LCMS News Blog
President Dean Wenthe addressed about three dozen students on Thursday, December 13th, at one of the seminary's "Fireside Chats." The topic for discussion was relationships with other Lutheran and Christian church bodies.
Wenthe began the evening by indicating his relief to be back at the seminary after spending several days with the presidents of other Christian seminaries from across the United States. While the conference as a whole was good, sola Scriptura was not the chant of all who attended.
He also shared good news of two recent donations totaling $1 million toward the seminary's library expansion project.
Eventually, the topic that was on the minds of most was brought up - the Society of the Holy Trinity's (STS) retreat held on the CTS campus in August. Wenthe described the two stipulations set down by the seminary in order for STS to host its retreat there.
1) No women would be allowed to preach in Kramer Chapel
2) The STS would have to abide by the confessional principles of the LCMS.
Wenthe indicated that confusion happened in the latter stipulation. Frank Senn of the STS was aware of the backlash that could result from celebrating a Eucharist sponsored by the ELCA at an LCMS seminary, so an LCMS pastor from Arizona welcomed all to the table in the name of his "hosting" LCMS congregation. Wenthe made clear that the LCMS pastor accused of unionism was called to repentance by his district president.
Here are some of the more memorable quotes made by President Wenthe:
This is a "mistake we've learned from."
We will be "very reluctant in the future to have a non-LCMS group on campus."
"The Bible is inerrant. Our prudence isn't."
The money is beneficial, but it is not worth having a police force. (paraphrase)
The STS members are "sincere, suffering people."
The STS should not have unionistic services. (paraphrase)
The STS should be at our symposia...as evangelism prospects more than as colleagues. (paraphrase)
The key issue in this situation is the type of confessional subscription - quia or quatanus. (paraphrase)
We "weren't as clear as we could have been."
We are concerned about pastors who spend more time online than with their people. (paraphrase)
***
GJ - STS stands for Society for the Holy Trinity. The name is Latin, to impress the members, who probably know as much Latin as my two Shelties.
One item omitted from this update is the participation of a WELS pastor in this union (LCMS-ELCA-WELS) feminist service. A female pastor also led this Holy Communion service.
Neither point is a precedent in WELS. Wisconsin Lutheran College had a series of Roman Catholic priests giving special public lectures. The keynote speaker was the pedophile Archbishop Weakland, who also got himself embroiled in being blackmailed before he was given the boot. That is the kind of talent treasured by WELS leaders. Before that, Mequon Professor James P. Tiefel (GA Pope) had a Roman Catholic lecturing at his union worship conference.
WELS and the Little Sect on the Prairie have had women leading worship at the Mequon chapel (I am told) and at Bethany's Chapel. The Roman Catholic-feminist efforts in the ELS and WELS have provoked hardly a whisper.
This remains a major issue in the LCMS.
Note the name Frenk Senn. He was the ELCA seminary professor at LST Chicago who promoted high church services. He was booted out, surprisingly enough and took a parish.
