What is the International
Chairman of the International Lutheran Council Report
Lutheran Council and what has it accomplished in the past year?
by Hans-Jörg Voigt
1. What constitutes the International Lutheran Council?
to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Most honoured assembly, dear brothers and sisters! I am Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word delighted to be allowed to be a guest here at Buenos Aires, of God.” “Unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as and it is my pleasure to give this report to you. I want to embrace the opportunity to express my gratitude to our the inspired and infallible Word of God” — thus, comhost, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina, monly we describe the authority of the Holy Scripture especially to President Nagel and Professor Pfaffenzeller and its high significance for our member churches. In and to all helpers. I also want to say a special thank you to Western societies — and, as far as I perceive, more and Mrs. Catharine O’Neil and to our executive secretary the more in the Eastern and Southern Hemispheres too — authority is less and less conclusively justified by itself. Rev. Dr. Albert Collver. Since our last conference in Niagara Falls in 2012, The challenge to our churches and to the ILC as a whole will more and more be to substantithe International Lutheran Council ate why, to us, the Holy Scripture is (ILC) turns either 20 or 50. Both The challenge to our an infallible authority. are jubilees that will have to be celchurches and to the ILC First and foremost we have to ebrated belatedly. “In 1963 by a third as a whole will more and quote the Holy Scripture’s own tesmeeting in Cambridge, England, timony: “All scripture is inspired by where the name ‘International more be to substantiate God and is useful for teaching, for Lutheran Theological Conference’ why, to us, the Holy was chosen for these informal Scripture is an infallible reproof, for correction,1 and for training in righteousness.” international gatherings. The ILC authority. The apostle Paul, too, knows as a council of church bodies offiabout this authority, founded on the cially came into existence in 1993 in Antigua, Guatemala with the adoption of a constitution Holy Ghost, when he says: “For prophecy never had its by representatives from Lutheran church bodies from all origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as six continents.” This would be a possible way to read an they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”2 A bishop of one of the German Landeskirchen said concerning this abstract of our history. If we humbly agree to restrict ourselves on celebrating problem: “A biblical text is not automatically relevant to a the 20th anniversary of the ILC, 1993–2013, we shall still congregation, just because it is from the Bible.”3 As ILC churches, such words make us stand up and have ample reason to thank our Lord and Savior for His defiantly cry, “But it is.” It is my strong personal convicprotection and His guidance. The International Lutheran Council holds the Holy tion that biblical texts are relevant especially because they Scripture to be God’s infallible Word and the center are written in the Bible. But if we are honest, we will have of all cooperation. Our constitution formulates: “The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of established confessional Lutheran church bodies which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and
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The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, 2 Tim. 3:16. 1
The Holy Bible: New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, 2 Pet. 1:21. 2 3
Landesbischof Dr. Ralf Meister in einer Vortrag 2014 vor der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Missionarischer Dienste (AMD).
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod