(Adopted by the Second General Convention of The American
Lutheran Church, October 21-27, 1964, as a "statement of policy for
an effective intercultural ministry to guide the work of all
boards, institutions, auxiliaries, and congregations of The
ALC.")
I. An Evaluation of Segregation and Stratification
Segregation and social stratification, both based on
essentially external differences, regrettably occur in Christian
churches. Segregation grows out of many different causes such as
tradition, custom, and economics, and is frequently interrelated
with man's prejudices, fear, envy, and pride. It is not always easy
to discern which is the dominant factor. Segregation often finds
its support in differences in skin color or physical appearance.
Social stratification is reflected in levels of wealth, education,
or social standing. Frequently these man-made distinctions of race
and class restrict the ministry of love and belie the fundamental
unity of the human race in the redemptive plan of God as revealed
in Jesus Christ. The presence of segregation and stratification in
the churches hinders the power inhering in the Gospel for uniting
men through Christ in fellowship with the Father.
In the Body of Christ, each person possesses talents peculiarly
his own, and each has his unique functions to fulfill, yet all
persons are alike in being individually of sacred worth. All are
created in the image of God; all stand convicted of sin and in need
of redemption; all are invited by Christ to come to Him; and God's
gift of faith is available to anyone who accepts it. St. Peter was
moved, against his own inclinations, to confess, "Truly I perceive
that God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34). St. Paul, describing
the Christian fellowship, declared, "Here there cannot be Greek and
Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,
free man, but Christ is all, and in all" (Col. 3:11).
Wherever and whenever the churches help to foster race or class
distinctions between people, and wherever and whenever they support
attitudes of superiority or inferiority between persons, groups, or
classes on the basis of race, class, national or ethnic origin, or
economic position they violate God's will. St. James warned against
distinctions based on wealth or power, saying, "But if you show
partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors" (James 2:9).
Congregations, therefore, must avoid segregation and
stratification and repent of the evil fruit of natural man's pride
and his assumption of superiority over those who are different from
him in color, economic position, national origin, or ethnic
grouping.
The fact of race and class groupings opens to the church the joy
of a ministry that embraces all people without any semblance of
exclusion. Under Christ's influence, pride and prejudice are
renounced in race and class relations. Snobbery and discrimination
are rejected. Jealousy, envy, quarreling, and dissension have no
place. The fruits of His Spirit, working in reborn lives, can bring
joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control into
the dealings of race with race and class with class.
Were His Spirit to rule in men's hearts and lives, problems of
racial segregation and harmful social stratification would
diminish. The free and voluntary actions of men who genuinely love
neighbor as self because of God's love for them will exceed in
justice and equity the compulsory actions forced by decree upon the
unwilling.
When persistent and willful rejection of the gracious will of
God erodes and destroys a man's willingness and ability to love his
neighbor, then the children of God in the orderly processes of a
free society must share in the establishment of such justice and
equity as are possible in and through the structures of good
government in every level of social organization.
It is further incumbent upon Christians, their churches, and
their church agencies, so far as it lies within their power, to
practice to the full the realistic insights of their faith in
dealing with issues of race and class. Assumptions of superiority
or privileged position draw the Master's censure today as they did
for the sons of Zebedee.
It is the unique task of the churches, shared by every
Christian, to seek to bring the power of the Word, the Sacraments,
and the corporate fellowship to bear upon individuals, thereby
changing their hearts and lives. The witness of personal and
corporate example which treats every person, in every relationship
of life, as a human being created in God's image is a powerful
testimony to the believer's life in Christ. This course alone
promises the ultimate corrective for the evils of segregation and
stratification.
Nevertheless, churches, their members, and their leaders need
also to exercise Christian social responsibility. They have the
duty to protest against and to act responsibly, beginning in their
own communities, to correct those cruelties and injustices which
deny basic human freedoms. Christians, both personally and
corporately, have the duty to press for and to support measures
which insure that all persons, regardless of color, economic
position, national origin, or ethnic grouping have fair and equal
access, for example, to education, housing, employment, voting, and
public accommodations.
In times of tension the churches have another duty that makes
them especially subject to being misunderstood. They need to stress
that with power goes responsibility, that freedoms entail
obligations, and that respect has to be maintained as well as
attained. Churches cannot become so identified with the cause of
any one race or class that they alienate themselves from all
others. Their chief purpose is to proclaim the Word. Reform of
social structures is a valuable product of such proclamation.
