in direct contradiction to the Synod’s confession and constitutional commitments; and

WHEREAS, Such practices constitute a form of unionism in sacramental practice, place communicants in spiritual danger, undermine pastoral responsibility, erode doctrinal unity, and contradict the Synod’s stated confession while being widely tolerated in practice; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention reaffirm that the practice commonly known as open communion, including functionally open communion, is incompatible with Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the conditions of membership in the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod direct the President of the Synod and the Council of Presidents (COP) to enforce the existing constitutional and bylaw provisions concerning unionism and sacramental practice, particularly Constitution Articles VI and XIII and Bylaw sectio n 2.14, without exception or partiality; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod require the President of the Synod and the district presidents to initiate formal ecclesiastical supervision and admonition in cases where congregations or pastors persistently practice open communion in any form, following the procedures already established in the Bylaws; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod direct that where such admonition is rejected and the offending congregation or pastor refuses to publicly renounce open communion, the appropriate disciplinary steps — including suspension or expulsion from Synod membership—be carried out in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod direct the President of the Synod and the COP to come to the aid of any pastor who is opposed, disciplined, threatened, harassed, removed, or otherwise mistreated by his congregation for faithfully administering the Lord’s Supper according to Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Synod’s doctrine and practice of closed communion; and be it further

Resolved, That where a congregation persists in resisting, punishing, or mistreating a pastor for insisting upon faithful Eucharistic practice after admonition and instruction, the Synod require the appropriate district president, under the supervision of the President of the Synod, to exercise ecclesiastical supervision and discipline toward that congregation, up to and including suspension or expulsion from Synod membership, in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod instruct the COP, in cooperation with the Commission on Theology and Church Relations and other appropriate synodical entities, to develop and disseminate clear guidance and catechetical resources to assist congregations and pastors in res toring faithful Eucharistic practice, including instruction, examination, confession, absolution, and pastoral care of communicants as confessed in the Lutheran Symbols; and be it further

Resolved, That such resources emphasize the pastoral responsibility for admission to the Sacrament, the proper distinction between worthiness and unity of confession, and the evangelical purpose of church discipline as care for souls and preservation of the Gospel; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod call upon all congregations and pastors to repent of practices that contradict our confession, to receive correction in humility, and to labor together toward genuine unity of doctrine and practice for the sake of Christ’s Church and the salvation of souls; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod remind all member congregations and individual members that according to Bylaw 1.3.4.1, “ Members agree to uphold the confessional position of the Synod (Constitution Art. II) and to assist in carrying out the objectives of the Synod (Constitution Art. III), which are objectives of the members themselves. While congregations of the Synod are self -governing (Constitution Art. VII), they, and also individual members, commit themselves as members of the Synod to act in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod under which they have agreed to live and work together and which the congregations alone have the authority to adopt or amend through conventions.”

St. Thomas Magnolia, TX