Future Challenges Discussed at ELCA Mega-Consultation

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Some 450 lay leaders and clergy, representing all of the 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), outlined strengths and challenges of the church and heard presentations from past and present church leaders in a "Mega-Consultation"= =20 here Oct. 2-3 at the Westin Hotel.
The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, told the participants there is an important reason why Lutheranism remains relevant in today's changing, global community.
"I believe, in the church of Jesus Christ, there will always be a place for the voice of grace," he said.
The consultation brought together ELCA bishops, bishops' assistants and associates, synod vice presidents, secretaries and treasurers, ELCA regional coordinators and youth leaders. The meeting included a series of small-group discussions to identify common themes and challenges in the synods. Each group of leaders also held their own meetings before or after the consultation.
The meeting replaced the 1999 series of fall consultations conducted through the ELCA Department for Synodical Relations. Normally, consultations are held in regional settings, in synod council meetings or by conference calls with all 65 synods to discuss ministry and mission support. A grant from Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefits society based in Appleton, Wis., helped fund the event.
The 5.2-million member ELCA includes nearly 11,000 congregations in the United States and the Caribbean. The church was formed in 1987 through a merger of three Lutheran bodies -- American Lutheran Church, Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and Lutheran Church in America.
In a summary of "common themes," presented at the end of the conference, the Rev. Robert N. Bacher, ELCA executive for administration, Office of the Bishop, said participants identified several common challenges for the church: multicultural ministry, ministry with youth and older adults, attitudes and use of wealth, ministry with people living in poverty, sexuality issues, leadership and leadership renewal, congregational renewal and "the basics" of the Lutheran faith.
In the discussions participants also said the ELCA has made great progress on diversity, its divestment policy involving its financial investments, representational principles, building trust and relationships, and the basics of the faith, Bacher said.
Outreach and evangelism seemed to be important to many participants and effectiveness, not cooperation, will be "a driving force" in ecumenical relationships, Bacher reported. Church conversations must also include ethical issues, he said.
Saying it had been a "privilege" to listen to ELCA lay leaders and clergy, Bacher said the church's potential, as described by the conference participants, is "realistic."
"The potential here has also been described as 'reachable with stretching,'" he said. "The most important condition for a hopeful future is the conviction that God is at work."
In his remarks, Anderson said Lutherans tend to talk a lot about themselves, and he challenged the church's members to turn themselves "inside out."
"We have not been good about speaking out to the world," he said. However, the church is trying to reach out to others through the ELCA Identity Project, a public awareness campaign to heighten attention to the Lutheran church, and through evangelism and emphasis on youth and young adults. The church must also reach out to people living in poverty, he said.
Institutions such as the church are driven by what Anderson called "supply and demand." "If we don't supply what God demands, God will find another church," he said.
Dr. Addie J. Butler, vice president of the ELCA, said there are two critical challenges facing the ELCA -- bringing new members to the church and including youth and young adults in the church, she said.
Lutherans tend to expect clergy and missionaries to invite new members to the church, she said. "Is this a sufficient response to Jesus' Great Commission (found in the Bible in Matthew 28)?" Butler asked. "We must share that we have the 'Good News' of Jesus Christ."
She challenged participants to be sure young members are extended opportunities to be leaders and invited to be active in the life of congregations.
"Are children, young adults and youth really welcomed at the worship service?" Butler asked. "We must support and integrate youth in the church."
Two ELCA vice presidents who served before Butler offered their reflections on the church's earlier years.
Christine H. Grumm, vice president from 1987 to 1991, said challenges for the leaders of the new ELCA included building trust in the new church and divesting the church's pension funds of companies who did business in South Africa, which was then dealing with apartheid, a social system that deprived some people of basic human rights and privileges. Grumm also said diversity remains an important concept in the ELCA.
"I am proud to be part of a church ... that continues to struggle with the issues of diversity," she said, adding the church needed to be "deliberate" about diversity and "not wait for it to happen."
The reaction to the first draft of a proposed statement on human sexuality was a dominant challenge during her term as vice president, said Kathy J. Magnus, who served from 1991 to 1997. Magnus said the idea of face-to-face consultations involving churchwide staff and synod leaders was born while she was vice president.
The church should not be complacent about speaking to the world, she said. Magnus said she hopes for "a church that gives itself away."
The Gospel calls us to be "uncomfortable," and it calls us to "astonishing hope," she concluded.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html