Pastoral oversight at KFUO AM

Last month, I pointed out that the LCMS’s Board for Communications Services had approved the radio show “Time of Grace” as a registered service organization, and had waived the requirement that the show have an LCMS pastor on its own board. This didn’t sit well with many commenters.

But the thing is that there is barely more pastoral oversight of the other programming at KFUO AM.

The station had a full-time staff pastor. But, well, David Strand and the BCS fired him in early 2008. So who has been doing the pastoral oversight of the programming of KFUO AM since?

There’s Pastor Tom Baker who hosts “Law and Gospel.” But he works for the Concordia Mission Society; not KFUO AM. There’s Pastor Mark Hawkinson who hosts “Moments of Assurance.” But he’s not a full-time employee of KFUO AM either.

Let’s move up the chain of command at KFUO AM. Is the station’s program director Chuck Rathert, a pastor? No. Is the station’s Director of Broadcast Operations Dennis Stortz, a pastor? No. Is the Director of the Board for Communications David Strand, a pastor? No.

For the first time in 85 years, there isn’t a single pastor on the full-time staff or in the management at KFUO AM. Why?

Remember, this is the synod’s Christian radio station.

What about the BCS, the synodical board that oversees KFUO AM, are there any pastors there? Yes, two: Pastor John Bush of St. Paul, Trenton, Michigan and Pastor Kevin Vogts of Holy Cross, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

So, Pastor Bush and Pastor Vogts are the only pastors in the entire chain of command of KFUO AM. The BCS meets only 4 times a year. Do David Strand and his Board for Communications Services consider this sufficient pastoral oversight of the synod’s Christian radio station?

Do you think the programming of the AM station reflects sufficient pastoral oversight?

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