Brandon Booth
MollieCouncil of Presidents Meeting
The Council of Presidents (the LCMS’ District President Council) has wrapped up its meeting in St. Louis. The COP did discuss the cancellation of Issues, Etc. and the termination of the employment of Rev. Todd Wilken and Jeff Schwarz.
Treasurer Tom Kuchta addressed the group on Monday, followed by David Strand. I hear that Kuchta told the gathered that he was not notified of the cancellation of Issues, Etc. prior to the action taken and that he did not consider Issues, Etc. to be responsible for the financial woes of KFUO. He confirmed, as I suspected, that he has never advocated the sale of KFUO-AM. (Remember that Strand reportedly told his own board otherwise.)
Strand was apparently asked quite a few questions and answered only a few of them. This being the Council of Presidents (yet another Synodical body not known for being terribly confessional), I think they more or less took pity on him. I hear he complained about how difficult the whole saga has been on him. I mean, really. How you can get sympathy for complaining about the ordeal you’ve gone through when you just unfairly fired two good men and canceled the Synod’s only nationally-broadcast radio outreach . . . well, it’s beyond me. Also, what has Strand gone through? He has the backing of all his authorities. What’s so difficult? Is it the Facebook crowd again?
Anyway, the Praesidium — the President and VPs of Synod — tried to draft something for approval by the COP to be sent out to the church. It was not met with praise. I think it said something about how nice it would be if people would stop talking about the matter. Which makes me laugh just thinking about. Nice for whom?
So I’m not sure what will officially come out of the meeting. I’m sure that various groups — Kieschnick, the Praesidium, the COP — will try to come out with some letter or statement in the coming days. Let’s look for those and see if they have figured out that normal bureaucratic shenanigans aren’t going to cut it.
Filed under: Updates
Awwwwwwwwwww….poor David Strand.
Idiotic is as idiotic does.
Is Strand looking at the future with a family, several children
at home, and no job?
Give me a friggin’ break.
‘It said something about how nice it would be if people would stop talking about the matter.
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Unbelievable!!!!
‘Let’s look for those and see if they have figured out that normal bureaucratic shenanigans aren’t going to cut it.’
Right. They’ll figure it out about the same time monkeys fly out my butt.
I’ll be looking for the letter along with some matches.
How nice? How nice it would be if our Synod wasn’t run by spineless weasels, too! How nice it would be if proper respect were shown to true servants of God, like Pastor Todd and Mr. Jeff! How nice it would be if we could actually be LUTHERAN for a change, instead of Crypto-Baptists!
One gets the impression that some person or persons really stepped in it this time, and can’t figure out how to get out of the resulting mess unscathed.
Unscathed and odor-free.
So, Strand essentially lies about Kuchta, slanders & defames him & Kuchta publicly calls him on it, & the COP feels sorry for…Strand!!!
If he can’t stand the heat for his decision, let him get out of the kitchen & resign.
Until then or until he comes clean, I will fee absolutely no sorry for him at all. Let him spend a couple of years in the parish with your elders constantly undermining your ministry, constantly attacking the office of the ministry, attacking you personally & your family & pets, always trying to find new ways to make you look bad, & then constantly going behind your back to your circuit counselor & dp, who only offer pious platitudes but do nothing to stop the abuse.
Boo hoo hoo for David Strand. I pray that the same thing he did to Todd & Jeff doesn’t get done to him, namely the powers that be cut him loose as a casualty of war. After all, everyone’s got plausible denialbility but him…
“Missouri” seems to want to run itself like a business. In Jerry’s case, that would be the oil business … (the one his relatives in central Texas know from the smell of crude on up.)
In the ‘awl bidness’ one cyle’s axeman is the next cycle’s “chopped meat” quite often.
I still don’t feel sorry for David Strand.
It will be interesting to see how Mr. Strand edits the article on the meeting for the Reporter.
“And if he refuses to listen even to the Church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
I dunno, but I wouldn’t want a pagan leading the BCS. Better get him out.
I’m curious, is Jerry Kieschnick “The Church” in this case? Because we’ve had how many districts demanding the re-en statement of Pastor Wilkin and Jeff Schwarz? When does our cause constitute “The Church?”
