My name is Mike Ratliff. I am a δουλος (slave) of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been a Bible teacher since the late 1980's. I am currently learning Koine Greek, which I began in 1992 and will continue to do so until the Lord takes me home. I am Reformed in my theology because I recognize that God is Sovereign over all things. I write these posts as God directs. I am also part of the discernment team at Christian Research Network. Today with no advanced notice the discernment radio show, Issues, Etc. with Todd Wilkins and produced by Jeff Schwarz., was canceled by the Luther Church Missouri Synod. Both men were let go.
I have often been blessed by this show and it is indeed sad and disturbing that this “denominational group” would axe a ministry that was not only popular, but highly effective in defending salvation by sola fide. I invite you to pray about what you should do about this. Also, please view the attached video.
March 19, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Mike,
There is a Lutheran Missouri Synod Church in my town! They are reformed? Should I check them out?!!
March 19, 2008 at 9:48 pm
[...] Possessing the Treasure (Baptist or Presbyterian, not sure) [...]
March 20, 2008 at 4:23 am
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Here is all sorts of contact information to tell people what you think about this, let them know how important Issues, Etc. was to us, and ask why the show was cancelled:
Rev. David L. Strand
Executive Director
Board for Communication
(314) 996-1200
(314) 822-0000
david.strand@lcms.org
Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
1333 S. Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
(888) 843-5267
(314) 965-9000
FAX: (314) 996-1016
infocenter@lcms.org
KFUO Radio Station
(314) 725-0099
(314) 725-3030
(314) 721-2969
Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick
Synod President
(314) 996-1402
(314) 842-7110
president@lcms.org
LC-MS Board of Directors
(314) 996-1350
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Meanwhile, an online petition has been started up about Issues, Etc. being ended. I don’t know how much good it will do, but it should be able to do some. it certainly can’t hurt to put your name down. Here’s the link:
http://www.petitiononline.com/Issues/petition.html
For anyone who comes across this and has Facebook, a lot of discussion it seems is going on at the “Bring back Issues ETC!!!” Facebook group.
http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=11679316089
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Finally, financial help for the Schwarz and Wilken families can be sent to the following address. Just put in the memo line that it’s for the “Schwartz/Wilken Fund”. The Schwarzes especially need the help and Rev. Jack Schwarz’s wife Beth has been recently diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy and they need to go to Mayo Clinic to try figuring out what can be done.
“Schwartz/Wilken Fund”
Saint Paul Lutheran Church
P.O. Box 247
Hamel, IL 62046
All help and all prayers are appreciated.
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I will be continuing to post information and resources relating to the cancellation of Issues, Etc. and firing of Rev. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz. So, if you could please help me draw people to the resource of my blog, I would really appreciate it.
http://latinkid.blogspot.com/2008/03/pulled-from-air-issues-etc.html
God bless,
–Aaron Nemoyer
March 20, 2008 at 6:43 am
Deb,
Sure, check it out. I have a very good Lutheran friend where I work who goes to a church in that Synod. Their paster is anti-PDC and adheres to the real confessional Gospel. Let me know how it goes my sister.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
March 20, 2008 at 6:46 am
Aaron,
Thanks for this brother. I signed the petition.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
March 20, 2008 at 8:55 am
Look I loved the show but let’s not idealize it. Todd and co. were excellent advocates for traditional liturgical reformation Christianity and they will be missed and KFUO appears to have treated them extremely shabbily. That being said their one sided defense of the most narrow and reactionary elements in the “Creation Science” undermined their witness to a lot thoughtful non-christens, they had an annoying habit caricaturizing Armenian and dispensational doctrine during there “Evangelical Proof Text” segments and likely turned off a lot of conventional evangelicals who would otherwise have be sympathetic to the more liturgical approach to worship advocated by the LCMS. Most damming as far as I am concerned they allowed John Warwick Montgomery make the most outrageous statements about Islam without comment or challenge gleefully replaying them during there “sound bite of the week” segment. In short Issues Ect represented the best and the worst of the LCMS: intelligent, orthodox and cherishing tradition but also clannish, painfully conservative and I am afraid sometime intolerant. Lets pray that Todd and Jeff land on their feet (I am sure they will they are talented men) and what ever show replaces them keeps the intelligent confessional Lutheran core of the old show but also open itself up more to the best of the larger christen community.
Regards
Steve Rowe
Toronto, Canada
March 20, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I have connections to the LCMS Headquarters in Kirkwood, MO (including a friend that knows Jeff personally) and have been researching this issue. Essentially, based on what I’ve learned, it sounds like President Kieschnick has been trying to have Issue Etc removed from the air for a while. Several people on the board are supporters of Issues Etc and have been in a constant battle attempting to prevent Issues Etc from being removed. The primary reason that I was told is that President Kieschnick is a big supporter of the church growth movement while Rev. Todd has frequently pointed out that focusing on church growth takes the focus off of Christ.
March 22, 2008 at 9:01 am
Mike & Deb,
The Missouri Synod holds to the Augsberg Confession. In this confession they use the Mass for their communion service and hold that the body of Christ is present in the Host. Just like the Roman Catholic Church.
I hope this information helps. I, to, was a little excited about attending the local Lutheran church of the Missouri Synod for Resurrection Day services with my wife. We attend a local Baptist church that is not reformed and will be entertaining the congregation tomorrow.
March 22, 2008 at 1:15 pm
William,
Article X: Sure enough, the body and blood of Christ. My Mom was right. To much Catholic in the Lutheran Church. I will just have to stay with my online brothers and sisters. Thanks
March 22, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[...] Original post by Mike Ratliff [...]
March 26, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I was deeply saddened to find out that Issues etc. had been cancelled. While I did not agree with everything on the show, Most of it I found compliance with. I feel badly for Todd Wilkin, as I think he is a good Christian, and entitled to his opinion like everyone else. No suprise Gerald Keischnick was the one to pull the plug. He is far more a politician than a theologian. One has only to look at his treatment of Wallace Schultz. In my opinion Keischnick has done more damage to our synod than any president since the Seminex days. He may silence the voice, but not the confessional Lutheran theology. We aren’t going away. We will be fighting for decades to come.
Sola Scriptoria,
Steve
April 14, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Unfortunately, I agree with Steve Rowe’s comments. While I enjoyed many of Todd’s interviews, Todd himself at times seemed too interested in criticizing non-Lutherans.