Thanks to Rev. J Wheeler who went straight to the LCMS Treasurer Tom Kuchta, we now know how much was spent on consultants for the Blue Ribbon proposals: $409,703.
Tom Kuchta also mentioned that the money came from Thrivent. This is not Tom Kuchta’s excuse but I have heard this Thrivent line used to excuse such spending. And what does that excuse? Would Thrivent have refused to give the 409,703 clams if we had asked to for it to pay for seminary tuition? Would Thrivent have refused to give 409,703 smackers in order to add a missionary to the field? This is not fake money. It is real money, cold hard cash, that is being spent by a real church in a real headquarters by a real president and for real live stuff, albeit conceptual, pluralistic, theological elitist, sociological gobbledy-gook speak.
You can see Rev. Wheeler’s original comments and the other comments in that string here.