Congregations Matter extends its congratulations to President Harrison on his victory in last week’s Synod presidential election. We join the church in praying for God’s richest blessings upon him as he carries out his important responsibilities over the next three years. He must work to collaborate with the WHOLE Synod to provide more transparent, fiscally responsible, and trustworthy leadership.
Last month a A Michigan congregation mailed a pamphlet to Synod to encourage us to “Imagine More…” What would it be like if our Synod had more collaboration, transparency and trust?
It’s vital for the 12,000 Synod President electors to hear from ALL of the candidates. The Synod President uses official publications and videos to connect with voters. Synod must hear from the other candidates, too. Thankfully, on June 4th Rev. Dr. David Maier was the guest at a video Town Hall where he discussed his hope for the future of the LCMS and answered live questions.
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!
Watching these informative videos will allow the 12,000 pastors and lay electors of LCMS congregations tasked with voting for a candidate for Synod President in the June 22-25 online election to make a more informed choice. Maier and Klinkenberg are excellent choices for Synod President.
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?
Nomination results for Synod President have just been announced. Fewer than half of the nominations submitted by congregations supported Matt Harrison for re-election, despite his unconstitutional postcard advice to pastors. A strong majority of the nominations called for new leadership: either Pastor David Maier or Pastor Timothy Klinkenberg.
