It is with joy that we announce that President Maier was elected on the first ballot to the position of Chairman of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Council of Presidents (COP) by his peers at their last meeting in April. He will take the place of President Ken Hennings, from the Texas District, who served as Chairman for the past 3 years and is retiring this year. President Maier begins this position immediately while also serving as Michigan District President. He will serve a three-year term. Rev. Richard Snow was elected as Vice-Chair, also for a three-year term.
President Maier’s selection as chair by his peers in the COP comes after almost nine years of service with them on the Council as President of the Michigan District. Maier was elected on the first ballot by the full Council, which consists of his 35 fellow District Presidents and the Praesidium of Synod, which is made up by the Synodical President and the five regional Vice Presidents. His colleagues had ample time to observe his kind nature and leadership during his years of service among them on the Council. They know him well, and have selected him as their leader.
Maier is a graduate of Concordia University Ann Arbor, where he received his B.A. with a double major in Biblical Languages and Christian Doctrine. He then attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Ind., graduating with an M.Div. in 1982. Maier has received three honorary doctorate degrees. He served as a pastor for 27 years at three congregations: Our Savior, Marlette; St. Peter, Arlington Heights, Ill.; and Our Savior, Lansing before being elected Michigan District President in 2009. He has served on various committees for Synod over the years.
Maier follows in a family line of prominent Missouri Synod leaders. His grandfather, the now sainted Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier, served as the founder and inaugural—and long-time—Speaker for The Lutheran Hour, “Bringing Christ to the Nations.” Dr. Walter Maier also served as Executive Director of the Walther League, and was the youngest full professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., where he taught for many years. The senior Dr. Maier was also noted for refusing to let our church’s Wheat Ridge Tuberculosis Sanatorium close in the face of financial difficulties in the 1920’s. He led the Walther League in raising the funds necessary to refurbish the facility and continue its mission.
President Maier’s father, Dr. Walter A. Maier, Jr., was a long-time and highly-revered professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., where David’s brother, Dr. Walter A. Maier, III, also now teaches as a professor. David’s father also served admirably as a Synod Vice President. David’s uncle, Dr. Paul L. Maier, is the well-known biblical historian, author, and apologist, and was also a Vice President of Synod for twelve years.
Please keep President Maier in your prayers during this transition and as he begins his added responsibilities.
Photo by Elisa Schulz/Michigan District, LCMS
