He never directly says the LCMS should follow the Episcopal System in his article titled, "Rast, Vehse, and Walther" in the Holy Trinity 2000 issue of Logia. However, throughout the article, Doctor David Scaer consistently questions, discredits, and misrepresents the LCMS's history of Voter Supremacy and congregational polity. He then claims the LCMS already has a partial Episcopal System.

It is little wonder that the graduates of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, are so confused on the subject of congregation polity. It is little wonder why they are open to Episcopal hierarchy in the LCMS and why they do not or are not able to defend the Synod's historic congregational structure established by C. F. W. Walther, namely, Voter Supremacy.

Before we comment on some of Scaer's erroneous points in this article, we must also add that no one in the Synod is more able to articulate the doctrines of Baptism and the Two Natures of Christ, than Doctor Scaer. We must also add that no professor in the LCMS has shown a greater lack of understanding and appreciation for LCMS Voters' Assemblies than Doctor Scaer.

1. Scaer writes: "Lutherans in America have adopted a number of different arrangements to order their church affairs. Congregations of the old Synodical Conference had been traditionally governed by voters' assemblies chaired by elected laymen."

In response to Scaer: Lutheran's in America have done all kinds of things. The Missouri Synod was structured on Voter Supremacy. Scaer writes as if the LCMS was offering multiple-choice on polity.

2. Scaer writes: "Voters' assemblies are of recent origin in Lutheran history. Lutherans have operated without voters' assemblies and do not make this an issue."

In response to Scaer: This is patently false. We all know Luther didn't have a Voters' Assembly because the Duke owned and operated the church and paid Luther's salary. Since the time of the Reformation, most Lutheran Church properties have been owned and operated by the State in Europe. America is of recent origin in Lutheran History and the LCMS is even more recent. Is this Scaer's reason why the LCMS laity should give up the ownership and full administration of their church properties to the clergy? The ownership and full administration of church property is a major issue for LCMS laity! Perhaps the ownership and full administration of the deed to Scaer's house is not an issue for him because he is likes European Lutheran hierarchy.

3. Scaer writes: "The laity in the Episcopal Church have a vote in parish and diocesan conventions, and district presidents in the congregationally organized LCMS have Episcopal authority in supervising pastors and congregations."

In response to Scaer: This is total obfuscation and distortion of the facts. The lay people of the Episcopal Church have an insignificant voice in their Church. The denomination owns all the property. The clergy are appointed to congregations and they control the doctrine and practice. Their clergy openly promote homosexual unions and clergy and there is nothing the laity can do about it, but leave. Consequently, the Episcopal Church in America is one of the fastest shrinking denominations. The only real choice for the laity, when they want to object, is to vote with their feet.

The LCMS District Presidents may dream that they have Episcopal authority, but the District Convention votes on their office every three years, hardly befitting anyone who fantasizes that he is a Bishop. No one votes on my call to be pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church every three years. Thankfully, neither the District Presidents nor Doctor Scaer have the authority to consecrate the Lord's Supper in Fort Wayne's Kramer Chapel. Neither is an authentic LCMS "pastor" and they do not have regular "calls" from a congregation.

If a District President chooses to suspend a congregation, which no one can remember having taken place in recent history; the congregation takes the property with them because it belongs to them. They don't need some power hungry enthusiast from the Episcopal Church or the ELCA who imagines he has apostolic succession from Peter in order to be a Church recognized by Jesus Christ. Luther regularly consecrated the Sacrament in his own congregation because he was the pastor. The LCMS would be better served if Doctor Scaer would serve some other denomination with pastors who have Episcopal authority. Then they could all argue about who was the greatest.

4. Scaer writes: "Increased congregational participation in voters' assemblies is no promise of bliss."

In response to Scaer: Here is how Scaer confuses the graduates to believe they are future bishops and not to respect the rights of their congregations. Voters' Assemblies were never about "bliss" as if being supreme pontiff in your congregation promises the new graduates true bliss. Is Scaer teaching the students to say, "In order to have true bliss in this congregation all of you lay people do what I say. You can start by kissing my holy bishop's ring"?

