A Fraternal Admonition Revisited
They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying,
‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14)
Dear friends in Christ!
On July 15, 2010, a group of concerned pastors and laymen calling themselves the Association of Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (ACELC) mailed a document called “A Fraternal Admonition” with accompanying Error Documents to every congregation in The LCMS. This letter and documents had been prepared over the previous year by people concerned about aberrant doctrine and practice that was being tolerated and at times even promoted in our beloved church. While these documents were finalized months before the 2010 LCMS Synodical Convention, they were mailed out during the Convention so no one could accuse the ACELC of being a political organization trying to sway votes. These concerns were serious and valid no matter who was serving in elected office.
Since that time, some have asked the ACELC to update the Error Documents to add additional errors or to remove specific references to errors that had been addressed and corrected. The ACELC has never, nor will ever desire to be the ecclesiastical supervisor or doctrinal watchdog of The LCMS. That is not our goal or purpose. The reason why the Error Documents were compiled was to simply and clearly show that these errors actually do, in fact, exist in our midst. We rejoice that some of these errors have been addressed and corrected; thanks be to God!
The ACELC was officially formed later that year to fraternally call The LCMS to repentance for tolerating and promoting error contrary to God’s Word and The Lutheran Confessions. For that reason the ACELC continues to exist. We long for the day when there is no longer any reason for the ACELC to exist and we pray that it would happen quickly; for every day that error is tolerated it grows deeper and more difficult to remove. We continue our call to those who have been given the duty and responsibility as ecclesiastical supervisors to address these errors with fraternal love and godly discipline.
At our most recent Conference, the ACELC voted unanimously to adopt a Prologue to our Fraternal Admonition to make this clear. The ACELC continues to work toward true unity in doctrine and practice in the LCMS. Please, take some time to read what we have put together - listen to our Free Conference presentations - or watch our feature length video, "If Not Now, When?" which outlines our work and concerns. We invite you to join us.
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1
In Christ,
Rev. Clint K. Poppe
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Lincoln, NE
