Kieschnick: I guess we are divided, after all

Last year, President Kieschnick claimed that the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod wasn’t divided. Not at all. We were more unified than we’d ever been, he claimed.

In his most recent letter to pastors, he admits that’s not the case.

He lists the following areas where we’re not united:

* “The administration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, mainly the question of who should be invited or allowed to commune at the altar of our Lord in LCMS congregations.
* “The service of women, mainly the question of in what roles and capacities Scripture allows or commends the participation and involvement of women in the church.
* “Questions about proper forms of worship, mainly how much uniformity is necessary in the worship life of LCMS congregations, how much and what kind of diversity in forms of worship is acceptable.
* “Inter-Christian relationships, mainly the question of how to remain a biblical, confessional, evangelical, Christian, Lutheran church body boldly confessing the truth in love, relating to other Christians and Christian churches while honoring our covenants of love to avoid unionism and syncretism.”

Has President Kieschnick has brought us closer to unity or division over these points since he took office in 2001? These problems were always there, but I think the evidence points to President Kieschnick exacerbating all of these problems, not only through horrible decisions immediately after taking office (Yankee Stadium, anyone?) but through a noticeable lack of theological leadership since then.

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