David Strand is looking more and more like Ollie North every day, albeit somewhat less heroic. He’s taking one for the big guy.
It’s always scary when a big guy speaks about himself in the third person — this was a favorite tactic of Richard Nixon.
‘While affirming the urgency of the matters being addressed by the task force, Kieschnick said, “It is the president’s belief, hope, and prayer that this process would avoid any appearance that recommendations of the task force are thoughtlessly created, hastily recommended, or in any way forced upon the Synod.”’ (from LCMS web site)
Strand sounds caught in a classic middle management squeeze. I’ve had this Dilbert cartoon up in my office for years:
Boss to Wally: “Wally, I’m promoting you to Director of the engineering quality group!”
Wally: (cheering, hands in the air) “YES!”
Wally: (pausing) “Wait a minute, I thought you were going to eliminate that group.”
Boss: “Your assignment is to fire them all.”
Wally: “Aaagh! That will be hideous! And when I’m done you won’t need a director. Then you’ll fire me!”
Boss: (hand over his heart) “You have my word that I will not fire you.”
Boss: (walking away, thinking to himself) “That would be a job for Executive Director Dilbert.”
I’ve had the experience of my boss giving my department a budget cut of a magnitude where the only possible option was to fire a loyal long time employee. When I pointed that out, the response was “I’m not telling you to fire anyone, be creative with your budget, if you find a way to keep her on that would be great. But all departments have to take the cut.”
From what Mollie has said about Strand, it sounds unlikely that he made this rash move on his own. It seems more likely that he was given constraints that left him no other option. Perhaps there was a more heroic route he could have taken (like Elliot Richardson), but he may also have seen that the end result would have been that he would have been fired first, then “Wally” would have been hired to cancel IE anyway. From his statements to the press, it seems that he is trying to spin the party line as best he can. He doesn’t seem to be a true believer.
So, yes, I do feel sympathy for Strand. As Wilken and Schwarz have passed up the severance pay, yet still are not publicly denouncing their former employers, they not only have my sympathy, but also admiration. They deserve to be called heroes. As for Strand, he sounds like a cog in a machine. Been there, done that. It is an extraordinarily unpleasant experience, but common in any corporation. The “Brazil” also comes to mind at this time, especially the ending of the director’s cut.
As a member of the LCMS how can I stop supporting this kind of leadership financially? Can I include in the offering plate a request to please not send any of God’s money(that he has entrusted me with) to my district or synod? I would rather support Lutheran seminaries and mission outreach apart from synod so that they can’t get their filthy corporate hands on it.
Cooing over the perp, and not the victim, is hardly what I’ve learned as “Christian” behavior. Nor is shutting up about a wrong that was done to somebody who was teaching and preaching the Law and the Gospel properly.
I feel sorrow for David Strand, that he has accepted the job as hatchet-man. Somebody has pointed out that something in a man’s soul dies when he abuses one of the brethen and when he stifles the proclamation of the Gospel.
It made me think of Lord Voldemort, and how he lost his soul to evil, piece by piece. Certainly Bros David & Jerry & the complacent among the COP aren’t at Voldy’s level … but why would they want to lost even a part?
Jerry doubtless has, at heart, a desire to reac h people with the Good News. His downfall is that he’s made numbers and appearances more important THAN the GN, itself. Thus what little they’re saving on IE production and personnel costs, they’re frittering away on … who knows what.
I’m out of the LCMS and haven’t $upported it for years. But I still intend to speak up against the people who, instead of finding a churchbody that does things their way (or forming one) is attempting to change a churchbody, fully half of whose members don’t WANT to be changed.
Those with power don’t seem to see the big picture… what was going on out here, why we have such a deep sense of loss and see ourselves as having been dismissed and betrayed not only in the crummy way Pastor Wilken and Mr. Schwarz were fired but also by the abrupt cancellation of Issues Etc.
