{"id":713,"date":"2010-03-24T08:16:03","date_gmt":"2010-03-24T15:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?page_id=713"},"modified":"2010-03-26T13:09:37","modified_gmt":"2010-03-26T20:09:37","slug":"the-core-chorus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?page_id=713","title":{"rendered":"The CORE Chorus"},"content":{"rendered":"

When CORE launches The North American Lutheran Church <\/em>(NALC) <\/em>in August 2010, will it require the threefold historic episcopate?[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

No, but note the chorus that will sing<\/strong> at this launching:[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Benne:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBishops will need to recover one of their primary duties \u2013 guardians<\/strong> of the faith. Bishops and theologians together must articulate, defend, and proclaim the \u201cfaith once delivered to the saints\u201d (\u201cWhy There Must Be New Beginnings,\u201d #2 at www.lutherancore.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cClosely related to these issues, Lutheran CORE\u2019s future ecclesial body must leave behind a flawed polity \u2026 that has prevented this aforementioned biblical and theological guidance from being exercised in the ELCA. From the beginning its structure has distanced bishops from that necessary guidance<\/strong>, \u2026 has never convened an ongoing council of biblical scholars and theologians to aid the bishops \u2026 and allowed a lay-dominated bi-annual assembly to vote on Christian doctrine\u201d (\u201cWhy There Must be New Beginnings,\u201d #3 at www.lutherancore.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Carl Braaten:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt hardly seems far-fetched for our Lutheran churches to respond favorably to the ecumenical call to restore the threefold order of ministry, into which persons would be ordained either as deacons, pastors, or bishops, according to the call of the church\u201d (The New Church Debate<\/em> [1983] 8).<\/p>\n

\u201cTo sum it up, why do I speak in favor of CCM and the adoption<\/strong> of the historic episcopate? The reason is that I believe that our Lutheran Confessional Writings, taken as a whole, pointing that direction. And I grant that such an interpretation is motivated by a deep desire to recover as many signs of apostolic continuity as possible\u201d (certus sermo<\/em>, [April 2000] 3).<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Hinlicky: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSo why are we editors, past and present, willing to endorse<\/strong> Called to Common Mission<\/em>? Because the revised Concordat <\/em>is not contrary to the scriptures, or Creeds, or our Lutheran Confessions.\u201d (Lutheran Forum<\/em> editorial signed by Ronald Bagnall, Leonard Klein, Paul Hinlicky, and Glenn Stone [Spring 1999] 8).<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert Jenson:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ordination is an \u201cefficacious sign,\u201d even a \u201csacrament,\u201d which imparts an \u201cindelible character\u201d (50). The ordained are integrated into apostolic succession through the laying on of hands. The fullness of ministry is exercised by bishops who stand \u201cin their own sacramentally qualified and significant succession, and [exercise] functions of episcope specific to them\u201d (61). The Episcopal office is an \u201cirreversible development<\/strong>,\u201d and \u201cthe divine right of the episcopate cannot be challenged by any principle of the Reformation\u201d (70-71) (Jenson, Unbaptized God,<\/em> 1992).<\/p>\n

Jim Nestingen:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNestingen looked like a stereotypical seminary professor\u2026.He would be a teaching bishop, he declared, leaving little doubt he thought some of the voting members could use it\u2026.He said he would \u2018accept succession<\/strong> through hands<\/strong>,\u2019 referring to the Called to Common Mission<\/em> requirement that Lutheran bishops now enter their office through the Episcopal understanding of apostolic succession\u201d (Forum Letter<\/em> [October 2001] 3).<\/p>\n

Paull Spring:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving studied the document Called to Common <\/em>Mission<\/em> <\/em>in depth, we wish to express our affirmation of and enthusiasm for the ecumenical advances to \u2018full communion\u2019 with The Episcopal Church USA that this document so carefully proposes.\u00a0 Additionally, we wish to express and record our vigorous support<\/strong> for this proposal (\u201cA Statement on Called to Common Mission<\/em>, by the Bishops of Region 8,<\/em> ELCA,\u201d March 4, 1999).<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> The NALC will be led by \u201ca bishop\u201d (12), and \u201cleaders of NALC will be conceived of as missionary bishops and missionary pastors\u201d (9).\u00a0 Only the bishop of NALC will install the next bishop-elect. \u201cPastors will normally be ordained by the bishop,\u201d although exceptions will be allowed if approved by the bishop (12). The bishop will ordain, or make \u201cprovision for ordination\u201d (12). \u201cThe bishop\u201d in consultation with others \u201cwill be responsible for submitting teaching statements and policies on church practice\u201d (12). All rostered clergy are delegates to the annual or biennial convocation (11). (Page numbers correlate to \u201cA Vision and Plan for the North American Lutheran Church,\u201d found at www.lutherancore.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>Fellow-travelers who have voiced support for CORE include but are not limited to the following:<\/p>\n

Michael Root:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should The Episcopal Church adopt \u2018Called to Common Mission\u2019 (CCM)? \u2026 Has the earlier agreement been fundamentally changed? No. The agreement at the core of the Concordat remains untouched. On the basis of a shared understanding of the gospel and of the apostolicity of the church, the two churches \u2018now make the following commitment to share<\/strong> an Episcopal succession that is both evangelical and historic. They promise to include regularly one or more bishops of the other church to participate in the laying-on-of-hands at the ordinations\/installations of their own bishops as a sign, though not a guarantee, of the unity and apostolic continuity of the whole church\u201d (The Living Church<\/em>, [June 11, 2000] 8).<\/p>\n

David Yeago:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be clear from this why evangelical catholics have no difficulty in accepting, and even positively desiring<\/strong>, the historic episcopate\u2026.And the historic episcopate is one important way in which the unity of the church has been manifested in most of the church\u2019s past history and much of its present reality\u2026. In this way, evangelical catholics regard the historic episcopate as a gift of God which we would gladly receive from the hands of our brothers and sisters in other communions\u201d (Theological Impasse and Ecclesial Future<\/em>, Lutheran Forum<\/em> [Advent 1992] 41).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ELCA has made a decision that, if the Episcopalians agree, the historic episcopate will become normative<\/strong> practice in this church\u201d (\u201cNot common ground, but sinking sand: a statement on the Milwaukee proposals,\u201d April 14, 2000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When CORE launches The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) in August 2010, will it require the threefold historic episcopate?[1] No, but note the chorus that will sing at this launching:[2] Robert Benne: \u201cBishops will need to recover one of their primary duties \u2013 guardians of the faith. Bishops and theologians together must articulate, defend, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-713","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":741,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/713\/revisions\/741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}