He also has some good words of caution for those who would oppose it (not saying that we should affirm it) as well as for who would affirm homosexual clergy.
He sums up by saying:
I fear biblical and traditional Lutherans will lose this battle in the long run. Meanwhile there is life in many Lutheran churches. That life will not go away overnight, even in the midst of this present battle. What does the future hold? I do not know. I tend to think that you will see further erosion on the national level, more cut-backs financially, and greater restlessness among members and clergy. Welcome to the mainline.
But I also believe the next generation is already showing that it will not be as willing to entertain moral relativism as the boomer generation was before them. The next generation is far less churched, far less knowledgeable about the teaching of the Bible, and far more willing to learn what Scripture teaches and to stand for a Christian gospel that calls for real transformation. They do not want the world's agenda, and they are willing to take a tough position with an equal tenderness and graciousness. This might be the real hope in the end.
The principle is biblically universal. It is rooted in Christ and his death.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.
John 12:24Many wonderful Lutherans are now being called upon to live this principle out. The question I have for more conservative churches, and those of you in them who are thankfully not unclear about how sexual ethics are to be properly linked with the message of the gospel as moral transformation, is simple: "Where will God take you to die before he produces a new missional harvest that will glorify his Son in your fellowship as you seek to respond to this ever-hardening North American soil?" We must all die in some way, the only question is how and when.
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