Is the Memorial out of order?

The President has publicly said that he believes this memorial to be out of order.  I would assume this is because it goes against the synod guidelines which state that the Appeals decision is to be the final word.  I understand his concern for abiding by the guidelines.  It is a valid and serious concern put in place to guard the synod against unneeded turmoil. 

 

However, the point of the memorial is not to create turmoil, instead its aim is to make the suspension agree with the synod’s guidelines.  For right now the Appeals decision does not meet any REQUIREMENT for a pastor’s divine call to be removed.

            1)Adhering to false doctrine, or

            2)Living an ungodly life, or

            3)Unscriptural practice.

 

The reason that the Appeals decision meets none of these requirements is the subject and content of the memorial. But let me state again why the Appeals fails in this manner.

 

The Synod believed that Preus was guilty of unscriptural practice and living an ungodly life because he was sowing seeds of discord (In the synods defense, if this were true it would fulfill the requirements).  But why exactly is sowing seeds of discord unscriptural practice or living an ungodly life?  Christ himself is clear that he was a sower of discord. “I came not to send peace but the sword, I came to set man at variance with his father.”  Obviously then, sowing seeds of discord is not always a sin, for Jesus kept the Law perfectly, never sinning, while at the same time he was engaged in the same activity which Preus has been accused of.  By what then was Jesus justified?  It was by the truth of God’s Word that he was justified.  For no doubt whenever and wherever the clear Law and Gospel are preached, discord will be sown, for it is our sinful nature to reject and hate that which reveals our wretched state.  Indeed, every pastor that does his job sows discord all the time.  But they are not sinning.  They are teaching the truth of God’s Word for the salvation of mankind.  Therefore while sowing seeds of discord can be a sin, when it is done on the basis of the true Word of God it is not a sin but the work which every public minister is divinely called to do.

 

As a result sowing seeds of discord can be godly or ungodly, scriptural or unscriptural.  Therefore the teachings of Preus must be judged using God’s word before it can be claimed that Preus was guilty of unscriptural practice or living an ungodly life.  Until that is done, the suspension does not fulfill the REQUIREMENTS for the removal of a divine call, as stated in our guidelines. 

 

Our guidelines then present the synod with a dilemma.  President Moldstad is correct that the memorial does not accept the Appeals decision.  But without the memorials adoption, the Appeals decision does not obey the synod’s guideline for removal of a pastor.  It is unwise that an action be ruled out of order which seeks to restore order. 

 

The problem at the heart of this matter then, is that when the synod judged Preus guilty of unscriptural practice and living an ungodly life solely on the fact that he was sowing seeds of discord, the synod was directly contradicting Jesus actions.  I don’t think anyone in the ELS would pretend that Jesus was sinning when he sowed seeds of discord, you will have to go the Mormons to find someone like that.  The synods actions must therefore be corrected to comply with Scripture.  The consequences of this memorial reach farther than our guidelines.