II. Constitutional Foundation for Action
Consistent with the foregoing viewpoint the Constitution
of The American Lutheran Church assigns to the Division of American
Missions the objective:
"2) To encourage and help existing congregations reach out to
all un-churched people in the entire community regardless of race,
economic standing, religious background, or other circumstances, in
order that they may be brought under the power of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and won for Him and His Kingdom." (P. 42)
Such a mandate is given because this is believed to be in
obedience to the Word of God, to which The American Lutheran Church
submits "as the only infallible authority in all matters of faith
and life." (P. 27)
By its Constitution The American Lutheran Church has
jurisdiction over its congregations solely for the following
purposes:
"1) To insure faithful adherence to the doctrines of the
Church.
"2) To apply discipline when disloyalty to the Church's doctrinal
position is evident.
"3) To enlist wholehearted cooperation with the program approved by
the Church." (P. 29)
It is to its districts that the Church assigns the duty to
"exercise general supervision over its clergy, congregations, and
conferences" as well as to "consider matters which pertain to the
life and program of The American Lutheran Church and present
recommendations to the General Convention." (P. 49) The General
Convention is empowered to "adopt a program of activity for the
Church, and take the steps necessary to provide for its
accomplishment."
III. Applications in Specific Policies
Each congregation of The American Lutheran Church is
responsible for ministering to the entire neighborhood and area in
which it is located. This full ministry of the Law and Gospel
includes the Lord's command to love, to seek out, to evangelize,
and to minister to all persons and through the power of the Holy
Spirit to bring them into full membership in the Church, with all
the rights and privileges that inhere in such membership in the
Body of Christ. Anyone who will respond to the regenerating Gospel
should be welcomed into the fellowship of the congregation.
All pastors are expected to teach, to support and to practice
the concept of the inclusive ministry. Any pastor who in word and
deed denies this Biblical mandate should receive the pastoral
counsel of his district president and executive committee.
All boards and departments of the Church share in the
responsibility for teaching and practicing the concept of the
inclusive ministry. Distinctions, preferment or exclusions based
solely on economic, racial, educational, or cultural advantages or
disadvantages have no place in the life of the church, or in the
establishment of policy.
The occupancy of a particular area for a full-orbed and
inclusive Gospel ministry, or the relinquishment of such an area
ministry, is a question of program and strategy of the entire
Church. Making the appropriate decision ought not be considered the
responsibility solely of a particular congregation or solely of the
Division of American Missions. It rather should be a joint decision
mutually arrived at after careful consideration of the facts and
circumstances affecting each individual situation and the
congregations involved.
The district American mission committee is charged to be alert
to all mission opportunities in the district and is kept currently
informed on the policies, program, and strategy of the Board of
American Missions. Therefore, the district American mission
committee or departmental committee responsible to the American
mission committee shall be expected to counsel with congregations
facing the problems and challenges of a changing community. In so
doing it may call upon the services of the Board of American
Missions, the Division of American Missions of the National
Lutheran Council, and such other specialized assistance as may be
necessary. Their objective should be to help the congregation to
see and to weigh the alternatives before it: whether to leave its
present field, whether to accept its opportunities for an inclusive
ministry in its present field, or whether simultaneously to occupy
and develop a new field while continuing to minister in its present
field.
The Church exists to win men to Christ and thus to restore the
lost into fellowship with the Father. It avoids mere
institution-building or the simple perpetuation of a man-made
cultural heritage. Should these latter aims supplant the true
purpose of the Church, or should the opportunities for a
significant ministry diminish because of a reduction in the numbers
of people reached, the Church as a whole has no obligation to
provide financial assistance for such a congregation.
Should a congregation willfully and persistently refuse to
accept into its membership individuals who in faith and life
qualify for membership in a Lutheran congregation, or stubbornly
cling to patterns of segregation and discrimination, that
congregation should become the object of the pastoral concern of
The ALC through the district president and executive committee of
the district of which the congregation is a member. The District
President also shall report this violation of Church practice to
the Church Council of The American Lutheran Church. Any pastor who
loses his pastorate under such a circumstance should receive the
moral and spiritual support of his brethren, and financial
assistance from the district for a limited period until he receives
a call to a new pastorate.