Full Text for Three Free Churches Become One Church (Text)

THE SPRINGFIELDER December 1971 Volume 35, Number 3 Three Free Churches Become One Church T HE EVANGELICAL-LUTI-IEKAN FREE CIIL: l'I('L-I, t'ounclccl in 1876 by Lutheran men in Saxony and sincc thcn I;.no\\-n usually as the Saxon Free Church votetl to aclopt it new cxmstitution. called Grtl~rdorcEzlullg, by ~vhich action it ceased to csist and l~cca~-l~e a part of the new Independent E\-angelical-Jd~~tI1cl-an Church (Die Selbstaenriige Ernl~gelisci~-Lzitlzcrische Iabto~- of thcsc congregations n.as Pastor C. F. Th. Ruhlancl. k~le \t,ib ~.ugi;estcd to thcsc congregations by Dr. C. F. I\'. \\.nlthc.r, to ti 110111 tllc!. had turned for advice. TIIC co~~\ c11tio11 \\-as opcncd b!- a communion servicc in the rc~lo~-iitcd churc.11 of the Frec Chnrcll congregation in \Vittingcn. Tlic scl-nlon \t.ns preached hv l'icc-President Hahn. ri pastoral con- fcrcncc 113~1 ~~rcccded in the afternoon. The President of the Free Church, Dr. H:ins Iiirstcn, presided, After the usual formalities, Dr. M. 1.. Poctscl~ l~rcscntrd an essay on the topic: "The 1-utlieran Church 2nd its I!ci~~nrnical Self-l_'nderstanding" (German: Sel~stt~er- stllcrltlrlii). .-lftcr this the topic and business of the church was mainl\. the C;1-rt11rIor~1?1117zg. 'rhc importance of this meeting \\-as rc.rog~~i~ccl bv ;dl Lutheran churches in fello\vship with the brethren in Gcr~nan\-.*~hc \\-isconsin Erangelical Luthcran Church \\.as reprc- scntcd h\. its Prcsiclc~~t the Hev. Oscar Xaumann, also a grandson of orlu of tlie Fountlcrs, and by four other nlcnlhcrs of this Synod. Saturall!- the other tivo Free Churches \\.ere also represented b!. their lcadcrs. Obcrkirche~lrat Dr. Gerhard Rost of the "Breslau" brethren and I~ircl~ensupcri~itc~~~cle~~t Horst Bruegmann of thc "Sebstacndige" ~vcrc kc!, Incn at this decisi\-c meeting. President Jean Bricka rcpre- scntecl the Free Church of Francc and Belgium. President Xoack of il~istriilia \\.as gi~est of the Frec C:hurch, and even a representative from ilfricir \vas l~resent, Dr. Robert Preus of St. Louis, RIissouri attcnclccl thc meeting on Saturda!.. One of the questions arising now will be: lVhat will be thc relati011 betnccn this church and other Lutheran churches? At the last regular conkcntion of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Stecdcn, this church declared itself in n state of confession with regard to tho Lutheran Church-AIissouri Synod mainly because of the fcllo\vshil, of hlissouri with the ALC. \Vill the Selbstaendigc Evangelisch-Lutherischc Kirche take the same position? lVhat will bc the futilrc relation of the \Visconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church to this church? One of the churches fused into this new body not in fcllo\\.ship \\rith \\'isconsin Synod, ancl for doctrinal reasons this problem could not be ironccl out in a mcctjng I)ct\t.ccl~ tl~c t\\o churches previous to the synodical convc~ntion in \\'ittiilgcii. Pru- mendous difficulties may arise in the qucstion of \\ lio fc.llo\\ ships with whom. Within the three church bodies that no\\ i~nited illto ono, there have existed traditional practices ancl rules of \-astl\. tliil'criny character. Each one of the churches no doubt \\.ill 11avc to s~irrcnder something of its character and tradition. Each of tllc thrcc c.11urc.hc.s has its own peculiar strength and \venkncss too. \Yitho~~t going into details we could say that numcrically the so-cnllod fornicr 13rc~sl;iu Church has the advantage. illthough thcrc is this t11;lt so111c of thcir congregations arc in type siniilar to thc Stntc Ohurc~li congl-c.g~rtions with a more las way of counting mcn~bcrs. The. I~itlcpcnclcn t Frcc Church has a mission seminary of its otvn, imtl 11ns a flourishing daughter church in South Africa. The Saxons hil\.c a stro~i~cr tlico- logical position, and its membcrs are more 3c.tii.c in supj~i-t of thc'ir church. This church also has sho\vn more ;~cti\'itv in c\.nngulisn~ lint1 in work with the Lutheran Hour. Our prayer must he that thc I-.ortl of the Church bIess ancl prosper this union I\-hich cilmc into csistc~ncc not for pragmatic reasons of church polity, but b!. n dcsirc shared by thcse churches to be true to the Bible and tIic Luthcrilll Confessions in a country that had long abandoned Lutheranism as a \\-orkills f'urcc. Because of our concern with our troubles o\.r.r 11crc \vl~icli lla\.c increased with our size, ancl because of the small nunlbcr of bi-cthrcn involved in this segment of confessional Lutheranism in E~irol)c!- the Free Churches have been forgotten, particularly after they bccamc virtually financially independent. \ITe llopc that this no.tc\\.ortl~!. event of the birth of a new church \\.ill focus thc attcntion of \\-orlcl Lutheranism on this Iast fortcss of confessional I,uthc~-irnism in Germany. AH kinds of movements yrotcsting t11c liberal trend in thc church of Germany ancl a11 kinds of il~tli\~iduals rcmc:mbcring thcir obligation to \iTord and Confession have looked to, and will in t'uturc look still more with interest to this new Inclcpcndcnt l