August 20, 2004, from Bishop Bouman

Gregory,

Please share the letter with Jenson. I have long admired his work and he loves the Church and will pull no punches. I am a long admirer of his and I think reflected much of his thinking in my letter. Please understand that my letter is rambling, and rough, and often making a harder case than I would really make publicly because I think the Church needs the kind of conversation we are having. I have been in contact with some theologians and bishops (especially those like McCoid and Marcus Miller who are committed to not changing the church's stance on these issues) concerning the things I wrote.

I am dismayed that you would find what I have written as possibly unLutheran or even a difference view of Christianity. I hope that you can trust the central commitments to Scripture and the Confessions that have been at the heart of my ministry in the Church, so that we can have this conversation. I am letting my hair down in a private context so that we can grapple with some important underlying issues. I am also open to correction and reproof. But it's hard to be open if you read me out of the church.

Stephen