More information is posted here.
Everyone in the LCMS is peddling life insurance, but from only one company - Thrivent.
In return for the monopoly granted to Thrivent Insurance (Appleton, WI) for promoting its products and gaining the membership lists of congregations, Thrivent gives Missouri $50 to 60 million a year.
That makes the synod, the districts, the congregations and schools little business centers for Thrivent. The agents get membership lists from the pastors. Failing that, they get the lists from one of them members.
The members and pastors think they are best off giving their insurance money and investments to Thrivent, because they are getting all that loot back again in grants.
The same can be said for WELS. I am not sure how deep the Little Sect is.
Thrivent takes but does not give back so well. Thrivent gives money to the Salvation Army, which is another denomination, not just a charity.
Thrivent has an enormous ongoing grant to Habitat for Humanity, over $100 million. So much for "our" insurance company!
The multi-religion stained glass window (pretty ugly, eh?) is another Thrivent project.
Best of all - Thrivent channels a lot of money to ELCA. If Missouri gets $50 to 60 million, how much more does ELCA get. The ELCA is about twice as big as Missouri.
If the branch system works the way it did under AAL, the Syn Conference is completely enmeshed in ELCA at the local level, just as it is at the national level.
Thrivent likes to get everyone together at once, at all levels. Wave a $100 bill in front of conservative Lutherans and they are suddenly more ecumenical than Ghandi, more evangelical than Jesus.
Thrivent has united the Big Four already, helping them collapse toward one another. Make that Big Five, since the CLC has some participation too (on the sly).
