1961 Committee No. 2 Report - WELS

Finally, enough WELS members were convinced that discussions with the LC-MS were at in impasse and they were able to terminate fellowship because a majority voted for it.

Committee No. 2 Report, 1961 WELS Proceedings, p. 197-199

Quotes of note:

"WHEREAS, Our admonitions have largely gone unheeded, and the issues have remained unsolved..."

"WHEREAS, The Commission... reports that differences... have brought us to an impasse..."

"WHEREAS, ... we see no avenue leading to the removal of the difference in regard to church fellowship principles..."

"Resolved, a) That we now suspend fellowship ... on the basis of Romans 16:17,18..."

Is it not interesting that the WELS charged the LC-MS with divisions and offenses way back in 1955? The justification for suspending fellowship at this point in 1961 is because a majority believed that discussions were at an impasse.

1960 "The Deepening Wedge of Error" - Essay

The Deepening Wedge of Error, Paul F. Nolting, 1960

In 1960, Pastor Paul F. Nolting writes about the errors creeping into the Wisconsin Synod. His essay focuses on four areas:

1. The Doctrine of Fellowship

"If the Synod ever [breaks with the LC-MS], it will be making a long overdue right decision for the wrong reason."

2. The Doctrine of the Call

"One pastor after another has had his divine call terminated in one of two ways: either by direct vote on a motion to terminate said call or indirectly by rejecting the Scripture-based ministry of the pastor... In no case ... has any pastor been accused of false doctrine, scandalous life, or willful neglect of duty... Official representatives of the synod have ... been assuring [congregations] that they agree perfectly with the men who have left ... 'only they were a bit hasty!'"

3. The Doctrine of Scripture

"... in recent years [Rom. 16:17,18] has suddenly become most difficult and unclear..."

"... Satan used a very pious question to destroy the authority of the Word in the Wisconsin Synod. That question is: 'When is the time, the right time, to begin to obey?'"

4. The Doctrine of the Church

"The false proposition has been permitted to stand that withdrawal from the synod includes resignation of the call. Thus the synod is undermining both the right of ordination and and the rite of installation - both of which bind the pastor to the Scriptures and the Confessions, not to the Synod."

1959 Report of Floor Committee No. 23 Re: A Call for Decision

Floor Committee No. 23 was set up in order to deal with the memorial called A Call for Decision. Here is their report:

Floor Committee No. 23, 1959 WELS Proceedings, p. 211-212

Quotes of note: Not really any quotes except that this committee (and the Synod) disavowed any serious charges made by the memorial A Call for Decision.

1959 "A Call for Decision" Revisited

The 1959 memorial to the WELS convention entitled "A Call for Decision" was circulated to other interested parties to see if they would like to sign it as well.

Here it is again, with all 30 signers: A Call for Decision, 1959 WELS Proceedings, p. 209-211

1959 Committee No. 2

What follows is the WELS Floor Committee No. 2 (Church Union) report to the 1959 Convention.

Report of Floor Committee No. 2 (Church Union), 1959 Proceedings, p. 194-197

Quote of Note:

"That we instruct our Church Union Committee to continue its efforts... until agreement on doctrine and practice can be reached, or until an impasses reached..."

1959 Memorial to the WELS Convention

Here is another memorial urging the WELS to sever fellowship with the LC-MS on the basis of Romans 16:17,18. The signers of this memorial also mention their agreement with a memorial called A Call for Decision.

1959, Memorial, Wisconsin Synod Proceedings, p. 181-182

Quote of note:

"Our failure to [sever fellowship with the LC-MS] has had this twofold effect: The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has been encouraged to continue in the offenses, and we have grievous dissension in our own midst. This dissension can only become more serious unless we implicitly obey the Word of God."

1959 A Report of the Protest Committee

The WELS Protest Committee makes its report to the 1959 Convention.

1959, A Report of the Protest Committee, WELS Convention Proceedings, p. 177-179

Quote of note:

"Your committee does not find itself in a position at this time to present a solution to the problem which confronts the Synod.... That is due in part to the fact that the authors of very nearly all the protests consider only one solution to the intersynodical problem, namely a break with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod."