pre-convention update

[peter_speckhard]

I'm heading down to Houston on Friday for the LCMS convention and will be posting news and commentary in this forum for the duration. Partly this post is just to check to make sure I can post here with ease with my new vice-moderator powers. But also I want to give anyone who might be interested a little preview of coming attractions.

My problem is that I foresee very little by way of coming attractions and therefore few reasons why anyone might be interested. Anything can happen, of course, and almost certainly somebody with some quirky take on some issue will say something quote-worthy from the convention floor, but the fact remains that barring some major surprise this is shaping up to be a boring convention. Good for the LCMS, but bad for first-time reporters. If there is anything of particular interest to our online readers, please feel free to send me a message via this forum or ask a question via this blog and I'll see if I can find anything out for you.

Before I offer up my pregame show predictions, I ought to lay my own cards on the table as to where my sympathies lie. I consider myself something of an LCMS company guy, meaning my gut reaction on any question is to support the official line rather than the gripe against it. Not always, of course, but as a default mode. I'm not an enthusiastic supporter of President Kieschnick and the Ablaze! campaign, but I don't have any big problems with them either; I don't think the sky will fall based on this vote. If I got to choose the LCMS president it would probably not be Kieschnick or anyone so closely in tune with the JesusFirst Publication Team's way of thinking, but such is (regretably) not the case and Kieschnick, despite the widely circulated Letterman-esque lists of reasons not to vote for him, is a pretty decent choice. As I see it, the negative ramifications for the synod of an unexpected change at the top right now would far outweigh any foreseeable positives of electing someone else.

As for the retread issues, I think it was a mistake for Rev. David Benke to participate in Oprah's Yankee Stadium thing, but a bigger mistake to keep rehashing it. On this issue I find myself more annoyed by the people I agree with than by those with whom I disagree. On the lawsuit brought against Kieschnick and the LCMS concerning, well, whatever it was concerning, I don't understand it enough to have an opinion. Yes, lawsuits are really bad, and yes, even though they are really bad they aren't necessarily the worst possible option in every circumstance, but, like sitting in traffic behind people arguing over a fender-bender, I don't really care who was right just so long as they move. And like people causing  a gapers' block driving past an accident, people in the theological media will keep focusing on it to make some sage point or other. But as an LCMS company guy, on this topic I'm more inclined to say, "Nothin' to see here, folks. Keep it moving."

My predictions for a boring convention seem to be the conventional wisdom. I've talked informally to several delegates, a current district president, a former dictrict president, and heard second-hand from others, and everybody seems fairly convinced that nothing noteworthy will happen. Could be the calm before the storm, of course, but there is no denying it is calm now.

So, I head to Houston expecting President Kieschnick to win reelection a little easier than last time, probably 55% of the vote or so. I doubt the Kieschnick "side" will win all the way down the ticket of vice-presidents, however. Certainly one or two of the candidates endored by JesusFirst would be controversial. But I'll report on that bridge when I get to it.

After the elections a lot of people will go home. The only issue that will merit serious discussion is a plan endorsed by the seminaries for a new alternate route to ordination for certain specific ministries. As I understand the proposal, candidates who go through this route will stay put rather than go off to seminary, but then be ordained for Word and Sacrament ministry with certain limitations. I understand the need for people who currently can't get a regular pastor to be served by Word and Sacrament ministry, and I understand that if this new non-traditional route ended in a regular ordination like everyone else's that it would be tough for the new exceptional route not to become the new norm; why would people go to seminary if they could stay home and get the same thing? So this proposal makes sense to me from a practical standpoint, but I'll be very interested in the discussions of the theology behind a new category of ordination. More details on this topic to come-- it is my ace in the hole in case the convention is even more boring than I predict and I need something to write about so that ALPB pays my expense report, which promises to be staggering. Kidding!

The last few days will be filled with critical votes on whether to commend so-and-so for years of service, whether to reaffirm that we are saved by grace through faith, and whether to direct the CTCR to prepare reports. For those of you unfamiliar with LCMS terminology, I'll be explaining it more as I go.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe my grandchildren will ask me to tell them again how I was right there in Houston for the big convention of 2007 and saw everything firsthand. And if so, you can tell your grandchildren that you read it all breathlessly in up-to-the-minute reports on ALPB Online. Or maybe truth will fail to be stranger than fiction and I'll be forced to make stuff up to keep you interested. Either way, stay tuned.     

[scott3]

You've got an expense account?!?!  Can I go, too, so that we can be sure to make sure that baby is well used?  Please?

[BTW: They do realize that you're an LCMS Lutheran and not one of those Hauge (sp?) pietists, right?  I hope they budgeted more than usual...]

[peter_speckhard]

Okay, maybe "account" is too strong a word. They said they'd pay my room, meals and airfare, but I felt obliged to get the cheapest ticket, so I'm flying from Green Bay to Milwaukee to Dallas to Houston. The odds are actually pretty good that I won't get there until the convention is wrapping up. I don't eat much until dinner, and since I'm trying to be a reporter I'm hoping to glom onto whatever banquets important people are throwing, or at least trade positive coverage in the Forum Letter for extravagant meals and entertainment.

