I have just been alerted to the fact that the Blue Ribbon Survey has hit 1,000 registered users. That’s the good news. The bad news is that only 460 folks have completed the survey.
It is indeed an arduous task to complete the survey. The Blue Ribbon Task Force has thrown at the synod far more than the average person can handle and understand but that is one of the key reasons you need to take the survey. The Blue Ribbon Task Force at the end of all of this will be able to say that it has 10,000 or so surveys filled out from the 35 district conventions. I can guarantee you that their results are skewed. They are basically doing what is called in politics a “push poll.” It is a poll that is written in such a way that it gets people to agree with the survey questions. Because the Blue Ribbon Task Force gives only its rationale and no dissenting opinion on each question, the survey takers at the district conventions are providing results skewed toward the rationale of the Task Force. The Task Force’s rationale is the only explanation they see and so they will tend to vote in favor of the proposals.
The Interested Laymen have added to the Task Force’s survey materials a few other thoughts to consider that provide the survey taker the opportunity to make a fair decision on the basis of pro and con material.
The chairman of the task force told the Northern Illinois District convention that he does not care how the survey turns out but that is not true. If he did not care how it turned out he would immediately change the survey and the presentation so that it includes other thoughts in addition to the committee’s rationale.
We encourage everyone to take this survey. So far, base on a good scientific number, the results of the Interested Laymen survey show that most people, when given a choice, are opposed to most of the proposals of the Blue Ribbon Task Force. Take the survey yourself and see. It takes nearly an hour so be prepared for a lengthy study in LCMS polity and give your honest answers based on the pros and cons presented. You can take the survey by clicking here. If you registered and did not complete the survey you can log back in and complete it or submit as many answers as you have given. Once you have submitted your answers you can view the results. They are very revealing.