How Large Was the Issues Etc. Internet Audience?

The Quantcast website keeps traffic information for over 2 million websites.  One of the sites that they monitored traffic for was IssuesEtc.org

The Quantcast traffic stats are VERY revealing.  They show that IssuesEtc.org was receiving over 12,000 unique visitors a month.  That is FAR and AWAY a bigger figure than the 1,600 listeners that Strand claimed listened to the show.

Which leads us to ask a few very logical questions:

1. If David Strand and the LCMS canceled Issues Etc because they wanted to replace the program with one they felt had broader appeal, then why haven't they made the archives of the Afternoon Show available via podcast and the internet? 

2. If they wanted to 'grow' their audience then why have they not aggressively tried to win over podcast and internet listeners?

By refusing to post the archives for the Afternoon Show it is clear that KFUO has literally cut off the vast majority of their listening audience.

 

Strand's explanation continues to make ZERO sense.

Comments

[revgeorge]

I guess the best construction on this is that Strand & the management of KFUO simply don't understand new technology & aren't able to follow the trends of how people are tuning into things nowadays.

Otherwise, their failure to take these things into account indicates something other than Issues popularity & listener ship ratings being the driving factor in all this.

I guess the best hope we can have is that they, Strand & KFUO management, were ignorant & unable to properly manage a radio station.

[mark]

Would also be good to see stats for the podcast url for the Sunday Issues:

http://www.kfuo.org/podcast/IE_Sall.xml

This is the podcast url from iTunes for the Sunday podcast, which stopped updating for me around 3/18 (and was my first indication that someone had issues (whatever they may be) with Issues). Then I stumbled upon what was going on and also began my foray into the wonderful world of Lutheran blogs, including "Save the LCMS!".

kfuo.org's stats on quantcast are sparse (and less than issuesetc.org), given that kfuo.org has not enabled quantcast. As such, I doubt the very small estimated monthly unique visitors (2,896 for kfuo.org, which is smaller than IssuesEtc.org!) include urls such as this particular ("sunday all"?) podcast url above, or, the other variants of the Issues, Etc. podcast. Also, I don't know the history of the podcast url. Did it used to be hosted on issuesetc.org? Has it had a permanent redirect (301) at some point to the kfuo.org url above?

Btw, the lastBuildDate for that podcast is: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:50:37 -0500. So, that's about the time someone officially pulled the plug on Issues, I guess :) ? The feed is still active with a single item titled, "(untitled)", with no media enclosures (no attached mp3 file).

I'm keeping the podcast in my iTunes hoping it will "light up" again one day! :) (Although, if it does, I wouldn't be surprised if the url is different, so, that's probably futile.)

[Stan]

They understand the technology just fine. People in those positions are briefed about stuff like that all the time.

The real reason, I suspect, is to remove anything that is overly orthodox from the LCMS. The LCMS has fully embraced the evagelistic, happy-clappy, seeker-sensitive trash that we all know doesn't grow the church.

My own congregation is into this tripe now:

purpose driven nonsense being read by small groups rather than the scriptures or Luther's writings

tripe being sung at the services

It goes on and on. WELS or ELS is looking good at this point.

[Jack]

Maybe, maybe not. In the WELS and ELS you are not allowed to pray with any other Christian besides with members of your own denomination. Can you handle that? Can you handle the WELS and ELS position on church and ministry?

[revgeorge]

Stan, I was trying to be charitable to them. Otherwise, I agree with your assessment.

I also wouldn't look to WELS or ELS for an escape from the LCMS. WELS has quite a few happy clappy types, too, & their doctrine on the ministry is even more screwed up than the LCMS's.

[Fred]

Issues, Etc. ranked higher than former Southern Baptist President Al Mohler, and I thought he was famous. Interesting.

[Ed]

Revgeorge,

One point of disagreement: ELS. They're not the same as WELS (yes, I know they're in communion with them). I dare you to show me one ELS congregation with happy clappy worship. I win -- you won't find one!

[Ed]

Revgeorge,

One point of disagreement: ELS. They're not the same as WELS (yes, I know they're in communion with them). I dare you to show me one ELS congregation with happy clappy worship. I win -- you won't find one!

[Ed]

Revgeorge,

One point of disagreement: ELS. They're not the same as WELS (yes, I know they're in communion with them). I dare you to show me one ELS congregation with happy clappy worship. I win -- you won't find one!

[Stan]

I don't really think the WELS position on doctrine is that "screwed up".

Unionism IS bad.
Syncretism IS bad.
Praying with those who are not in doctrinal agreement can be iffy at best. Case in point: My parents attend a non-Lutheran, far-from-orthodox congregation. I will not attend anything to do with their church body because they are in doctrinal error, teach false teachings, and practice open communion. In addition, they allow women to teach and have authority over men.

I agree with Romans 16 fully. I have no real issues with WELS/ELS doctrine.

I do no support the idea of female pastors, female elders, women reading in church services, or even women teaching young men who have just been confirmed. These positions belong to men alone.

