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A St. Louis Seminary official requested there be clarification of previous
information from Reclaim News (reclaimnews@earthlink.net)
though he claimed he was not aware of the source of the information.
The official's phone call and clarification of the issues were
straightforward and deeply appreciated.
The official was offered the opportunity to publish his exact wording on
Reclaim News, an offer that he declined.
It is now our duty to relay, as accurately as possible, the information
the official wishes to relay over Reclaim News, a medium of which he
claims to have no knowledge.
First, the official was assured that Reclaim News published a retraction
of the information from one of their students who thought that Pieper's
"Christian Dogmatics" is no longer required. The student
did not understand that Pieper's "Christian Dogmatics" is not
required for Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) graduate courses, but is
required for all Seminary courses.
Second, the official did not deny that the LCMS Board for Higher Education
(BHE) turned down an offer to grant PLI Recognized Service Organization (RSO)
status approximately four times and that the 2001 LCMS Convention also
refused to consider PLI for RSO status.
Third, the official stated the St. Louis Seminary does not teach PLI
courses. He did, however, agree to the existence of the St. Louis
Seminary "Wrap-Around Program" for PLI courses." This
program was recently published on Reclaim News.
Fourth, the official stated that a Doctor of Ministry Program at St. Louis
requires 54 graduate quarter hours. The Seminary will accept 18
credits from PLI, which must be included in wrap-around courses from the
Seminary. The Seminary will grant the PLI graduate students a total of
nine full credits toward a Doctor of Ministry degree in the context of
their own wrap-around courses.
Fifth, we thank the St. Louis Seminary official for his information.
Any further information on these subjects will be cleared with this
seminary official.
Reflections:
First, what a joy it is to know that the St. Louis Seminary continues to
require Pieper's Christian Dogmatics for all its Seminary students.
Second, if these PLI pastors weren't the "lost boys" of the LCMS
clergy roster they wouldn't need a "wrap-around" program from
the St. Louis Seminary. Seminary President Dr. John Johnson is
pressuring the entire Synod into granting PLI status in the LCMS.
Johnson encouraged Dr Norbert Oesch to establish PLI.
Third, in spite of the refusal by the BHE and the Convention, PLI
continues to make inroads into the training of pastors in the LCMS.
PLI's love for the vocabulary of business oriented leadership training in
place of the language of the Bible reminds us of the mark of the beast in
Revelation.
Fourth, PLI is very good at business. The total cost of a PLI degree is
over $6000.00 a year for four years, or more than $24,000.00, paid by the
pastor, congregation, District, and corporate donors. The
Association of Theological Schools does not accredit PLI. That is a
lot of money to pay for nine full credit hours from the St. Louis
Seminary. Why not just give the money to the Seminary and get a real
degree?
The mark of the beast in Revelation is about replacing the language of the
Bible with the vocabulary of commerce and business. "And that
no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:17
PLI's appeal to "core operational Values," "planning
process" "process consulting" "change",
"facilitators," and the terminology of the Harvard School of
Business have no place in the church, even if they call it "Church
Growth." They have nothing to do with the word of God, faith,
Christ, doctrine, and the historic terminology of the church.
PLI's "new direction" for the LCMS leads us to ask, "Where
is their heart?" No man can serve two masters. The PLI
alterative is not the way of Christ and they don't talk Bible-talk because
their plans for reorganization of the LCMS congregations don't come from
the Bible.
We aren't directly calling the terminology of the Harvard School of
business false doctrine. Rather it is void of doctrine and must lead
to the secularization of the LCMS. PLI is turning LCMS congregations
into worldly organizations.
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