Cannot Be Reached For Comment

I was going to blog about this earlier, but got busy and haven't been at my computer all day.  And, now I guess I don't really need to, since Fr. Peters beat me to the punch in his post, "Some Transparency Please" (great minds, and all that).  He is right.  Synodical leaders who will not speak up and give their take on unpopular decisions they make, especially when many in our synod are angry and grieving, lose their integrity, and make our synod look horrible to the world looking on (of course, maybe these leaders think there are just a few people upset and not worth their time to answer - they did think only 39 people listened to Issues, Etc., after all).  There have been a few newspaper articles written about the decision made by the MNS District BoD to sell University Lutheran Chapel, and each one notes that representatives from the MNS District could not be reached for comment.  It's just maddening.  And sad.  And pathetic.  And so very unchurchly!  And, as Fr. Peters notes, it just breeds suspicion and mistrust.  It's how the corporate world does things, not the church.

And don't patronize us by telling us that we just don't understand how things work, that sometimes unpopular decisions need to be made, and that there is some fancy-schmancy protocol that must be followed.  Puh-lease!  I'm a pastor.  I can't imagine making an unpopular decision that affects the congregation I serve and then going incognito.  I bet the same synodical leaders who refuse to speak up would think me to be a rotten, unloving, stubborn, arrogant pastor, were I to do so.  How in the world is it different with them?

I've also begun hearing people pleading with our synodical president to speak up on this issue.  I think they're right.  It's time.  If nothing else, he should exhort the "leaders" in the MNS District to explain themselves and answer the criticisms they're receiving.  But, I think he should also speak out himself.  I have absolutely been loving how open and transparent he and his staff have been since they took the helm of our synod, and you would be hard pressed to find a more ardent supporter of this administration than me, but not hearing from them when such a controversial issue is rattling our synod is bringing back eerie memories for many, myself included. 

For those who cannot be reached for comment, maybe a read of John 3:20-21 is in order.