Lutheranism is a strong force in
South Carolina. The Columbia area, alone, is represented by churches
from every major Lutheran synod, as well as a Lutheran seminary.
The question is sure to arise
-- how are these groups different?
Lutherans, like most religious organizations,
can be placed into three general groups
-
Liberal
or Progressive, such as the
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) -
visit
website
-
Moderate,
such as the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) -
visit
website
-
Confessional,
such as the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) -
visit
website
The Liberal, or Progressive Lutherans
believe that it is important that the church changes with the times in
order to continue attracting members. Progressive Lutherans proclaim that
God's Word is no longer relevant to today's believer and allow people to
decide for themselves what is or isn't God-pleasing. (Are
these words blasphemous? Click
to read a letter from a reader).
The website Exposing
the ELCA, exists to inform and expose the teachings, actions and
beliefs of the ELCA. |
Download "A
Majority of One" - a message for the members of the ELCA. |
The Confessional
Lutherans follow the Lord's command to "speak My Word faithfully" (Jer.
23:28) and teach the world "all things which I [Jesus] have commanded you"
(Matt. 28:28). Confessional Lutherans realize that although God's Will
isn't always the most exciting option to our sinful nature, it is definately
what people need at this time of moral decline. Confessional Lutherans
teach that people are sinful, and without Christ's redemptive work we would
have no hope of eternal life. These scriptural truths were
confessed by most Lutherans up until the breakup of the Lutheran Synodical
Conference in the early 1960s.
The Moderate Lutherans are
torn between following the confession of their Lutheran ancestors and relinquishing
God's teachings to make their churches more palatable to current and potential
members. They therefore publicly confess that they follow God's Word,
but in practice allow their pastors and people to decide for themselves
which teachings they want to follow, and which they want to ignore.
Both the Progressive and Moderate
Lutherans are currently finding themselves in danger of alienating many
of their members. Although the synodical leaders and many of the
pastors are comfortable ignoring (or even denying) many of the teachings
of the Bible, the people in the pew remember the catechetical training
of their youth which taught them that the entire Bible is inspired by God
(2 Timothy 3:16), and that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). These concerned Christians realize
that the "cafeteria" approach to God's Word (take what you want, leave
what you don't). is not God pleasing and is dangerious to their eternity.
It doesn't take much research online
to see the deep schisms dividing these organizations. Many members
of these organizations (pastors and laypeople alike) are standing up and
speaking against the erroring pastors and the synodical leaders.
Many pastors, however, afraid to bring the controversies to their congregations,
remain quiet - hoping that their members will not find out about the cancer
which is slowly destroying their "beloved" church body. Many members,
knowing about the error being taught by other pastors in their organization
and supported by the synodical leadership turn a blind eye -- thinking
that as long as their pastor teaches the truth they don't have to worry
about what is happening in their sister churches.
What is the purpose of this website?
My hope, through this website, is
to encourage many of the Liberal and Moderate Lutherans to pull their heads
out of the proverbial "ostrich hole". It does not work to ignore
the error taught by fellow pastors and supported by synodical leaders.
Pretending that error isn't there doesn't make it go away. Saying
that those errors don't represent you or that you don't support those errors
is negated by your membership in that organization. These errors
are a direct affront to our God who showed His love for us by sacrificing
His Son for our eternal salvation.
I hope through this website to encourage
members of the erring church bodies to get up from their slumbers and stand
up for Jesus. Are there any real men in these churches who
will stand with Joshua and say “as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD,” and then leave the “house” of error in order to obey and keep their
Savior’s word?
Is the error in these church bodies really that
bad?
Don't take my word for it.
Listen to many of the pastors and laypeople within these church bodies
who are beginning to realize the distance their synod has fallen from the
truth. Dozens of websites have been created by individuals within
these organizations decrying the error being taught by many pastors and
supported by synodical leadership. I list several of them at the
bottom of this website.
The errorists defend their teachings
by saying their actions come from love. Such fine sounding words
are in complete contradiction to what Lutheran have always believed - love
the sinner but hate the sin.
Denying even one small truth portrayed
in Scripture raises the concern that we can therefore trust nothing in
Scripture - even Christ's sacrifice for our sins - so the error in these
church bodies IS really that bad!
What got me interested in developing this website?
This website will be a document in
progress. It was started late January 2005 after I was approached
by several families concerned about the error within their church body.
Although they felt their pastor still taught true Scripture as confessed
by the Lutheran Confessions - they could no longer allow themselves to
show support for their erring church body through their membership.
What about the CLC?
I've spent some time discussing the
Liberal and Moderate branches of Lutheranism. I guess it is to be
expected that as a member of the CLC (Church of the Lutheran Confession)
I would speak favorably of it - and I do!
You will not find dozens of dissenting
views by CLC pastors and members on the Internet. I challenge you
to find any. Although we do occasionally find ourselves in conflict
over one or more doctrines in the Bible, our differences are resolved on
the basis of Scripture -- "What does God say?" Never do we allow
ourselves the luxury of saying "Let's agree to disagree".
We consider ourselves to be true
confessional Lutherans - still believing and teaching the Scriptural truths
as taught and confessed by Martin Luther and by the many confessional Lutherans
unknowingly trapped in their erring church bodies. We are blessed
to have the fellowship of which the Apostle Paul speaks in I Cor 1:10,
speaking the same thing without divisions among us. A wonderful benefit
of this fellowship is our confidence that we will hear the same teachings
from all our pastors, whether they be in South Carolina, Virginia, Texas,
the Dakotas, California or overseas. VISIT
CLC WEBSITE
Some information about me...
I am Glenn Oster, a retired pastor
of the CLC (Church of the Lutheran Confession). I live in West
Columbia, South Carolina and am a member of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran
Church - CLC in West Columbia (see
website). I left the full-time ministry
several years ago to pursue secular interests but still assist CLC congregations
where needed -- I am currently serving a congregation in the Fairfax, Virginia
area on a monthly basis. I work full-time as a business analyst for
NCR Corporation and own an Internet Hosting Company.
If you have questions about what
I believe, or would like to have a "sounding board" for your concerns,
please feel free to contact me at goster@CLClutheran.com
or 803-361-2739. or visit the CLC's website. |