Church of the Lutheran Confession


The Church of the Lutheran Confession is a conservative Christian religious body theologically adhering to confessional Lutheran doctrine. Founded in 1960 in Minnesota, it has approximately 85 congregations in 24 U.S. states, and missions in Canada, India, Africa, Nepal, and Myanmar.
The CLC maintains its headquarters at its ministerial college; Immanuel Lutheran High School, College & Seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Historical background

Various Lutheran congregations left their synods during the 1950s and were independent at first. They began meeting together in 1957. The Church of the Lutheran Confession was formed around the time of the break-up of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America in 1963.
The CLC was created primarily from congregations that broke away from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in a disagreement about the application of the principles of Christian fellowship. The CLC maintained that the WELS and ELS misapplied those principles by not breaking with the Synodical Conference and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod after they had publicly recognized doctrinal error within those bodies.
While there were joint talks in the 1990s between the CLC and the WELS and ELS to resolve the dispute, no resolution was reached. Recently, the WELS and ELS have been in formal discussions with the CLC over doctrinal issues. The goal of these discussions is to restore fellowship with each other. However, the 2017 CLC General Pastoral Conference has recommended that the 2018 CLC Convention reject the Joint Statement Regarding the Termination of Fellowship that was proposed in 2015 by the discussions.

Beliefs and practice

Core beliefs

The CLC teaches that the Bible is the only authoritative source for doctrine. It subscribes to the Lutheran Confessions as an accurate presentation of what Scripture teaches. It is strongly linked to the concept of sola scriptura—scripture alone, and its website states, "If it is not Scripture; it is not Lutheran."

Ecumenical relations

Fellowship between the CLC and other church groups is established only upon investigation and confirmation that both church groups hold complete unity in scriptural doctrine and practice.
The CLC is currently in fellowship with several worldwide synods, some founded through mission work by the CLC.

Publishing and publications

The CLC Bookhouse is the official publishing house for the CLC. It is devoted to publishing Christian literature and CLC related religious materials, as well as several CLC periodicals. The CLC Bookhouse also offers books and items from other publishing houses.
CLC periodicals include:
CLC educational materials include: