This is SOME and not all of the info that has popped up around Kieshnick and the CCM. Some people will say that it is nitpicky, unfounded and has nothing to do with congregations. Read further and make you own decisions. If people really dig for the info they will find it is substantiated by documentation. The CCM and Kieshnick are insidious. They use the same principles as governments to take away freedoms and suppress opposition. If freedoms are taken away incrementally then only a few will complain, If the take away all the freedoms at once they would be kicked out of office. This is just their way of consolidating power to themselves with no opposition. The liberal agenda is advancing at a rapid pace.
1a) Ks mostly self appointed CCM ruling has stopped LCMS congregations from confessing the Bible is inerrant. PSWD district president Larry Stoterau ask CCM to overrule his own district convention ruling.
1. Even though Kieshnick says he opposes ervolution and women ordination and affirms the six 24 hour day creation, Jonah and the inerrency of the bible he will not support any disciplinary actions against people that support it. Disciplinary action against phony holders of doctorates in Lutheran Hour and LLL were not forthcomming either.
2. Kieschnick has a bureaucratic and by-law mentality. Dr. Kurt Marquart at the 2003 Walther Conference at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, noted: "Our tragedy is that this absolute priority of the divine truth has become displaced in our Synodical life. By what? By organizational, bureaucratic concerns. Our disease, you might say is, 'bureaucratitis"'. Dr. Wallace Schulz said: "Through the erroneous dependence on man made documents, some leaders of the LCMS have now forced our beloved Synod in to the greatest crisis in its history." (Crisis in Christendom - Seminex Ablaze, pp. 51-115 & 360).
3. Leaders of Renewal in Missouri (RIM), a group of several hundred LCMS charismatic pastors, have joined Jesus First, the organization of liberals and moderates which worked for the election of Kieshnick. Under Kieschnick, RIM has disbanded. It no longer has a need to exist. The LCMS is now open to those who speak in tongues, claim they receive visions, practice holy laughter and healing.
4. Kieschnick gave Atlantic District President David Benke permission to pray with Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews and liberal Roman Catholics and Protestants on September 23, 2001 in Yankee Stadium. Former Lutheran Hour Speaker and LCMS Second Vice-president, Dr. Wallace Schulz said "ALL of the divisiveness we have had in the LCMS because of Yankee Stadium can be traced to this (Kieschnick's) 'original sin." (Crisis in Christendom - Seminex Ablaze).
5. Kieschnick has not insisted that Benke retract his statement that "The Muslim God is also the true God." Kieschnick promotes membership in the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education even though it promotes an anti- scriptural universalism and is pro- homosexual.
6. Kieschnick, who poses as a great champion of the Eighth Commandment, has violated the Eighth Commandment. When Kieschnick was a speaker at a rally in Benke's church after Schulz suspended Benke, he did not defend Schulz when a congressman, who was another major speaker at the rally, referred to Wally Schultz as some sort of Nazi.
7 Klescnhick gained support for his defense of Benke at the LCMS's 2004 convention when, in a dramatic move, he publicly absolved Benke and told the convention that Benke regretted that his prayer at Yankee Stadium was not a true Christian prayer. Kieschnick failed to tell the convention that several months after Benke expressed repentance for his prayer both Benke and Kieschnick were among those who prayed the same prayer in Benke's church at the rally protesting Schulz's suspension of Benke. The August/September 2006 Consensus said that "Gerald Kieschnick is not a man to be trusted."
8. Kieschnick's appointed Commission on Constitutional Matters has adopted a ruling which violated the laws of the State of Missouri, Kieshnick has supported their ruling.
9. One of the chief financial supporters of Jesus First, the group of LCMS liberals and moderates which promoted Kieschnick for president, is a divorced millionaire who left his wife and five children to marry a younger woman in his office. This divorced millionaire is a good friend of Kieschnick. K says he opposes un-scriptural divorce but when a millionaire friend is involved he continues to accept the financial support of the millionaire.
