Kieschnick vs. Hemingway - Who has 20/20 vision?

The print engagement between Pres. Gerald Kieschnick and Mollie “M.Z.” Hemingway over her article in the Wall Street Journal illustrates an important difference in perspective.  Setting aside the termination of Issues, Etc. for financial reasons, Pres. Kieschnick took issue with Ms. Hemingway's claim that the synod was deeply divided.

She wrote:

The program was in all likelihood a pawn in a larger battle for the soul of the Missouri Synod. The church is divided between, on the one hand, traditional Lutherans known for their emphasis on sacraments, liturgical worship and the church's historic confessions and, on the other, those who have embraced pop-culture Christianity and a market-driven approach to church growth. The divide is well known to all confessional Christian denominations struggling to retain their traditional identity.

He wrote:

In truth, last summer the LCMS had its most positive and unified convention in years. Our church remains faithful to the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions, an integral part of our identity as a church body. As stated in a resolution adopted last summer by the national Synod convention: “From the founding of our Synod 160 years ago, we have been blessed by unity in our common confession and the articles of our shared faith, such as the Trinity, the person and work of Christ, original sin, baptismal regeneration, the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Sacrament, the inerrancy of Scripture and many others."

Ms. Hemingway is speaking of the fact that the churches and pastors that comprise the synod are divided and cites examples to this effect.  Pres. Kieschnick is speaking of the fact that the corporate synod (“our church”) is united in its goal and cites the 2007 synodical convention.  These are two radically different points of view.  Ms. Hemingway sees the synod as an collection of churches and pastors that is deeply divided along doctrinal and practical lines.  Pres. Kieschnick sees the synod as a unified corporate entity through the lens of a corporate“vision" statement.  For Ms. Hemingway, "synod" is churches; for Pres. Kieschnick, "synod" is church.

For the record, the 2007 synodical convention passed Res. 4-01A which directs the Council of Presidents and the Board of Directors to come up with a plan “to restore harmony to our Synod.”  This resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 1014 to 169.  In other words, the synodical convention was unified in recognizing that our churches are in a state of discord and disunity. 

The same synodical convention reelected Pres. Kieschnick to a third term by a margin of 53%.

So who has 20/20 “vision” when it comes to the actual state of the synod?

Comments

[MILTON WADDAMS]

"For Ms. Hemingway, 'synod' is churches; for Pres. Kieschnick, 'synod' is church."

EXACTLY! THE SYNOD'S OWN CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS SAY:

"IN ITS RELATION TO ITS MEMBERS THE SYNOD IS NOT AN ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT EXERCISING LEGISLATIVE OR COERCIVE POWERS, AND WITH RESPECT TO THE INDIVIDUAL CONGREGATION’S RIGHT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IT IS BUT AN ADVISORY BODY. ACCORDINGLY, NO RESOLUTION OF THE SYNOD IMPOSING ANYTHING UPON THE INDIVIDUAL CONGREGATION IS OF BINDING FORCE IF IT IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORD OF GOD OR IF IT APPEARS TO BE INEXPEDIENT AS FAR AS THE CONDITION OF A CONGREGATION IS CONCERNED...

THE SYNOD IS ORGANIZED TO WORK IN SUPPORT OF AND ON BEHALF OF CONGREGATIONS TO ASSIST THEM IN CARRYING OUT THEIR MINISTRIES...

SYNOD: REFERS COLLECTIVELY TO THE ASSOCIATION OF SELF-GOVERNING LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS AND ALL ITS AGENCIES ON THE NATIONAL AND DISTRICT LEVELS...

CONGREGATIONS, THE BASIC UNITS OF THE SYNOD, HAVE JOINED TOGETHER TO FORM THE SYNOD AND RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER THROUGH IT...

THE SYNOD AND ITS COMPONENT PARTS ARE DESIGNED TO ASSIST CONGREGATIONS AND THEIR MEMBERS IN CONSERVING AND PROMOTING THE UNITY OF THE FAITH AND IN CARRYING OUT THEIR MISSION AND MINISTRY."

SOME THINGS PRESIDENT KIESCHNICK HAS APPARENTLY FORGOTTEN.

MR. LUMBERGH TOLD ME TO TALK TO PAYROLL AND PAYROLL TOLD ME TO TALK TO MR. LUMBERGH AND I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY PAYCHECK AND THEY MOVED MY DESK TO STORAGE ROOM B AND THERE WAS GARBAGE ON IT.

[FreeSpeechLutheran]

When will the LCMS vote for a new president, and who gets to vote? I'll go try researching it. It would just be helpful to know. Also-do you know how the board which oversees KFUO AM & FM is chosen? Is it by approval of the president of the LCMS? In other words, Pres. Kieschnick?

[revgeorge]

Dear Milton:

Unless you're actually yelling with every post, would you mind turning off your caps lock when you post? In netiquette, it's considered yelling to use all caps &, besides, it makes your posts harder to read. Thanks very much.

[MILTON WADDAMS]

Revgeorge,

I actually was yelling. Yelling the minutiae of Synodical bylaws is a hobby of mine. It helps pass the time since they laid me off from Initech and the building burned down. I will stop, since you asked so nicely.

But I'm going to have to get my stapler back because it is my stapler. It's my stapler, the Swingline. It's been mine for a very long
time.

[Diana]

Milton,

Apparently, you were laid off five years ago, but nobody told you about it. You were still getting a paycheck because of a glitch in the Payroll Department, but the Bobs went ahead and fixed the glitch.

Looks like now you'll have lots of time to go ahead and shout the bylaws of the Synod, which actually looks like a much better use of your time than chasing down that stapler, because there apparently some people wandering around in suspenders and carrying a coffee cup and who are a little hard of hearing.

[MILTON WADDAMS]

I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married...

[Nachos Grande]

The deal with Issues, Etc. may be the last straw for me as a confessional LCMS Lutheran. My own church has embraced the "happy clappy" Shine, Jesus Shine church growth nonsense style of worship (I use the term worship loosely).

I've argued with church leaders till I'm blue in the face about using church growth tactics to attract souls to Christ. It doesn't work. It never will work. For 2,000 years that which has been passed down by the saints has been good enough. Happy clappy worship is spiritually destructive. It teaches that it's a feeling, an emotion, etc. The only thing that can save you is election by the Holy Spirit.

WELS may not be perfect, but I'm likely heading there. If there was an ELS congregation near me, I'd even prefer to go there. We are losing our Lutheran identity and heritage to cheap evangelistic fast food.

[not so fast]

Nachos Grande,

You may want to do a little research before you go ahead and do that. There are plenty of WELS churches that do a "shine, Jesus, Shine" style of worship as you put it. You may be surprised; I was a little shocked myself at first too, but I've heard WELS pastor after WELS pastor go to bat for contemporary worship. In WELS you won't have women voting, but you may very well have "shine, Jesus, shine."

[Nachos Grande]

Not so Fast,

You may very well be right for some congregations, but the local WELS congregation is very small and very confessional. I would not consider them were they not. No women voters, no happy clappy services, no Shine, Jesus Shine, no liberals trying to slip their fast food worship into the services.

[Jon Townsend]

Nachos Grande:
I belong to a WELS congregation. Page 15 with communion every Sunday, traditional liturgy all the way, law and gospel sermons, private absolution scheduled and not scheduled and our Pastor wears a chasuble.

But, WELS has its CG folks as well.