Harrison as President

It is time…for me to be completely honest about my thoughts about the now finished Synodical President Election.  I never posted anything that would approach an endorsement for one side or another.  No, if you saw a mustache on my Facebook profile this week, it would be due to laziness and not endorsement.  Why not?  Well first, I am always cautious to not officially associate myself with any “group” or “side” in Synod.  why?  Because I truly seek (God help me) to keep my loyalty fixed firmly on the Word incarnate, the Word which testifies to Him, and to the Confessions I attest as true expositions of that word.  I have never been a party line guy in secular politics and I refuse to be one in synod politics either.   When an issue comes up, I do not just check Steadfast Lutherans or Jesus First  to get my position.  I instead return to the scriptures and confessions as I have come to know and understand them.  I will admit that I often end up more in line with one side (those who call themselves confessional or steadfast) than the other, but I never feel comfortable taking on their labels because at times I hear things, watch practices, or see attitudes within that movement that are not faithful to our Lord, His Word, or even our Confessions.

As far as Kiescknick, I might be snookered, but I have always thought he was not nearly as liberal as many of his opponents painted him nor as liberal as many of his proponents truly are.  But my main concern with him was that he seems so much like many of the pastors of his generation, willing to ignore sin and unfaithfulness for the sake of “peace” and for the purpose of anything which claims to aim at seeking and saving the lost.  Oh, there were things he spearheaded that I was not big fan of all (such as how Ablaze and Fan into Flame were structured and presented), but I try whenever I can to best the construction of things.  Of course, at times I fail and sin in this regard as brothers close to me can attest.   But my opposition to him never reached the vitriol that many manifested.

As far as Harrison, I must admit that I was not initially thrilled that he was the one chosen by the more conservative side as the one to campaign for this year.  Why?  Because during the one and only time I saw Harrison live and in person (many years ago), he acted with arrogance and anger towards his fellow peers on the panel he was participating in.  I was in agreement with him generally on doctrine and practice, but his attitude was quite foreign to the scriptures in regards to how we go about rebuking ad restoring our brothers.  When I heard that he was being forth as a candidate for president, I asked many who know him currently to assuage my fears that he would rule in this way as Synod President.  I read many endorsements with utter hope that they were accurate in describing his heart as a Pastor and Leader. If I had been chosen to cast a vote, I would have voted for Harrison.  But I would have done so with some trepidation about what that would mean for our church.

Harrison’s acceptance speech was filled with humility and compassion.  It was excellent in every way I could imagine, in content and tone.  If he rules this way, I trust he will be a great blessing to our church.  A man that can mix faithfulness and steadfastness with gentleness and compassion is what the Synod truly needs.  Such a man can only be formed through the Spirit’s steadfast work through Word and Sacrament.  One who understand that faithfulness is not just about what we do not do but also about what we must do is the man we need.  I hope (and that hope was strengthen by his speech) that Harrison is one such man.  And I pray that whether he is or not today that God would make him so for the sake of the Church.