This week, Ad Crucem News invited subscribers to participate in a voluntary reader survey about the role of church journalism in reporting and commenting on news affecting the church in the wake of the arrest of Rev.
On this, the one-year anniversary of the launch of Truth & Light Media, we appreciate your non-polemical (tic) shout out. We believe that your comments are the first time we have witnessed “liberals” being associated with Fox News while degrading the largest population of the LCMS (baby boomers). Heads are likely exploding all around the universe at this association!
To be clear, we model our web site after the Drudge Report, with 99+% of all content being reposts from other public domain sources. Unlike most sources cited in your “non-polemical” (again, tic) comments, we do not profess to tell people HOW to think, but provide them with information and perspectives so they can use the minds with which God gifted them to critically consider that content and draw their own conclusions about what is happening in the LCMS.
Finally, in the spirit of transparency and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about Truth & Light Media (and to not be falsely characterized by a biased third party), we are pleased to provide our Mission Statement with the invitation for anyone to drop by our web site, or our recently launched Substack, any time to read more comprehensively about what is going on across our church body.
Mission Statement:
Truth & Light Media exists to aggregate, curate, and publish a breadth of public domain and original news and perspectives gathered from across our church body and the Christian Church at-large, particularly those stories that are under- or completely unreported by formal Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod channels. We work to help educate, represent, and give voice to all the people in the pews and the congregations of the LCMS. In so doing, we desire to help foster loving, honest, transparent, respectful, and robust conversations within the LCMS that lead to the best decisions for our congregations and schools, our districts, and our national church body, all for the sake of the Gospel and The Great Commission.
The difference between T&L and Drudge Report is that everyone knew Matt Drudge was the founder and author. Since he sold it, we have no idea who operates it, but we do know that the audience and traffic have collapsed because the headline writing is terrible.
T&L has gone to great lengths to be a dark-money political operation. If your mission statement were actually true and believed, you would not be hiding your identity. Instead, you would be proud of placing the work under your name.
As to the FN Boomerism, the correspondence is uncanny, I can assure you. The remaining difference is that FN is not publicly trans sympathetic and is giddy for Trump.
As to the "non-polemical", we never said we will never be polemical again, but used when appropriate.
The fixation on the "who" (publisher) rather than the "what" (content) is a fundamental problem with humans, and deflects and distracts from dealing with reality. Shooting the messenger does not make the message invalid. +++
I didn't participate in your survey not because I didn't want to, but because I found the questions and their answers to be leading and biased. Objective surveys are notoriously difficult to do.
A question I would pose is whether it is wise to attach a publication such as this with your business. Ad Crucem provides wonderful ecclesiastical arts to the greater Christian community. Your cards for feast days, baptisms, funerals, and other occasions are without peer. I have purchased banners, christmons, cards, etc. from you. You have no competition even remotely close to what you.
Here's my concern: I love Penzey's Spices but their owner, who is kind of the black sheep of the Penzey's clan, has gone off the political rails and makes Penzey's spices rather odious for people who do not align with his politics which he placards ad nauseam in email, FB posts, and his web site. While I'm no fan of boycotts and could not care less about his political opinions, the constant barrage has caused me to take my business elsewhere.
I speak from deep personal experience when I say that taking a critical stand against the church body comes with a certain degree of risk. Do you want to risk your business for the sake of stirring up the church's muck and mire?
Pastor, we have never sold anything for the purpose of making money. For twelve years, every cent we have earned has been reinvested into improving Ad Crucem and the quality of our products.
This has never been about selling trinkets that will pass away with this age; it is about serving eternal souls. If standing for purity of doctrine within our synod results in no one purchasing from us again, then so be it. Our mission remains unchanged.
That said, we were deeply troubled by the veiled threats we received last week. This is not how we operate, nor how we believe Christian brothers and sisters should treat one another. Additionally, the current barriers to entry within LCMS, Inc. (including restrictions on advertising in its publications and a nonprofit entity retaining exclusive copyrights for resources that should be in the public domain) create an uneven and unjust environment.
