KFUO Sale Contributes to Changes on Synod Board

Found on St Louis Today:

The sale of KFUO had an effect at last year’s Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod convention, says Paul L. Maier, third vice president of the synod. While it was not the only factor, Maier says, “every member of the (board of directors) up for re-election who voted to sell KFUO-FM was defeated at the Houston Convention last July.”

Not affected was board member and lawyer Kermit Brashear, whose term expires in 2013. Brashear voted to explore the sale and then handled every aspect of it. Although the exact figures have been kept confidential, LCMS insiders estimate that he and his law firm were paid about $500,000 for their efforts.

The synod has been cutting budgets and cited the need for cash in making the decision to sell KFUO-FM. They didn’t get much from it so far.

“Most of the $1.5 million first payment from (Joy FM) has been expended by the LCMS for legal fees” in connection with the sale of the station, to Brashear and others, Maier says.

Maier says Brashear had a conflict of interest as a board member handling and profiting from the sale and that such conflict is prohibited by the denomination’s bylaws.

The outcome of the sale was “one of the worst possible for the church and the greater St. Louis cultural community,” he says.

By Sarah Bryan Miller

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