KFUO Wants To Hire A Program Host? Really?

From the there’s no way in Hades that even I could make this up files, this gem was brought to my attention by a friend on Facebook this morning:

KFUO Radio AM Program Host

KFUO Radio Station seeks applicants for a program host for KFUO Radio AM. The program host is responsible for on-air announcing, which may include interviewing, reporting of news, sports, weather, religious and other features as may be required within the broadcast-music or talk formats of KFUO. At the discretion of the director of programming operations, the program host may assist with the programming of KFUO. Responsibilities may include traffic, public service, public affairs, news, features, religious programming, etc. The program host also may assist the development director by personally visiting major donors and prospects. The program host will publicly represent KFUO for the purposes of promotion and development. The program host may assist in the evaluation of KFUO efforts and in the development of long-range plans for the station.

The qualified applicant must be an active member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, with demonstrated evidence of support for the church; have a minimum of 5 years of experience in ministries related to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; a minimum of five years of credible experience in mass-media-related ministries; and must have a bachelor's degree. The qualified applicant must be able to work as part of a team and be willing to travel.

Now why in the world would KFUO needs themselves a program host?

Now, maybe somebody can help me remember something here; wasn’t it just over two years ago that David Strand, Executive Director for the Board for Communication Services, terminated the employment of the host of KFUO’s most popular host for business or programmatic reasons (if I recall properly the reasoning was always being “updated” and modified) and then replacing the show with another that was “different from “Issues, Etc.,”… in that it doesn’t dwell largely on Lutheran apologetics at a sophisticated level. It still takes its Gospel proclamation seriously, but it finds new ways to capture attention.”? I do recall something like this happening in, oh, around March 2008 or sometime close to that…

So, does anybody know of a qualified radio host that could help out KFUO with some Christ centered, cross focused programming… hmm… I do just happen to know a couple of guys that have some experience with Christian talk radio. I wonder if they ever thought about working for a small radio station owned by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod? Hmm, I wonder

Reformation Week 2010 On Issues, Etc.

My favorite talk show for the thinking Christian, Issues, Etc., is celebrating reformation week next week with a series of special programming segments and guests. Do yourself a favor and tune in for what looks like a great week of learning and catechesis by some of the most knowledgeable guests available anywhere. If you are not able to tune in live, go to either the on-demand page or iTunes and download the podcasts like I do (believe you me that Todd, Jeff, and Craig love their on-demand listeners and don’t mind at all if you are not able to tune in when they broadcasting live!)

According to the Issues, Etc. support page it looks like the schedule will be as follows:

Monday, October 18
The Doctrine of Justification with Dr. Carl Fickenscher of Concordia Theological Seminary

Tuesday, October 19
The Means of Grace with Pr. Paul McCain of Concordia Publishing House

Wednesday, October 20
The Theology of the Cross with Dr. Scott Murray of Memorial Lutheran-Houston, TX

Thursday, October 21
Vocation & Two Kingdom Theology with Dr. Steven Hein of the Concordia Institute for Christian Studies

Friday, October 22
Worship with Pr. Will Weedon of St. Paul Lutheran Church-Hamel, IL

Like I said, the most knowledgeable guests available anywhere!

Finally, I would encourage everyone to prayerfully consider supporting Issues, Etc. by become a member of the Reformation Club and ask the members of your individual congregations to support Issues, Etc. as part of your mission or outreach budget.

The Serpent In The Rationalist’s Garden of Eden

Today’s Issues. Etc. soundbite of the day comes from Dr. Alister McGrath of Oxford University commenting on religion being the serpent in the rationalist’s Garden of Eden back on October 1, 2010.

I normally wait a week before posting a soundbite but Dr. McGrath’s observation is brilliant and his characterization of the unbeliever’s frustration with religion seducing away what seem to be otherwise intelligent people mirrored my own thinking perfectly when I was an atheist for close to fifteen years.

The entire interview with Dr. McGrath can be listened to here.

A Study Of The Te Deum With Pastor Wil Weedon On Issues, Etc.

Issues, Etc. had a great segment on Monday with Pastor Wil Weedon of St. Paul Lutheran-Hamel, IL study the Te Deum, one of the Christian church’s most ancient hymns of praise. I hope everyone will take some time out of their day and listen to Pastor Weedon walk through this marvelous hymn that is so strong theologically that Martin Luther thought it should be one of our creeds. Listen here.

