WORLD – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) rejects public accusations by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that it has directed members to leave the LWF.
“The International Lutheran Council was not involved in any way with the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to leave the LWF, though I personally consider their decision justified and consistent,” said ILC Chairman Juhana Pohjola, “Recent comments from the LWF reveal a deeply patronizing and condescending attitude towards the Kenyan church—as if they were incapable of evaluating for themselves the theological positions of the LWF and their continued membership in it. This is, in my view, a kind of Western paternalism that should come to an end.”
“The ILC has repeatedly affirmed that member churches are responsible for determining their own church relationships, according to their ‘conscience on the basis of the revealed Word of God and our Confessions,’” Chairman Pohjola explained. “The ILC has never directed its members to leave the LWF, though I understand the concerns that have led some—including the Kenyan church—to do so.”
“From our perspective, the real source of tension seems to be that a growing number of Lutheran church bodies around the world, including LWF members, have expressed discomfort with the theological positions and direction of the LWF,” Chairman Pohjola continued. “At the same time, many of these churches have expressed a desire for a closer relationship with the ILC and its member churches, as they value our council’s strong commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grounded in the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.”
In recent years, a number of LWF-associated churches and groups have contacted the ILC in hopes of developing closer relations. A 2018 report by former LWF General Secretary Martin Junge expressed disapproval of the ILC’s fielding of such requests, and the LWF unilaterally broke off relations with the ILC that same year.
The ILC responded to the LWF’s stated concerns, noting it was ready to resume contact with the LWF at any time “in a spirit of friendliness and mutual respect.” At its 2018 World Conference in Belgium, the ILC further adopted a resolution inviting renewed contact with the LWF. Despite this and other outreach, the LWF has never agreed to reopen relations. Attempts at renewed friendly contact by the ILC in the years since—following the appointment of Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz as General Secretary in 2023, for example—have been ignored by the LWF.
By contrast, the LWF’s posture towards the ILC has been frequently hostile. One church which joined the ILC during its 2018 World Conference, for example, was subsequently visited by the LWF’s regional secretary and directed to break ties with the ILC. The church did so, explaining the pressure they were under from the LWF in a letter to ILC leadership.
“It is quite remarkable to see the LWF—which is far larger than the ILC and has far more resources, financial and otherwise—accuse the ILC of influencing churches to leave the LWF,” said Chairman Pohjola. “In reality, pressure has been exerted in the other direction. I commend those churches who take a stand against such pressure to follow their consciences in accordance with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.”
“It is clear that, for many years now, a realignment of global Christianity has been underway, with churches committed to classical biblical doctrine and ethics distancing themselves from churches pursuing progressive theology,” said Chairman Pohjola. “As far as world Lutheranism is concerned, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya has recently decided to leave the LWF. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana made the same decision somewhat earlier. I do not believe they will be the last churches to make this decision. But to suggest that the ILC must be directing such decisions is simply false, as well as deeply patronizing to the churches in question.”
“Despite recent comments by the LWF, the International Lutheran Council remains open to renewed contact with the LWF,” Chairman Pohjola concluded. “But such relations require a commitment to mutual respect.”
The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran churches dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grounded in the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.
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