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The most recent
Reclaim News release titled, "Phone Call From The Synodical
Headquarters About Board of Directors (BOD)" stated that:
"The LCMS
President, himself a former District President, is well aware that the BOD
will be attempting to require all Districts to forward an increased
percentage of their funds to the Synod.
At this time, the 35 Districts are paying almost 500 salaries and
consuming approximately 100 million dollars a year, while sending less than
25 million to the Synod.
Why is the
Synod cutting missionaries while the Districts keep hiring more employees
and executives? There were no full-time District Presidents before 1961.
Even the smallest Districts, such as the Atlantic District, have eight
employees."
A reader asked:
"Have you verified this for the
Montana
,
Wyoming
,
North Dakota
,
South Dakota
, Iowa East and
New Jersey
districts?"
Some of the
Districts have only one or two employees.
In the 2003 Lutheran Annual,
Montana
lists no staff, but may have one
paid secretary.
North Dakota
and
Wyoming
list one staff member and, we
presume, one or two secretaries.
The list of
staff is not an accurate list of employees.
We are told for example that
Nebraska
, which lists seven staff, actually has 28 employees.
Reclaim News
has heard that the Board of Directors is breathing down the COP's neck, and
is going to publish a scandal sheet listing the number of employees in each
District. While the Synod is
cutting missionaries the Districts are increasing the number of employees
and turning a number of Districts into their own regional Synods.
President
Kieschnick continues to rely on bogus CCM rulings to hinder the Board of
Directors duty to manage all finances, property, and business of the Synod.
Reclaim News readers can expect an increase in negative press about
the BOD from the "Reporter," District Officials, and District
publications.
A steady rise
in LCMS District patronage and bureaucracy is replacing funding for
missionaries and teacher training, while President Kieschnick claims he has
a burning desire to save the lost. His
solution: "Get Out Your Checkbooks."
The lay people
are sadly mistaken if they believe that the clergy are able to police their
own spending.
If President
Kieschnick wants to be reelected by the same "Jesus First" and COP
axis that put him in office, he must do whatever it takes to keep the BOD
from interfering with District cash flow.
The plan is simple. Make
the BOD the goat: heartless people who want to put District staff back in
the pulpit, cut LCMS Districts back to the stone age of the 1950's, put more
missionaries in the field, and pay for a higher percentage of teacher
education.
The Reclaim
News Motto: Fire District Staff
and Save Souls.
Let's pray the
BOD can write a few hundred pink slips and dig the Synod out of a 200
million dollar plus hole.
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