The Te Deum is one of my absolute favorite hymns and I enjoy singing it once or twice a month during the Order of Matins on the Sundays. While the Stephan Starke setting of the Te Deum used on the show is not my favorite setting, I couldn’t help but smile and sing along as the verses were being played while on my way home in the car last night.

Here is the text for one the greatest sung confessions on this side of eternity and the other side of eternity as well if Pastor Weedon is correct in his sanctified speculation (and I have no reason to think otherwise!):


Te Deum Laudamus

We praise you O God, we acknowledge you to be the Lord;
all the earth now worships you, the Father everlasting.
To you all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein;
to you cherubim and seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, holy, holy Holy Lord, God of Sabaoth,
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you,
the goodly fellowship of the prophets praise you,
the noble army of martyrs praise you,
the holy Church throughout all the world does acknowledge you:
the Father of an infinite majesty, your adorable, true,
and only Son, also the Holy Spirit, the counselor.
You are the King of glory, O Christ.
You are the everlasting Son of the Father.
When you took upon yourself to deliver man,
you humbled yourself to be born of a virgin.
When you had overcome the sharpness of death,
you opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You sit at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
We therefore pray you help your servants,
whom you have redeemed with your precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with your saints in glory everlasting.

Children’s Hymns Have More Depth Theologically Than Contemporary Worship Songs

Back on June 26, Dr. T. David Gordon, author of Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal was on my favorite radio program Issues, Etc. Today’s Issues, Etc. Today's Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day is from that interview and has Dr. Gordon making the case that there are some children's hymns that have more depth theologically than contemporary worship songs.

The entire interview can be heard here.

Is False Teaching A Violation Of The Second Commandment?

I’m way behind in listening to my podcasts so today’s soundbite of the day comes from a segment that aired two weeks ago to the day on Issues, Etc. I hope the guys at IE don’t mind that it takes some of us a while to listen to all the shows…

Back on May 27 Pastors Henrickson and Woerth discussed on the Pastors’ Roundtable the fact that Dr. Luther’s viewed teaching falsely in the name of God was the most egregious violation of the Second Commandment. Is false teaching a violation of the second commandment? Absolutely!

The second commandment of course is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain” which was given, along with the other commandments, by Yahweh to Moses in Exodus 20:7. The Small Catechism explains the second commandment this way:

We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

The entire segment where Pastors Henrickson and Woerth discuss the second commandment can be heard here. It’s a great segment and well worth your time.

Necessary Roughness Scores With Second Blog Of The Week Pick

Congratulations are in order as Dan over at Necessary Roughness scored his second Issues, Etc.’s Blog of the Week with producer Jeff Schwarz selecting Dan’s post Repentance is the Better Miracle for his weekly pick last Friday.

Truth be told, nearly all of Dan’s posts are worthy of blog of the week and Necessary Roughness has long been a favorite here at POTF. Congrats Dan on the well deserved win.

Are Old Hymns Outdated?

This soundbite is a quite a bit late as my windows based laptop that I had most of my files on had a pretty serious problem (hey, what windows based machine doesn’t haven’t problems…) and had to be carted off to be fixed. Well, the laptop is back and almost all my files are back where they are supposed to be. With that said…

Today’s soundbite is from the same segment that gave us the last soundbite of the day and gives us Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch of Emmaus Lutheran Church-South Bend, IN answering the question “are old hymns outdated and can they still be relevant in today’s church?”

What Makes Good Hymns Good And Bad Hymns Bad?

Today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day comes from Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch of Emmaus Lutheran Church-South Bend, IN talking about what the criteria should be for a core group of congregational hymns back on September 28, 2009's show.

For today’s soundbite Dr. Stuckwisch responds to hosts Todd Wilken’s questions concerning what makes good hymns good and then later what makes bad hymns bad.

It’s Bar Form Not Bar Tunes

Today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day is from an interview on July 17 with Dr. Paul Grime. Dr. Grime is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In today’s soundbite Dr. Grime debunks the myth that Luther brought in bar tunes into the church.

I’ve heard this urban legend being used on more than one occasion to justify the sneaking in of popular culture’s music through the portals of our sanctuaries. The thinking is this; that if we make church sound more like the culture we’ll attract more people and thereby grow Christ’s Church. I’ve even seen an evangelism “suggestion” saying if we just play a Randy Newman or John Fogerty song as “bumper music” the people will feel more comfortable and not scared away by too much of that scary church music.

The fact of the matter is; is that if we make our sacred places look and sound like the culture they cease to be sacred spaces. Christianity has always been countercultural and has never conformed to what was going on outside the walls of our sanctuaries.

Dr. Grime’s comments tearing down the falsehood that Luther would take songs sung in taverns and make hymns out of them by explaining what a bar form is just, well, it’s just music to my ears and is today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day.

Just in case you missed it, here’s my inaugural pick for soundbite of the day.

New Feature: Issues, Etc. Soundbite Of The Day

Today marks the debut of something new here at Putting Out The Fire; the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Day. It’s not that I’m not a huge fan of the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Week, I am a huge fan of the Friday segment. I've even called in and voted myself a few times. It’s just that, every now and then, there is just a portion or two of an interview or segment that catches my attention in a big way that might not make it to the Friday show to be voted on as a possible soundbite of the week.

After I had the idea that it would be fun to do my own soundbite, I emailed the producer Jeff Schwarz and asked for permission (yes, I really asked for permission, no joke!) to have my own audio pick of the day and post it. My request was granted (it only took a day or so; I’m assuming it had to be run by all the big wigs and such) and all I needed to figure out is how to post my pick; whether it be strictly audio or was there going to be a visual component to my project. Today ya’ll get to see the results. It should be noted that this is still a work in progress and from time to time there may be changes as I make improvements.

My inaugural Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day is from none other than the host of the program itself. I picked Pastor Todd Wilken wrapping up an interview back on June 23 with author Pastor Daniel Deutschlander on his The Theology of the Cross book for two reasons; first, Pastor Wilken has never had his own soundbite even though there is at least one listener who has suggested a comment or four for Soundbite of the Week. Second, and more importantly, Pastor Wilken makes an important point about the theology of the cross and the preaching that comes from the pulpit.

Congratulations Pastor Wilken on the high honor of being the inaugural pick of Putting Out The Fire’s Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day!

The Tree Of Life

It’s no secret for anyone who reads my drivel on a regular basis that I love the great old hymns of the historic church. There is really something to be said for hymns that stood the test of time (and with time a good bit of theological scrutiny) and made it into the hymnals which we use today.

I am sometimes wrongly accused, usually by my evangelical brothers in the faith, of not recognizing that hymns are being written and sung today that meet the same standards as the old Greek and Latin hymns I love so much. This is simply an incorrect assumption. There are indeed great hymns being written today and I can say with certainty that more great hymns that confess or proclaim Jesus will be written as long as our Lord tarries.

One of the hymns that I believe will stand the test of time is Pastor Steven Starke’s “The Tree of Life” which was reviewed on Issues, Etc. last week. Pastor Starke’s hymn wonderfully takes us from the Tree of Life to man’s fall (in chapter 3 of Genesis) by Adam’s sin of eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and then to God’s plan of salvation for his disobedient children through another tree; Christ’s cross at Calvary. Just as man’s story starts with Tree of life; Starke ends the hymn with an eschatological look forward to eternity. Starke ends the hymn with us looking to eat once more of the Tree of Life in God’s presence as He intended (Rev 2:7 and 22:2).

This beautiful hymn’s walks us through the biblical story of man’s fall and God’s salvation by Grace in the work and person of Jesus as good as any solid Bible study. This great new hymn can be found on page 561 of the Lutheran Service Book.

Here’s the text of the Tree of Life;

1. The tree of life with ev'ry good
In Eden's holy orchard stood,
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
God let the man and women eat.
Yet in this garden also grew
Another tree, of which they knew;
Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned
Against whose eating God had warned.

2. The stillness of that sacred grove
Was broken, as the serpent strove
With tempting voice Eve to beguile
And Adam too by sin defile.
O day of sadness when the breath
Of fear and darkness, doubt and death,
Its awful poison first displayed
Within the world so newly made.

3. What mercy God showed to our race,
A plan of rescue by His grace:
In sending One from woman's seed,
The One to fill our greatest need--
For on tree uplifted high
His only Son for sin would die,
Would drink the cup of scorn and dread
To crush the ancient serpent's head!

