District President Answers Congressman Dannemeyer About PLI
Edited by Rev. Jack Cascione

 

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.


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.

May 28, 2002