So, just what is going on in the Human Resources office at the purple palace? First, they post a job position announcement that appears to want to fill the position vacated by the fired Rev. Todd Wilken (for business and programmatic reasons, remember). Then, they take that posting down for some strange, no doubt face-saving reason. And now, as Mollie reports over at Augsburg 1530, someone from the Synod's HR office writes this response to an inquiry about the posting-then-unposting of the job position:Thank you for bringing the posting of the Program Host to our attention. The position was posted in error. Please accept our apologies for the error.According to this, are we to believe that the LCMS HR folks were unaware of the job posting until after it was on the Internet for the world to see? How could they *not* know of the posting's existence? After all, it does take some time, effort, and forethought to post something on the Internet (as I am doing right now).
And this is an "error"? I'll say it's an error! The non-reasons for firing Rev. Todd Wilken - programmatic and business, remember - would seem to be irrelevant now. That is, now that a new program is up and running, one more in line with the changing direction of the LCMS, it must be okay to spend that money which they said they didn't have to pay for a host position after all. The error would seem to be this: they've pretty much admitted that the money wasn't the reason for canceling Issues, Etc. But we knew that already, didn't we?
At least we suspected it--now we know. How stupid they must believe we are! If 'they' are so certain that 'they' are right, why won't they speak openly and in a way that is consistent with their actions?
ReplyDeleteIt appears to me that it is now past time for KFUO to open the books to an independent audit and be completely open to the laity about how the synodical offerings at the station are being spent.
Pastor, am I breaking a commandment?
Kevin in Indiana
Complete, independent financial and management audits with special scrutiny of the REAL fiscal relationship between KFUO-AM and FM, and how money given to KFUO-AM or "KFUO" in general has been spent or allocated. Yes, that is what is now needed!
ReplyDeleteSynod has a policy in its bylaws of financial transparency. If KFUO management has nothing to hide, there should be no objection whatsoever.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteFrom what you say here, I cannot see how you'd be breaking a commandment. You're just saying, "Let's have full transparency with the Synod's financial books."
I think it is time for my faithful brethren in the LCMS to realize that their church is in the process of selling itself out to the world. Yes, they may not follow the quasi-Marxist agenda of the ELCA, but then they are selling themselves out at a different time. Marx is so 1970s and all that - this is the age of unbridled consumerism and debt. The new motto of the LCMS should be "let's sin so the grace may abound". Unlike the radicals of a generation ago, they don't deny that Jesus is God and capable of saving us, they just don't think they are much in need of saving in the classical sense of blood atonement and hanging on crosses and that gory stuff. Their Jesus is a crossless risen Christ (who apparently rose from a bad self-image) who seeks to empower the faithful to where "WWJD" bracelets, have their daughters make chastity vows to their fathers (and how creepy is that?), and sing "praise songs" where Jesus is made to sound like the object of a schoolgirls crush. They are "second half of the Psalm" Christians, who like all the praising but skip the part where God saves his people from despair and gives them a reason to praise Him in the first place. The result is that without the reason why God is worthy to be praised, the Gospel is all law.
ReplyDeleteThink about it - the flaws in your innermost being that become obvious when you try to lead your new "victorious life in Christ" now has no recourse to the cross because you don't have a clue why Christ ended up there! Instead of freeing you and filling your soul with joy, you are reduced to despair.
I'm not a Lutheran but I am part of a similar enough tradition (traditional Anglican - another vanishing breed) to see what's going on there. Any church with roots in the historic liturgy that has as it's new catchphrase "This is not your grandfather's church" is at most one generation away from apostasy. Trust me- I've been there, done that.
Albert:
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself, my Anglican brother!
TW
Albert,
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put.
Thank you, brother.
I'm with you too, Brother Albert.
ReplyDeleteI see where Dr Noland just got the axe at Concordia Historical Institute. Check it out on Weedon's Blog.
Albert,
ReplyDeleteThanks much! I also saw your similar comments regarding the Dr. Noland matter over at Augsburg 1530. I couldn't agree more!
Actually, Pastor, that wasn't Albert. But I thought his comment was so important and wise that I posted it. I hope I didn't break any copyright rules.
ReplyDeleteIf I did, Albert and Pastor, I ask your forgiveness. I just wanted others to see what you (Albert) said.
And thank you, Pastor Asburry, for making it a separate post! It deserves to be widely read.