International News

Harrison calls Japan Lutheran Church to repentance

Comments (7)
  1. Rev. Brandon Warr says:

    Great. Now do that to the districts in the LCMS that are letting the deaconesses wear Pastoral vestments and preach.

  2. Neville Fishlock says:

    Dear President Dr Matthew Harrison, I have just read your letter to President Yoshida of the JLC. You are correct to draw his attention to this problem in the Church at large. From the infomation gleaned from your letter, it must lay heavy on your heart that this cpould and has indeed happened. The effort that the LCMS has put into a mission of so long ago must also be hurting. It is also oblivuos that LWF has used some tactics not conduvice to being ‘sola scriptura’.
    every blessing as you and the LCMS sort out this problem, yours in Christ, Neville

  3. Rev. Richard Zeile says:

    I appreciate President Harrison’s forthright action.

  4. Eugene Mossner says:

    What an arrogant and condescending letter our LCMS President has sent to the President of the Japan Lutheran Church! Unbelievable! It clearly indicates that he has no understanding whatsoever of Japanese culture or the Japanese mindset. He sounds like an uncaring, overbearing school master lecturing a young child! It probably will do more to set back Christianity in Japan than anything else in the past 100 years. Because the JLC has voted to allow women pastors, he is now willing (and perhaps eager) to sever altar and pulpit fellowship with a church that we founded back in 1948 — as if this were the defining issue in Christianity in the year 2021. He seems to forget that it was WOMEN that first brought the message of our Savior’s rising from the dead on Easter Sunday to MEN (The Disciples). Many Christians and many Lutherans (including members of the LCMS) disagree with our Synod’s position on this issue. Yet Dr. Harrison seems to think that the LCMS has the final say on this matter — here on earth and perhaps in heaven. I truly feel sorry and saddened with people who have such a super- elevated view of their “theology.”

    1. Charlie says:

      The issue of who first brought the message of the Risen Christ has no bearing on the issue at hand. It’s a red herring.

      What else would you expect President Harrison to do when a church in fellowship with the LCMS undertakes a practice that is clearly opposed to Scripture? Look the other way?

      The LCMS doesn’t have the final say on the issue of women in pastoral ministry. Sacred Scripture does. If I disagree with Scripture and if Scripture is indeed God’s own inspired Word, it is me who must change – unless, of course, I think I’m in a position to overrule God Himself!

      The alternative is that I get to pick and choose the parts of Scripture to which I want to pay attention, ignoring the rest.

      We’ve seen the result of that approach with the ELCA and how they have violated God’s clear and unequivocal Word by performing same sex “weddings” and ordaining openly practicing homosexual pastors. This is a direct result of purposefully ignoring the clear guidance of Scripture, so let’s be sure we don’t start down that same slippery slope.

  5. Frank Rothfuss says:

    If the congregations and members of Synod search the Scriptures, they will undoubtedly be surprised to find women holding positions of spiritual leadrship in both the Old Testament and the New (judges, prophets, teachers, evangelists) and no solid evidence for denying women ordination into pastoral ministry. And if they searched the Confessions, they will find that for true unity in the church all “it is enough to agree concerning the teaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments” (AC VII).