I found that two different LCMS congregations in the same general vicinity were quite different. So now I drive the ten miles instead of the three miles and am much happier with the congregation and pastor of the farther one.
Have you shared your thoughts with the district management? Not suggesting any sort of critical or demanding sort of “talk,” just let them know your preference and why you took it. Not that it would change where you left, and that’s not the point.
I’m in lay management at an LCMS church. It is impossible to please everybody, but we do like to hear, and at some level it is important that we hear.
I have seen this as well. In an LCMS church (as is biblical) much authority and control is invested in the Elders (maybe even more than the Pastor). If Elder(s) fail to exercise good judgement then problems loom. Part of the problem may be that the only qualification for some elders seems to be longevity in the (local) church. We have one who rants about how unfair it is that his daughter can’t grow up to be a pastor. So the solution, I would think, as has been suggested would be to investigate other LCMS churches.