Letter from Pacific Southwest District President Rev. Dr. Larry Stoterau to
Congressman William Dannameyer.
STATIONARY OF:
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH - MISSOURI SYNOD
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
1540 Concordia East
Irvine, California 92612-3203
May 23, 2002
Mr. Bill Dannemeyer, President
The Lutheran Church of Our Savior
1521 West Orangethorpe Avenue
Fullerton, California 92833-4533
Dear Mr. Dannemeyer:
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I pray that God is continuing to use the ministry of The Lutheran Church of
Our Savior in Spirit-driven ways to reach the unchurched people of your
community.
In response to your letter of May 16, I can answer all of your questions
very simply. While the Pacific Southwest District Board of Director's did
issue an interim call to Dr. Norb Oesch for PLI at its inception, the Board
also respected the ruling of the CCM in August of 2000. When informed of the
understanding of the Bylaws of Synod that districts cannot call someone to
serve beyond their district, Dr. Oesch resigned his call issued by the Pacific
Southwest District. Other conversations and communications between Dr. Oesch
and me are not necessary to be shared at this time. But the bottom line is
that Dr. Oesch no longer holds a call from the Pacific Southwest District to
serve as the director of PLI.
Concerning financial arrangements, the Pacific Southwest District has no
financial arrangements with PLI. We do continue to support and encourage our
pastors who participate in PLI because we believe that it is a worthwhile
program of continuing education, and our pastors and their wives who
participate are receiving great benefits from such a program.
Thank you for your concern and interest.
May the Lord continue to bless you as you serve Him.
Serving with you our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
THE REVEREND DR. LARRY STOTERAU, President
The Pacific Southwest District-LCMS
Districts operate as congregations, invent ministries, change the
definition of a church, and issue calls without voters' assemblies.
In 1998, Dr. Norbert Oesch received a call from the Pacific Southwest
District of the LCMS to be the Executive Director of Pastoral Leadership
Institute (PLI). The goal of PLI is to train LCMS pastors to administer large
LCMS Congregations. The reading list, course titles, and orientation of PLI is
to promote what is call the Church Growth Movement.
However, the LCMS has only given its two seminaries the authority to train
Synodically approved pastors. These two seminaries are under the authority of
Synodically elected Board members and they are accountable to the LCMS
Convention. On the other hand, PLI sets it's own curriculum and standards,
none of which have been approved by the LCMS Convention or the Board For
Higher Education.
While Dr. Oesch initially announced that seven pastors had issued him a
call, it was the Pacific Southwest District (PSWD) that issued him the call to
be Executive Director of PLI. The Districts may now issue divine calls without
the approval of a congregational voters' assembly.
In essence, the LCMS is now balkanized into 35 smaller church bodies called
Districts, that may each issue as many calls as they choose for men to be
pastors without consulting a congregational Voters' Assembly. Thus the
District offices may each function as their own church, without a
congregation.
The process of the Districts issuing divine calls into invented ministries
that don't serve congregations is in direct opposition to Walther's
"Church and Ministry" which was reaffirmed as the official position
of the Synod at the 2001 LCMS Convention.
Walther's Thesis III on the Pastoral Ministry states: "The ministry is
not an arbitrary office but one whose establishment has been commanded to the
church and to which the church is ordinarily bound till the end of time."
In his letter of May 23, 2002, Pacific Southwest District President Rev.
Dr. Larry Stoterau responded to Congressman William Dannameyer's questions
about the legitimacy of Dr. Oesch's call and the District's support for PLI.
From his letter Stoterau, indicates that PLI is a legitimate ministry.
Stoterau writes that, ". . . God is continuing to use the ministry of the
Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Spirit driven ways" without a valid call
from an LCMS voters' assembly. The Districts now speak for the Holy Spirit,
issue calls, invents ministries, and have become their own churches without
lay people. It appears that Districts are "Spirit driven" but
laypeople in voters' assemblies may not have the same spiritual gifts as the
District Office.
Stoterau explains that the objection of the Synod's Commission on
Constitutional Matters (CCM) compelled Dr. Oesch to resign his call. The CCM
doesn't object that the PSWD invented a call to a ministry for its own
District, but that the CCM ruled the PSWD doesn't have the authority to invent
a call to a ministry for all the other Districts. Stoterau does not answer
where Doctor Oesch is now called or how much money the PSWD has previously
given to PLI.
It is evident from his response that Stoterau believes that PLI is a God
ordained ministry to which a man may receive a legitimate and valid call to
the pastoral office, even though PLI is an arbitrary, human invention and is
not a church in any Biblical sense of the word.
The St. Louis Seminary is now going to grant 18 hours graduate credit to
pastors who participate in PLI. President Stoterau is the representative from
the Council of District Presidents to the PLI, replacing our Synodical
President, Gerald Kieschnick.