[Richard Johnson]

or at least trade positive coverage in the Forum Letter for extravagant meals and entertainment.

Let me know how that works out.

[Dave_Poedel]

Peter:

As an incentive to stay to the end (besides the per diem) is that whatever side feels left out tends to try to do weid stuff on the last day, when all of the "winners" have gone home satisfied.  When I was a delegate in 2001, our District President ordered us to stay to the closing gavel, and sure enough there were some attempts to advance some pretty weird stuff.

As the clear thinking delegate realizes, what you do for yourself, your opponent gets to do when they win.  My take is that under Al Barry there was a lot of "consolodating" of "power" in the Synodical President.  When Kieshnick was elected, those who granted tried to take away....

[peter_speckhard]

Dave, there must have more consolidation of power in general the last few cycles if your district president was able to order you to stay until the closing gavel.  But you're right, whichever side "wins" can afford to be magnanimous. Losing gracefully has always been a much taller order for both sides. And yes, those who wanted Barry to have power suddenly regret it, and all the people who screamed and moaned about the changes back then seem pretty comfortable about with those changes now. I think that kind of thing is normal. Unfortunate, to be sure, but normal and not threatening to the life of the church. The general rule is that anyone trying to do surprise procedural stuff under the radar is likely someone whose opinions are quirky, fringe, or otherwise inspired by the sort of mind that knows Robert's Rules of Order just enough to wield them clumsily. Like a teenager trying out ninja weapons, such a person needs to be humored a little, and stayed away from a lot. 

[janielou13]

"and almost certainly somebody with some quirky take on some issue will say something quote-worthy from the convention floor,"

Keep your ears peeled for one to top this goodie from, I believe the 1932 convention, when making the KJV the official translation was the issue on the floor.  Some good and pious soul spoke to the point, that God spoke German, for in Genesis it is clearly stated that when God walked in the Garden, he said, "Wo bist du, Adam?" so English simply would not do.  I wasn't there, but one of my godparents was and never tired of bringing that up to 'we never done it that way' Lutherans.

[peter_speckhard]

I've heard too many variations of this joke to suspect it was as simple as that. Probably the speaker meant that English can not distinguish degrees of formality like du and Sie in German, which is still a silly point to make, but at least one that pertains to the real ramifications of switching translations. No matter how many times I hear the one about "If the King James was good enough for David to write the psalms in, it is good enough for me..." or some such, I will never actually believe such anedotes happened seriously. I'll give you ten dollars cash (which is a lot if you knew how cheap I am) if you can demonstrate that anyone who has ever spoken on the floor of any LCMS convention honestly thought the Scriptures were composed in German or English.   

[janielou13]

As much as I could use the ten spot,,,,,, that's almost three gallons of regular around here,,,,, my eye(ear)witness source is now thirty years with the angels.  You'll have to check in with him when you get there,,, he wasn't the kind of person who made that sort of thing up this side of the grave and doesn't have to anymore.

[peter_speckhard]

Incredibly, I made it Houston within an hour of my scheduled arrival time. Went with my uncle to a little Italian restaurant nearby that was completely filled with convention folks. For some reason they're easy to identify, though I can't quite put my finger on why. Got checked in. Paid the ludicrous $10 for a wifi connection (what a joke--the cheesiest motels somehow manage to offer it for free, but the downtown Hilton...well, I guess poor Paris has had a hard time of it lately, but anyway, don't get me started) and am set for things to start happening. You'll be the first to know.

The Hilton lobby and bar and every nook and cranny is filled with people meeting old classmates and generally in reunion mode. The very first person (literally) I talked to in the hotel was President Kieschnick. He was walking through the lobby all by himself and came over to me and asked if we'd met before. Talked a bit about the Packers and so forth. I ventured my prediction that it would be a boring convention, and he seemed a little nervous about that, but said it would be a good thing.

Part of the problem with synodical politics--all of the problem with it, actually--is how it destroys the personal. As I said upstream, if I had all the power, I would not choose President Kieschnick. Right away in many people's minds that puts me on a "side", which is fine and fair, I guess. I am on a side in many ways. But being on a side does not have to mean personal dislike. Unless you were convinced he was an absolute phony, you'd have a hard time not liking and respecting President Kieschnick. I only met the late President Barry once, but I would have said the same thing about him. He wasn't as hearty-handshake-ish as Kieschnick, but he was very down-to-earth, genuine, and pastoral. Again, unless you were absolutely convinced he was a ruthless, conniving (insert your favorite end to that phrase here) you'd have a hard time not liking and respecting Al Barry. As far as I can tell, both men, merely as Christian men and in ways consistent with their differing personalities, are/were a credit to the church body that raised them up.

