President Newman and Concordia Texit
“It is important for you to know that CTX is not pursuing a progressive liberal agenda. Any rumors about such a desire are not true and try to use isolated incidents to discredit CTX’s unwavering commitment to all the LCMS believes, teaches and confesses.”
“The current CTX bylaws require all board of regents members to be members in good standing in LCMS congregations. The CTX bylaws also require adherence to the Biblical and Confessional standards of the LCMS. An external review of the university’s alignment with the LCMS will be conducted every three years. Finally, the board has seats reserved for a representative of the LCMS as well as from the Texas District. In addition to oversight by the regents in this area, all called workers remain under the ecclesiastical oversight of the district president.”
Texas District President Michael Newman sent out a Thanksgiving Eve missive regarding the ongoing attempt by Concordia University Texas to declare independence (well, kind of) from the Missouri Synod. They want independence as to governance - to be able to avoid being governed by synod the way the rest of the Concordias are - and are attempting to do so unilaterally, without the members of synod, or the synod convention, having any say in the matter.
In spite of our ongoing issues of Wokeism in the Concordia system, President Newman assures us that this move by CTX is purely political, not doctrinal. And I appreciate the fact that he is taking personal responsibility and liability in making this declaration, while pointing out that he, as the Texas District president, is where the buck stops.
This is good news indeed, and I believe we should rejoice. For at least there is someone willing to say, “I am responsible. I am accountable.” We are all tired of mealy-mouthed double-talk and bureaucratese run through teams of lawyers that ultimately says nothing. Our Lord bids us to straight talk. President Newman is stepping up and taking ownership of what goes on at CTX.
Of course, when one of our Concordias is seeking less (essentially zero) synod oversight, instead of inviting even more scrutiny by synod, it does make one wonder why. And again, President Newman is now on the record that this is a matter of polity, and not some kind of rebellion against our confession as LCMS Lutherans.
Perhaps one of those “isolated incidents” (Of what? False doctrine? Violation of Scripture?) is the fact that CTX is staffed by three counselors whose page at CTX described their work in this way (from my earlier post about CTX)…
“[W]ith one staff member who deals with “LGBTQ concerns”, one that is “an LGBTQIA+ affirming and culturally sensitive counselor”, and another that “is an LGBTQIA+ affirming provider.””
Interestingly, the page has since been altered so as to remove the word “affirming” - while leaving everything else the same. So did these latter two counselors on the page have a change of heart, and they are no longer “affirming” of the breaking of the Sixth Commandment? Or is this simply bureaucratic you-know-what covering and Orwellian Memory-Holing that doesn’t indicate any change at all in the philosophy of the individuals involved? Are we owed an explanation? Or have we simply always been at war with Eastasia.
And again, why is a Christian university grounded in the Lutheran tradition using acronyms like “LGBTQ,” and “LGBTQIA+” - woke codewords that intend to normalize things that are contrary to Scripture? Here is a helpful explanation of what each of the letters stand for :
“WHAT DOES “LGBTQIA+” STAND FOR EXACTLY?
If you’re just learning about sexuality, gender, and all these other things, they can be a little hard to remember. This acronym not only serves as a symbol of our movement for rights, but even as a memory tool for those who need a little help.
L - Lesbian. Lesbian is a term used to refer to homosexual females.
G - Gay. Gay is a term used to refer to homosexuality, a homosexual person, or a homosexual male.
B - Bisexual. Bisexual is when a person is attracted to two sexes/genders.
T - Trans. Trans is an umbrella term for transgender and transsexual people.
Q - Queer/Questioning. Queer is an umbrella term for all of those who are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. Questioning is when a person isn’t 100% sure of their sexual orientation and/or gender, and are trying to find their true identity.
I - Intersex. Intersex is when a person has an indeterminate mix of primary and secondary sex characteristics.
A - Asexuality. Asexuality is when a person experiences no (or little, if referring to demisexuality or grey-asexuality) sexual attraction to people.
+ - The “+” symbol simply stands for all of the other sexualities, sexes, and genders that aren’t included in these few letters.”
So how many of these initials in The Acronym are part of our Lutheran Identity touted by CTX? Here is how the CTX webpage introduces the idea of Lutheran Identity:
“Concordia is a place where Christ is honored and all are welcome.
Concordia University Texas is Austin’s leading Christian liberal arts university, where students of all backgrounds experience a high-quality education in a caring community rooted in the Lutheran tradition.
At Concordia, we challenge students to think critically, explore fearlessly, and lead with courageous compassion. Our Christ-centered curriculum empowers students to make a meaningful impact, both in their vocation and by learning to serve their neighbors and communities. In our classrooms, students participate in open dialogue, receive personal attention from professors who are prepared to answer tough questions about the world, and learn the power of asking questions.
