Will Membership in The Augustana Ministerium Cause Pastors of the LCMS or Other Bodies to Be Removed from those Bodies?
It shouldn’t. Considering that pastors of, e.g., the LCMS have both created and participated in other societies and organizations for continuing education and enrichment (including those that require an outright commitment to teachings and practices contrary to the confession of their church body), there should be no reason that any objection would arise to a trans-synodical association of pastors that actually requires faithful teaching and practice in accord with what their church bodies officially claim. Some, no doubt, will try to claim that the self-regulating nature of The Augustana Ministerium’s membership (true pastoral oversight by means of mutual accountability) is functioning in a way that a synod has reserved for itself. The fact is, however, that all membership organizations must do this, and that it does not conflict with synodical membership because any ruling on membership status only affects membership within that organization, not the synod. Thus, the liberal Pastoral
