Congregations Matter extends its congratulations to President Harrison on his victory in last week’s Synod presidential election. We join the church in praying for God’s richest blessings upon him as he carries out his important responsibilities over the next three years. He must work to collaborate with the WHOLE Synod to provide more transparent, fiscally responsible, and trustworthy leadership.
President Harrison, Secretary Sias and the LCMS Board of Directors (BOD) shamefully hid from Synod their true intentions regarding Selma. Newly shared documents and open records from Synod BOD minutes, convention records and the CCM opinions reveal their double-dealing. Selma never had a chance. Could this happen to a Concordia near you?
If you like the way our Synod is going, thank the United List. United List Candidates are in control. Now in 84% of LCMS elected positions, United List candidates almost totally control the presidium, boards and regents of our Synod. Who creates “The United List”? Just read list of constituent groups. Think about how Synod is going. Ask yourself, “Is their influence good for my congregation?”
There is deep disappointment throughout our Synod at the closure of our only historically black college, Concordia College, Selma, AL. It is especially sad recalling that recently-elected COP Chairman, David Maier, led a team preventing the closure of Ann Arbor just nine years ago. The difference? Leadership.
Many LCMS people have heard President Harrison’s version of the closure of Selma: he’s sorry, but it’s everyone else’s fault. A few facts line up with his story. But what is the fully true story of Selma’s closure? Those who know are starting to speak up.
During his speech to the Southern District Convention on March 9, Synod’s current President rejected any and all personal responsibility for the closure of Concordia College Alabama. In 45 minutes of well-presented Q & A, (Matt IS an engaging, quick-witted speaker after all), Harrison also admitted a ballooning internal debt, pitted the needs of urban and rural congregations against those of suburban Christians, and proposed a plan of planting successful churches in zip codes “amenable to the LCMS” in order to fund struggling ministries. Not bad for a Friday morning in March. The Blame Game Continues According to Matthew C. Harrison, everyone but himself is to blame for the closure of Selma. Listen for yourself to his speech by clicking on this link: http://southernlcms.org/75th-convention-livestream-its-all-about-jesus/ Here is a Harrison quote from the 1:11:15 to 1:11:35 marks on the live stream link shown above: “I stood throughout with Selma. I fought for
The Selma Times-Journal broke the story on February 6: Unless investors are found immediately for Concordia, Selma, the school will close. Click here to read the full story. That’s not what happened with Concordia, Ann Arbor, when that school was in distress. Heroic efforts were made by Michigan District President David Maier, the Concordia University System Board and other Synod leadership to find a solution. If Selma is in desperate need of an investor, why isn’t the LCMS investing? It seems that Concordia College, Selma, is being left by our leadership to go bankrupt. Is that how Synod under President Harrison and the United List majority on the Concordia University System Board make decisions now about the future of our Concordia’s? No vote of a convention. No information shared. Congregations are left in the dark. Is Synod’s leadership so secretive now we must read a local newspaper to find out
