CORE Voice Newsletter, Issue 6, November 2020 |
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In This Issue
- Three tributes to Bp. Emeritus Paull Spring
- What has the ELCA been reaping?
- Exactly what is heresy?
- Who needs the doctor?
- Darkness and Light
- Anxiety amidst the pandemic
- Confessional Videos
Scroll Down for More
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Thanking God for the Life and Memory of Bishop Paull Spring |
Lutheran CORE owes a great debt of deep gratitude to Bishop Paull Spring. Bishop Spring played a major role in the formation of Lutheran CORE in the fall of 2005. He had the connections, the relationships, and the credibility to bring together a group of people, many of whom had served in significant positions of leadership in the church. These were people who agreed on the authority of the Bible and the traditional Biblical view of human sexuality and marriage and were deeply concerned about the direction of the ELCA. He then served as chairperson of the newly formed Lutheran Coalition for Reform (CORE) until the time of the formation of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). Every new movement needs a primary catalyst. He was that catalyst.
While thanking God for the life, ministry, and memory of Bishop Paull Spring, I also want to thank two former leaders of Lutheran CORE who have written tributes to Bishop Spring. Pastor Paul Ulring is another one of those people who had the connections, relationships, and credibility to bring together a group of people to form and support Lutheran CORE. He served on the steering committee and as moderator of the steering committee for many years. Pastor Steve Shipman is my predecessor as executive director of Lutheran CORE. He is one of those people who knows everyone. Whenever I have needed to have the name of and contact information for someone who would know something, the first person I always ask is Steve Shipman. He always knows.
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Spirit, Flesh, and Dr. Jesus |
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“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” So says our Lord Jesus Christ, and who knows spirit and flesh better than He does? Through Him and for Him all things were made, and in these last days He has become all that He made us to be: flesh, soul, and spirit, and heart and mind, too — even now He lives and rules in our flesh, His Spirit testifying with ours that we are children of God. So when this Lord and God says, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” we stop to listen.
There’s a reason why the angels envy you, and the devils hate you, and it’s not your spirit —
-- and all this I say by way of introduction as to why my congregation and I stayed in the ELCA and ...
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You Reap Whatever You Sow |
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The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.” (Galatians 6: 7) From my viewpoint, the ELCA is reaping what it from its inception has been sowing.
Lenny Duncan is an ELCA pastor who describes himself as “the unlikeliest of pastors.” He is author of the book, Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the United States. We should not be surprised that he quickly became a celebrity within the ELCA ...
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The Great Commission Society of the North American Lutheran Church is to be commended for the three-day, online missions conference which they held in early November under the theme, “Unveiled: Shining Light in the Darkness.” The comment was made at the beginning of the event that the only person that the conference organizers wanted to lift up is Jesus – not the structures of the church, not our own resourcefulness or efforts, but Jesus.
Later in the day of the third session of the “Unveiled” conference I watched a webinar with Dr Thom Rainer of Church Answers. One of his most insightful points ... was ... how much COVID has accelerated change.
Both of those webinars were life and hope giving. But what do I receive from the ELCA? A word that tells me that I need to repent of ...
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by Pr. Brett Jenkins, Dean, NE Mission District of the Atlantic Mission Region, NALC, & former member of the board of Lutheran CORE
A heresy is simply unbalanced or incorrect teaching. The word heresy means to pick and choose, so rather than accepting the full, robust teaching of the Holy Scriptures regarding this or that topic, they embrace some aspects of it and neglect others.
So, to claim that Jesus was an inspired but perfectly human moral teacher is a heresy, not because Jesus is not an inspired, perfectly human moral teacher, but because teaching that alone neglects the other Biblical teaching that He is also the Word of God ...
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by Dr. Don Brandt, Director, Congregations in Transition for Lutheran CORE
This pandemic has been a startling reminder of how quickly many of our church “programs” have become, under our current circumstances, untenable and perhaps even non-essential.
Many of our churches have become so cluttered with activities that we don’t give margin for our members to have a gospel presence in the community.
So, what about your congregational members? How are they holding up? Do you have a clear picture of whether many of them — especially those who are living alone — are being overwhelmed by ...
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Recently I was talking with an ELCA seminarian who was saying how much he wished that there was a list of Biblically and confessionally faithful books and other resources. I was very pleased to be able to tell him about the List of Confessional Resources, which can be found on the Seminarians page on our website, www.lutherancore.org.
That resource is now being taken to the next level. We have begun the process of providing video reviews of some of these books on YouTube.
Our plan is to publish a new video book review during the first week of every month.
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The ALPB recommends a new devotional and pastoral resource called The Living Word. It is a free newsletter that is not produced by the ALPB.
Click here and here for more information.
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Designate Your Thrivent Choice Dollars to Support Lutheran CORE |
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Lutheran CORE is very grateful for all of the ways in which our friends support us through their prayers and financial contributions. One of the ways in which some people are supporting our ministry is by designating their Thrivent Choice dollars for Lutheran CORE. In 2019 Lutheran CORE received $829 in such gifts.
If you are a member of Thrivent Financial and qualify for Thrivent Choice dollars, may we suggest that you consider designating those funds to support our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. We recognize that every one of us has many worthy ministries and causes that are dear to our hearts, and we realize that over 40,000 organizations are enrolled in Thrivent Choice. But we thank you for thinking of us when you decide how to designate your Thrivent Choice dollars.
For more information regarding how to direct Thrivent Choice dollars, click here.
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NALC Life Conference - January 28th, 2021. Click here.
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March for Life, Washington, DC. - January, 29th, 2001. Click here
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Pro Ecclesia Conference - June 7-9, 2021. Click here.
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NEXUS Course - Summer 2021. Register here.
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If you prefer reading the print version (PDF format), please click the button below. |
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© 2020 Lutheran Coalition for Renewal
PO Box 1741 Wausau, WI 54402-1741
1-888-810-4180
Lutheran CORE's mission:
- A Network for Confessing Lutherans
- A Voice for Biblical Truth
Our purpose can be summed up in two words– Network and Voice . As Network for confessing Lutherans, we support and connect Lutheran individuals and congregations who seek to live in accord with Biblical and confessional teachings and practices. As a Prophetic Voice , we advocate for Biblical authority and confessional fidelity among churches of the Lutheran community.
We support local gatherings and communicate Biblical truth through our newsletter, mailings, and various forms of social media.
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