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Pastor Bill Tucker sent the following letter, at the
request of Pastoral
Leadership Institute (PLI), to the members of Concordia Lutheran Church in
San Antonio, Texas, to raise $300,000.00 for President Kieschnick.
Similar
letters are being circulated throughout the Synod. Doctor Norbert
Oesch is
the Executive Director of PLI.
The goal of the letter is to raise funds for President Kieschnick's travel
expenses to District Conventions and Pastoral Conferences. Some may
come to
the conclusion that the funds are necessary for President Kieschnick's
reelection campaign.
Bill Tucker Wrote:
Dear Concordia Family,
As you know, we pray on a regular basis for the leaders of our country,
including the leader of our Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, President
Kieschnick. His ministry is an important one for our church body
during
these times of struggle and discord. He is committed to our Lord,
Jesus
Christ. He has a passion to see the churches of the LCMS fulfilling
the
Great Commission. And he is a clear and faithful to the teachings
and
doctrine of our church body. In addition, he is a man of courage and
integrity who, by vote of our synodical convention, has been given the
responsibility and privilege of leading our church. I (along with
the
Church Council and Elders of Concordia) believe that we are all blessed by
his service to our Lord and Church.
These are difficult times for our Synod beyond the political issues that
have made the headlines. Commitments from the congregations of our
Synod
were lower than expected and our synodical Board of Directors (who is
responsible for the budget of synod) was forced to make dramatic cuts to
many programs, including: Education, Missions, and the Office of the
president, among others. As an example, the budget for the Office of
the
President was cut by more than $300,000 for the coming year.
While any budget cuts are difficult, the cuts in the budget of the Office
of
the President will prevent President Kieschnick from fulfilling his dream
of
moving our Synod from conflict to focus and unity in fulfilling the Great
Commission. The Board of Directors approved the programs proposed by
the
president, but they were unable to fund them from the revenues that had
been
committed from the congregations of synod.
This is where we are able to come to the aid of our leader. What
follows is
a breakdown of the programs that have been out and the dollar amounts
needed
to reinstate them. It is our hope that we as a congregation, along
with
other congregations who would share our commitment to President
Kieschnick's
leadership, might step forward with offerings that will help meet this
substantial need. They are listed in order of priority.
1. $71,700 was cut that would provide for the president's travel, along
with
assistants, and other support. President Kieschnick needs to travel
extensively and has 71 trips planned between now and the end of August,
2003, including visits to most of the District conventions.
2. President Kieschnick has hoped to establish a Strategic Vision Project.
This is a process by which the mission of "making disciples"
would be raised
up within our church body and would assure that Synodical/District
structure
is properly aligned to assist congregations in fulfilling that mission.
$100,000 is needed to fully fund this project. That amount pays for
consultant fees, travel expenses for task forces working on this project,
and promotional materials.
3. "Special Presidential Communications" - primarily of an
opportunistic
nature, such as "A Promise" (the full-page ad in USA Today)
after the events
of September 11 last year, are an essential function of the Office of the
President. In addition, there are other times like Easter, 2003 when
the
President of Synod is able to represent the passion we have, as Lutheran
Christians, to share Jesus with our word. The budgeted amount for
this
project was $90,000.
4. Finally, $50,000 was designated to fund a Presidential Video Project.
The goal would be to produce a series of brief, high-quality catechetical
videos featuring President Kieschnick for use with adult instruction
classes, Bible classes, or, in excerpted form, as a video clip during a
Sunday morning sermon.
The Elders, Church Council, and I agree that these projects are important
enough to bring them before our congregation and offer a special
opportunity
for Concordia Lutheran Church to respond. If you choose to make a
gift to
this special need, please use the envelopes included with your worship
guide. Checks should be made out to Concordia Lutheran Church with a
special notation, "For the President's Office - Undesignated" in
the memo
line. We will be presenting this gift to President Kieschnick for
the
Office of the President next weekend as he visits Concordia and shares
God's
Word as our preacher for the morning.
God bless you.
Pastor Bill
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