Voters' Assemblies are about the rights of ownership and administration by the congregation, which maybe anything but blissful. Scaer forgets to teach the students about the seventh and ninth commandments. They say we should help our neighbor, including our congregations, keep and protect their property instead of trying to figure out how the clergy can control the property through their own hierarchy without the lay people knowing what is going on. When the Voters' are not supreme all that is left are the clergy. If the LCMS pastors don't like the arrangements no one ever forced them to go into the ministry.

5. Scaer writes: "Luther said that popes and church councils err. So do voters' assemblies."

In response to Scaer: Yes, Voters' assemblies do sin. However, all most all-false doctrine in the church came from the clergy. Are we to assume the Fort Wayne Bishops are without sin? The last time I checked, the clergy and the laypeople were all dirty, rotten sinners in need of repentance and absolution. If the Voters' are wrong, the clergy are supposed to teach them God's Word and not lead them around with a ring their nose. Scaer's little jibe characterizes the attitude of so many Fort Wayne graduates. Are we to assume that only the Apostle Paul had to deal with problem congregations?

Scaer is bold to take shots at the people paying the bills and taking care of the property, but he doesn't say a word about the lack of doctrinal support for pastors from their District Presidents. He doesn't say a word about the majority of District Presidents who are promoting PLI, Pastoral Leadership Institute, and who appear to be giving up their salvation for the love of corporate hierarchy and earthly gain. No, all Scaer can do is talk about those miserable sinners, the Voters' Assemblies.

6. Scaer writes: "The LCMS's founding father, C.F.W. Walther is obviously not responsible for American democracy, but did he conform his doctrine of the church and ministry to it?"

In response to Scaer: What are you saying Doctor Scaer? Have the evils of lay people judging their pastors' preaching, teaching, and practice in LCMS congregations been the bane of LCMS pastors because Walther structured the congregation like the world? Are we to assume that if Walther had followed the Bible, the lay people would believe and do what the pastors tell them? How sad for the graduates who believe this. They leave the Seminary assuming their congregations will be their enemies.

The fact is the Bible teaches that the laity should judge their pastor's preaching, teaching, and practice before anyone ever heard about American Democracy. Scaer is trying to blame Walther for what God said (Matt. 7:15-23, 1John 4:1, 1Cor. 10:15, Matt. 23:10, 1Thess. 5:1, Matt.10: 42-44, Acts 17:11, 2Pet. 2:1, 1Cor.14: 29, Rev. 2:2)

After quoting Lutheran theologians, Chemnitz, Leyser, and Gerhard from the 16th and 17th centuries, in support of lay people voting in their congregations, Walther writes in "The Congregation's Right to Choose Its Pastor" November 7th, 1860 as follows: "If we had been the first to write this, our opponents would cry murder against us. They would exclaim, 'There you see how the Missourians introduce their American democratic ideas into the church's doctrine. However, it is well known that neither Chemnitz, nor Leyser, nor Gerhard were Americans or democrats. Nevertheless, the church is here likened to a free republic, in which all power of state, all offices and titles originally, so far as their root is concerned, rest in all citizens, none of whom can, however, make himself president, or mayor or senator, but whom the citizens through free election clothe with these powers, offices and titles which originally rest in them.'"

God Bless the memory of C. F. W. Walther, who let the laity, taught by pastors, build the LCMS, by God's blessing, into the greatest lay owned church body in the world. There really was a time when the LCMS had better Seminary Professors than Doctor Scaer.

7. Scaer writes: "Along with two other laymen he [Vehse] wrote a book that 'argued that Scripture and the Confessions demand a congregational form of government.'"

In response to Scaer: Not only did Vehse, that miserable layman, write that so did another miserable layman named Philip Melanchthon in the Lutheran Confessions. The Confessions specifically say the local congregation is supreme over the pastor. ".the church is above the ministers" Trig. 507, "Christ gives supreme and final jurisdiction to the Church" Trig 511, also, Matt. 18:17, Col. 4:17, 1Peter 5:1-3, 2Cor.8: 8, and Walther agrees.

8. Scaer writes: "This polity [Walther's] should not be confused with a doctrine, even though this is exactly what has happened."