*This page was updated November 22, 2022.”
Further down the page, we read:
“COMMITMENT TO LCMS THEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE
The Concordia University Texas Board of Regents affirms its alignment with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and commitment to the authority of Scripture and Lutheran Confessions. The Board is committed to continued service to the LCMS through church worker education and other partnerships and instituting a set of policies by which it will ensure an ongoing faithfulness to the LCMS and its teachings.”
Maybe potential and current students, faculty, staff, and administration should be fully informed from the start what it means in concrete terms, that our Lutheran Identity includes acceptance of the Bible as inerrant, and the Lutheran confessions as normative, that this includes the divine restriction of marriage to one man and one woman, that God created humanity only as male and female, that other expressions of sexuality outside of so-called heterosexual marriage are sinful and disordered, the literal belief that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive, the doctrine that wives are to submit to their husbands, and that women may not be ordained to the pastoral office. Perhaps if these things were made crystal-clear from the start - that this is what “Lutheran Identity” means - perhaps we would not have seen the gross Wokeism and open championing of violations of the Sixth Commandment that has been a problem at other LCMS institutions. Maybe we need our leaders to confess plainly, and not try to fly under the cultural radar.
So perhaps this sexual Wokeism at CTX is one of those “isolated incidents” that President Newman is referring to. And if it is isolated, it should be easy to fix. Perhaps Lutheran Identity should include not having secular counselors on staff who are normalizing - if not indeed actually “affirming” - unbiblical and sinful sexuality. Perhaps Lutheran identity would mean having pastors in those positions - men who are accountable to, and committed to, the Bible and the Lutheran confessions.
At any rate, I do want to thank President Newman for his willingness to stick his neck out and be accountable for the goings on at CTX - especially given their attempt to unilaterally loosen the synod’s control over what goes on at the university. He is stepping up and filling the gap. He is saying, “The buck stops here.”
I hope he understands just how fed up ordinary Lutherans are with the liberalism and Wokeism that is out there in our institutions. We are really angry. We are watching the Long March Through the Institutions move like a juggernaut. We saw celebrations of sexual deviancy even in the form of a school-sanctioned club at one of the now-defunct Concordias. Another now-defunct Concordia awarded a BLM leader - who threatened “riots, fire, and bloodshed” - with a “Servant of Christ” award. Still another Concordia suspended a respected professor for blowing the whistle about the Wokeism on campus. Parents don’t want this. Pastors don’t want this. Laypeople don’t want this. Synod leadership doesn’t want this. So it is nice to know that the Texas District President is also on board.
President Newman has planted his flag on the side of Biblical inerrancy and all that entails in the life of CTX.
So I would like to offer President Newman a way to make his belief and confession clear to everyone involved - especially as CTX is engaged in a soft secession from synod. Here is an open letter that I am writing for him and give him permission to sign and distribute to everyone in the CTX community and in the LCMS:
Dear Friends:
I understand why there is a lot of suspicion regarding the proposed changes in governance at CTX. I want to assure everyone first of all that CTX and the Texas District are committed to Biblical, Lutheran, LCMS Christianity, and secondly, that I, as the Texas District President, will hold CTX and all rostered workers accountable, and will use my authority - including the use of church discipline - to maintain that Lutheran Identity.
Lutheran Identity includes our belief that the Bible is God’s Word: inerrant and literally true. All of our teaching is normed by the Holy Scriptures. God created man exclusively as male and female. There are no other sexes or gender identities. God established marriage only between one man and one woman. Any sexual expression that deviates from this established order is sinful. God established wives to submit to their husbands, and children to submit to their parents. We do not believe in the ordination of women. We also submit to the Lutheran Confessions as a “normed norm” for our Biblical faith and life. We believe that the Christian faith is exclusively true. We also defend life from conception to natural death.
I realize that not everyone agrees with our Lutheran confession. But that is our confession. That is how CTX is run. Students who cannot abide our confession are welcome to transfer to a different university. Faculty and staff members are expected to respect our Lutheran Identity and not to contradict it in the course of their work.
Modern critical theories regarding race, ethnicity, and sexuality are not in accordance with our Biblical faith, and will not be tolerated on the campus of CTX or among rostered church workers in the Texas District.
CTX is the Church’s university. LCMS parents and students should not expect their faith to be merely permitted on campus, but rather to be normative. This is my commitment to the CTX community and to the Church at large.
The buck stops here.
In Christ,
[Signed]