Not LCMS? No problem at LCMS, Inc.! (Mollie)

We discussed a few weeks ago the sudden departure of LCMS World Mission executive director Rev. Robert Roegner. His interim replacement is the Rev. Tom Zehnder.

Today, Synod, Inc. sent around a call for nominations for the executive director position. This person would administer LCMS World Mission board and operations, supervising everything and everybody under that board. He would serve as spokesman for the Board for Mission Services. So check out this portion of the document, emphasis mine:

Qualifications: The following list suggests characteristics that may be helpful for this role. It is not inclusive, nor should any single item be deemed an absolute requirement.

  • Active member of an LCMS congregation, faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions and supportive of the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, and policies.
  • Rostered, ordained clergy of the LCMS and/or proficient in theology and missiology, understanding of world cultures, cross-cultural ministry, the mission history of the Christian Church, and opportunities for outreach in North America and the world.

Um, what? It’s one thing to say that the person need not be a rostered, ordained clergy member of the LCMS or understand it’s theology. I mean, no offense, but a non-insignificant number of executives at Synod, Inc. understand Lutheran theology in any meaningful sense.

And when I served on the Board for Communication Services, we understood that we wouldn’t be able to offer a job to a confessional clergy member of the LCMS who was proficient in theology because President Gerald Kieschnick wouldn’t even let us hire any staffer who was a confessional clergy member of the LCMS who was proficient in theology. He literally blocked us from hiring qualified individuals who were also confessional Lutherans.

But it’s not a requirement that the executive even be a member of an LCMS congregation? How in the world could this not be a requirement? It’s just a suggested characteristic of a nominee? Gah.

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