Bureaucrat to English Dictionary

So far, the only "official" communication from the LCMS about the cancellation of "Issues, Etc." was the rather lame statement posted on the "Issues, Etc.," website, to the effect that the program was canceled due to "business" and programmatic "reasons."

But the LCMS president, Gerald Kieschnick, has issued his own statement.  “The KFUO decision transpired with my awareness but neither by my order nor at my direction.”

This is about as bad as it gets--typical bureaucrat-speak, placing President Kieschnick on par with any politician.

But if you look this up in the "Bureaucrat to English" dictionary, the meaning is perfectly clear.  "Of course, I am behind it.  But if you think I'm gonna take the fall for this, you're crazy."

As one of my Lutheran friends pointed out, the great irony is that President Kieschnick's evasion of responsibility, actually robbed his largely German underlings of their best and most often used excuse--"I was only following orders." 

Comments

[Calvin V]

I have to get me one of those Bureaucrat-to-English Dictionaries.

["lee n. field"]

Chris Rosbrough (A Little Leaven dot com, frequent I,E. guest) weighs in here: http://crosebrough.typepad.com/lcms_purpose_driven_take_/2008/03/is-the-lcms-bei.html.

[LLOYD]

How far is the plight of the LCMS? Here in the Phoenix area, one local LCMS church has changed their sign out front from service times, to "gathering times" in order to be less offensive to the masses. Sunday, they went to a new level of marketing, they actually put balloons on their church sign, thus reducing the Gospel message to a circus!

[Mark Bystrom]

As the Program Director of a station that aired the Sunday evening broadcast of Issues, Etc. for over a decade, I received no advance warning at all about the termination of the program from any KFUO or LCMS staff. Thus, without the Riddleblog and other online sources, I would have only learned about this cancellation when our station delivered dead-air during that hour. This sort of unprofessionalism makes me extremely wary of dealing with any other LCMS media outreach in the future.

What a shame.

[bart glazer]

As a Traditional Catholic, I am hoping that this radio program will not return to the airwaves. No more talk about "faith alone". Geez, you think this idea is somewhere in the Bible.

[George]

As a nearly life-long Lutheran I can only say that I am embarrassed by the current goings-on (say "nearly" because I left LCMS four years ago).

Some of the responders to this most recent post have provided some good information links and I am thankful for their insight.

Ironically, only a little over a year ago (September, 2006) CT published an article entitled "Young, Restless, Reformed" that covered multiple reasons why many in the most current generation are craving the doctrinal disciplines of the Reformed church after having grown up with exposure to the previous generation's (presumably many of their parents or older siblings) "contemporary" forms of worship and blasé sermons. They are craving instructions on WHAT to belive and WHY, not how they feel. Read that "pure spiritual milk." And it's impressive and overdue.

If this is true of the youngest generation as a whole, then it seems like LCMS is serving to placate the whims of the Boomer generation, primarily. It also seems, if you follow some of Barna's polls, that it's a little bit late for these "marketing tricks" - they have only served temporary purposes in the past and are unlikely to serve any in the future. So why bother?

And while I do not fully subscribe to the way the Reformed church interprets everything in Scripture (e.g., dual-predestination and the lack of the true presence in the "sacraments"), I'd find it much more refreshing (and easier) to join a truly confessing, orthodox Reformed congregation than an ecumenical LCMS church that seems to prefer style of worship and presentation over doctrine.

We have come to a sad, sad time in the "Church" (in the broad sense) here in the early 21st century....

[LLOYD]

Hi Bart:

Please read Romans and Galatians. Ask for help in understanding these key writings of Paul. Your salvation depends on it. (Try to stay away from most of Christian radio.)

[LLOYD]

Hi George:

If you are still looking for confessional Lutheranism, try the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). You can still have it all there, without compromising your conscience. WELS split from the LCMS in 1961 for the reasons that are being manifested today. Galations 5:9, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

[PB]

A parallel note - a local non-denominational Baptist preacher (whom I'd thought to be Reformed / Calvinistic) has opined that Calvinism is a dry and dying neighborhood, and that Arminianism has and will triumph. The amount of sad truth mixed with misconceptions in his missive were truly sad.

[Ed Hurst]

I only know what I have experienced first hand about the LCMS. I worked with a local congregation for a few years, and had wide contact regionally with others because I volunteered for a lot of stuff.

The official leadership is the some of most prissy Victorian bunch of silly people I've ever met. Folks who don't quite make the cut are some of the finest and most sensible folks I've ever met. I'm not talking about stuff that matters; this prissy nonsense always shows in things which don't matter, but in the end cripples things which do.

Everything you've posted on this issue so far, Kim, is completely unsurprising to me.