I don't have a problem with much of anything the WELS/ELS teaches. I believe that they take the idea of confessional Christianity much more seriously.

As a confessional Lutheran, their doctrinal stance suits me just fine. I was hoping the LCMS would go back to being more confessional, but this will likely never happen. I would go so far as to say the LCMS is now heterodox. No Lutheran synod has any business embracing the evangelical tripe that has pervaded American Christianity.

[revgeorge]

One, I never said the ELS was doing happy clappy worship. I only referenced the WELS. I only said don't look to ELS for salvation from church politics & difficulties. Don't look to any church body for salvation for what's going on in this world. I won't debate the merits of WELS except to say, the WELS is not going to avoid the struggles & pitfalls of the ELCA & the LCMS. Nor will the ELS. The same forces & cultural spirit of the age that is affecting the LCMS will eventually affect the WELS & the ELS.

[Rob Franck]

Very interesting. I see that lcms.org got 120,000 to 150,000 unique site visits per month. Therefore, based on those numbers, Issues, Etc., was getting 10% of the visits received by the LCMS. So probably 10% of internet-savy LCMS people utilized Issues, Etc. A lot different picture than Strand gives when he evaluates the number of petition signers.

By the way, those numbers don't seem to include the people who went directly to KFUO's web site to retrieve podcasts or check out the archives directly.

[Rick]

I am WELS laity and my local church is definitely going the route of happy-clappy. But I'm not running off to the ELS, because this is my church and my battle. The LCMS is your church and your battle, and you need to fight it. The Issues, Etc. controversy is symptomatic of a much larger spiritual war from which no synod or denomination is exempt. If the LCMS fragments; the name "Lutheran" will become synonymous with the ELCA, confessional Lutherans who travel around the world will be unable to receive the Lord's Supper, and Christ's kingdom will have suffered a wound. Believe in the word of God, believe it can do what he says, and the victory will be defined by God, and the victory will belong to God.

[Jack K.]

Rick from WELS is right, as much as I may want to swim the Apple River for WELS, or whatever river surrounds the ELS, I know that I have a battle here to fight, we all do. We need to stay and become the festering, inflammed, confessional thorn in the flesh that Missouri deserves. Church Growth stategies expect 7-15% of a congregation to leave. The group at the purple palace would love for us to go away. Lets stay and fester. Remembering that anything done to preserve the Gospel, is Life for the unbeilever. Lord, come soon!

[Josh Schroeder]

Thought we were talking about the LCMS and Issues, Etc. here.

[Nerd Dude]

What the LCMS has done with Issues, Etc. is nothing short of heinous. The LCMS has, for whatever reason, embraced the happy-clappy church growth movement.

I would love to stay and fight as well, but I fear that as a confessional Lutheran, I am in the vast minority. My own congregation has become almost non-Lutheran in its operations. We allow women to read from the pulpit, women to teach Sunday school classes (the reason I will not attend), women to be in positions of authority over men, etc.

In addition, they use non-Lutheran materials for catechism, confirmation classes, and Sunday school. It's almost as though the LCMS has become ashamed of being Lutheran. The LCMS is McDonaldizing Christ almost. This whole seeker-sensitive attitude is alarming to say the least.

Pastor Wilken was the one confessional voice willing to stand up for the truth of Christ in a sea of "Christian" teachers and pastors who have become wishy-washy at best. The LCMS should be ashamed at letting him go. I sincerely pray the man finds another avenue to proclaim Christ Jesus crucified that we can all benefit from.

The WELS and ELS are probably no better than the LCMS if the truth be known. American Christianity has cratered and there is not much hope for its repair and return to orthodoxy. I've attended some happy-clappy Lutheran services and they are an abomination to the Gospel in my opinion. Without the liturgy, attending church is like taking a shower with no soap. If those (fake) Lutherans want happy-clappy, they should all leave and go join a nondenominational church that denies the true presence, uses no liturgy, denies grace, and generally practices open communion (I use the term communion here loosely) with grape juice and crackers. Don't ruin the LCMS or the WELS or ELS with tripe like junky protestant teachings. What's next?

[Heartbroken]

Dear Nerd Dude,
I too often feel in the minority as a Confessional Lutheran. We're very well camouflaged throughout the world. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that's where God wants us to be.
I just want to ask, "Where are you other wonderful Confessional Lutherans?" I love you people. But I have to trust that if I never meet you in this world, I'll live with you in Heaven.

In the days of the early Church, it seems the Devil tried to crush us by persecuting us from the outside, and by having us eaten alive by lions in Rome. But the Church persevered.
Now, the Devil is trying to disband us by scattering us from the inside-out.
I refuse to let the Devil win. I'd like to stay and fight--because I know it's going to make the Devil MAD when we perservere with God's help! :-)

I pray that all of you remain in the true faith until life everlasting.
Please also prayerfully consider supporting Todd and Jeff now that they are unemployed.