The Pastoral Leadership Institute is showing itself to be nothing more than another worldly, power mongering, dictatorial, opportunistic scheme to give earthly success and lordship over the church to the LCMS Clergy.

Only six of the faculty at Fort Wayne and three of the faculty at St. Louis will endorse the following quotations from Walther as the official position of the LCMS.

"'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)

If Dr. Norbert Oesch, does indeed endorse Walther's Voter Supremacy as the official structure and polity for all LCMS congregations then Reclaim News gives him the opportunity to say this publicly.

In the May, 2000 issue of "Jesus First" former first Vice President of the LCMS, Dr. August Mennicke writes that the Bible doesn't speak to congregational structure. "Jesus First" promotes the freedom of congregations not being restricted to Voters' Assemblies. They "free" the laity from Voter Supremacy instituted by Walther.

Marquart writes: "Voter Supremacy" is worldly, political sloganeering. Zeal for any "supremacy" except Christ's is alien to His church. One might as well be shouting: 'All Power to the Soviets!' How's that for Hyper-Euro-Proletarianism?"

Reverend David Anderson, Chairman of the Board of Regents at Fort Wayne, writes about polling the faculty at Fort Wayne on Voter Supremacy, "So his [Cascione's] statement, 'At this time, 6 of the 33 professors at Fort Wayne have agreed with Walther's Voter Supremacy' doesn't mean too much."

Balance Inc, and "Vision" claim the banner of true Lutheranism but refuse to support and defend Walther's Voter Supremacy for all LCMS congregations.

The Hyper-Euro-Lutherans claim that the Voters' Assembly has no Biblical authority over the pastor and are promoting a return to episcopacy. Why shouldn't they? August Mennicke, Fort Wayne, Rev. David Anderson, "Jesus First" and both Seminaries have already given them permission to initiate episcopacy in LCMS Congregations; by claiming the LCMS has no position on how congregations structure themselves.

The "Pastoral Leadership Institute" (PLI) promoted by the Counsel of District Presidents, showcases the congregational structure of Board of Directors-led community churches like Willow Creek, Crystal Cathedral, and Saddleback, as if numbers justify church structure. With this logic, why doesn't Dr. Norbert Oesch promote a return Catholicism where we find the really biggest numbers?

They all agree on this point: Walther was wrong about supreme Voters' Assemblies running their congregations.

About the history of the LCMS Mundinger writes in "Government in Missouri": "The removal of Martin Stephan on May 30, 1839, and all the misery that followed that event gave the laymen the necessary jolt to press for lay participation in the government of the Church. This misery drove them into the writings of Luther, and here the laymen found the weapons which they needed to win the battle for CONGREGATIONAL SUPREMACY from the power-jealous pastors." (p. 205)

Nothing has changed. If the lay people don't pass a resolution reaffirming Voter Supremacy for all LCMS congregations, they will lose control of their doctrine and church property and be enslaved to a hierarchy just like all the other legalistic, mainline denominations in the United States.

As of this writing the Pacific South West District of the LCMS is promoting a resolution in their June 25-27 District Convention petitioning the Board of Higher Education and the Board of Director of the LCMS to grant recognized service organization status to the Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI).

Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

June 11, 2000

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