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Whereas, Lutheran theology has confessed that the true church is hidden (Apology), and its unity found in the oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity of faith, rather than in the manifest unity of any visible institution; and
Whereas, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has constitutionally-ordered itself into a visible union expressing itself in a threefold, hierarchical way as churchwide structure, synod and congregation, and has therefore tended to disregard the Lutheran confession of the hidden church (our ecclesiology); and
Whereas, this constitutional-ordering has tended to minimize the Lutheran notion that the true church is manifest when believers gather around Word and Sacrament, and subsequently has tended to displace the congregation as the place where such gathering normally occurs; and
Whereas, this constitutional-ordering has tended to understand unity as a thing to be achieved rather than a grace-filled present reality; and
Whereas, this emphasis on unity has placed the ELCA on a road toward an idolatrous notion of church claiming the ultimacy for ecclesiastical unity as an end in itself; and
Whereas, both Called to Common Mission and the ELCA sexuality task force recommendations locate ultimacy in ecclesiastical unity instead of in the Truth attested to by Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions; and
Whereas, the WordAlone Network has consistently declared that "the Holy Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions provide a solid foundation upon which we can confidently base our faith, beliefs and practices" (Bylaws of WordAlone Network, Article II); and
Whereas, the WordAlone Network is in a unique position to help congregations articulate a confessional witness that can shape the future of North American Lutheranism; and
Whereas, the present situation calls for a bold response which privileges scriptural and confessional truth over ecclesiastical unity; therefore
Be It Resolved, that WordAlone congregations be encouraged to join together through adoption of The Common Confession into an association of confessing churches in order to: 1) make an unwavering public confession of faith (The Common Confession), 2) reach out to neighboring congregations in witness, support and mutual service, and 3) support the formation of a Lutheran Theological House of Studies by the WordAlone Network; and
Be It Further Resolved, that an invitation be extended to other churches to join the association of confessing churches through the adoption of The Common Confession.