“Issues” listeners were part of a profound community, since the things shared on the program were the immediate and/or even deepest concerns on the hearts and in the minds of hosts, listeners and callers. Note I call it a COMMUNITY, we were not a CULT of zealots that needed to be dispersed by shooting the messengers. Scripture and our Lutheran understanding of it being the tape measure for everything else, was a good thing.
Since Pastor Wilken’s forum was one of open discussion in regards to Christ-centered cross-focused truth, this forced immediate and long-term accountability for any claims he made, protecting both messenger and listeners. He rose to the occasion daily, in grace, humility and clarity when speaking with friend or foe.
Since the process served the message and disciplined the messenger, conversations with guests and callers were sharp and fresh; not making us better (still sinners and saints) but SMARTER. The WORD was going out, the WORD was doing what it promises to do, and along with being strengthened some were even converted as they listened, thereby showing that the program was fulfilling the great commission.
I hope synod can admit that this was a reckless mistake and see it’s time to take corrective action. Do they feel that would be sticking their necks out too far? Perhaps they can learn from the example Pastor Wilken set, he stuck his neck out every day.
After all the emails and phone calls I’ve made to David Strand’s office, I have received NO reply. And emails I’ve sent to President Kieschnick (those that have been answered) have been responded to by an administrative assistant stating that this is a matter for David Strand and the BCS; this doesn’t concern the president.
Well it should; being ignored should concern us all.
Great vent, Florence, and much more than that.
All those words falling on deaf ears….it stings everytime.
If our words, let alone our passions, let alone the sense of our arguments and the abundance of our pleas, had any impact, or were ever going to have any, I’d be clearing my calendar to listen to Issues, Etc. this afternoon.
But when you can’t get a direct answer to a direct question, and can’t even be certain your question was ever read by the person you asked it of, and when it’s as if you’re doing nothing more than talking to a big purple wall…
it’s just time to pray.
What really gets me is seeing TBN and all its array of false preachers and purveyors of false religion prospering in the way those bureaucrats would have us prosper. One can only imagine the layers of bureaucracy that support and shield their higher powers from public scrutiny.
The similarities are distressing, to say the least.
Susan,
Do you really think our leaders want the Synod to be like TBN?
The thought makes me ill!
If that were true, don’t you think there would be several hundred thousand people, or even millions, out of the LCMS in a hot minute?
I pray you’re wrong!
Blessings to everyone here.
Is there any possible way to get minutes for the COP? Is there any possible way for us to be heard by those in power or is all of this just an exercise in futility?
If you want to know why I used this particular name it is because I don’t want to get put into Christian News for comments about this whole thing and put a target on my chest.
…Treasurer Tom Kuchta addressed the group on Monday, followed by David Strand. I hear that Kuchta told the gathered that he was not notified of the cancellation of Issues, Etc. prior to the action taken and that he did not consider Issues, Etc. to be responsible for the financial woes of KFUO. He confirmed, as I suspected, that he has never advocated the sale of KFUO-AM. (Remember that Strand reportedly told his own board otherwise.)…
Kutchta’s testimony that “Issues was not responcible for the financial woes of KFUO” blows out of the water every justification given so far for the removal of the show. This revelation proves false every word spoken about Issues’ cancellation as being financial. Have we sunk to an institutional lie? Niether libereral, conservative or moderate should ever let this lie stand. Will not the honest ones come forth in God’s light and tell the truth? Or will we sink together in the evil filth?
michael
I am very concerned that no matter what we do or what we say that any of this will change the situation. I am not meaning to despair but I am floored by the shifting of blame from one person to the next. Someone needs to stand up and say, “The buck stops here.”
I have a friend who spoke with a district president last week at a circuit meeting. The DP gave many of the reasons that I read from “Uncle Seamus” on previous posts on Augsburg1530.
The DP essentially blamed Mollie for not doing anything about this while she was on the BCS. He finds it odd that now she comes out and complains about the action that she could have prevented while on the board.
The other thing that was said was the financial failure of Issues Etc to bring in money to KFUOAM and so creating the budget shortfall.
Finally, the response of this DP was that there were a number of complaints against Issues for its content.
That DP is failing to acknowledge that the board was being trumped right and left by President Kieschnick.
