A Gospel Centered Response?
In this video, “Is the LCMS in an ‘American Interim’? A Gospel-Centered Response,” the Rev. Drs. Tim Ahlman and Jeffrey Kloha respond to the Rev. Karl Hess’s 2025 Bugenhagen Conference presentation called “The American Interim.”
Pastor Hess’s presentation is also on YouTube here:
At the very end of the podcast, Dr. Ahlman questions Pastor Hess’s motivations (54:18):
“Does he does he really think that we ought to go back to to slavery?”
and (54:42):
“If there's any kind of racist root in our midst, it needs to be rooted out.”
Dr. Ahlman uses the word (55:12) “reinstitute” to speculate on Pastor Hess’s view on slavery, and then uses the word (55:19) “bonkers.”
These are some serious accusations. And one can only wonder if Dr. Ahlman actually watched the video, since Pastor Hess fielded this exact question. This is his answer (55:29):
No, I'm not arguing that slavery is something we should like and want to do again, or something, or even that we can't acknowledge the evils that happened in American slavery - which there were. There was sin in the way it was done in a variety of ways..."
I think this podcast is an attack on Pastor Hess’s reputation, and is really just a straw man argument. That said, I think there are a few questions Drs. Ahlman and Kloha would do well to answer themselves.
Dr. Ahlman presents an interesting exegesis in this video:
Dr. Ahlman explains (20:13):
“I love [that] I'm preaching on the Canaanite woman story this upcoming Sunday. And you know, the dog story, and her great faith as she changes Jesus's mind in this conversation.”
This is the standard feminist exegesis of Matt 15:21-28. Here is an example from “Rev.” Dr. Julie Faith Parker (10:50):
“To me, this shows Jesus as a feminist, because He shows that He can admit He's wrong to a woman.” Here is a less scholarly example from an ELCA “pastor.” She seems nice. Dr. Ahlman often asserts that we in the LCMS really are all walking together, that our differences in the LCMS are actually minor, especially compared to the divisions in other church bodies, and repeatedly asserting that we all believe in the “inerrancy of Scripture. But under the circumstances, it’s hard not to wonder what Dr. Ahlman confesses about the “inerrancy of Jesus.”
While never advocating for women’s “ordination,” Dr. Ahlman likes to get really close to the line. He partners with the Luther House of Study for theological training, an institution whose CEO is a lady “pastor.” And here is Dr. Ahlman interviewing her.
He also partners with Kairos University, which prepares both men and women for “pastoral” ministry. Dr. Ahlman has not been shy in expressing his opinion that we should consider having the LCMS employ Kairos University and Luther House of Study for training LCMS seminarians.
And here is Dr. Ahlman’s podcast entitled: “Embracing Female Leadership in the Church,” interviewing the CEO at Orange Lutheran High School:
And then there is this. You can watch it for yourself.
And there is also this podcast about deviant sexuality that was deleted from YouTube, entitled “A Lutheran (LCMS) Conversation on LGBTQ [sic] Questions.”
As for Dr. Kloha, he serves as dean of the Christ School of Theology, an online seminary that admits women into their MDiv program to train them for “pastoral” ministry.
The issue of sexuality is both the tip of the spear for liberal assaults on the church, and the Achilles heel for confessional church bodies receiving those attacks. One by one, formerly faithful church bodies fell into apostasy by compromising on sexual issues, whether the role of women in the church, or sexual deviancy. In modern times, their fall has always been evolutionary rather than revolutionary: a swath of destruction left behind by a thousand papercuts of compromise with the world.
Our delegates to the upcoming convention should be aware of the underlying political and social machinations at work in our church body, being “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Lest we forget, the historic Interims were not only imposed from outside, but also came from internal pressures as well.