Esget
succeeds Kuhn as LCMS sixth vice-president
By Roger Drinnon and Megan K. Mertz
After consulting with the district
presidents of the East-Southeast Region, LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C.
Harrison appointed the Rev. Christopher Esget, pastor of
Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Va., as sixth vice-president of the
Synod Aug. 31.
Esget succeeds the Rev. Dr.
Robert T. Kuhn, who resigned from that position in an Aug. 20 letter
to Harrison. Kuhn told Reporter that his resignation was “for health
reasons.”
 |
| Rev. Christopher Esget |
“Pastor Esget brings to the table
great parish experience, and I am confident he will give reasoned advice and
positive counsel,” said Harrison. “He is a parish pastor who will bring
thoughtful theological input to any work involving the Praesidium. He has
served most of his ministry in the East-Southeast Region and will serve
faithfully in the office of sixth vice-president as well.”
Esget has served at Immanuel
Lutheran Church since 2001. He is also a member of the LCMS Sanctity of Life
Committee and is the life coordinator for the Southeastern District.
“I look forward to bringing the
perspective of a parish pastor to the Council of Presidents,” he said. “As the
defense of the unborn becomes an increasingly urgent task, I hope to use my
experience with the pro-life movement in the Washington, D.C., area as I serve
the Synod in this new role, especially as the ‘Free to be Faithful’ campaign
comes closer to its goal of a new office here in our nation’s capital.”
During a July 16 press conference
at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis, Esget and other Synod pro-life
leaders spoke to local St. Louis media following the Center for Medical
Progress’ release of its first undercover video showing a Planned Parenthood
executive discussing the harvesting of organs from aborted babies.
“We are concerned with the shocking
horror of abortion and of regarding human beings as less than human,” Esget
said during the press conference. “This is simply another instance of a broader
cultural problem where we [as a society] do not value human beings.”
 |
| Rev. Dr. Robert T. Kuhn |
At the time of his resignation as
sixth vice-president, Kuhn had represented the Synod’s East-Southeast Region in
the post since 2013. That region includes the Atlantic, Eastern,
Florida-Georgia, New England, New Jersey, Ohio, Southeastern and Southern
Districts, as well as some congregations from the non-geographic SELC and
English Districts that fall within the region’s designated borders.
“God has given me the privilege of
serving the church at-large for 47 consecutive years,” Kuhn told Reporter.
“But for health reasons, I felt that it was best to tender my resignation and
let someone else complete the term.”
During his long career in the LCMS,
Kuhn served in a number of positions, including as a parish pastor, president
of the LCMS Central Illinois District, first vice-president of the LCMS and
chairman of the LCMS Board of Directors. During his second term as first
vice-president, Kuhn served five months as Synod president following the 2001
death of then-President Rev. Dr. A.L. Barry.
According to Synod Bylaw 3.3.2.4,
“any vacancy in a regional vice-presidency shall be filled by appointment of
the President in consultation with the district presidents within that region.”
Roger Drinnon (roger.drinnon@lcms.org)
is manager of Editorial Services for LCMS Communications. Megan K. Mertz (megan.mertz@lcms.org)
is a staff writer and managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World
for LCMS Communications.
This story first appeared in Reporter online, September 1,
2015
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