Old Lutherans drink good coffee.
Joseph Schmidt asked me about the Missouri view of the ministry versus the WELS view.
Supposedly there was a great gap between the two, but the Little Sect on the Prairie had those on both sides and traditionally was closer to the LCMS. WELS took over as Big Brother, after the Synodical Conference broke up.
Pastors like to go over the histories and cases, because they can avoid the current issues. At best they hint at the current issues, to avoid career-ending positions.
LCMS
The classic view of Missouri held that the congregation was only divinely instituted form of the church. The classic view, like UOJ, does not go back very far. That was promoted and heavily defended in the early 20th century. The extremely hilariously view of this, held by Jack Cascione, is that the Voters' Assembly is supreme and validates the call, the Means of Grace, and the Oscars.
Walther did not practice this form of Waltherianism. He simply sent certain men to congregations. That was their call. If anyone is familiar with the Prussian view of democracy, that is as close as they get to it.
Walther let the voters argue about everything non-essential, but he was in charge of the spiritual matters in the congregation. By today's standards (in some quarters), he was a softie. He argued for taking in Masonic Lodge members but counseling them out of the Lodge. Walther excommunicated only three people at his church, over many years. In contrast, one CLC (sic) pastor excommunicated over 100 member of one congregation. One of his relatives excommunicated most of the members as an LCR pastor.
Missouri's congregational position has been good and bad. A conservative man is left alone if he is established in his congregation. The officials have trouble getting at him. However, an apostate is just as secure.
Missouri creates some peculiar applications. For instance, the seminary professors have to have a call to a congregation, even though that means very little. The seminaries also have a local congregation sponsor a communion service, even though everyone knows it is a seminary communion service, not St. Walther's by the Brewery.
Missouri DPs often wear neckties to show they are not in divine calls but are serving as executives. Is that good? Bishop is a better title, but when American Lutherans get or grab that title, they go funny in the head. It would be good to have DPs who really are pastoral and doctrinal bishops, and bishops who are also the same.
WELS
The WELS position is rather papal, but papal-babtist. The DPs have the power to do more, they claim, but they do not exercise that in promoting sound doctrine and whacking apostates. Instead, they whack conservatives and protect apostates. Pastors who want the protection of their DP should murder their wives or fall for some far-out doctrinal weirdo, such as Leonard Sweet.
Wisconsin used to say they believed in prayer fellowship. One WELS pastor made a point of leaving the dinner table when his evil LCMS brother said a prayer. But the same WELS pastor had no problem with Fuller Seminary or Reformed doctrine. Foreign languages - that was his problem. Bad news in the mission field.
Wisconsin said they had a unit concept of fellowship. No one says that anymore. They have levels, degrees, and dimensions of fellowship. A WELS pastor can be in fellowship with any denomination (Methodist, Babtist, Roman Catholic) or any entity (United Nations, Trinity Deerfield, Willow Creek, Fuller Seminary) as long as he is not in fellowship with Ichabod.
Missouri and WELS have morphed into the Fuller view of the ministry, spending the years since 1977 promoting that view.
Feucht in Missouri sold his guys on Everyone a Minister, which he got from Fuller. WELS adopted the same motto and promoted it in their motto.
WELS had no trouble with a non-WELS, ex-LCMS pastor, Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, posing as a pastor as head of Lutheran Parish Resources. They lied for him, told his fabulous stories, and endorsed him for a pastoral position in Columbus. They lied about recommending him, too.
If a man is sued for wrecking the marriage of a Lutheran couple, WELS wants him for a Church Growth consultant and youth leader.
As long as Missouri, WELS, and the ELS promote Enthusiasm in various ways, they will have no coherent view of the ministry.
Foundational is the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. Anyone who takes a different route is anti-Biblical, an Enthusiast. To return to a Lutheran view of the ministry, these practical manifestations of false doctrine would have to be banished:
- Fellowship with ELCA in any form. Missouri has joint ELCA-LCMS parishes. WELS has had memberships in the Willow Creek denomination. St. Mark Depere is out but have they changed?
- Cell groups - they are the essence of Pietism and Enthusiasm.
- Women usurping authority and teaching men.
- Training at CG and Emergent Church beehives.
- Roman Catholics teaching Lutherans! Why is that debatable?
- Etc.
