Unity, Transparency, and the Future of the LCMS
- Tim Ahlman
- Sep 22
- 3 min read
“The friend of my enemy makes my friend an enemy.” You may have to read that twice. Sadly, I’ve seen this kind of thinking play out in the LCMS. It sounds like this:
What groups do you like? I hope they’re the same groups I like.
What podcasts do you listen to? I pray they’re the same ones I listen to.
What leaders do you respect? I hope they’re the same leaders I respect—otherwise I’m not sure we can be friends.
This is identity politics, and it is creeping into our life together as the Church.
If God treated us this way, we’d all be His eternal enemies. By nature, our sin sets us against Him. Yet, by faith in Christ, we are reconciled, changed from enemies into friends of God. And God doesn’t stop there. He sends us into the world with this audacious message: “Be reconciled to God through faith in Christ!” That is the scandal and beauty of the Gospel.
What saddens me is how often in the LCMS we struggle to embody this same reconciling love toward one another. In politically charged days, our words and actions can either model the audacity of God’s grace or contradict it.
Recently on Lead Time, we addressed the Christian response to evil following the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. We prayed for Charlie’s family and admired his courage while acknowledging his imperfections. Some friends emailed me in disappointment. I was grateful for their honesty, and I hope for future conversations where we can respectfully share differences and unite under the cross of Christ.
But this is not an isolated issue. I’ve heard troubling stories of faithful pastors and leaders—men who have never spoken heresy and continue to serve with integrity—being quietly removed from potential seminary or Concordia faculty lists. No explanations were given. Boards requesting to interview them received no rationale, only silence. The only conclusion left? They were associated with the wrong groups, the wrong people, or perhaps listened to the wrong podcasts.
This is wrong.
We need greater transparency in the prior approval process. And we need to resist the pull of identity politics within the LCMS. We all took the same ordination vows. We all confess the same Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions. Of course, we have differences—different temperaments, gifts, risk tolerances, and ministry contexts. But we share one baptism, one Lord, one confession of faith. That unity must mean more than our alignments with certain groups or personalities.
Paul’s words in Ephesians remain our guide:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1–6).
As we approach the LCMS convention, may we take these words to heart. May we refuse to let identity politics define our fellowship. May our processes reflect transparency and fairness. And above all, may we embody the reconciling love of Christ, who alone turns enemies into friends and unites us as His body, the Church.