From the Bad Church PR department: A Connecticut pastor who took part in the recent interfaith prayer vigil after the Newtown shootings was asked to apologize by the President of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. In a letter to the denomination sent earlier this month, Pastor Matthew Harrison said:
I asked Pastor Morris to apologize for taking part in this service. I did this for several reasons:
- I believe his participation violated the limits set by Scripture regarding joint worship, particularly with those who reject Jesus (Romans 16:17), and was thus a violation of Article VI of the LCMS Constitution.
- Pastor Morris’s participation gave offense in the Synod, something we are to avoid, even if we are doing something we believe might be appropriate (1 Corinthians 8).
- I most sincerely desire to avoid deep and public contention in the Synod. Our mission is too vital, our fellowship too fragile for a drawn out controversy.
In this Ministry Briefing conversation, we discuss the way this went down, how it became public, and how churches can learn from this event going forward.
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He got off light. In a Canadian story from at least a decade-and-a-half ago, a Lutheran pastor was fired for attending an interfaith service. As I remember it — and the report I heard was on an FM rock station — the charge was “worshiping with non-believers.”
9/11 Lutheran President prayed with Muslims. Got knuckles wrapped and he apologized. He prayed, but did a generic without invoking Jesus. Who are we as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ or some nebulous entity??
I am not Lutheran but as a younger evangelical pastor, I thought this was unwise and unChristian. Such things communicate to a hurting community like Newtown that they’re not worth it. We can argue all about the concerns of interfaith services but if I was a Lutheran, I would be more concerned about not being invited to a community moment.