Houston Recap: Met & Gret
As conventions are a time for meeting & greeting, I like alliteration (even when it’s ungrammatical), and the 2007 Convention is in the past, here are some of the more interesting folks I met & gret…
SP Kieschnick - Yes, the big kahuna himself, our Rev. Dr. President. After the convention had officially ended on Thursday, I made my way up to his end of the stage and waited until I could get his attention. I asked if I could approach the podium (after all, my mama didn’t raise an impolite dummy!). I just wanted to take the time to thank him for running a smooth convention, and to let him know that even though I don’t always agree with him politically, I still do pray for him. While the convention wasn’t necessarily “peaceful” it was “civil”, and that’s largely due to his ability to execute his duties as convention Chairman. And that is a good thing, even as I in no way let it cloud my judgment that our side got our asses handed to us.
Rev. Dr. Ralph Bohlmann - I pretty much had dinner one evening with the former president of the LCMS. Tuesday evening I was catching a quick dinner at the Hilton’s cafe, when I overheard the nice older lady delegate (from Iowa) next to me speaking with an older gentleman next to her. I didn’t pay that much attention until I heard him say something about the front stage on the convention floor. That made me perk up & take a look, at which time I realized that it was Dr. Bohlmann. He’s a pivotal character in the past 35 years of LCMS history, both for good and bad, depending on your viewpoint. We had a very nice dinnertime conversation, the three of us, and it was fascinating to hear him talk about things. The only real political-type of things that he spoke of were related to floor nominations (he was very against them), restructuring (he was very much for it, natch), and SPK (he decried the sinfulness of the lawsuit, and the deleterious effect it has had on SPK & his family). It was a terrifically interesting time, from both historical and political standpoints.
Dave Domsch - One of the top dogs in TBNJFPAC, and someone with whom I obviously don’t agree on too many things. I caught up with him on the convention floor, mainly because I wanted to tell him what an unexpected pleasure it was to be on the same side of a political issue with him. He made an amendment on Res. 7-05B (aka the “transparency” resolution) that really was a good thing & should’ve been passed (it didn’t), and I just wanted to let him know that. He recognized my name, and we had a couple of laughs about my comment that I was hurt by the fact that TBNJFPAC didn’t endorse me. We also agreed that the restructuring being pushed via 8-07 wasn’t being handled properly, from a change-management POV, at least - which is a start…
Rev. James Rogers - I was able to catch up with the man who, in a Delegate-to-Delegate newsletter, called me and all the signers of TTMBO “schismatics”. I asked him why he did that, when TTMBO has never been shown to contain false doctrine. I also relayed my concern that the public accusation was not only an explicit calling out of me, but also a more veiled accusation of my pastor, because he hasn’t properly disciplined one of his “schismatic” sheep. Rev. Rogers responded by stating that he didn’t mean to accuse me of sinning, and that “schismatic” was used in more of a political, not a theological, sense. He apologized for the misunderstanding, and asked for forgiveness, which was given. On a personal level, reconciliation was achieved. My only regret is that I didn’t think to ask Rev. Rogers to issue a public retraction of the very public accusation he leveled against the signers of TTMBO.
Rev. Dr. Paul Maier - I spoke with him at his book-signing table in the CPH booth, re-introducing myself to him. I say re-introducing myself, because we first met almost 22 years ago when I was a freshman at Kalamazoo College, which is right next door to Dr. Maier’s Western Michigan University. I attended services at his chapel on WMU’s campus a few times, and we had a nice moment or three reminiscing about that. This happened prior to his Bible Study, in which he slammed folks like me as “ultra-critical purists”, and when he slammed floor nominations as being unnecessary & generally bad/ill-advised. As a historian, Dr. Maier is unmatched. As a theologian, I’m afraid, he’s a great historian…
Chap. John Wohlrabe - I heard him speak several times during the week, and I was fortunate enough to catch up with him (and his lovely wife) in the exhibit hall just prior to the balloting for SP on Sunday afternoon. He is truly an asset to the Synod — a man’s man, a pastoral man, a scholar, and a leader.
Rev. Dr. Martin Noland - I spent a few moments speaking with him at the Concordia Historical Institute booth in the exhibit hall. As an undergrad History major and an amateur historian, it was an honor to speak with Dr. Noland. Check out the archives at Issues, Etc. and you’ll know what I mean.
Dr. Roy Kaiser - I ran into my old grade school (3-8) principal & his lovely wife Eileen at lunch on Wed. I mention them here, not because it’s odd for me to see them. In fact, it’s not, because I’ve seen them quite a few times over the past 6 years, as their daughter Lori & her family go to the same church that my family & I attend. (Lori was 2 years ahead me & her brother Joel, who is now a pastor at St. Lorenz, Frankenmuth, MI) I include Dr. Kaiser here because I just want to publicly acknowledge the role that he played by being the principal of the school that I attended during the most formative years of my education in the Lutheran faith. Dr. Kaiser ran a good, solid school, and I will be forever grateful for it.
Rev. David Otten - I sat near a bunch of great people, the rest of who will be listed in the next paragraph. Rev. Otten, however, gets a separate mention because, well, because of his last name. Otten is a name that elicits strong reactions in the LCMS, and Rev. Otten was very gracious in allowing me to ask the questions that I’m sure he’s been asked a thousand times. It was interesting to find out that his father is the Otten sibling that no one’s ever heard of (i.e., not Herman, Walter, or Marie…).
Rev. Tim Miille, Dcs. Kristine Blackwell, Rev. Nathan Meador, Rev. Dr. Charles Schulz, Rev. David Petersen, Rev. Fred Davison, & Ken Howes - These fine folks helped make my time spent on the convention floor a pleasant, fun, educational, edifying, and entertaining one. We spent a lot of time together, and I enjoyed darned near every moment of it. And for that I thank them!
Rev. Eric Stefanski - It’s always a pleasure to spend time talking with Fr. Grabauski!
Rev. Charlie Henrickson, Rev. Richard Bolland, Rev. Roger Gallup, Rev. Andy Simcak, & Rev. Roger Sterle - Leadership of the Confessional cause/caucus, it was a pleasure to spend time with these good men & wonderful pastors. There were quite a few other men (and women!) in the room, and I apologize if I’ve missed listing anyone specifically, but being with these fine men was an honor.
Rev. David Petersen, Rev. Paul Beisel, Rev. Rick Stuckwisch, Rev. Tom Chryst, & Tim Schenks - These are some of the fine Lutheran bloggers that I was able to meet during the convention. Again, I apologize if I’ve left anyone off of this list — if I have, just leave a comment & I’ll add you to the list.
Rev. Kevin Palmer - I close with my roommate for the week. It was a pleasure spending time talking about the events of each day with this wonderful servant of the Word. The saints at Immanuel - Michigan City (IN) are truly blessed to have this man as their pastor & undershepherd.
Well, that’s about all I can think to include in this entry. I met & gret a whole lot of nice folks over the course of the convention, and this entry only scratches the surface. I was well & truly blessed by my time at the convention.
-ghp
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Thanks for the recap. You got to meet some cool guys. Of all of them the one I see the most is Dr. Noland. He always eats in the sem snack bar and we chat occasionally. Great guy to talk with. Absolutely brilliant!