“Tell
me more about what LCMC Membership means.”
♦ We are free in Christ.
Lutherans always have celebrated the freedom we have
in Christ. Our freedom is based in the Biblical notion of freedom that Paul set forth in Romans 6. It is a wonderful
paradox that Christians find their freedom by being bound to Christ. As we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus
Christ we discover the joy of real freedom.
♦ We are accountable to one another.
LCMC is an association of congregations.
We have a great respect for the reality that the church is where the people of God are gathered together around Word
and Sacrament. The local congregation is where the church becomes a concrete reality for God’s people. At
the same time we are joyously aware that each congregation is a part of the greater body of Christ. The actions
of each congregation within our association reflect on our association as a whole. And the actions of our association
reflects on the whole body of Christ. For this reason we have committed ourselves to a common set of ministry standards. Congregations
have significant latitude in ordering and shaping ministry in their local setting, and we intentionally have made
joining and leaving the association simple. We also have a disciplinary process for addressing congregations whose
actions violate our agreed-upon statements of faith and practice.
♦ We are rooted and
grounded
in the
Scriptures and the
Lutheran
Confessions --
Our association
is firmly committed to accepting the normative authority of the Bible. We reject the notion that science, personal
experience, tradition, or other human endeavors have equal footing with the Bible. We are certainly aware that these
endeavors contribute to our conversations and deliberations, but the Bible must be our final authority in matters
of faith and practice. We also believe that the Lutheran Confessions offer us accurate interpretations of the
Biblical witness and we commit ourselves to being guided by them in our life together as an association.
. . . We are working together to
fulfill Christ’s Great Commission
to go and make disciples of
all
nations.
LCMC
has one primary mission: that of sharing the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are focused on starting congregations
in this country, supporting missionaries around the world, and raising up and training leaders to serve Christ and
His church. LCMC is committed to knowing Jesus and making Jesus known. The association is dedicated to helping member
congregations carry out this mission.
A
Pastoral Admonition. . .
"We affirm that God created us male and female, and that it is God's will and intention that human sexual expression
and fulfillment take place only within the boundaries of marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew
19:4-6; and Mark 10:2-9). And, we confess as individuals and as congregations that we have not fulfilled God's will in our
decisions, modeling, and teaching."
Our
Statement of Faith
2.01. We believe, teach, and confess the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
2.02. We believe, teach, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and
the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in him.
a. Jesus Christ is the Word of
God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
b.
The proclamation of God's message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy in the
person and work of Jesus Christ through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself.
c. The canonical
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors,
they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God's Spirit speaks to us to create
and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
2.03.
We believe, teach, and accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and
the sole authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life.
2.04.
We accept the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the scriptural faith we believe, teach,
and confess.
2.05. We believe, teach, and accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and
the Small Catechism as true witnesses to the Word of God, normative for our teaching and practice. We acknowledge
that we are one in faith and doctrine with all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg
Confession.
2.06. We believe, teach, and confess the other confessional writings in
the Book of Concord, namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise, the Large Catechism,
and the Formula of Concord, as further valid expositions of the Holy Scriptures.
2.07. We believe, teach, and confess the gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures
and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain
the priesthood of all believers for God's mission in the world.
