Immediately after its reorganization in 1918, the ELS found its fellowship with the congregations and synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference. The former Norwegian Synod had helped to organize the conference in 1872. The ELS continued in the Synodical Conference until 1963 when it withdrew because of doctrinal concerns. The conference was dissolved four…
Posts from March 2018
This year, Easter falls on April First. On Easter Day, Christians all over the world gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But April Fool’s Day, by common usage, is a day for pranks. Nobody likes to play the fool. But for a moment, coming up on an April First Easter,…
In 1917, the merger of three Norwegian Lutheran synods was the “greatest church demonstration ever held by Norwegian Lutherans anywhere in the world.” During the days before, a small minority had gathered at the Aberdeen Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. The following Sunday, the minority who would eventually reorganize as the ELS worshipped with Fairview…
One year before the ELS was reorganized, the merger of Norwegian church bodies occurred. The former Norwegian Synod, overlooking what had happened in the 1880s, unfortunately went along into the merger with churches who had opposed the scriptural position on predestination. The merger came about on the basis of a 1912 doctrinal compromise document known…
(Part 3 of 3 articles about the ongoing ELS work in Peru, as seen through the eyes of visiting North American pastors.) Leaving Lima, Peru, by car is often a harrowing event. The traffic, sometimes moving quickly, sometimes crawling along, always requires the attention of the driver. Painted lanes and oncoming traffic appear to mean…
(Part 2 of 3 articles about the ongoing ELS work in Peru, as seen through the eyes of visiting North American pastors.) The contrasts between regions in Peru are stark. They are easily seen flying from the lush green of the jungle area to the dry desert coastal region. The contrasts in the type of…
Somewhere in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus was in an upper room with His closest friends. It was a feast. It was a joyful occasion for all the Jews. Jesus, though, began to be sorrowful and troubled. Sorrow and trouble can come in any number of ways. It might be bad news from the doctor.…
The precipitous event which led to the reorganization of the Norwegian Synod as the ELS occurred in 1917 when a merger of Norwegian Lutheran church bodies occurred. The issue under discussion from 1912–17, as it was in the 1880’s, was the teaching that salvation is completely a gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. This…