Did Synodical Executives Have the Authority to Cancel Issues Etc. ?

Did David Strand, or any other synodical executive for that matter, have the authority to unilaterally make the decision to cancel Issues Etc.?

The answer may be a firm NO.

The Issues Etc. radio program was under the direct control of the LCMS' Board for Communication Services (BCS) and unlike other parts of the LCMS the BCS is NOT under Policy Based Governance. What does that mean? In layman's terms that means if someone wanted to cancel the program they legally would have to get the approval of the BCS BEFORE they canceled the program.

Did the BCS vote to cancel Issues Etc.?

Answer: Absolutely NOT and Ernest E. Garbe, a member of the BCS is on record to that effect. Here is an email that we received:

Dear ---

Your email was forwarded to me this a.m. from Rev. Kevin Vogts. Kevin and I are both on the Board for Communication Services.

First I want to thank you for your letter. You and thousands of other people, both inside and outside the LCMS have expressed support for the program Issues, Etc. and for the host and producer of the show. Be assured that I and others on our board also have the same support for the program and the people involved.

For your information, most of us on the board (and perhaps all) were not aware that the program was cancelled and the firings had taken place until hours after the act had been committed, and we found out from a source outside any official report.

I can assure you that there was no discussion at our board meetings of taking such action, there was no action taken by our board to cause this to happen, and most (perhaps all) of the BCS members are at a loss to explain what happened and have been unable to find out.

I, too want to see the program restored and the personnel returned and will work toward that end.

Again, thank you for your letter and for your prayers.

May the Lord's will be done.

Ernest E. Garbe, Member
Board for Communication Services

The ramifications of this fact cannot be understated!

President Kieschnick has already confessed that he was aware beforehand of the plot to cancel Issues Etc. Yet, Kieschnick did not take any steps to stop the decision from being executed, despite the fact that the people making the decision did not first secure the support of the BCS.

Kieschnick's lack of action may actually make him a co-conspirator in the plot to cancel Issues Etc.

This story is still developing!!

Comments

[Stryker]

Can Synodical officials do an end run around a duly appointed board charged with the oversite of the radio station? Why even have a board if they have no real authority?(Maybe to provide fall guys to protect people involved in skullduggery.) What do the Constitution and By-Laws of the Synod say about this kind unilateral action? Do they provide for dicciplinary action?

[FreeSpeechLutheran]

Hmmm. Thanks for the post.

[FreeSpeechLutheran]

So, will the Issues Etc. cancellation be brought up at any particular meeting, and who will be talking about it?

[Josie]

Thank you for keeping us aware of new information. You are doing an outstanding job!!!

[Bob]

Keep up the great work!

[Susan]

Stryker, I was having similar thoughts. If the heat gets too close to "Him Whom Shall Not Be Named", their heads will roll and they can be replaced with new patsies so the synodical leadership can continue pushing the LCMS into the pop-evangelical direction they designed with their expensive consultants. Pop-evangelicalism tends to fill coffers since it adds numbers to the people they can receive income from.

I may be all wet, but I keep thinking one of the keys to understanding the synodical actions is understanding how business models can operate in churches and affect leadership thinking. People are depersonalized into numbers and into objects to be acted upon in order to get the desired response

[Rev. Lawrence N. Bradt, pastor Holy Cross Ev. Lutheran Church, Ste. Genevieve, MO.]

I just put this exact question to the Commission for Constitutional Matters. "Do the Constitution and Bylaws, or some Synodical policy allow for the Executive Director of a Board of the Synod to act independent of the Board he/she is director of?" I also asked, "Does our Constitution, Bylaws or policies dictate who the Executive Director for the Boards of the Synod is responsible to?"

I am waiting for a phone call from Secretary Hartwig on this.

[Helen]

"Pop-evangelicalism tends to fill coffers since it adds numbers to the people they can receive income from." -- Susan

That's two rash assumptions, Susan.

1. That the numbers really will go up, which hasn't happened in a number of would be "mega churches" (or they've got them by bleeding surrounding lcms congregations which is no net gain.) Those who have no roots leave easily, too.

2. That "drop ins" will be more generous than the long time Lutherans who are being discarded as "acceptable losses" to push the "pop" programs through.