Religious Unionism is the act of worshiping or leading worship with Christians with whom we are not in doctrinal agreement and Communion fellowship.
What does unionism look like? Unionism is being practiced when a Lutheran pastor preaches or leads a part of the worship service at a congregation of a different denomination. Unionism occurs when a Lutheran church body works with another church body of a different confession in missionary work as well.
This may not seem like a big deal to some, while to others avoiding it may seem like sectarianism or a good case of the “holier-than-thous.” But there’s Scriptural reasons for refusing to worship with Christians who teach differently. St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” It is God’s will that all Christians be united in the apostolic doctrine, so that they all believe and teach the same thing. God wants His truth to be kept pure. This is why He says through St. Paul in Romans 16:17, “I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” When a church or church body teaches things contrary to the apostles’ doctrine, we are not to have Communion with them or share pulpits with them because that gives the impression that there is a unity of belief—a common confession of faith—where there is none. Unionism ultimately destroys the difference between truth and error so that they cannot be discerned from one another.
St. Paul explains in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15, “If anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother.” Christians aren’t to keep company with those who don’t believe the apostolic doctrine. Now we don’t’ treat Christians of other confessions as enemies, St. Paul says, but we treat them as separated brethren, brothers who have left the fold of the truth and separated themselves from God’s Word. When worship and work is shared between pastors and churches of different confessions, what is being taught is “we all believe the same thing” (which is false) and “doctrine and church membership really don’t matter” (which is also false). Jesus commands us to obey all the things He commands, not just those we like, or those that make sense, or the ones we can all agree upon.
The LCMS takes a strong stance against unionism in its constitution. Article VI of the LCMS constitution states that in order to gain and keep membership in the Synod, there must be a “Renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description, such as: a. Serving congregations of mixed confession, as such, by ministers of the church; b. Taking part in the services and sacramental rites of heterodox congregations or of congregations of mixed confession; c. Participating in heterodox tract and missionary activities.”[1]
The problem with the LCMS is that this “renunciation of the unionism and syncretism of every description” no longer occurs. Unionism is practiced quite often in the Missouri Synod. Unionism can be difficult to track in the LCMS, unless it’s a widely publicized interfaith service that usually happens after a community tragedy. To realize that it is a regularly occurring phenomenon, you must keep your eyes on church bulletin announcements and newsletter calendars.
Here are some examples, all of which you can find on the internet:
An LCMS church in New York’s state capital yearly encourages its members to participate in the local Roman Catholic parish’s annual “Ecumenical Advent Service,” held at the local Roman Catholic Church. From their December 2017 newsletter: “Music is presented by individual choirs and a combined choir. Local pastors read from Scripture between musical presentations.”[2] In this example you have Lutherans gathering with Roman Catholics to worship God and hear God’s Word. Do Lutherans and Roman Catholics confess the same faith? Not at all. Otherwise, what was the point of the Lutheran Reformation?
Another example, again, from the Empire State, happened on September 9, 1998, when a Roman Catholic Church hosted an interfaith service. The LCMS District President of that area participated in the service. He was reprimanded and publicly repented, promising to never do so again. However, three years later, on September 19, 2001, the same LCMS District President participated in an interfaith service at a local Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA), New York City. The service included prayers, congregational hymns, versicles, Psalmody, Scripture readings, a “reflection” by the LCMS District Present, a “reflection” by the ELCA Bishop of Metropolitan New York as well as the Lord’s Prayer, and a responsive blessing.
To make matters even graver, the service bulletin listed not only that District President as a participant in the service, but also the President of the LCMS.[3] It should go without saying that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) and the Missouri Synod are not in altar and pulpit fellowship.
Those last two examples are slightly dated. But unionism is regularly practiced in the LCMS. Until recently, a church in the Kansas District of the LCMS encouraged its members to participate in an annual Ecumenical Blessing of the Palms at the Christian Church a few blocks away. The congregation was encouraged to gather at their Lutheran church for a 15-minute worship service, after which everyone would process down the street for the Ecumenical Blessing of the Palms.[4] Participating in this unionistic service has been a staple at this Lutheran Church for decades. Second, in my neck of the woods, a retired LCMS pastor celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation by giving the “meditation” during Mass at an Anglican church.[5] The bulletin and Facebook announcements for these interfaith services rarely refer to the preaching as a sermon, but typically call it by a different name so as to give the appearance that the Lutheran pastor is not preaching. In all these cases, pastors and officials in the LCMS turn a blind eye to the Scriptures and to their own constitution, both of which they took oaths to uphold. The Scriptures are clear that we aren’t to have fellowship with those who teach differently than the apostles. When we engage in unionism, our confession of the truth of God’s Word is muddied, the trumpet makes an unclear sound (1 Cor 14:48), because we give the impression to everyone, including ourselves, that everyone believes basically the same thing, and ultimately, that the words of Christ and His apostles are simply matters of private interpretation and individual opinion. What makes matters worse, in the case of the Missouri Synod, is that not only are the Scriptures clear about this, but that Synod’s own constitution is crystal clear about unionism, yet most people don’t seem to care. None of the pastors or officials from the examples I used have been disciplined for their error, teaching everyone that unionism is perfectly acceptable in the Missouri Synod.
[1] Constitution, Article VI: Conditions of Membership,” in Handbook: Constitution, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation, 2010. (St. Louis: LCMS, 2010), 15.
[2] http://www.clcalbany.org/pdfs/Chronicles_201712.pdf
[3] http://s3.amazonaws.com/mychurchwebsite/c2001/ acelc_evidence_of_errors_-_unionism__syncretism.pdf. Pg. 14
[4] https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2331f2_162cbbfa246c4f80a900d5edc608f70a.pdf
[5] https://www.facebook.com/kerrvilleanglicanchurch/ “From the Rector” posted October 23, 2017.