4. Now from that tree of Jesus' shame
Flows life eternal in His name;
For all who trust and will believe,
Salvation's living fruit receive.
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
The Lord invites the world to eat,
To find within this cross of wood
The tree of life with ev'ry good.

And here is the segment of Issues, Etc. with Pastor Steven Starke discussing the same:

CAnniversary Day 6

Today’s look back at the cancelation and resurrection of Issues, Etc. on Scott Diekmann’s blog Stand Firm concludes with a guest post by the host of the program himself, Pastor Todd Wilken. Pr. Wilken’s piece is a reminder that we should always look to Christ even if things appear to be not going the way we would like. The guy has class, plain and simple. I’m pretty sure if I was terminated during Holy Week for what was an ever changing list of reasons spewed out by bureaucrats, public relations officers, and lawyers, I would not be so polite with my verbiage as Pr. Wilken.

Scott also has a piece titled The Craig Chronicles which features Craig Fichtinger who is the board operator at Lutheran Public Radio. Craig armed with an MBA (and once again behind the scenes) gets to demonstrate his pecuniary talents. It should also be noted that he has also been known to once or twice to display his superior geographical acumen on the air if the people in booth ever forget how many continents there are.

Be sure to do yourself a favor and stop by for a visit at Stand Firm and say howdy to all the folks who bring us the best Christ-centered, Cross-focused radio program out there.

CAnniversary Day 4

Just a quick reminder that Scott Diekmann over Stand Firm is dedicating the entire week to the anniversary of the cancellation of Issues, Etc. one year ago today along with it’s subsequent resurrection on Pirate Christian Radio.

Today’s post is written by guest blogger Pastor Bill Cwirla who writes about the beasts of human institutions. A few days ago the guest post was written by the always edifying Dr. Rod Rosenbladt who the Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Apologetics at Concordia University in Irvine.

Please take a minute or two and visit Stand Firm, you’ll be glad you did!

CAnniversary Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow starts not only a look back at the infamous cancelation of Issues, Etc. during Holy Week one year ago but the show’s much heralded resurrection as well over at Scott Diekmann’s blog Stand Firm. For those of you unfamiliar with Scott, he is one of the smartest lay apologists out there that I know who also runs Sound Witness; an apologetics website dealing with everything from the emergent church, Jehovahs Witnesses, pop culture evangelicalism, and a variety of theological issues.

For the entire week of the anniversary of the cancellation of the "original" Issues, Etc. show Scott has invited guest bloggers to the always edifying Stand Firm blog to offer their insights regarding the cancellation of the show and it’s re-emergence. The week will be filled with their thoughts, plus a variety of audio and visual treats.

Remember, next week is indeed a celebration as we could have never had the resurrection of the program without it first being sacrificed for whatever reason that has been cleared by the appropriate lawyers, boards, and public relations officers.

Do yourself a favor and stop by for a visit and say howdy to all the folks contributing pieces for the CAnniversary week celebration!

This Ain’t Your Grandfather’s Issues, Etc.

I was shocked and dismayed to hear Pastor Todd Wilken, the host of Issues, Etc., support restructuring on yesterday’s show. At about the eighteen minute mark of Friday’s Soundbite of the Week segment Pr. Wilken begins a passive aggressive rant where he proposes a new regime, a one man rule, governed by him and him alone as he now feels that Craig and Jeff have entirely too much say.

This is almost too much to bear. We the listeners loved the old show precisely because it lacked the bylaws and regulations that would have only prevented the proclamation of a clear Gospel message in today’s postmodern world by the tyrannical oversight of bureaucrats. When the show was resurrected, I for one, thought that the team who brought the very best Christ centered, cross focused programming would continue with a system that worked.

What we need to do now is to continuously pray for Pr. Wilken that he has not been turned to the dark side or been replaced by a life model decoy (for those of you not in the “know” a LMD is a programmable automaton which may be used to replace an individual without the knowledge of those around him or her, usually for nefarious purposes) while undergoing “reconditioning” at some undisclosed international center.

These are fearful times my friends, fearful times.

Note: I'll post the audio segment if and when it becomes available.

Update: An old friend of mine was able to email me the uncensored, unedited, and I would argue incriminating MP3 of what we both agree is “Wilken’s insane rant” on Saturday but I wasn’t able to upload the thing until this morning. I still have no idea how to embed an MP3 so I had to figure out how to put a video together. I apologize for the quality of the video but it was the best I could do on short notice folks.

