Why Can’t the LCMS be Managed with Fiscal Efficiency Like the Augustana Ministerium?

(Editor’s Note: This is a comment from another string. It is Pastor Stefanski’s response (comment#25) to a request to have more of the Ministerium’s dues go to support for their cause. We here at BJS admire the work of the Ministerium and encourage you to take a closer look.)

Okay, folks, here is what I have to report: The Augustana Ministerium collected $40.00 as dues from each member of The Augustana Confraternity. This $40 was specifically collected to pay for administrative needs—paying for the mailing of the Confraternity’s newsletter (so that members would have something to show others who might be interested in TAM’s/TAC’s support of pastors and congregations) and funding the theological conference. In return, TAC members had free admission to the Theological Conference and Plenary, the newsletter (promised as a quarterly, but so far a bi-monthly), and various ‘intangibles’.

As of this afternoon, it was determined that ONLY $5.00 of each member’s dues would be needed for such administrative purposes, so that $35.00 of each member’s dues would be redirected to the mission and emergency aid fund.

How’s that for guys who don’t know how to function as bureaucrats?!? Instead of, e.g., using the interest from undistributed disaster aid to fund synodical flunkies’ salaries instead of directing it back to the Human Care and World Relief account as decent ethics would demand, the Ministerium’s Administrative Council is saying, “We’ve been able to function on less than 15% of what you’ve given for us to use, so we’re going to put that 85+% where you really wanted it to go, anyway: the direct support of pastors so that they can continue to bring the Gospel to the lambs and sheep of Christ.”

The Administrative Council wishes to express its thanks to Mr. Schenks and all the other members of the Confraternity for having trusted us to ‘get the most bang for your buck’, and we ask you to pray with us that the Lord would grant it that we may always be so blessed as to operate in this way.

The Administrative Council also approved our 2009 Spending Guideline today, which calls for $20,000.00 in direct aid to pastors of missions and struggling congregations and $30,000.00 in emergency aid to pastors—double what we were able to give in 2008. We hope that you will consider supporting this effort to take care of God’s servants so that they are able to take care of His flock. Please visit us at our website…and also at our blog, where you can find our latest news and other articles of interest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.