Angry Mob of Bitter Clingers? Not Really, by Pr. Rossow

On the national political scene the attempt as been made to denigrate conservatives as an “angry mob of bitter clingers.” Based on the early season primaries it is not working. There is a parallel going on in the LCMS.

Consider this quote from the Jesus First Delegate Newsletter #2 (pp. 2-3).

I would be remiss if I painted only a rosy picture, stating that all people are happy. There is a small group of people who do not like ANY of the changes. They are actively writing and stating that all of the proposals should be voted down. Those who write against ALL proposals call them “President Kieschnick’s proposals.” Some have even written about a conspiracy to force all of these proposals on the LCMS.

The article does not directly label conservatives as a small group of unhappy, bitter-clingers who sit around and concoct conspiracy theories about the LCMS but it might as well have. Using words like “small group” of “unhappy people” and “conspiracy” is a smear tactic. These are loaded words. No one on this site is calling for the defeat of all the proposals. As a matter of fact, on this site, the likes of Martin Noland have praised some proposals and criticized a select few. No one that I know of says there has been a conspiracy. Instead, critics, including those printed here on BJS have pointed out that the process of input was controlled and not open like it could have been.

Again,  no one on this site has called for the defeat of all the proposals but entire districts have submitted overtures to the convention to slow the train down and reconsider the approach the Task Force has taken. Rather than a small group of “bitter clingers” the critics of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance includes entire districts, and as we reported earlier this week, the entire group of Children’s Ministry Consultants in the LCMS, all twenty nine of them from twenty nine different districts from every corner of the synod. Entire districts such as the Rocky Mountain District, the North Wisconsin District, the Southern Illinois District, the Montana District and the Wyoming District have submitted resolutions to the synod convention asking that the proposals be frozen for three more years of study and in some cases asked that they be rejected entirely.

This is hardly a group of “bitter clingers” that is small, unhappy and hatchers of conspiracy theories. Instead it is a wide ranging group from various corners of the synod who have rightly discerned that the many of the proposals are ill conceived and not good for the synod and that this whole process needs to be slowed down so that more appropriate and balanced input can be included in the process.

On the national political scene impressive grass roots opposition to “hope and change” has arisen from every corner of the country and it is making impressive gains against efforts to grow government control. On the smaller scale the same thing is happening in the LCMS. Opposition to greater synodical control is arising from every corner of the synod and is having an impressive effect curtailing efforts to grow synodical control of the church.

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