|
President Kieschnick writes about the problems the LCMS faces as an older
declining church body. Yet, this is largely the result of COP
programs over the past 30 years. Like anything else, since the Synod
didn't invest in its future, how did it expect to have one?
The "Church Growth" hustle, of which Kieschnick was a master in
the Texas District, is employed to make lay people think they were getting
something for their mission dollars instead of a dry well.
Instead of spending the Synod's valuable and limited resources on Pastor
and Teacher training, the districts are now spending more than one hundred
million dollars on themselves. Of the more than one hundred twenty
five million dollars the districts collected in 2001, less than twenty
five million went to the Synod.
Instead of more churches, the Synod got more district office buildings.
Instead of a plentiful supply of well-trained pastors and teachers, the
Synod got lots of district office workers, executives, and programs.
Garbage in-Garbage out.
As Texas District President, Kieschnick excelled in the use of vacuous
church growth jargon. Instead of theology, Kieschnick promoted the
hackneyed phrases of contemporary administrative lingo. This new
dialogue was quickly adopted by nearly all District Staffs so that
gullible lay people would think the Districts understood the business of
the church. The fact of the matter is, District Office staff never
had to earn a living by making a profit at anything. They have no
idea what they are talking about.
Many gullible lay people are impressed with the new administrative
pop-culture vocabulary district officials apply to the church. Of
course, it doesn't produce anything.
Kieschnick's so called entrepreneurial fervor masks his woeful lack of
theological understanding. Each of his five vice presidents has a
better understanding of Lutheran doctrine than he does. But does the
Synod really need sound Christian doctrine? The LCMS now has a
theologically inept, shrewd operator.
Defending Benke is another one of his mindless blunders that will only
continue to shrink the LCMS. His news media fiasco on the Benke case
resulted in the LLL firing Wallace Schulz.
Nearly ever time he speaks, Kieschnick betrays himself by spewing
pointless Church Growth drivel.
The following is a list of some of Kieschnick's favorite Church Growth
terms. They are used to make people think he has exciting new
improvements for the Synod, while he turns people away from the language
of the Bible.
1. Strategic Plan
2. Touching, Winning, Enriching, Empowering
3. Planning process
4. Task Force
5. Our mission is a dynamic movement
6. Extensive review of appropriate data
7. Developing a New Paradigm for Mission and Ministry
8. Shaping Mission and Ministry Around Values
9. Core Operational Values
10. People Centered
11. Diversity-Oriented
12. Celebrate diversity
13. Address multi-cultural character
14. Creatively and Flexibly-Designed
15. Key Concepts and Goals of the Texas District
16. The Spirit who gives to the church vision and perspective on how to
minister in its context
17. Visionary leadership
18. Church Professionals as Equippers-Leaders
19. Identify a baseline of criteria of what constitutes an equipper-leader
20. Develop a proactive recruiting and mentoring process
21. Redevelop the Board of Directors role to prove for more active policy
leadership between conventions
22. Incorporate outcome and results into the evaluation process
23. Visions and Leadership
24. District Staff as Catalysts and Facilitators
25. Partnering and networking
Instead of feeding the church on the word of God, Kieschnick's vocabulary
is a starvation diet. Rather than inspire the youth, this kind of
talk simply bores them to tears.
I'm sure there are those in the Synod who think this kind of talk will put
Kieschnick in the same class with Martin Luther and the CEO Reformation.
|
|