Comments from Laymen and Pastors on Michigan's Core Values
By Rev. Jack Cascione

Dear Pastor Cascione-

You might also check Chapter 2 of the TX District Strategic Plan. Therein, you will see "celebrate diversity" proclaimed as a core operating value and "specific" committment. Also, you will notice that the Scriptures and Confessions are reduced to values as "broad committments".

The fundamental reason being is that values must be clarified ("values clarification") against the prevailing myth "cultural diversity", which is just the mantra of pluralism and its religious principle, tolerance. In so many words, like the General Synod, our leaders are elevating Locke's political theology to normative dogma. It is a substantive heresy.

I'd refer you to my article "Livin' La Vita Loco: Texas District Celebrates Diversty" at http://www.concordtx.org/. Loeschmann has it posted their.

Regards,

Layman, Ralph. Tate

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Dear Pastor Cascione

You missed this one on "process consulting" (it is free to be published in any form you choose)

The Mission Renewal Plan: An Overview

QUESTION: Why did the chicken cross the road? ANSWERS

FIRST YEAR LUTHERAN CATECHUMEN: To get to the other side.

MISSION RENEWAL CONSULTING: Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the newly competitive market. Mission Renewal Consulting, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes.

Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Mission Renewal helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align the chicken's people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework.

Mission Renewal Consulting convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best chickens. Along with Mission Renewal Consultants with deep skills in the transportation industry, a two-day itinerary of meetings was held in order to leverage their personal knowledge capital (both tacit and explicit). This enabled them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the implicit goals of delivering, successfully architecting and implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of poultry cross-median processes.

The meeting was held in a park-like setting, enabling and creating an impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused, and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and aligned with the chicken's mission, vision, and core values. This was conducive towards the creation of a total business integration solution. Mission Renewal Consulting helped the chicken change to become more successful.

Layman Jim Heap, Michigan

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Dear Jack,

I am an Army Chaplain. "Care Values" is big in the Army. But the values have nothing to do with morality per se. thought you'd like to know that Michigan District is following in big footsteps.

Pastor Lucas

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Dear Sir:

My first reaction, when I read about MI district's core values statement, was and remains, I always thought, and was taught the three "Solas", were our core values. And our great mission statement from the original LH speaker, Walter A. Maier, was "We Preach Christ Crucified"! Much of this "core values" and "mission statement" stuff has become passé, taken lightly (re: Dilbert), and even discredited in the business community (I was in the business field, and have a BBA). Yet, here are these preachers trying to act like executives of a major corporation, and making perfect fools of themselves. And man now becomes the Lord of the Harvest, rather than God. Instead of being in the world, but not of the world (the leaven of being an alternative), we are very much adapting to, and adopting the marketplace.

In Christ,

Layman Dan Kroeger

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Comment from Pastor Cascione

What Happened to the Pastors In Michigan?

Out of an entire Convention only one pastor publicly refused to commit himself to Core Vales and no one would second the motion.

I'm glad our lay delegate wasn't there on Wednesday to second the motion so that the Synod can see how the extent of the departure from the Gospel.

From my perspective it is like the night of the living dead, and you find that the pastor next to you has that glassy zombie stare. The cult leader says drink the Kool-Aid that everyone takes a big gulp with a hopeful smile on their face.

It was like my senior year at Seward, Nebraska at 1968 Christmas Show. There were nearly 1700 people in the gym being entertained by a hypnotist. He told us all to put our hands over our heads and lock our hands. Then he told us we couldn't get our hands apart. I couldn't understand why the class mates next me were struggling to free their hands. Why would the hypnotist's suggesting keep their hands stuck together no matter how hard they struggle to separate them? It didn't affect me.

The Seminary has taught their graduates very well. Polity doesn't matter. With this philosophy pastors are now prepared to follow just about any system as long as the leader nods his head to their doctrinal concerns. We have come back full circle to Martin Stephan, Grabau, and Loehe.

When pastors can't think for themselves they need leaders.

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Dear Pastor Cascione

How many time in over 30 years of attending District conventions in the LCMS have I heard the mantra: "Just trust us." Or perhaps from the "yes men" on the floor, its corollary: "Don't you trust your District leaders?" Rev. Cascione is not the only one to have had that one thrown in his face.

It is hard for laypeople and pastors to answer "No" to that question at a District convention. But, it is not so hard for many of us to answer that question with a resounding "Nay" with regard the worldly realm of politics. What has been your experience? Anything the politicians set out to do ends up just opposite. Examples: end poverty, eliminate drugs, reduce crime, increase educational levels of our children, strengthen families. It is easier for basically conservative people in the LCMS to admit to not trusting worldly politicians, than to not trust our church politicians.

The hard and sad truth is, however, that our church leaders are just as worldly as our political and business leaders. Pr. Cascione mentions the Core Values passed in the Michigan District with only one person urging caution. He shows that the idea of Core Values comes from business and the goal of winning and making profits.

The Texas District Strategic Plan as analyzed by Rev. Glenn Huebel and Mr. Ralph Tate (see http://www.concordtx.org/cross.htm A FORGOTTEN PARADIGM: THE THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS, by Rev. Glenn E. Huebel (Concord Publication, October, 1997) and LIVIN' LA VITA LOCO: TX District "Celebrate[s] Diversity" by Ralph Tate http://www.concordtx.org/tdnews/tx_loco.htm) are also shown to be the product of worldly, business paradigms slightly modified for a nonprofit organization.

