2008 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly
A Synod at Table with the Hungry
2008 Synod Assembly > Resolutions > 2008-01

Resolution 2008-01:

Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible Initiative

Passed

1 WHEREAS, the Prophet Isaiah wrote,
2 “So shall my word be that goes
3 out from my mouth; it shall not
4 return to me empty, but it shall
5 accomplish that which I purpose,
6 and succeed in the thing for which
7 I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11, NRSV);
8 and

9 WHEREAS, John the Evangelist
10 wrote, “But these are written so
11 that you may come to believe that
12 Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of
13 God, and that through believing
14 you may have life in his name.”
15 (John 20:31, NRSV); and

16 WHEREAS, the Reformers wrote,
17 “We believe, teach, and confess
18 that the prophetic and apostolic
19 writings of the Old and New
20 Testaments are the only rule and
21 norm according to which all
22 doctrines and teachers alike must
23 be appraised and judged.”
24 (Formula of Concord, Epitome);
25 and

26 WHEREAS, biblical illiteracy
27 threatens the life of the church and
28 the propagation of the Gospel, and
29 regular reading and study of the
30 Scriptures are essential to mature
31 discipleship of Jesus Christ; and

32 WHEREAS, the 2007 Churchwide
33 Assembly of the Evangelical
34 Lutheran Church in America
35 invited synods, congregations, and
36 individuals to engage in the five-
37 year collaborative initiative, Book
38 of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible
39 (see
40 http://www.elca.org/bookoffaith);

41 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
42 that the Southeastern Minnesota
43 Synod become a Book of Faith:
44 Lutherans Read the Bible synod,
45 with the goal of raising the synod’s
46 congregational and individual
47 engagement with the Bible,
48 yielding greater biblical fluency, so
49 that through believing, we may
50 have and share life in the name of
51 Christ; and

52 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
53 the bishop of the Southeastern
54 Minnesota Synod – who “as its
55 pastor, shall be a teacher of the
56 faith of this church and shall
57 provide leadership for the life and
58 witness of this church” – in
59 coordination with the synod
60 advocate lead this initiative
61 through collaborative
62 programmatic work with
63 congregations of the synod; and

64 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
65 that all voting members of this
66 synod assembly covenant together
67 to begin a regular practice of Bible
68 study and prayer, gathering with
69 others in their congregation and/or
70 community to speak and hear the
71 Word from one another; and

72 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
73 we celebrate and continue to
74 support and strengthen those
75 places where Scripture is already
76 taught and engaged, such as
77 Women of the ELCA Bible
78 studies, camping and campus
79 ministries, congregational
80 councils, Sunday schools and
81 other congregational groups; and

82 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
83 we encourage all congregations to
84 become a “Book of Faith”
85 congregation, which will find
86 expression by:
87    • exploring new
88       opportunities for engaging
89       the Bible,
90    • sending members to
91       training events as Bible
92       study leaders,
93    • including biblical study as
94       an integral part of all
95       meetings and groups, in
96       order to become more
97       fluent in the first language
98       of faith – the language of
99       Scripture – that we might
100      live into our calling as a
101      people renewed, enlivened,
102      empowered, and sent by
103      the Word.

Passed and submitted by the Blue Earth River Conference, author Rev. Jay Dahlvang

Committee on Reference and Counsel recommends adding the final four resolved clauses to clarify specific strategies for implementing the Book of Faith initiative in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod.

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