Nazareth and the ELCA

Speaking the Truth in Love

Questions & Answers Regarding Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church's Affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Our Response to Recent Churchwide Assembly Actions Pertaining to Human Sexuality

At its May 2010 meeting, the Church Council passed a motion to adopt a series of questions and answers as part of our congregation’s ongoing conversation and discernment in regard to our relationship with the ELCA and our positions with regard to biblical interpretation and authority generally and issues of human sexuality specifically.

This document was developed in response to the questions and feedback received from members attending the December 17, 2009 round-table discussion. The document was revised in December 2010.

Though much of the language is from a similar statement from our sister congregation, The Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Council and Pastor King believe that the responses serve as faithful testimony to the preaching and teaching you will encounter at Nazareth.

To read the revised document, click here


June 2010 - An Update Following the NE Iowa Synod Assembly

The Northeast Iowa Synod website (www.neiasynod.org) contains links to reports, presentations, and passed resolutions. What is not shown on the Synod website is any reference to the extensive discussions and votes taken in response to decisions of the 2009 ELCA Church Wide Assembly. These resolutions asked to maintain the standards for rostered leaders in the NE IA Synod that existed prior to the 2009 CWA, and that the actions of the CWA be repudiated. Nazareth sent its full delegation of seven voting members to the Assembly, two of whom spoke during the debate, urging the Assembly to uphold the orthodox interpretation of Scripture regarding human sexuality. All of the Nazareth delegates voted in favor of the resolutions; however, both resolutions were defeated. The votes to defeat these resolutions represent a major shift from the 2009 Synod assembly, where similar resolutions passed by an approximate 60/40 margin. While disappointing to many, the vote to reject the resolutions clarifies that the Northeast Iowa Synod is now in-line with the ELCA Church Wide in regard to the matter of Scriptural Authority and human sexuality.

"Call to Faithfulness" held a Post-Assembly Gathering at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Approximately fifty people attended, including five Nazareth members. Leadership at this gathering indicated they see almost no likelihood of changing the direction of the ELCA in the near term. The focus for this group is now shifting to support congregations and individuals to remain faithful to the Authority of Scripture. Nazareth’s document, "Speaking the Truth in Love" was made available to the group and was recommended as a good resource to others in their discernment. It was discussed that there are good and faithful reasons for both remaining in the ELCA "for a season" and for leaving, albeit not in haste and not in anger. Attendees were reminded to be prayerful, remain in the Word, and also recognize that our struggle is against sin, death, and the power of the devil, not those whom Christ loves and died for.

A congregational discussion was held at Nazareth on Thursday, July 15, 2010 to assist our collective discernment on the ELCA issues as they relate to our mission statement: Living together in God’s amazing grace, we know Christ, grow in Christ, and make Christ known. An Open Forum will be held to further discuss these issues on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in Bethel Hall.

We invite all of our members to pray daily for our brothers and sisters in the ELCA. Pray especially for the ministry we share here at Nazareth and for the Holy Spirit to guide us in discerning how we can best serve the cause of Christ in the Cedar Valley and beyond.

– Senior Pastor Brian King & Church Council President Ron Martin

To read of summary of the July 15, 2010 congregational discussion, click here

Open Forum
Regarding Human Sexuality and Nazareth’s Relationship to The ELCA
Thursday, August 12 • 7:00-8:30 p.m. • Bethel Hall

A special Open Forum will be offered for Nazareth members to share their thoughts, reflections, and questions with regard to our on-going discussion about the nature of Nazareth’s stance on issues with regard to human sexuality and our relationship to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This meeting is part of a multi-year process of dialogue and discernment that has been grounded in our desire to be faithful servants and stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have the greatest impact possible in terms of our mission, ministry, and outreach. Information, including notes and comments from last month’s forum and the recent statement issued by our Church Council and Senior Pastor, remains available for review and reflection on our web site (www.naz.org) and at the Information Desk in Fellowship Hall.

The following procedures will be used to maintain order and ensure an open, fair, and fruitful evening for all in attendance. More importantly, they reflect a desire to observe the "one-another" commands of Christ and to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ as we do our worshipful work together:

1. As members arrive, they will be invited to sign in and don a name tag. Members wishing to have an opportunity to speak will be invited to put their name on a separate sheet of paper. All such names will be placed into a container from which names will later be drawn. Due to time limitations, it is probable that not everyone who wishes to speak will be able to do so.

2. After a brief opening devotion and review of these procedures, the names of potential speakers will be drawn. After every fifth speaker, a Church Council member will share a brief word of scripture and/or prayer. Members may add their name to the potential speakers list at any time during the meeting.

3. No speech by a single member shall exceed two and one half (2.5) minutes. A timekeeper will notify the speaker at the two-minute point that 30 seconds remain.

4. A speaker may have a second opportunity to speak in accord with the preceding parameters only after everyone who wishes to speak the first time has spoken and only as long as time remains in the meeting.

5. All members of the assembly shall refrain from cheering, applause, or other such displays of support or disagreement with speakers.

6. Martin Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment states that we should not "betray, slander or lie about our neighbor, but defend, speak well of, and explain their actions in the kindest possible way." In this spirit, we expect that all speakers will be courteous and will not attack other members or question their motives. In controversial issues, the discussion will be focused on ideas, not personalities.