Try checking out the Mission Statements of some of the outstanding congregations in your District. See how many mention "salvation" or "eternal life" as one of their goals. Oh, you will find plenty of "sharing the Gospel" and "establishing spiritual relationships" and "life changing" kind of religious language. But what does this all mean? It means that earth, rather than heaven, is foremost in the minds of the leaders. It means that "going to heaven" is an assumed notion in thinking of the pastors.

Why is that? Because the Gospel of Justification by Grace through Faith for Christ's sake has been reduced to "God loves you." The Gospel has been shrunk to a mere slogan for many Lutherans. Thus the Michigan and Texas Districts can blithely pass support for the Doctrine of Justification without everyone really "believing, teaching and confessing" it in their congregations. The methods promoted by AAL's Membership Initiative and Pastoral Leadership Initiative will put more people in the pews of churches with the Lutheran Name Tag hidden somewhere in their publicity. And if they are in the pews or gyms of our churches, we will assume they are true believers. And as long as the votes and money and members keep coming in the leaders of the earthly organization will be happy.

Not only will they be happy, they will be more secure in their bureaucratic positions. They will have been proved by success to be endowed with the greatest of all "Spiritual Gifts" in the inventory: Leadership. They will be trusted and elected again and again. Perhaps they will even get a bigger Leadership Position with Synod, Wheatridge or perhaps even the big dollar ones; Church Extension or Lutheran Foundation.

And don't you ever think that worldly "Career Advancement" is not on the leaders' minds. I was counseled by a rising political star in the Texas District how to do it. "Get out there and seek a call the way we do it in the military chaplaincy. When you see a position open you want, go for it." "You will never get a bigger church if ....." And it is working for him.

Can you laypeople see that this is not the way things ought to be in the church? Real Lutherans don't believe that pastors ought to "seek calls." Calls seek them. Real ministers (servants) don't think the size of the congregation enhances or detracts from the services they give to Christ and His people. But the symptoms of worldliness are in the church, too.

Core Values, Leadership Training, PLI, Mission Statements, Strategies, Paradigms and accountability only prove that church leaders are as trustworthy as other worldly leaders.

The people of Jerusalem trusted their church leaders and ended up shouting "Give us Barabbas. Crucify Jesus!" People of Missouri, be sure whom your leaders trust before you put trust in them. Are their words Biblical and Confessional or business and managerial? "By their fruits (teachings, words) you shall know them."

Pastor Al Loeschman

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Dear Jack,

"God is not in the production business. He is in the salvage business. Therefore, we cannot use the Quality Improvement Methods of Corporate Business to do the Redeeming Work of God. When we fall into this trap, we are doing the work of the antichrist for him and calling it "church." ...a quotable huntism ...December, 1997.

Good job on reporting about Core Values, Jack. This may be a new thing in the Missouri, which of course it is not, but in business we have fought against it for the last twenty years in this land. "Core values" is only a product of restatement begun in this country in the 1980s by the work which W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran proved up in Japan during the 1960-70's.

Here is Deming's first rendition of fourteen points to create a continuous quality improvement program, 1986, "Out of Crisis."

"A continuous quality improvement program will keep the company successful and create pleasing results. Everybody wins."

1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone. Instead, minimize total cost by working with a single supplier.
5. Improve, constantly and forever, every process of planning, production and service.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Adopt and institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between staff areas.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the work force.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the work force and numerical goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Eliminate the annual rating or merit system.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-government for everyone.
14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation.

Layman Ron Hunt

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Dear Jack,

You wrote "The 8 Core Values were tacked on to Resolution 1-09B that designated $1,500,000, received from the sale of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Detroit to the Baptists, for inner city ministries."

Why do you say the money is going to Baptists? Currently the interest is going to Teresita Rodriguez for Spanish outreach on the west side. She is a Lutheran Deaconess.

You also wrote,

"All that was needed was a second to the motion and that would have at least let the Core Values be the District Office Core Values."

Not quite accurate. If there had been a second, the motion to strike would have been debated and then voted on. The second would not itself not do it.

Jack, get a grip, my friend. The District is far better off today than it was three years ago. Then we had boards which promoted every kind of church growth and legalistic stewardship programs which cost of truck loads of money. The truth is there is less interference from the District in congregational life and Pres. Hoesman is being very fair with call lists. Be glad for what gains there have been. The core values are a fad and will soon fade away. No, these are not my core values. Scripture and Catechism are my core values.

By the way, did Walther ever say that a voter's assembly could not vote in a Board of Directors? If they cannot then they are not sovereign. Sovereign means just that.

Pastor AC

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Dear Pastor AC:

Didn't I say that the money went to support inner city and ministries and that Our Savior was sold to the Baptists?

I thought this sentence was pretty clear. Please look at the parenthetical use of commas.

"The 8 Core Values were tacked on to Resolution 1-09B that designated $1,500,000, received from the sale of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Detroit to the Baptists, for inner city ministries."

You were there. You know that all I needed was a second on the motion. It would have taken more than ten minutes to debate the issue and the Committee would have been off the floor.

The District is in much worse shape than it was three years ago. Instead of the crude and rude Boss Heins, we now have the smiling, affirmative apostles of Core Values and process consulting. Heins had no philosophy that he could articulate. He couldn't talk the talk, but Hoesman has mastered the technique and you think things have improved.

Enjoy the Kool-Aid.

Blessings,
Jack