Essays and Articles by the writing staff of Congregations Matter
The Epiphany story (Matthew 2:6-10) teaches Christians at least three things: we can’t get to Jesus without God’s light leading us – we can’t make sense of where He’s leading us to without Scripture – and we can’t follow the star without moving our feet.
In his July 11th letter, Delegate Chuck Mueller, Jr., identifies a “drift” away from Synod’s constitutional Article III and Article VII work as the as the culprit bringing anger, apathy and a loss of support for our “covenant of love” in the LCMS. He calls for change and engagement of all voices of Synod as an answer. Read the entire letter and download Congregation’s Matter recommended list of Tampa candidates.
On the eve of a presidential election, President Harrison reported good financial news regarding the retirement of some LCMS debt. While some see this as a boon. Others have grave concerns about these reports. President Harrison has reported “zero debt” to the LCMS before. And these new reports fail to mention the ongoing red ink that necessitated the “secret sale” of Hong Kong mission properties.
Where have all the pastors gone? There is a real crisis among us, a pastoral shortage crisis we must face as a Synod. Only 79 pastors were sent to the field this year. Leading in crisis is the Synod President’s job. Congregations wonder why there is no plan from Synod leadership to face this urgent need.
What kind of future do you want for our Synod? Two candidates for President of the Synod are envisioning a positive, faith-filled, Gospel-centered, outreach-oriented future for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: Dr. David Maier and Rev. Tim Klinkenberg.
Which candidates Synod President can congregations trust to support and lead BOTH Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne AND Concordia Seminary in St. Louis? Dr. David Maier and Rev. Tim Klinkenberg certainly can be relied upon!
In an open letter to Synod leaders, 16 veteran district presidents agree it’s time to replace President Harrison with new leadership. They support Maier or Klinkenberg as our next Synod President.
Prior to the 2010 LCMS Convention, when Matthew Harrison was elected Synod President, his supporters published statistical membership data for the incumbent president, Dr. Gerald Kieschnick’s years in office. How do those 2000-2010 statistics for Kieschnick’s compare to the 2010-2017 statistics for Harrison’s administration?
In response to a promise to the late Herman Otten, Editor of Christian News, Pastor Tim Klinkenberg, candidate for LCMS President, wrote about his experience as a pastor and his priorities for the LCMS. Pastor Tim’s letter is reprinted with permission.
From the beginning of our Synod, we struggled with big questions of relationships and governance polity. Should the laity have authority over the clergy? Should the clergy have authority over the laity? Should a “bishop” have authority over the congregations? Questions like those formed the chaotic beginning of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod! This essay will follow the decisions our Synod has made from its beginnings with quotes from C.F.W. Walther and our own LCMS Constitution. Top-down or bottom-up? What is right-side up?
