# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S93
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Fourth Delegate Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1884.   93

this commission came to the same result, namely, that they recognized
Lehnigk's position and conduct in this matter as mistaken, declared the
Synod's advice to be right, and his suspension to be just.

    "Finally, the Vice-President, Pastor C. Groß, judges the matter in
just the same way, after having had the minutes sent to him at the
request of General President Schwan to investigate the matter, and
having read them through.

    "Nevertheless, Mr. Teacher Lehnigk now appeals to this Delegate
Synod assembled here and asks that his 'matter be investigated
thoroughly and completely, on the spot, quite soon.'

    "After the committee had recognized the state of affairs presented
here and at the same time become convinced that Lehnigk had gone
too far, it asked him to attend a second session of the same. He duly
appeared and presented his case himself, both orally and in writing,
before the committee. From his own testimony it became increasingly
clear to the committee that Mr. Lehnigk had sinned by renouncing his
connection with his congregation, since he had not yet even concluded
his disciplinary proceeding against it, and especially since he had
always considered it — and still considered it — a congregation erring
out of weakness.

    "The committee also took great pains to convince him of the simple
principle that it is wrong to cut oneself off from a Christian
congregation merely because it may be remiss in carrying out church
discipline; even granting, for the sake of argument, that the
congregation concerned had erred in the matter with the M. brothers,
this still did not justify his renouncing the congregation. He had
plainly gone too far; according to God's Word it would have been
enough had he let the matter rest with his verbal protest.

    "Since Lehnigk repeatedly appealed to an opinion of Dr. Walther's
from the year 1881, the committee allowed him to read this aloud as
well, as it had previously allowed him to read his protest against Pastor
Groß's letter. This was done, and it turned out that Dr. Walther had
judged the matter of renouncing one's congregation in exactly the same
way as the committee, and had expressly pointed out that even Paul,
although according to 1 Corinthians 5 and 6 church discipline in
Corinth lay very much neglected, nowhere calls on anyone to leave the
congregation on that account.

    "Finding himself thus somewhat cornered, Lehnigk broke off the
proceedings, leaving despite many requests that he stay longer.

    "On the basis, then, of what the committee learned from the minutes
before it concerning this dispute, which had evidently been smoldering
in the congregation for some 18 years already, and on the basis of its
own experience with Lehnigk, gained in a three-hour session with him,
it