I don’t remember any of the other shows on KFUO having a reformation club. If “bringing in money” is the way we’re going to operate MINISTRIES, then we should elect Joyce Meyer as President of the Synod because she would put Ablaze! to shame.
If content complaints were the reason for canceling the show and firing Jeff and Todd, then they should have just said so in the beginning instead of LYING about who was to blame for financial problems. Lying and deceiving is no way to run any organization.
I agree.
I want everyone to understand that I was not at the circuit meeting with that DP. I friend of mine who was there heard the conversation. It is second hand information and should be treated as such, but it is reliable. I believe if you were to ask this DP what was said he would have no problem repeating it to you.
The issue for me as moved beyond simply the canceling of this great resource for the “Thinking Christian” but to broken institution of the LCMS. How can someone not answer questions that have been put to them? How can you get caught if not in a lie but misdirection and not have consequences?
I hope that this issue does not die but that people will hang this around the neck of the Synodical President like an albatross.
This is troubling. I just want answers, and the more stuff come out of the leadership, the more it doesn’t add up. No matter what the organisation wherein this woudl occur, I would be cring out for answers.
“Is there any possible way to get minutes for the COP?”
Minutes of executive sessions are never made public.
They don’t want us to think. They want us to be happy, clap and “get out our checkbooks”!
Face it, brethren: Issues is not gonna come back via the LCMS and it’s not gonna be a KFUO-produced program anymore. Yeah, we need to continue to press for answers, but we also need to support whoever it is — and I pray there’s someone! — who’s working to get the program back into production.
Deb,
Exactly. I plan to support the new program in any and every way I can.
I’ve heard there are plans to bring it back — but thankfully, not through LCMS.
The Synodical leaders should not make the mistake of thinking that just because it has “LCMS” on it, that that somehow makes it special. Nope. Doesn’t.
“Finally, the response of this DP was that there were a number of complaints against Issues for its content.”
So people should be fired for complaints? How many have complained about your DP? By the same logic he should then be fired.
Sorry, New, but this transcends logic.
Face it, brethren: Issues is not gonna come back via the LCMS and it’s not gonna be a KFUO-produced program anymore. Yeah, we need to continue to press for answers, but we also need to support whoever it is — and I pray there’s someone! — who’s working to get the program back into production.
Deb,
There is. Another form of Issues, Etc. will return and Mr. Strand and his superiors will have no control over it.
Uncle Samuel - Yes, you can stop supporting this kind of leadership financially. We stopped applying our offering to the synod after the Yankee Stadium incident. We write on our offering envelope where we would like our offerings designated (mortage fund or whatever). We gave great consideration to this before doing it, and after consideration, we do this in good conscience. Some might disagree, but we do it in good conscience.
Florence - I have heard the same response from Pres. Kieschnick’s office when I have made phone calls, something to the tune of President Kieschnick not being responsible for this, etc. My response is that indeed I do hold him responsible, as he has not once defended Issues. I point out his supposed concern for missions, yet he has not defended the greatest mission tool we had, the tool through which God reached numbers uncountable. Yes, he is accountable, whether he acknowledges that to himself or not. And I couldn’t resist mentioning the glass building out of which they make these decisions–they are trying to hide behind deception while we are seeing right through the glass, so to speak. It’s just symbolic to me.
And Mollie - “…see if they have figured out that normal bureaucratic shenanigans aren’t going to cut it.” Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I know they’re waiting for us to tire out and go away. But, in case they haven’t noticed, this time they have crossed the line. WE’RE NOT GOING AWAY. We can’t. Obviously our adrenaline can’t keep pumping at the rate it has been, and maybe we can’t all continue to spend as much time on the computer as we have been trying to keep up with things. But I think we all know that this time they really have crossed the line, and — WE’RE NOT GOING AWAY.
It sounds like we should take the complaints past Strand and up to the next link in the chain of command. They are setting him up, and will cut him loose, or simply castrate him and abuse him as a dependent lame duck. We need to take our demands for answers to the highest level.
We’re running out of steam. This site is now the only one that updates regularly. Patience is winning the day for the synodocrats.
