Former LC-MS President Kieschnick's Very Different Vision For the Synod
A Summary of Former LC-MS President Kieschnik's Interview on the Lead Time Podcast.
Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, former president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), was recently interviewed by Rev. Dr. Tim Ahlman on his Lead Time Podcast. Below the video is a summary of the interview, which Pastor Ahlman was asked to confirm is an accurate and faithful representation of the discussion.
Rev. Dr. Kieschnick was elected to three terms, starting in 2001, 2004, and 2007, before being defeated by Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, the present incumbent, in 2010.
President Kieschnick’s views are interesting because they invert almost entirely what Ad Crucem has gleaned from its audience and customers as their concerns and priorities for the Synod (please note that Ad Crucem has not editorialized any of the summary, but please alert us if you believe something is misrepresented. The video is embedded for additional verification).
Demographics: The general decline in church attendance across the Synod.
General Decline: Like many mainline denominations, the LCMS is experiencing a significant decline in church attendance and membership.
Aging Population: The church’s membership is aging, with fewer young people joining or staying active.
Small Congregations: Many LCMS congregations have very low average worship attendance, and many cannot support full-time pastors.
Cultural Shifts: The broader cultural trend away from regular church attendance and affiliation impacts the LCMS.
Crisis Response: The church tends to see a temporary increase in attendance during crises, but this is not sustained over the long term.
Failure of the Church to Impact Lives: Sermons and church activities do not connect with people’s real-life experiences and needs.
Irrelevant Sermons: Sermons are often seen as theological monologues that lack practical application to congregants’ daily lives.
Lack of Engagement: Church activities and messages do not connect with people’s real-life experiences and needs.
Missed Opportunities: The church fails to address contemporary issues and struggles that people face, making it less relevant to their lives.
Personal Connection: Sermons and church activities should be more personal, pragmatic, and relatable, addressing the congregation’s specific circumstances and challenges.
Romanization of the Clergy: Adopting practices and titles resembling Roman Catholic traditions may alienate some members.
Adoption of Roman Catholic Practices: Some LCMS pastors incorporate practices traditionally associated with Roman Catholicism, such as chanting, genuflecting, prostrating before the altar, and venerating the host.
Clerical Titles and Attire: There is a trend of pastors choosing to be called “father” and wearing more elaborate clerical attire, such as one minister who sports a miter and stave, similar to Roman Catholic bishops.
Private Confession and Absolution: A pastor requires private confession and absolution, which is not a common practice in the LCMS.
Centralization of Power: Increased control by a few leaders, reducing local autonomy and trust.
Increased Authority of the Synod President: The Synod President significantly influences key decisions, including selecting leaders for various church bodies and institutions.
Prior Approval Panel: This panel, which includes the Synod President, the chairman of the Concordia University System, and the local District President, has the power to approve or reject candidates for leadership positions, often overriding local nominations.
Implementation Issues: The centralization intended to streamline operations and improve accountability has faced challenges due to frequent changes in leadership (International Mission) and a lack of mission-oriented leaders.
Trust and Collaboration: The process has led to a lack of trust and collaboration between different entities within the church, as local boards and congregations feel their choices are being overridden by centralized authority.
Sinful Pride:
The Root of Many Issues: Sinful pride is fundamental to many church struggles.
Resistance to Change: Pride can lead to resistance against necessary changes and innovations that could help address the church’s decline.
Lack of Humility: Some leaders perceive a lack of humility, which can hinder honest introspection and collaborative problem-solving.
Focus on Self: Pride can cause leaders to focus more on their personal authority and reputation rather than the well-being and growth of the church community.
Worshiping Worship: Overemphasis on specific worship styles or liturgies, potentially stifling creativity and relevance.
Rigid Adherence to Tradition: Some pastors insist that worship services must strictly follow the formats outlined in the Lutheran Service Book, limiting flexibility and creativity in worship.
Lack of Scriptural Basis: There is no scriptural or confessional mandate that worship must adhere to specific liturgical forms, suggesting that such rigidity is unnecessary.
Potential for Division: This insistence on traditional formats can create divisions within congregations and alienate members who may prefer different worship styles.
Failure to Recognize the Body of Christ: Not fully utilizing the diverse gifts and roles within the church community.
Clergy-Centric Focus: There is a tendency to overly focus on ordained clergy, often at the expense of recognizing and utilizing the gifts and contributions of laypeople.
Underutilization of Lay Talents: Many talented and capable lay members are not fully engaged in or utilized in the church’s ministry and mission.
Lack of Representation: Church publications and communications often highlight clergy in clerical collars, neglecting to showcase lay members’ significant work and contributions.
