“Sometimes I think these bishop elections are kind of treated with political nice, like we don’t do politics in the church,” Hunstad said. “Sometimes I think we need to create opportunities for people to be honest.”
Several of the posters eventually revealed their identities, including the Rev. Randy Smith, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston, Minn. As “Holy Discontent,” he wrote that the synod was in “tough shape,” that many quality pastors had left or been fired, and thriving congregations weren’t lifted up as models for the rest of the synod.
“People were ready for change, significant change,” Smith said in an interview this week. “The people spoke with the election.”
Steve Trandem, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Bemidji, Minn., also posted on the site. He described himself as a friend of Wangberg, but said he appreciated his work in the parish more than as bishop.
“I think there was a general feeling on the part of many in the synod … that we had a constitutional expert in the synod office and they were looking more for someone who could be a pastor to the pastor,” Trandem said in an interview. “To be fair, there’s a question as to whether that can happen, but many pastors, me included, feel that’s still necessary.”
The synod, essentially a geographical area covering northwest Minnesota, includes 272 congregations with more than 330 ordained ministers and about 109,000 Lutherans.
Read it all.
A conflicted church for the Lutherans
“Sometimes I think these bishop elections are kind of treated with political nice, like we don’t do politics in the church,” Hunstad said. “Sometimes I think we need to create opportunities for people to be honest.”
Several of the posters eventually revealed their identities, including the Rev. Randy Smith, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston, Minn. As “Holy Discontent,” he wrote that the synod was in “tough shape,” that many quality pastors had left or been fired, and thriving congregations weren’t lifted up as models for the rest of the synod.
“People were ready for change, significant change,” Smith said in an interview this week. “The people spoke with the election.”
Steve Trandem, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Bemidji, Minn., also posted on the site. He described himself as a friend of Wangberg, but said he appreciated his work in the parish more than as bishop.
“I think there was a general feeling on the part of many in the synod … that we had a constitutional expert in the synod office and they were looking more for someone who could be a pastor to the pastor,” Trandem said in an interview. “To be fair, there’s a question as to whether that can happen, but many pastors, me included, feel that’s still necessary.”
The synod, essentially a geographical area covering northwest Minnesota, includes 272 congregations with more than 330 ordained ministers and about 109,000 Lutherans.
Read it all.