Today’s Quote Of The Day

Today’s quote of the day comes from the End the Issues, Etc. Trademark Dispute petition. Prof. Dr John Warwick Montgomery, Esq., one of the smartest people on the planet, includes his name to the growing list of signatures and adds this comment;

I am thoroughly ashamed of the central administration of my church body for its actions in this matter. Orthodoxy of doctrine is one thing; ordinary decent treatment of others is another. Can you not exhibit a modicum of legal and ethical integrity in your relationship with Issues, Etc.--particularly after treating Wilken and Schwarz so shabbily in discharging them?

That my friends, is today’s quote of the day.

Now, if you haven't signed the petition yourself please take a minute and add your voice to those who are calling for a complete and satisfactory resolution for the Issues, Etc. team.

Note: When signing the petition, it asks you to donate to iPetitions. There is no need to donate to register your vote. If you don’t want to contribute, I didn't, just hit your back button or close the page. Your signature has already been recorded at that point.

Please Sign the New Issues, Etc. Trademark Petition

The Brothers of John the Steadfast have put up a petition to electronically sign regarding the threatened lawsuit by LCMS, Inc. against Issues, Etc and it's Host Todd Wilken and Producer Jeff Schwarz. The petition, written by one of the best lay apologists out there; Scott Diekmann of the blog "Stand Firm", calls for Synod, Inc. to stop their stupidity in pursuing legal action against Issues, Etc. and asks that they drop their challenge to the trademark of the radio program.

You can find the petition linked from this page at the Brother's of John the Steadfast website, or from this page at the blog, Stand Firm.

Thank you for taking time to read the petition and in signing it.

The Bunker Reopens Amid Synodical Threats

Anticipating more LCMess hijinks, Pastor William Cwirla has fired up the old bunker; Blogosphere Underground again. In the first post since he went for some serious bottom time, Pr. Cwirla tackles the LCMS’s most recent attempts to silence and take away the livelihood of Rev. Todd Wilken and Mr. Jeff Schwarz.

Be sure to pay Blogosphere Underground and Pr. Cwirla a visit.

How Many Lawyers Does It Take To Not Write A Threatening Letter?

Stop me if you heard this one before… How many lawyers does it take to write an intimidating letter that threatens taking legal action without appearing threatening so their client can say that they never really meant to say they were threatening anybody but rather they would only be taking legal action if recommended by previously mentioned legal council?

The always awesome Mollie Z. Hemingway reports over at Brothers of John the Steadfast that LCMS, Inc. is using three full partners and one associate, directed by LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick, to continue the Issues, Etc. assault in a post titled Money, money, money which asks the question how much do three partners and an associate cost.

For what it’s worth, according to the Laffey Matrix the recommended rates for an attorney with 11-19 years experience are $375 per hour. I think it’d be fair to say that full partners would have at least that much experience and as the Laffey Matrix is reported be widely used to determine fees; it be reasonable to expect the figure to be in the right ballpark.

Mollie also is reporting, that’s what she does folks; she’s a reporter, that LCMS, Inc. is stating, via cut and paste mass email, that they haven’t threatened to take legal action against anybody in her post titled To threaten or not to threaten. From the reported email:

“The LCMS has not filed any legal action against Rev. Wilken or Mr. Schwarz. Further, contrary to what you may have heard, nor has the LCMS threatened to sue them. Apparently, Rev. Wilken has been telling people that the LCMS has threatened to sue him by referring to a letter our attorney wrote to his attorney encouraging them to negotiate in good faith. Rev. Wilken has taken part of the letter out of context and mischaracterized it as a threat by the LCMS.”

So is Pastor Wilken not being truthful or is he? From the letter that LCMS, Inc. sent to Wilken and Schwarz:

“Unless your client is willing to negotiate in good faith to finalize a mutually acceptable agreement in the near future, along the lines that were discussed last summer, we will be left with no alternative but to recommend that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod prosecute the opposition against Madsen’s application and take action against your clients to enforce its rights to the trademark.”

I guess that recommending “taking action” against Wilken and Schwarz if they don’t give up their first and seventh amendment rights just to sit down and begin the discussion to end this ridiculousness shouldn’t be considered a threat. Really? Yeah, and is doesn’t mean is either…

Haven’t we seen this picture show before?