Save the LCMS!

Two Samples of the Afternoon Show

Here are the first 18 minutes of today's edition of the Afternoon Show. This is the show that the Kieschnick Administration replaced Issues Etc. with.

BONUS TRACK!!! - Don't Miss This second segment!! This is LCMS Radio Ministry at its "Finest"!

What do you think?

Does this provide any answers about the mysterious "Programmatic Reasons" for canceling Issues Etc?

A Matter of Priorities?

We've already demonstrated that the 'business reasons' cited by David Strand and President Kieschnick for canceling Issues Etc. are a fiction at best. But let us never forget that they both claimed that Issues Etc. caused the Synod to lose $250,000 in 2007. According to their reasoning, in order to be good stewards of God's money they had to cancel Issues Etc.

But, did you know that in September of 2007 the synod authorized a $2.1 Million payment to Community Counseling Service Co., LLC "to assist in the planning, organizing, and initializing of the Fan into Flame fundraising campaign"? (see page 11)

$2.1 Million is a lot of money.

That is $600,000 more than the cost of running the AM Station for a year.

$2.1 Million is what it would have cost to run Issues Etc. for another 8.4 years.

Maybe the decision to cancel Issues Etc. was just a matter of spending priorities.

David Strand Announces New Afternoon Show on KFUO

Here is an email that we received from David Strand of KFUO fame announcing the new Afternoon Show that will be airing in Issues Etc.'s time slot. You'll notice that Strand is sticking to his thoroughly discredited explanation for the cancelation of Issues Etc.

Here's the email

---

Dear Friend in Christ:

I want to sincerely thank you for your e-mail message regarding the discontinuation of the “Issues, Etc.” program on KFUO-AM Radio. It is good that you are interested in the programming choices of the station. Please know that your comments have been heard and taken to heart.

Some people receiving this message have written before in some fashion on this topic and, sometime ago, received a different response. Others are receiving this message in response to original queries or comments they raised.

In any event, whether you have written one or two or more times, and no matter which “Issues”-related point or points you may have raised, the best and most comprehensive response I can offer at this time is to refer you to a statement on the Synod’s website.

If you haven’t already read this statement, I respectfully invite you to go to www.lcms.org and click on the link called “An updated statement on ‘Issues, Etc.’ ”

I invite you also to listen to “The Afternoon Show” on KFUO-AM, weekdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Now and into the future, it will be the constant endeavor of KFUO-AM management to offer the best in Gospel-based programming throughout the day—programming that reaches out to Lutherans, other Christians, and the unchurched, and all within a budget we can hope to sustain.

Please continue to keep the radio ministry of the Synod in your prayers. Please also prayerfully consider what you might do, if so inclined, to support this important work.

Thank you.

Sincerely in Christ,

David L. Strand
Executive Director
Board for Communication Services

Apparently Kieschnick's strategy is to pretend like there is no problem in the hopes that it will just go away.

A Culture of Open Hostility?

We are learning more about the internal culture of hostility against Issues Etc. that existed at synodical headquarters. What we've learned adds even more evidence to the mounting case that Issues Etc. was cancelled for political reasons.

Case and point: We've already pointed out that the LCMS Foundation was the department in charge of raising funds for Issues Etc. and that the Foundation was charging Issues Etc. a confiscatory rate of 40¢ per dollar raised. But now we've learned and confirmed that the president of the LCMS Foundation, Tom Ries was extremely critical of Issues Etc.

People have described Tom Ries as a 'straight shooter' who has absolutely no problem letting people know what is on his mind. So what was Tom Ries' beef with Issues Etc?

Answer: He was angry that Todd Wilken kept criticizing "Christian brother, Joel Osteen". Yes, you read that correctly. In Tom Ries' opinion Joel Osteen shouldn't be Biblically critiqued but should be embraced as a Christian brother.

Think about this for a minute. David Strand claims that Issues Etc. was canceled for financial reasons. But, the LCMS Foundation was not only charging Issues Etc. 40¢ per dollar raised, the president of the Foundation was openly critical and hostile towards Issues Etc.

With Tom Ries as the head of the LCMS Foundation (LF), how motivated do you think the LF was to raise funds for Issues Etc.?

It's as if Issues Etc. was purposely set up for failure.

This reminds us of Pharoah demanding the children of Israel to produce their daily quota of bricks while refusing to provide them with the straw they needed to make them. (Exodus 5:1-9)

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!!