Official Workbook PDF page source text

2026 Convention Workbook

313LIFE TOGETHER

on Oct. 19, 2022, to tackle issues relevant to the Synod that, in their judgment, the pastors and leadership of the Synod were not addressing, leaving Mahler and Dumperth to function as the very stones who must cry out because the clergy are silent (Luke 19:40);

and

WHEREAS, The issues on which the pastors and leadership of the Synod are accused by the Stone Choir hosts of remaining silent include: the ostensible necessity of the reintroduction of racial segregation, the ostensible sinfulness of interracial marriage, the ostensibly pernicious nature of the Jewish race today, and the ostensibly fictitious nature of the Jewish Holocaust perpetrated by the National Socialists during World War II; and

WHEREAS, None of the Stone Choir’s positions on these aforementioned issues are taught in Holy Scripture, and indeed their positions on these issues cause great offense to many Christians of good will; and

WHEREAS, Stone Choir hosts Mahler and Dumperth are active on X, and Stone Choir listeners are likely to be influenced not only by what Mahler and Dumperth teach on the Stone Choir podcast, but also by what they post on X; and

WHEREAS, On X, Mahler and Dumperth, among other offensive behaviors, openly praise Adolf Hitler, call for the genocide or deportation of Jews, Muslims, and Blacks from the United States, and condemn as sin the practice of interracial marriage and adoption, causing great offense to Christian consciences; and

WHEREAS, Through their activity on the Stone Choir podcast and on X, Mahler and Dumperth have sought to associate confessional Lutheranism with devotion to Adolf Hitler, opposition to the Jewish race, and a desire for the segregation of Black people from “W hite society”; and

WHEREAS, Mahler and Dumperth have publicly denounced pastors of the Synod as either apostate or derelict , and on their podcast and on X have attempted to turn their listeners against their pastors; and

WHEREAS, Mahler is excommunicated and therefore under discipline and Dumperth is no longer a member of a congregation of the Synod and is therefore beyond the reach of church discipline, yet both continue to challenge the doctrine and teaching of the Synod; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention publicly condemn the teachings of the Stone Choir podcast and its hosts, for the offense they cause by their public devotion to Adolf Hitler, their stirring up of antipathy toward our Jewish and Black neighbors, their denunciation as sin of that which God has not called sin, and their open hostility toward the pastors and leadership of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That the laity of the Synod be warned against the Stone Choir podcast and its hosts, and that the pastors of the Synod be encouraged to admonish members of their congregations whose approval of such racist and anti-Semitic beliefs has become known;

and be it further

Resolved, That pastors and teachers of the Synod be encouraged to examine the teachings of the Stone Choir according to the norm of Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, demonstrating from these clear and firm testimonies how the Stone Choir is in error, an d acknowledging that these teachings violate the Fifth Commandment; and be it further

Resolved, That pastors and teachers of the Synod be encouraged to teach the truth of God’s Word that all human creatures of all nations, tribes, languages, and peoples are made in God’s image and redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that pastors and teachers would use Synod and district resources that promote the same; and be it finally

Resolved, That the 2026 Synod convention condemn the teachings of the Stone Choir podcast and its current hosts, and admonish pastors and teachers who promote them or their beliefs.

Michigan District

Ov. 4-21

To Condemn Anti-Semitism

WHEREAS, Scripture declares that God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26), and that God “shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34–35); and

WHEREAS, Jesus sends his church to declare the Gospel to all nations (εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, Mark 13:10) and to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them (Matt. 28:16–20), including ethnic Jews; and

WHEREAS, In light of international political controversies, especially related to the sad conflicts between Palestinians and Jews in Gaza since October 7, 2023, there has been increased attention on the Jewish people and their relationship to the land of Israel; and

WHEREAS, There is much confusion in churches today concerning the role of Israel in prophecy and the end times, especially as it relates to the necessity of the conversion of the Jews and the exclusivity of justification by faith in Christ; and

WHEREAS, There has been a similar rise in anti-Semitism within many political movements and online conversations in recent years, some more explicitly Christian than others; and

WHEREAS, Certain writings of Martin Luther have been cited in support of anti -Semitism, which has misled some into believing Lutheranism itself is anti-Semitic; and

WHEREAS, The Synod in convention has clearly denounced racism of all sorts (2023 Res. 11-02A; 2019 Res. 11-04A; 1992 Res.

3-03; 1981 Res. 8 -07), but specifically anti- Semitism, stating that

“we condemn any and all discrimination against others on account of race or religion” and “disassociate ourselves from Luther’s negative statements about the Jewish people” (1983 Res. 3-09, “To Clarify Position on Anti-Semitism”); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention reaffirm its opposition to racism of any sort, and to anti -Semitism as a particular kind of racism; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod confess that salvation comes solely to those who are justified by faith and confess Jesus as Lord; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod direct responsible entities, such as the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, Concordia Publishing House, the seminaries, among others, to provide resources to better explain the relationship between the Church and modern-day Israel.

Board of Directors, Minnesota South District;

Circuit 2 (St. Paul Metro), Minnesota South District;

Circuit 9 (Decatur), Indiana District