“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.
