Some more background: Pr. Wenrich served as an Assistant to Bishop Guy S. Edmiston. During his tenure the Synod paid his tuition to become a certified paralegal since much of his Synod portfolio was negotiating severance agreements between clergy and congregations. So he is sharp as a tack when it comes to both ecclesial and civil law.
There has been an ironclad rule in the Lower Susquehanna Synod that an Interim Pastor was absolutely ineligible to be Called by the vacant congregation s/he was serving. That rule has frustrated many congregations, which have been very satisfied with their Interims. Strangely, as Pr. Wenrich was leaving the Synod staff, he served as Interim in Hummelstown and then was allowed to be Called as the regular Senior Pastor. All clergy are equal but some are more equal than other.
At any rate, I believe that that irregularity in the Call process over a decade ago may well have fueled a delusion that Pr. Wenrich was somehow “exceptional” and did not need to abide by the same rules as everyone else. A mistaken sense of “entitlement”, perhaps.
Our latest call here in my LCMS congregation posed no such problem. Our interim pastor was included in a group of pastors recommended by the LCMS, at the request of our congregation. He was not ultimately selected (for reasons that came to light during the call process...nothing improper), however there was no such restriction.