Synod Stories 19: Korea, the LWF, and Lutheran Fellowship
Pastor Ben Ball, Second Vice President of the LCMS, went to Seoul in early October to address the convention of the Lutheran Church in Korea, standing in for President Harrison. The convention's main question was whether to stay in the Lutheran World Federation. Pastor Ball explains what the LWF is, why the LCMS never joined, and why the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was a turning point for many partner churches. He also describes the floor debate that followed his presentation and the convention's decision to study the question one more year.
He traces LCMS mission work in Korea from chaplains serving during the Korean War to a self-standing church by 1958. He explains why the Korean church's main request was help getting a Lutheran hymnal, and why a member in the pew should care what partner churches confess.
Documents mentioned in this episode
- The Lutheran World Federation Today: Missio Dei, Imago Dei and the Ongoing Reformation (Jonathan E. Shaw, LCMS Church Relations, 2024)
- 2019 LCMS Convention resolutions on partner churches and the Lutheran World Federation (LCMS Reporter)
