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Lutheran Central |
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Open Letter To "Moderates On Arrogance and Party Spirit" |
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An Open Letter To The Moderates On Arrogance and Party Spirit: Dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, I think that to a great extent we are talking past each other here, and if you folks don't see the importance of the doctrinal issues at hand, then a few more sentences from me are not going to change that. So, I'd like to leave the doctrinal issues to others, and look for a moment at the accusations of party spirit and arrogance among the Confessionals. And I'd appreciate it if you Moderates heard me out. Accusations of arrogance and party spirit have figured prominently in postings by the Moderates, but I think that they are wide of the mark. It was not the Confessionals that picked this fight. Regardless of what you think of "unionism", "syncretism", or a prayer referring to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as "A son of God" (vs. the only begotten Son of God), the curious fact is that the first shot in this mess was fired by the man who stood up after his election at our last convention and publicly said "let the healing begin". President Kieschnick certainly knew that approving Dr. Benke's request to deliver that prayer at an interfaith prayer service was going to both deeply offend his Confessional brothers and sisters, and start another round of destructive conflict within our beloved synod. Where then was his desire for healing? Where in President Kieschnick's actions did he show charity and love toward his Confessional brothers and sisters? I know that I have a Christian responsibility to put the best construction on his actions, but the only other construction available to me is that the man who campaigned on his desire to heal the wounds in synod was too dense to know where those wounds were before he stepped on them. Which of these is the best construction? Could President Kieschnick have allowed Dr. Benke to attend the "Prayer for America" service in a way that would have satisfied most Confessionals? I'm not sure, but he didn't even try. Perhaps he could have consulted a few of them in advance. He certainly could have explained to Dr. Benke the vital importance to his Confessional brothers and sisters that the prayer itself be an unequivocal Law and Gospel witness. In the final analysis he could hardly have picked a way that was more openly confrontational, and yes, arrogant than the one he chose. This decision was made in a way that demonstrated not "let the healing begin", but "there's a new sheriff in town", and acknowledging that would be a useful first step to dealing with this crisis. Yours in our Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew S. Mills Elder, Peace Lutheran Church, LC-MS Goldsboro, NC
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