James has left a new comment on your post "Re-Gentrifying Our Lady of Sorrows (Concordia, St....":
"...the synod offerings give almost nothing to the seminaries."
I would wager that 98% of LCMS laymen are not aware of that fact, nor of the fact that seminary graduates have at least $20,000 in student loans (or more if they begin seminary with tens of thousands of dollars in undergraduate student loans).
You would think that seminary support would count as obligatory missions support. Wouldn't it be wonderful if LCMS seminary grads with no calls, but also with no debt, could be used to plant new churches.
Where does the offering plate money go? Does it go to support half-baked, ineffective Church Growth programs? Where is the "Growth" in knowledge of the Lutheran confessions among the laity. I don't get it.
Are the goals outlined in "It's Time!" and in the Koinonia Project mere wishful thinking? Are the people at the highest levels of the LCMS paying attention to insightful reflections such as yours?