Too many people (I haven't encountered any of it here in Houston so far, but I have at other conferences, in publications, and even in this forum) feel the need to spit on the ground at the mention of some perfectly fine Christian man merely because that man did things or tried to do things they disagreed with. Nowadays the anti-Kieschnick crowd mostly has that reputation, but the impulse is shared with equal zeal by people who clench their jaws at the name of Barry, or Preus, or whomever. And that sad impulse is only made worse by the democratic way we select our leaders. People fear to praise or even acknowledge the decency of a candidate they don't support because such an attitude might hinder the effort to make sure he is defeated. I think the method outlined in Acts-- choosing a few really qualified prospects and then praying about it and drawing straws-- would not result in lower quality of presidents and would remove the ambition, careerism, politicking, mud-slinging and other bad factors from the equation altogether.

More later--I'm off to schmooze in the lobby toward my effort of parlaying my reporter position into fabulous gifts and fine wine.     

[peter_speckhard]

In the elevator to the lobby I panicked a little when I suddenly remembered that I couldn't schmooze my way out of a paper bag. Luckily there was a table of people I know from my congregation and district and I was able to mix in with them. Along the way I was able to speak to a few people in the hall and several delegates, district executives and a few district presidents in passing, and the unanimous consensus is that once the elections are over there won't be much by way of important potential surprises. Several people concurred with my 55% prediction for President Kieschnick.

There are, however, several interesting proposals on the table, which are worth examining regardless of whether they get voted up or down. Tomorrow I'll give a brief rundown of everything on the table, which will give a pretty good picture of the general outlook and internal fault lines of the LCMS. Actually, I guess I'll be doing that later today, since this forum functions on Eastern time. Schlaf gut.

[peter_speckhard]

The ALPB got hosed, because there are a lot of non-officially LCMS exhibitors in the hall whose products compete with CPH-- artists selling knick-knacks that compete with CPH's gifts, mission societies selling Bibles, all kinds of what-not.

So far I've searched high and low and have yet to find any politicking of any kind except a little table handing out free JesusFirst literature with voting guides. A pretty low-key guy at the table said to feel free to take whatever I wanted. I even asked him if there were any other, competing voting guides available, since I'm doing press work and would like to compare them. He said there were, but they came in the mail to all the delegates and he didn't know of anyone at the convention handing anything out. They had JesusFirst buttons, but I haven't seen many (in fact, I'm not sure I've seen any) actually being worn. It is as though everyone has already made up their minds, everybody already basically knows what is going to happen, so they're just going to meet old friends and look at the exhibits. Even the eavesedropping is boring so far.

[peter_speckhard]

So far the most controversial thing I've gotten anyone to say was by a voting delegate I know who supports Kieschnick and who said he "certainly hopes not" when I asked him if he thought a particular JesusFirst-backed candidate for one of the vice-president positions would win. That's about it. Still no sign of any opposition to JesusFirst, which has the one lone table, although somebody told me that copies of Christian News were available somewhere where delegates could find them. JesusFirst is even handing out free t-shirts (all sizes) that say "I want my Phil" on the front and Philippiains 2:1-2 printed on the back, about being like-minded and one in spirit and purpose. If out of the blue Kieschnick somehow loses tomorrow, I suspect those handing out the shirt would have a hard time accepting their own exhortation, but since nobody thinks that has any chance of happening I guess they can afford to be confident.

When I ask what has any chance of being controversial or interesting, the only thing that comes up is the plan for a restricted status ordination for people in a new program to serve non-traditional parishes with Word and Sacrament ministry. Since the plan is backed by the Council of Presidents, both seminary presidents (with support from faculty) and virtually everybody in authority, I think it will pass. But some people don't seem so sure, and a few have said the resistance comes from some skeptical pastors but more importantly from the laity, who don't like the idea of pastors in the synod who have a plan-B education. At the open floor committee meetings, that was the issue that drew crowds and questions from both sides.

The opening worship was good. The schedule called for worship from 4:00-6:00, but when we got there it turned out to an Ablaze! presentation from 4:00-4:30 with worship following. This kind of thing is common-- a constant drumbeat of Ablaze! almost daring anyone get exasperated with it. I suppose if they had put the Ablaze spiel in the schedule a lot of people would have just showed up for church at 4:30. Anyway, the presentation was standard fare-- videos of mission plants and how they're doing. The worship service itself was interesting. No real hint of "contemporary" in it. The music was spectacular in parts, especially during the distribution when pianist Wayne Oquin, a Juliard instructor, played his own arrangement of Thy Strong Word. In addition to choirs and brass choirs, the full throng sang Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying to end the Ablaze! presentation, and then during the service itself sang Voices Raised to You We Offer; Church of God, Elect and Glorious; Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service; Wide Open Stand the Gates; Go, My Children, With My Blessing; and (probably just to tweak the ELCA) Onward Christian Soldiers. President Kieschnick preached a fine sermon on missions. All in all it was very inspiring.

[peter_speckhard]

A few last notes on the pre-convention coverage. I'm planning to attend the Valparaiso University reception on Monday evening. Since my article last fall in the Forum Letter was, shall we say, less than favorably reviewed by the VU administration I figure this can be a chance to mend some bridges. Or get thrown out. Either way it can't be as uninteresting as trying to get these delegates to express more than a moderate preference.

The Wheat Ridge exhibit is giving out great bumper stickers. "Stop Global Whining... Celebrate Joy in the Lord". Does Wheat Ridge exhibit at the ELCA conventions?