CCM opponent Mark Rydberg, one of more than fifty voting members to flock to microphones for the plenary debate, said the debate was not merely about the historic episcopate, but more about the necessity of Lutherans adopting the historic episcopate to achieve full communion. The issue is not bishops. The issue is a certain form of bishops. Episcopal bishops carry greater power than their Lutheran counterparts, and some CCM opponents are concerned that Lutheran bishops will gain similar lifelong authority. But it is not the real issue.
Some times there is a cost to discipleship.
We must walk up to the precipice of the historic episcopate and remain people who live by the Word. Opponent Rebecca Wagner worried that CCM would dilute Lutherans' confessional identity. The words we have before us are words I cannot agree with. Wagner said she could not reconcile CCM with the Augsburg Confession. Marcus Miller disagreed.