Not That Kind of Lutheran

Tim Walz and the Future of Lutheranism

The announcement of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America member Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate means Americans are hearing “Lutheran” more often–and not in a good way. Conservative Lutherans have been quick to point out that the hodgepodge of theological liberalism offered by a mainline denomination is not real Lutheranism. As part of that effort, they have been passing around Walz’s congregation’s “Visitors” page, and it is brimful of exactly the kind of woke nonsense one would expect from a mainline denomination in 2024. (Amusingly, as of the time of writing, this page welcoming visitors has been password-protected, simultaneously turning visitors away and demonstrating the strength of the congregation’s convictions.)

Of course, given the relative size of the ELCA, lamenting their misappropriation of “Lutheran” is routine among smaller conservative denominations like my own Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We’re not that kind of Lutheran. Unlike them, we strive to stand on Holy Scripture and our Confessions as our theological foundation rather than using Christian trappings to baptize fashionable politics. We even take pride in distinguishing ourselves from the ELCA, highlighting our faithfulness in contrast to those who follow the Spirit of the Age away from the eternal truth of God’s unchanging Word.

But while I hate to rain on our typical parade, conservative and confessional Lutherans would be wise to consider God’s warning: “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” The contents of that visitors page are indeed the doctrines of clown world rather than Christ. But if you overlook the leftist buzzwords and consider the underlying values, you will find them eerily similar to what the current LCMS leadership has been pursuing for years. Some healthy self-examination will reveal that we are not nearly as far from the ECLA as we believe—or as far as we ought to be. We are busy enslaving ourselves to those same ideals.

Playing the Race Card

Walz’s congregation is, for example, committed to “Antiracism work” and “de-centering whiteness.” But last year, President Harrison of the LCMS sent out a letter to our entire church body to “categorically reject the horrible and racist teachings of the so-called ‘alt-right’ in toto.” He even demanded the excommunication of those who falls under that defunct and ambiguous label of “alt-right” or under meaningless labels like “racist” or “Nazi” which leftists use to slander conservatives every day. And yes, it has resulted in a number of individuals being unjustly expelled from their congregations. This work of antiracism is the only doctrine for which I’ve seen our leadership go the mat so hard since the “Battle for the Bible” in the 1970’s. 

It’s hardly an isolated instance either. For example, President Harrison also wrote a lengthy statement on George Floyd’s death and the subsequent riots. Therein he denounced racism as “America’s original sin,” demanded repentance from all of us, and pleaded for new policies to end racial injustice. In 2017, Synod added racism to Luther’s Small Catechism under the 5th Commandment despite racism becoming an increasingly meaningless term. Our recent Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Analysis (LCACA) likewise included an essay reframing the 9th & 10th Commandments using the concepts of Critical Theory to condemn sins of “privilege” like gentrification.

And when it comes to “de-centering whiteness,” LCMS leadership is quickly getting on board. Parishioners and leadership alike often complain that at 95% Caucasian, our churches are simply “too white.” In the face of our demographic decline, President Harrison has dismissed the idea that having children again will improve our numbers and favored programs that diversify the LCMS through outreach to immigrants and “diverse communities.” And on the website for our National Youth Gathering, the first and most prominent image representing our “overly white” Synod only features people of color (with a couple white youth barely visible in the background.) It seems that much of our leadership would prefer our congregations to be statistically random samples of the United States’ diversity rather than the non-random people God has actually entrusted to us.

Destigmatizing Homosexuality

We see a similar dynamic when we consider Walz’s congregation’s commitment to “LGBTQIA+ affirmation and making a safe space for people of all genders and orientations.” To be clear, we do still officially consider sodomy a sin. But while our leaders busy themselves scouring heaven and earth for the alt-right, 57% of our members say sodomy should be accepted and 45% “strongly favor” same-sex marriage. 

In President Harrison’s excommunication letter, he included the death penalty for homosexuals as an alt-right beliefs which is completely incompatible with the Christian faith and which he condemns in the name of Christ. But while that’s considered an extreme civil penalty even by most on the far right today, his words condemn not only most of Christendom, but God Himself who personally imposed exactly that penalty in ancient Israel. We may not have moved on to celebration like the ELCA, but its precursor, tolerance, is certainly highly favored among our transforming norms.

The same is apparent in LCACA, which includes an essay on the 6th Commandment with the now-infamous line: “However, though some of us are burdened with homosexual lust, pornographic addiction, transgenderism, pedophilia, and polyamory, more often they are the speck in our neighbor’s eye rather than the log in our own.” Though the author’s point that we often overlook ordinary fornication is certainly a valid one, the language conforms to a now-familiar pattern. As I’ve written before, destigmatizing sin begins with clinicalizing it and then follows a well-worn path from ‘unfortunate circumstance’ to ‘don’t judge them’ to ‘acceptance would ease their burdens’ to ‘don’t call it a disorder’ to ‘teach kids to celebrate it.’ Our catechism not only affirms that path for homosexuality and transgenderism, but even helps pedophilia along on its abominable way. 

Fighting for Egalitarianism

But what about “gender equity” and amplifying the voices of women? Surely, as a conservative denomination that still refuses to ordain women, we haven’t fallen into that trap. Well, in a truly curious twist, we try hard to have our cake and eat it on this issue. On one hand, President Harrison did help edit a collection of essays called “Women Pastors?” a number of years ago which goes into great detail to defend our adherence to the Church’s historic and Biblical prohibition. All well and good.

On the other hand, I also remember a talk in which the same man was asked how he would explain this prohibition to a daughter. His response was that he really wishes we could ordain women, but he can’t get past the text of Scripture. He then explained that in order to compensate for God’s command, he has worked to put as many women as possible into leadership positions in the LCMS. In other words, the goal is still equality, but we’re taking the scenic route because God put a roadblock in our way. We may not simply plow through that roadblock like those darn liberals in the ELCA, but we’re trying to get to the other side of it all the same. The Bible blatantly contradicts feminism in numerous ways, but we find ourselves holding fast to it nevertheless.

That unresolved contradiction between Scripture and modern equality is precisely why we behave so oddly around women’s ordination. Scripture says “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” Most of the LCMS agrees this means women can’t be pastors, but it seems that none of us can agree on what that actually means. Some will say it means women cannot have the title of pastor, but can nevertheless do anything a pastor does, including preaching sermons and administering the Sacraments on Sunday morning. Others will say it means a woman cannot preach a sermon to the congregation, but she can preach a children’s sermon in front of the congregation. Still others will say it means a woman can’t preach a sermon to the congregation but can she give a theology lecture to the congregation after the service. But amidst all of this confused hair-splitting, one thing remains constant: If a man thinks the Bible is more restrictive than their own peculiar variation on the rules, they will call him a sexist pharisee because equality has become one of their core principles.

Few of us want to accept the counter-cultural reality that Scripture means what is says–that women ought not teach or exercise authority over men—or that this is broader than just the pastoral office. Neither do they want to accept the fact that this is rooted in Creation as the Apostle Paul explains. That’s why the LCMS appoints women to write books that teach theology to both pastors and laity. That’s why we put women on theological advisory boards to instruct pastors on how they’re supposed to preach and teach. That’s why we encourage women to attend seminary and do everything we can to put them in a position to be pastor-like but don’t actually let them be pastors. In short, conservative Lutherans resemble those who say they consent to sex but not to pregnancy. Anyone who embraces modern equality cannot help but turn all of God’s instructions to the contrary into esoteric ceremonial rules. Our leadership is no exception.

Following the Road to Wokeness

So where exactly does all this leave conservative denominations like the LCMS? Does it mean we’re as woke as the ELCA? Not exactly, but the difference isn’t what we think it is–that we hold to timeless Biblical principles and they do not. The difference is not in the ideals, but in the branding. The ELCA is loud and proud of being on the cutting edge of leftism, and their rhetoric deliberately makes that clear. The LCMS, like most conservatives, is instead rooted in the older liberalism of the late 20th century:  color blindness, don’t ask don’t tell, and 2nd wave feminism. Both mistake their preferred trends for the will of God. But the LCMS makes the more embarrassing error of mistaking trends for the eternal will of an unchanging God.

They may not be Biblical, but the values of the Postwar Consensus have nevertheless become vehemently defended traditions among us. And just as the 80’s and 90’s were steppingstones to the woke atrocities of today, these principles will lead conservatives down the same path—just 40 years late. The LCMS’s recent forays into cancel culture only confirm our ongoing descent. 

If the difference between ourselves and the mainline denominations is measured only in decades, then we very much need to take heed lest we fall and repent of disregarding the commandments of God for the traditions of men. This is not a time to toot our own horn that we’re not the ELCA, but to mourn and rebuild what we’ve lost. 

And that can be done. 

As hard as I’ve been on the LCMS, my denomination has proven that it can win. In the 70’s, we did eject theological liberals from our seminaries and steadfastly insisted on the inerrancy of Scripture. Our mistake was resting on those laurels instead of remaining vigilant against worldly errors and false teachers creeping in. Contenting ourselves with not being as bad as the ELCA does not cut it. Success will require the same courage and uncompromising adherence to the Word of God that prevailed last time. There are still many faithful pastors and laity now just as there were then. But we cannot contend for our church if our hands are full carrying water for the Spirit of the Age and giving pinches of incense to the false gods of equality and antiracism. May God grant us the courage to reject these errors of our time and return to Him once again.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

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