10. While K defends his liberal supporters who support the Seminex theology h e threatens conservatives who disagree with him.
11. K has banned more overtures and suggestions from LCMS congregations that any other president in LCMS history.
congregations than any other president in the entire history of the LCMS.
12. Kieschnick uses bullying tactics. The LCMS's International Center, where Kieschnick is the head, told Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, not to allow the Walther Conference to meet at the Seminary even though the seminary agreed already a year ago to let the Walther Conference again meet at the seminary.
13. Kieschnick told congregations in the Texas District, which had invited the CN editor to preach in their congregations, not to have the CN editor preach. Kieschnick has never registered any complaint when a liberal like Dr. Martin Marty preaches in an LCMS church or speaks at some LCMS school. He sent a document to all of the LCMS's district presidents claiming that the editor of Christian News is not truthful and violates the Eighth Commandment. When CN asked Kieschnick for proof that CN has violated the Eighth Commandment and is not truthful, he did not respond.
14. Kieschnick has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for travel and meetings which could have been better spent for missions. The LCMS announced that Kieschnick and his wife would be riding the Lutheran Hour float at the nationally televised Rose Bowl parade. The LCMS generally pays the traveling expenses of Kieschnick and his wife. The Circuit Counselors conference held in Milwaukee in September, 2006, cost close to a million dollars. Kieschnick says there should be other such conferences in the near future. The LCMS's Lutheran Church Extension Fund, the Council of Presidents and other LCMS groups in November at a resort center in Orlando, Florida had another costly meeting which may have cost over a million dollars. Kieschnick again was a major speaker.
15. Kieschriick supports a plan which will assess LCMS congregations. He insist that all congregations of the LCMS must directly contribute to the LCMS to help pay for the growing high salaries of LCMS officials instead of missions. CFW Walther mention that no congregation should give one red cent to synod.
16. K gets double the salary of a minister and vast amounts of perks for traveling and conventions and speaking engagements. Many congregations have voiced the concern that money would be well spent elsewhere and not given to district and synod. Some congregations maintain that they should first try to pay their own pastor a better salary, rather than helping the LCMS pay Kieschnick more than $160,000 a year.
17. Kieschnick's costly mission ablaze program helps get him the support of many mission minded laymen and pastors. Yet during the years Kieschnick has been president, the LCMS loses about 25,000 members a year. (Of course, there are various factors involved in the loss of 25,000 a year).
18. Kieschnick has opposed a move to limit the power of the LCMS president, who now appoints all LCMS convention committee chairmen and members of the various LCMS convention committees. He refused to let anyone of the LCMS's vice-presidents chair even a small part of the LCMS's 2004 convention Kieschnick wanted to be in tota! control. He refused to call on Dr Marquart who stood at a microphone for about an hour.
19. Kieschnick participated in a joint worship in a pro-homosexual (Reconciled in Christ ELCA Church. (Crisis in Christendom - Seminex Ablaze, p. 260).
20. Since LCMS if a corporation with the State of Missouri and is therefore required to follow the laws of Missouri. Missouri law says that a corporation's Board of Directors is above any church commission such as the LCMS's Commission on Constitutional Matters. Kieschnick wants to be the infallible "Pope", "Kingpin" etc. who is above any Board of Directors. When he disagrees with some effort of the Board of Directors to curb his power, he runs to his appointed "yes-men" Commission on Constitutional Matters for one of the CCMs convoluted rulings.
Three highly reputable law firms have said that Kieschnick's appointed CCM has clearly broken the law. Christians are to obey the law of the land (Romans 13) unless the government tells them to break God's law.
21. Kieschnick is supported by Jesus First. Jesus First is enthusiastically backing Rieschnick for re-election. Jesus First, an organized group of LCMS liberals, moderates and charismatics, has held key meetings at Kieschnick's own congregation. More recently a box number is listed instead of the church address. Even in Kieschnick's own liberal church there are many not in accord with Jesus First.
What a picnic!
