Matthew Becker, pastor and theologian, ousted from LCMS

Matthew Becker, 52, an outspoken pastor and professor of theology, has been ousted from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. He remains on the faculty at Valparaiso University, an independent Lutheran school in Indiana.

Becker had raised questions about the Missouri Synod’s stance against the ordination of women, as well as its teaching of creationism. Members of the church had filed charges against him, triggering several years-long investigations. Church panels handling the investigations had cleared Becker.

“What was supposed to be ‘final,’ however, turned out not to be ‘final,’” Becker wrote on his blog.