by Mathew Block | Oct 17, 2024
(Source: ilcouncil.org)
AUSTRALIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has accepted Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A) into membership as a Recognised Organisation. The decision came during a meeting of the ILC’s Board of Directors on September 17.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Lutheran Mission – Australia into membership in the ILC,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council. “We appreciate their principled stand on the authority of Scripture, and we look forward to a strong relationship going into the future. May God bless their ministry as they seek to make Christ and His Word known throughout Australia.”
Lutheran Mission – Australia is a newly-formed organization in Australia which seeks to “ensure Confessional Lutheranism has a home in Australia for generations to come.” It arose out of a confessional movement within the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ) which was concerned that the church was declining from historic Lutheran teaching and practice – visibly on the issue over women’s ordination but even more fundamentally on the nature of the authority of Scripture.
“We believe connection with Confessional Lutherans around the world is vital for the health of an emerging synodical body,” said LM-A President Elect Matthew Anker. “To this end, LM-A is seeking membership in the ILC to provide ecclesial accountability, to foster faithful theological reflection, and to seek the consolation of the brethren.” President Anker formerly served as the LCANZ’s Assistant to the Bishop for International Mission.
Less than a month after Lutheran Mission – Australia was accepted into membership, the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand voted on October 5 to authorise women’s ordination. As a result, the LCANZ’s status in the ILC was automatically reduced to Observer Member status in keeping with the ILC’s bylaws.
“We join with faithful people the world over in lamenting the recent decision of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ) to abandon the clear teaching of the Scriptures and embrace the unbiblical practice of the ordination of women,” LM-A President Anker wrote in response to the vote. “Abandoning God’s Word in such a manner is bound to have a detrimental impact on the faith and life of God’s people…. Our hearts break for the damage this will wreak on people’s faith.”
He continued: “In light of this sad news, Lutheran Mission – Australia is more committed than ever to pursuing the establishment of a thoroughly Confessional Lutheran Synod in Australia for the sake of the Gospel and the mission which the Lord has entrusted to His people.”
The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions.
