Getting 'with the program'
There was a very interesting piece in MinnPost today about former Attorney General Mike Hatch and his successor Lori Swanson. The fine details of the story would be interesting only to Minnesota people, I think, but there is another issue that might be of interest to readers of Norman's Demesne.
The idea is that within the AG's office, Mike Hatch had a 'program', his own program, his own career. If you are one of Mike's people you got advances and promotions. If you were an ordinary attorney who was interested in doing the business of the State of Minnesota you wouldn't get far because you didn't 'get with the program.' Those who weren't with Mike Hatch's program were pushed off the boat.
I've recently been reading the two volume set of Ian Kershaw's biography of Adolf Hitler. In the early days of his political career Hitler's program was to promote rugged Aryanism and anti-Semitism. Advancement within the movement was directly related to how fiercely one was getting along 'with the program.' The program was Hitlerism, Naziism.
In recent ELS church history, [and this is quite a jump], a pastor or professor had to 'get with the program.' This meant that one had to follow the leader no matter what. The leader determined what was good for the Synod because of his own experience. His followers associated the good of the Synod with the good of the program. Patronage was denied to those who were not with 'the program' and a number of good men were forced out of the ELS.
My late father, B.W. Teigen, wrote a book which the synodical leadership felt was not 'with the program' and some persons who read his book were branded as 'Teigen-ites'. One didn't have to be a member of the family to become a Teigenite. Some persons were thrown overboard and some of these arbitrary decisions were justified by presidential investigating committees.
The anti-Teigenites in the ELS are slowly slipping away and their influence is waning. One restored Teigen-ite, a relative, is actually going to be giving the main address at the upcoming ELS Synod Convention.
There is a 'get with the program' situation in the Missouri Synod, too, according to many sources. The 'program' is the brain-child of the incumbent President who has fired a number of qualified people. These people were qualified to serve the church but were not with the President's program and had to go. They were, to use another common expression, 'thrown under the bus.'
What can be done about this? Misuse of power can happen in churches, too, and it is up to the laypeople to stay on top of things.
