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Lutheran Mission Australia

Lutheran Mission – Australia holds formal launch, installs president

by | Dec 20, 2024

Lutheran Mission – Australia held its launch service on November 24, 2024.

AUSTRALIA – Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A) held its formal launch as a church body on the weekend of November 23-24, during which time the church also installed Rev. Matthew Anker as LM-A president.

LM-A President Matthew Anker speaks after his installation .

“Tonight is the culmination of the efforts of many people over many years,” President Anker said in an address during the launch dinner on November 23. “God Himself has been preparing people for the necessity of establishing Lutheran Mission – Australia to provide His people with hope for the future and with certainty in His Word.”

Several guests also addressed the gathering on November 23, including President Antonio del Rio Reyes of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), who also serves as the Asia region’s representative on the Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). “Today is a day of profound rejoicing and heartfelt gratitude!” said LCP President Reyes. “Our Lord, the God of the harvest and the Master Builder of His Church, has once again displayed His unfailing love and mercy by raising up a faithful assembly under the banner of Lutheran Mission – Australia.”

“Your unwavering commitment to standing firm on the unchanging Word of God amid a world of shifting values and doctrines is truly inspiring,” President Reyes continued. “In an age where many are swayed by cultural trends, your resolve to uphold Christ’s Gospel reflects your love for Him and your faithfulness to His mission.

Also bringing greetings was Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Director of Church Relations for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Dr. Shaw encouraged members to stand firm on God’s Word, highlighting the biblical basis for confessional unity. LM-A’s Chairman, Peter Walter, also addressed the gathering, thanking God for those in Australia who have stood for solid confessional Lutheranism down through the years.

LCP President Antonio del Rio Reyes (left) installs LM-A President Matthew Anker (centre).

On November 24, LM-A held a service of installation for President Anker at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Hamilton, Victoria. LCP President Reyes presided over the installation of Rev. Anker as LM-A President, presenting him with a pectoral cross as a symbol of his office. Rev. Dr. Adam Hensley served as preacher, and Rev. Matthew Kerr and Rev. Matthew Anker served as liturgists. After his installation, President Anker installed other directors and staff of LM-A.

“Today is about much more than the beginning of a new church body,” President Anker reflected after his installation. “As Christians, we are called to boldly confess God’s Word with eternity in view, knowing that what we believe, teach, and confess does indeed have eternal consequences for us and for those we serve.”

“LM-A has been established so that together you and I can also testify to those now living and those who will come after us, the whole counsel of God in Christ Jesus,” President Anker continued. “And to do so boldly and without compromise so that when the day comes for us to appear before Christ, we can make this confession with intrepid hearts, knowing that we stand on nothing other than His revealed word. And in so doing, bring forgiveness, life and salvation to all those we are called to serve.”

Lutheran Mission-Australia is an observer member of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions. LM-A emerged earlier this year out a confessional movement in Australia concerned with the theological direction of the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ), notably on the issue of women’s ordination but also on the question of the authority of Scripture more broadly.

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With files from Lutheran Mission – Australia

Lutherans in Australia, New Zealand prepare for another vote on women’s ordination

by | Sep 11, 2024

AUSTRALIA – The Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ) will hold another vote on women’s ordination at its upcoming Convention of General Synod in October.

The LCANZ has debated the issue of women’s ordination repeatedly for more than three decades, holding five votes on the matter since 2000. In each case, resolutions seeking the adoption of women’s ordination have failed to reach the 2/3 majority required to change church teaching.

The most recent vote took place in 2023. Despite that vote failing, the church went on to adopt another resolution calling on the LCANZ to prepare a detailed framework by which the church could become “one church with two ordination practices,” with a proposal to be submitted in anticipation of the LCANZ’s Convention of General Synod in 2024. That resolution also asserted: “It is the expectation of this General Convention of Synod that both women and men will be ordained in a District of the LCANZ during the 2024-2027 synodical period.”

The new proposal—known as the Way Forward Detailed Framework—was released at the end of July. It envisions amending the LCANZ’s Theses of Agreement so that “the Church changes its teaching to allow for the ordination of women and men.” The proposal argues that, while there are “different theological positions on the gender (male and female) of pastors in the Church,” such differences are “non-divisive of church fellowship, enabling the LCA to remain as one Church.”

Lutheran Mission – Australia

Other Lutherans in Australia disagree that the issue of women’s ordination is non-divisive; a group of concerned Lutherans in Australia have recently launched a new organization—Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A)—to “ensure Confessional Lutheranism has a home in Australia for generations to come.” Elected to serve as LM-A’s inaugural President is Rev. Matt Anker, who formerly served as the LCANZ’s Assistant to the Bishop for International Mission.

“LM-A was established to support, encourage, and strengthen confessional Lutherans in their faithfulness to God and His Word, and to eventually establish a synod which ensures that people are served through the proclamation of the ‘whole counsel of God,’” LM-A’s website explains. “It is committed to ensuring that people in Australia are served with both the Law and Gospel so that God’s desire to bring peace and forgiveness of sins by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone is realised.”

While women’s ordination is one of the most visible areas of contention among Australian Lutherans, LM-A argues that it is just a symptom of a more fundamental disagreement in the LCANZ over the authority of Scripture. Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming vote at the Convention of General Synod, LM-A says, “sooner or later it will be necessary to separate from those who hold to a different confession.”

International Church Relations

In addition to causing internal division in the LCANZ, the adoption of women’s ordination could affect the church’s relations with international partners. For example, the LCANZ is an Associate Member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies. But the Bylaws of the ILC state that any Full or Associate Member which changes its church teaching in a way contrary to the ILC’s Doctrinal Basis will be reduced automatically to Observer Member status.

Lutheran Mission – Australia, for its part, has indicated its intention to also seek membership in the International Lutheran Council.

The Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand will formally consider the proposal on women’s ordination at its General Pastors Conference from September 29-October 2 before bringing it before the Convention of General Synod from October 4-7.

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