congregations of the LCR. Another LCR position paper titled Liberty or Death, written to draw attention to different kinds of legalism, was subsequently adopted in July 2007. Those congregations that withdrew membership with the LCR have declared church fellowship with each other and have since organized the Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference (OLCC). A sixth congregation, in Hudson, Michigan, later withdrew from the LCR over the same issues, and remains independent. Beliefs The Lutheran Churches of the Reformation teach that the Bible is the only authoritative and error-free source for doctrine. It subscribes to the Lutheran Confessions (the Book of Concord) not in-so-far-as but because it is an accurate presentation of what Scripture teaches. It teaches that Jesus is the center of Scripture and the only way to eternal salvation, and that the Holy Spirit uses the gospel alone in Word and Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion) to bring people to faith in Jesus as Savior and keep them in that faith, strengthening them in their daily life of sanctification. The doctrine of the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation is summarized in Franz August Otto Pieper's Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod and Wallace H. McLaughlin's We All Believe in One True God: A Summary of Biblical Doctrine. Operations The Lutheran Churches of the Reformation publishes One Accord, a monthly devotional and news magazine, and The Faithful Word, a quarterly theological journal. The Martin Luther Institute of Sacred Studies in Decatur, Indiana, is the seminary and teacher's college of the LCR. The LCR is governed through annual conventions where delegates of the congregations vote. Doctrinal resolutions must be unanimous, or those in the minority will be suspended from the LCR. The day-to-day business of the LCR is run by the Council, whose members are elected to three year terms, commissions, and committees. For missions, the LCR has a missionary-at-large to serve those who have moved away from their congregations and other like-minded Lutherans. Abroad, the LCR supports congregations in Nigeria and Kenya and has trained pastors for the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation in Nigeria. The LCR has also held seminars to train pastors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of March 2009, about 1,300 people are baptized members of LCR congregations. Distinctive characteristics The LCR believes that the local congregation is the only divinely ordained church organization, and does not refer to synods or