Update on the Ecclesiastical Battle in Kenya, by Pr. Rossow

Bishop Asiago (left) and Other Faithful Men of the ELCK
Bishop Asiago (left) and Other Faithful Men of the ELCK
Yesterday I wrote about Bishop Obare of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya (ELCK), a sister church of the LCMS, hiring police to bar legitimate delegates from the electoral convention there.

The five bus loads of legitimate delegates have now headed home. Before doing so they held an election. (My guess is there were more of them outside the gates than within since many of them came from Kisii land which has more ELCK members than any other diocese.) They have elected the following leaders: Bishop Thomas Asiago as ELCK’s presiding Bishop, Bishop Keah the Deputy to the Presiding Bishop and Rev. Meshack Ngare as General Secretary. Congratulations to these men and to the delegates who elected them.

Each of the delegates was carrying the official minutes from their parish meeting (like our circuit) where they were elected delegates. They also felt it was important to go to the site of the duly called convention. These two things will assist in getting a just decision from the courts now that they have held a parallel election, although they have stated flatly that if Obare can find the money he will try to bribe the officials and thwart justice.

It is a big mess in the ELCK right now. It is good to see these folks standing up to the years of injustice. There is still a strong tribal mentality in Kenya which causes incredibly great amounts of respect and trust for the chief. It goes a long way toward fulfilling the fourth commandment but where there is corruption, it can also be leveraged for years of abuse by the “chief.”

I encourage LCMS members to support these newly elected officials. I have spent a lot of time with Bishop Asiago and he is a quiet, humble, steadfast man of God. Those surrounding him are also men of God. Just as the LCMS had the battle for the Bible in the 70’s and we have the worship war today,these Lutherans too are battling. May God grant peace to the ELCK. I will post periodic updates as warranted.

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