In response to Scaer: Here Scaer teaches false doctrine. The Rev. David Anderson, Chairman of the Fort Wayne Board of Regents, will go to his grave covering up this false doctrine for which he must give an account to Christ at the Judgment.

A. The Confessions specifically say that the congregation elects its own pastor. (Trig. 523-24 par. 62, 69, 72, "Therefore it is necessary for the Church to retain the authority to call, elect, and ordain ministers." Also Eph. 4:8, 1Pet. 2:9)
B. The Confessions specifically say the local congregation is supreme over the pastor. (See above)
C. The Confessions specifically say that the congregation is the final judge in church discipline. (Trig. 511 "Christ gives supreme and final jurisdiction to the church" also Matt. 18:17-18; Acts 1:15, 23-26; 15:5, 12-13, 22-23; 1Cor. 5:2, 6:2, 10:15, 12:7, 2Cor. 2:6-8, 2Thess: 3:15)
D. The Confessions say they agree with the Bible and the Bible teaches that the sheep judge their shepherd in all doctrine. (See above)

9. Scaer writes: "Congregations who have transferred their authority to the pastor in the call are retracting that authority, something which was foreign to Walther."

In response to Scaer: If the congregation does not have just cause for removing their pastor, such as immorality, dereliction of duty, false doctrine, or incompetence, on this point, Scaer is correct. However, here he chooses not to bring up the duties of his "Episcopal" buddies, the LCMS District Presidents, who are charge with the oversight to judge these cases according to the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions.

10. Scaer writes: "Views of congregational autonomy not only have specific political roots, but they are grounded on an individualism in which 'everyone [is] a minister.'"

In response to Scaer: Views! How many views on congregational autonomy are there in the LCMS? I've never seen anyone ordained or installed in the LCMS on to the LCMS clergy roster except pastors. If the members all think they are pastors their names have not yet appeared in the Lutheran Annual.

11. Scaer writes: "To insist that one form of church polity is divinely bestowed is sectarian."

In response to Scaer: Here we have Scaer's judgment that Walther was a sectarian because he only taught one polity for all LCMS congregations. Walther never forced this polity on the congregations and no congregation was ever forced to join the LCMS. However, if they joined the Synod they had to agree to Voter Supremacy. They also had to agree to only call Fort Wayne and St. Louis Seminary graduates. Yet, Scaer doesn't call this sectarian.

Scaer doesn't understand the word "Synod." In order to have a "Synod" all of the congregations must agree to not only the same doctrine, but the same practice, structure, and constitution or else it is impossible to "walk together" which is what "Synod" means. The LCMS is not the only way to heaven but if we follow Scaer's appeal to anarchy, LCMS congregations are serving Christ by not agreeing with Walther's Voter Supremacy. What is the alternative? My goodness, there is nothing left but corporate hierarchy with CEO's or Episcopal structure. What a surprise!

12. Scaer writes: "In other cases, the congregations are championing Vehse's view that pastors must be subservient to the congregations."

In response to Scaer: Oh, no, it can't be true! Have those congregation's also been listening to that layman Philip Melanchthon, author of the Lutheran Confessions? The Bible and the Lutheran Confessions are the final authority in the congregation and the lay people are supposed to be the judges of these things or else the LCMS must adopt hyper-euro-Lutheranism, namely, pre-Waltherian European Lutheran Hierarchy.

Regretfully, once the graduates have been convinced that Walther was wrong, they start talking just like Scaer.

Have we misjudged all of this? We say that neither Scaer, nor Marquart, nor the faculties at Fort Wayne or St. Louis will ever agree to the following statements by Walther as speaking to the only polity for all LCMS congregations.

"Finally, the congregation is represented as the supreme tribunal, Matt.18: 15-18." Note 7 on p 29 refers to this using the term 'highest jurisdiction' and referring in turn to the 'Power and Primacy Of the Pope,' 'highest and final jurisdiction to the church.' (Form of the Christian Congregation, C.F.W Walther, CPH, St. Louis, 1989, p.24)

"In public church affairs nothing should be concluded without the vote and consent of the congregation." (Form of the Christian Congregation, C.F.W Walther, CPH, St. Louis, 1989, p.48)