Some of us regular commentators on the Sexuality Statement and Recommendation earlier this year put together this substitute motion for the churchwide assembly, our proposal to replace what was originally offered. As far as I know, nothing ever happened with it, and it's pretty unlikely it would've gone anywhere anyway. But the arguments are still sound, so we offer it here as a matter of interest and edification.

Substitute Motion for ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2009

Whereas, the proposed Sexuality Statement and Recommendation on Ministry Policies both acknowledge that no consensus on the proper Christian response to homosexuality now exists or seems likely to exist among the members of the ELCA;

And whereas, the Recommendation suggests a change to ministerial standards despite this lack of consensus;

And whereas, the same Recommendation likewise acknowledges its inability to propose a concrete form of “recognition” of homosexual partnerships or a liturgy for a possible blessing of such relationships because such consensus is lacking;

And whereas, the Constitution of the ELCA, chapter 2, commits the ELCA to grounding all decisions for the life of the church in the authority of gospel as attested to in the Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions;

And whereas, the Recommendation explicitly does not offer this grounding, thus permitting conflicting beliefs and practices of ministry, and compromising the interdependency of the church at the congregational, synodical, and national levels as defined in the ELCA Constitution, chapter 3;

And whereas, the Sexuality Statement includes four positions on matters of sexual ethics that are not mutually compatible;

And whereas, the Scriptures and Confessions do not divorce ethics from the gospel, but see ethics as proceeding from the gospel’s good news that God was in Christ reconciling the world, not counting their trespasses against them (2 Cor. 5);

And whereas, the one consensus that does exist among all members of the ELCA is that the church’s response to homosexuality derives from its theology of reconciliation, which is intrinsic to the gospel;

And whereas, the exact meaning and ethical consequences of this theology of reconciliation are disputed among members of the ELCA;

And whereas, the broad disagreement in the ELCA over the ethics surrounding homosexuality may indicate broad disagreement over the gospel itself;

And whereas, differences over the gospel are one the thing that may truly threaten the unity of the church;

And whereas, the proposed Sexuality Statement and Recommendation have provoked widely divergent responses regarding their fidelity to the gospel, further exposing the lack of consensus and eroding unity within the ELCA;

And whereas, members of the ELCA have watched with alarm and concern how the recent decisions of the ELCA’s full communion partner The Episcopal Church have jeopardized its relationship with the Anglican Communion;

And whereas, the last half century has seen extraordinary growth in global Lutheran relations through the Lutheran World Federation and in ecumenical relationships through bilateral dialogues with the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Reformed, and other churches, as well as newly established full communion partnerships;

And whereas, other churches with whom the ELCA is in ecumenical relationships and who are themselves struggling with these issues may benefit from rigorous effort to attain theological clarity on the foregoing questions;

And whereas, the ELCA itself was founded 21 years ago to promote unity among American Lutherans and to overcome long-standing divisions between them;

Therefore, be it resolved:

1) That the ELCA at this time suspend further deliberations on the Report and Recommendation for Ministry Policies;

2) That the ELCA appoint a task force of teaching theologians composed of equal representation of those opposing and those supporting the four-part Recommendation for Ministry Policy to deliberate the theology of reconciliation and to provide to this church, if possible, a clear, scripturally grounded, confessionally warranted contemporary statement of the theology of reconciliation;

3) That the same task force of theologians provide a clear statement of how this theology of reconciliation guides ethical decisions in general, and the ethical assessment of homosexual relationships in particular;

4) That appropriate forums for the critical reception of this study be devised;

5) That the reflection and assessment of ecumenical partners at all levels be invited on the resulting study as well;

6) That any future recommendations for change in ministry standards be explicitly and rigorously reasoned on the basis of this clear, scripturally grounded, confessionally warranted theology of reconciliation.