I'm here in Columbus, OH, attending three back-to-back events: the meeting of the so-called Seven Marks Society, a theological conference convened by Lutheran CORE, and the constituting convention of the North American Lutheran Church.
I don't know why these things are happening in Columbus, but there is a bit of irony here, considering that the ELCA constituting convention was also in Columbus back in 1987.
The first meeting tonight was that of the Seven Marks Society. Since this is likely to be the least known to most of you, let me give you some background. This group arose out of conversation at last year's general retreat of the Society of the Holy Trinity (STS). I did not attend the (after hours) session at which this idea was developed, but my impression was that it was conceived as a sort of advocacy group for the evangelical catholic persuasion in the cluster of groups that are part of, or sympathetic to, Lutheran CORE. Obviously the early leadership of the Seven Marks Society (let's just call it 7M for simplicity) all came from the Society of the Holy Trinity, but in that Society there is a strong aversion to becoming involved in denominational politics at any level. So perhaps one could say that 7M was conceived as a way of having some political (in the best sense of the term) influence by those of the evangelical catholic point of view. There was supposed to be a constituting convention of this 7M group some months back, but it was canceled due to some severe weather problems that made travel difficult. Ironically, holding it immediately prior to these other events likely increased the attendance. I didn't get a precise count tonight, but I would think there may have been 75 or so in the room, mostly clergy (many members of STS), though also some laity.
Tonight began (as one might think) with Vespers. Then the group was welcomed by Pr. Tim Hubert, who has been chairing the steering committee. We also heard words of welcome from Paul Ulring, senior pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, a 6000 member, three campus, ten pastor congregation that is about to take its second vote to leave the ELCA (first passed by 92%). Greetings also from Bp. Paull Spring of Lutheran CORE.
Pr. Hubert presented a "vision" for 7M, in which he portrayed 7M as a "resource" for congregations and pastors. This was followed by a response from Pr. Larry Yoder, who had very harsh things to say about the ELCA. He recalled being asked by Bp. Michael McDaniel for his reaction to the first draft of the constitution back in Commission for a New Lutheran Church days. His resonse was that it was Marxist: the first principle is power, and how categories of of gender, race and economic class can be given power. He quoted Robert Jenson at the first Call to Faithfulness conference, accusing the ELCA of becoming captive to Gnosticism, "the inevitable alternative to the gospel" (and he observed that this accusation, and this Conference, took place just three years into the ELCA). In his view, this Gnostic tendency is encapsulated in the claim that "the Holy Spirit is doing a new thing." He traced further the trajectory of opposition in the ELCA--the 9.5 Theses, the Society of the Holy Trinity, Word Alone. He then critiqued last summer's sexuality decisions as "a Biblical and theological issue of the first order," a direct affront to the sixth and first commandments, as well as to each article of the Creed.
After all this, Pr. Yoder admitted to some confusion about the proposed 7M constitution, and what the precise purpose and mission might be. It is that last observation that seemed to be shared by many. What, exactly, is this group, and what is its purpose? There was extended and sometimes rambling conversation about what the proper name for the group really might be--Seven Marks, yes, but is it a society? A ministerium? A synod? Or what? This confusion was evident at several points. The proposed constitution defines it as an "evangelical catholic ministerium of Lutheran bishops, pastors, laity and congregations"--a rather expansive view of the term "ministerium," seems to me. This was confused further by the group's receiving greetings from Bishop Sutton, of the Anglican Church in North America--some 600 congregations who have left the Episcopal Church. But they have clearly formed a church, and the suggestion that this is somehow parallel to what 7M intends is misleading to say the least. So is the proposal that the group have a "bishop protector"--apparently a term in use among some Roman Catholic orders, but one that is likely to have much traction among Lutherans.
The proposed constitution includes a statement of its mission: "to evangelize the world according to the Lutheran witness within the Great Tradition." Well, that's a lofty goal. But it seems to have little relationship to anything else that has been said about this proposed group.
I had dinner with a couple of others who, like me, have watched this with some interest, but without personal involvement heretofore. We agreed that there was considerable lack of clarity here. One of my dinner partners, a Canadian, quote the Canadian journalist Allan Fotheringham, who once remarked of something that it "muddifies the fuzzification nicely." So far, that seems about right to me. But we shall see what tomorrow might bring.
