President Emeritus’ Latest Commentary Shows the Church-Growthers’ Fear Over the Election, by Pr. Rossow

Most would agree that there are at least two “camps” in the LCMS: 1) the confessional group that sees the Lutheran Confessions as a norm for doctrine and practice and 2) the church-growthers who put sociology, psychology, felt needs and the like near to or on the same par as the Confessions as the norm for doctrine and practice. Both groups claim Scripture as the source of faith but each group has as different lens for reading the Scriptures.

The church-growthers are getting very nervous about the up-coming election which has led them to develop a new and troubling tactic – district presidents being touted as the moral guide for who to vote for. We have documented on this site how the DP’s of the Northwest, California-Nevada-Hawaii and Eastern Districts are encouraging delegates to vote against incumbent Matthew Harrison and now Emeritus President Kieschnick has jumped into the game.

In his most recent letter to his subscribers, just this morning, he says

So, if you are one of last year’s district convention delegates who will be electing the LCMS president this week, why not seek the counsel of your district president regarding the candidates on the ballot? And if you are a delegate to the national Synod convention in July, why not seek that same counsel regarding candidates for the other officers and board members to be elected?

To assist you in that process, I’ve attached below my signature at the end of this article a list of all 35 district presidents, their office phone number and email address. I’m sure your district president would appreciate hearing from you and will be happy to respond.

He then goes on to list all the district presidents and their contact information.

I am not sure that I oppose this notion. Anyone is free to give their opinion on anything in a free society. What I do know for sure is that this is a new tactic and that it runs counter to the way our synod has always viewed pastors, circuit counselors, and DP’s. Many would say it is in poor taste.

At the very least, this new and desperate tactic is a sign that the church-growthers just don’t know what to do in the face of the clear and obvious churchmanship and effectiveness of President Matthew Harrison.

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