The Nov. 11, 2025 communication from Synod Pres. Matthew Harrison is a pseudo-pastoral letter; it does not speak for God or guide people in His truth, rather it is a hand-waving “nothing to see here” and also a self-congratulatory pat on the back for himself. (For further evidence of the extensive doctrinal problems at Our Savior, Arlington, VA, see page 6 below.)
Instead of dealing with the actual pastoral issue that he has supposedly responded to (transgenderism, homosexuality, and their associated problems), Harrison rather focuses on himself. Why name the district and neighboring faithful pastor (Rev. Esget) who tried to intervene, but not the offender, nor the sin he promoted, which should be corrected? The sin of promoting transgenderism (by wearing a specially made transgender stole by his own confirmand) is a public confession, but this pastor (Rev. Fredericksen) gets to be anonymous in his supposed repentance? If he is repentant, we should rejoice with the angels, but he privately “repents” to an earthly superior, while his sin is promoted publicly—what message does that send? There is an apology, we are told, but where is it? What does it look like? Does not public sin merit a public sign of repentance? Do we have so little trust in God’s Word?
Pres. Harrison says he did something by delegating it to the district president of one of the worst districts in our synod. Is that a win? The lie perpetuated here may be out of ignorance, hopefully, and not in malice, but the statement that it has been handled is false. Members of Our Savior have been asked to leave merely for raising doctrinal concerns. Another member, with concerns about the promotion of transgenderism and Islamic materials at the Our Savior LCMS school, was also requested to transfer or be released. That is discipline—but for the wrong parties. Rev. Fredericksen and Rev. Kloha (who gained knowledge of the situation later in the process but failed to act) have not demonstrated fruits of repentance; rather, those wanting godly leadership were told to look elsewhere. How is that repentance?
No reasonable person can look at the track record of Rev. Harrison or the recent LCMS and rest easy over his pastoral letter, which basically says, “I won’t give you details or even name the sin, but trust me—I say it’s handled.” Why are we so cowardly as to not point out the sin and name it? If we truly believe in forgiveness, the error should be warned against, and we would be glad for forgiveness. But covering up iniquity with silence is not faithfulness.
Digging further into Rev. Frederickson, his daughter is legally married to another woman. Also, pictures were posted publically online by the wedding venue of him smiling with the wedding party (see left photo). That is a confession—but not a good one. So why shield him? Forgiveness is not brushing sin under the rug; rather, it is exposing it with God’s Word. Repentance can’t undo prior sin, but a true change of heart will not tolerate it or seek to minimize the offense against God. Souls are at stake; the status quo is not god.
Where is the fruit of repentance? Saving face and pointing to synod hierarchy is not that. Where is the proof of discipline? How many pastors have been removed for false teaching and un-Lutheran practice under Pres. Harrison’s tenure? How many churches have been removed from the LCMS for refusing to practice according to the Book of Concord? Blind trust in human leadership is not pastoral leadership in the name of Christ. Rather, those raising the concerns have been ignored and castigated unfairly. We are not to trust the process of sinners; rather, God’s Word is the only foundation on which we can firmly rely for our salvation. —ed.
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