Missed Opportunities: By not fully recognizing and empowering the priesthood of all believers, the church misses out on the potential for greater community engagement and mission work.
Failure to Honor and Utilize the Priesthood of All Believers: Underutilization of laypeople in ministry roles.
Clergy Exclusivity: Some pastors believe that only ordained clergy can effectively proclaim the gospel, sidelining laypeople’s potential contributions.
Publication Bias: Church publications often focus heavily on clergy, neglecting to highlight the significant roles and achievements of the laity.
Underutilized Talents: Many intelligent and capable laypeople in the pews are not being engaged or utilized in church activities and leadership roles.
Missed Mission Opportunities: The church misses out on significant mission and ministry opportunities by not fully empowering lay members to take active roles.
Reticence and Reluctance to Recognize the Service of Women: Not fully acknowledging and utilizing the contributions of women in the church.
Limited Roles: Despite their significant contributions and capabilities, women often face restrictions in their roles within the church.
Cultural Trends: Some congregations have trends that discourage women’s active participation, such as promoting head coverings or segregating men and women during services.
Underappreciation: Women’s vital roles in maintaining and growing church ministries are frequently underappreciated and undervalued.
Biblical Precedent: The church overlooks biblical examples of women serving in significant roles, such as prophetesses in both the Old and New Testaments.
Policy on Sacramental Hospitality: Strict communion practices that may exclude rather than include.
Self-Examination: The scriptural principle that individuals should examine themselves before participating in the sacrament rather than having the pastor make the decision for them is stressed.
Pastoral Authority: It is suggested that pastoral authority to deny communion should be exercised only in rare cases where a person is living in open and manifest sin.
Explanation and Education: Pastors should focus on explaining the significance of the sacrament and what it entails, allowing individuals to make informed decisions about their participation.
Inclusivity: The conversation implies a need for a more inclusive approach, where the decision to partake in the sacrament is primarily left to the individual’s discretion, fostering a more welcoming environment.
Acting Like There Is No Hell: There is a lack of urgency in evangelism and outreach, possibly due to a diminished belief in eternal consequences.
Urgency of Mission: If the church truly believed in the existence of hell, it would feel a greater urgency in sharing the gospel and saving souls.
Complacency: There is a concern that the church’s actions sometimes reflect a lack of belief in hell, leading to complacency in evangelism and outreach efforts.
Focus on Doctrine: The church focuses too much on doctrinal purity and internal matters, such as the Augsburg Confession and theological training, rather than actively engaging in mission work.
Great Commission: The church needs to remember its primary mission of witnessing the love and work of God and extending the gospel to all the world rather than being defensive and inward-focused.
Forgetting Our Mission: Shifting focus from evangelism and mission to internal defense and preservation.
Shift in Priorities: The LCMS’s constitutional objectives have shifted, and the primary focus has moved from mission-oriented activities to defending doctrinal purity and unity.
Original Mission: The original primary objective was to strengthen congregations and their members in boldly witnessing to God’s love and work and extending that gospel witness to the world.
Current Focus: The current primary objective emphasizes conserving and promoting the unity of the true faith, working towards fellowship with other Christian bodies, and providing a united defense against schism, sectarianism, and heresy.
Offensive vs. Defensive: Contrasting the offensive nature of the original mission, which is proactive and outward-focused, with the defensive nature of the current mission, which is more about maintaining internal unity and doctrinal purity.
Call to Action: The church is called to re-embrace its Great Commission mission, focusing on witnessing to God’s love and work and actively engaging in evangelism and outreach.
Rev. Dr. Kieschnick’s PowerPoint presentation to a Best Practices Ministry Conference.
Having been a pastor for over 30 years and a convert from a Mainline church to the LCMS about three years ago, these are the same issues the Mainline Church struggled through in the 1980’s to a devastating conclusion. Some of what Pr. Kieschnick says is worthy of attention, but the underlying agenda seems clear. It is a remnant utopian progressivism that longs for a theology of glory rather than a theology of the cross.
As someone who lived through the imploding of a church body that embraced this kind of vision, I pray that the LCMS will fully embrace the future into which Christ is leading His church.
Many converts, like me, have come to the LCMS because of the leadership of President Harrison and the faithful pastors we are receiving from our seminaries. Why can’t folks see the gift of young men committing their lives to Christ’s church instead of complaining about what they wear?
I do not want an anti-catholic church or an anti-evangelical church when Lutheranism has been and is both.
Thank you ad crucem for helping the conversation along with your fine reporting.
I have not watched the interview, this is a reaction only to the summary. Rather than destroying one of the last confessional traditions in the name of bowing to the “contemporary” demands of the world, why doesn’t he just join a church that already does what he wants? It seems as if he is looking for the ELCA.