Mollie,
PLEASE tell me you’re going to write another article for the WSJ, demonstrating how Pres. K propagated false information regarding the termination of the show, based upon the recent report of the Treasurer to Synod. This could really put a black eye on his public persona, and it is not slander. It is merely calling to the public square the fact that he has lied publicly.
Just a thought…
The purpose of WSJ articles isn’t to give people black eyes, even if it’s not libel. Another article would be good, but what we really need to find are the tipping points that will resonate with the people in the pews of LCMS congregations. Everything up to this point has been just the first wave.
There has been plenty of talk on this site about Issues returning outside the LCMS. Is this speculation based in reality or is it simply wishful thinking?
Anonymous
“Do you really think our leaders want the Synod to be like TBN”?
Go to the web page for the petition and click on the blog site for continuing updates. That page is ” Issues Etc. Petition. On the right sidebar click on “Save the LCMS” and from there click on “Ablaze Hall Of Shame”. You will get your answer there.
Uncle Samuel
You may write “No Synodical” on your check or offering envelope. I live in the WY district so I have no problem with my own district being given a portion. I trust my own congregation to use wisely what is retained locally so I don’t want to restrict my designation any other way. It would be best to alert your congreation’s financial secretary that you are limiting distribution of your thithes & offerings.
For the person asking about “Issues “returning to the air outside the control of synodical Leadership” (I use that term very loosley), go back to the main blog page and click on “Laymen with Issues Etc.
All of us need to keep praying! God is control and He has allowed this for His own reason. We must be faithful and also continue to demand accountability from Synod, Even If They Continue To Ignore Us! We must be conscientious about who we are sending as delegates to the conventions. Continue to pass the word and get your congregations and DP’s involved. There are lots of “sleepy” people out there who just don’t realize what is at stake. Especially when you live in a district where being Lutheran means being Lutheran and you don’t realize the hell your brothers and sisters are going through somewhere else with the infection of Ablaze! tearing apart their congregations. Pray! Pray! Pray!!!!!!!!!!!!
One thing: David Strand’s work sure is creating more work for his wife as Synod’s legal counsel.
“I think it said something about how nice it would be if people would stop talking about the matter.”
Stop talking about the matter? Is this FOR REAL? Stop talking about the dismissal, with no sound explanation, of a Christ-centered radio program?
Wow.
I do not understand how David Strand could complain of how difficult this has been for him without mentioning sorrow for the multitudes of difficulties he’s caused Todd and Jeff …and how could he not mention of the THOUSANDS (oops, measly 1%) of listeners he’s personally hurt. At what point can synod members call for his resignation? Can you do that in the LCMS?
Anonymous, re the TBN thing. I should have told you to be sure to watch the Easter Sermon vidio on “Ablaze Hall of Shame”. You may not be able to stomach much but we all need to see what Kiechnick’s new “vision” (nightmare) for the Church looks like!Looks like TBN to me!
The definition of chutzpah is a young man who brutally murdered both of his parents but then pleading the mercy of the court because he was an orphan.
If what Mollie and many others speculate is true (that David Strand is being pressured from higher ups) I can fully understand being tired of everything and wishing it all would go away. Is it right? Heck now. But I understand it. Especially if it’s not something he himself wanted to do. I highly doubt the guy took any joy in firing Pastor Wilken and Mr. Schwarz. And knowing that the numbers are completely bogus probably doesn’t help his situation either.
Maybe, just maybe the guy’s being roasted from both ends and it’s completely wearing him down.
I’ve been pretty darn critical of him and I still am, but I’m also trying to keep things in perspective.
If this *is* the case (which it may or may not be) I certainly hopes he wakes up and realizes which side is right.
I just read the statement and e-mailed my District President with a simple question:
Who abstained and why?
The statement was adopted “without dissenting vote.”
That implies it was not unanimous. If it were, it would proudly say so.
If Strand IS being pressured from both sides and IS wearing down, then we must continue to pressure him until he breaks and speaks. It is not hate. It is the loving call to repentance, honesty and the true bond of peace.
The Law for the unrepentant. The Gospel for the broken.