I was just going to comment that Pastor Cwirla’s comment sounds a lot like a temptation and a challenge for Ad Crucem to abandon its mission. To put the very best construction on it, it was only brotherly concern, but it sure sounds very much like a temptation and a challenge to me. I would not be surprised if Ad Crucem receives not only veiled threats, but all kinds of tempting offers and ideas from all sides to try to get you to abandon your mission, because it is a noble mission, in my opinion. God bless you for the courage and resolve you demonstrate to stand by your principles based on Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions.
Wanita - Just so readers of this thread are clear, you and I have a long history, and I've been a supporter of Ad Crucem, the ecclesiastical arts company, since its inception. I love you guys and your work and will continue to support you.
My concern was not intended as some "veiled threat." I have absolutely no synodical authority and being emeritus, no real voice in the synod. I speak from years of experience with the darker corners of the synod. I would hate to see Ad Crucem - the ecclesiastical arts company - get sucked into synodical quicksand. Trust me, I know.
As for Ad Crucem News, the jury is still out in my mind on that. I'm not sure that self-appointed watchdog and whistleblower is really a "vocation," so much as it is a matter of circumstance. Even Luther didn't see "reformer" as a vocation, though others forced it on him. I am committed as you are to openness, honesty, and confessional integrity in our church body. I devoted thirty years in the parish defending confessional orthodoxy and practice. I still adhere to those principles, write and lecture where invited, and support any endeavor that contributes to the well being of Christ's church and the edification of His people.
I don't think we need another version of "Christian News." While that publication did serve to expose some wrongs in our synod, it also did a lot of damage to peoples' lives and reputations, and in the end, did more harm than good, in my estimation.
Please don't interpret honest questions, concerns, and constructive criticism as "temptations or challenges" for you to abandon whatever mission you may have charted. Confessionalism is not about conformity to a party line or an exercise in ecclesiastical "group think." It is a shared commitment to the catholic faith and the centrality of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for the justification of the sinner.
Please take to heart what I am saying. I am speaking out of love for Christ and for His holy church, of whom we are all members in one Body. Peace.
Thanks Pastor. I didn’t see you post as a threat, I consider you a friend. It was interactions last week to which I was referring.
Tim started his career as a journalist 30 years ago. This is his wheelhouse, he speaks to the next generation of leaders. We have a huge interaction with pastors and lay folk across the synod. They have voiced their concerns to us for more than a decade. If these concerns had been addressed over the years, we would not be writing about them. AdC is a good vehicle for those concerns. We are completely independent, and we are fair. We give praise where praise is due, caution where caution is due. I hope you will warm up to the reporting.
As a layman myself, if you really do have a good faith concern about "synodical quicksand", I therefore welcome any good faith efforts to shine a line on the pits of quicksand and advise on or act in ways to ameliorate these pits or make them fully solid again.
There are either problems that ought not remain unaddressed, or there are not problems. Hopefully wise men can learn lessons of prudence from Christian News: what was helpful, what was not.
But "Don't" or "Stop" seem not to be proper lessons.
Private advisement of caution? That's anyone's prerogative.
But what to do?
AdC News has started to do something. The normal response for any officer who hears about a problem for the first time (not that the problem itself is new) is basic verification of the claim followed by standard action to resolve the problem, via self action, reports upward, and commands downward.
Or is there disagreement about the existence of particular problems? Or is official standard action ultimately keyed to something other than truth, light, & right?
Generally, officers and non-officers alike do not react so dramatically to reports of a leaky pipe in the storage room. Everyone knows it's got to be addressed. There is standard action to resolve a leaky pipe.
Nor does anyone, generally, take it personally when someone raises questions of routine pipe inspections, inventory, building codes, maintenance budgets, room usage guidelines, etc. etc.
I can assume your comments come from the concerns you’ve expressed, but I also disagree with several of your points.
Your description of Ad Crucem’s role in reporting as that of “self-appointed whistleblower” is incorrect. Some of the information they report is public information, some might be from different whistleblowers, at different times, as a matter of circumstance, when those circumstances arise, just as you posited. Journalists do exercise a watchdog type of function, but Ad Crucem is not a “self-appointed watchdog.” A significant number of churchgoers have expressed they benefit from Ad Crucem’s service. “Lutherans were the first to use ‘vocation’ to refer also to secular offices and occupations. . . every legitimate kind of work or social function is a distinct ‘calling’ from God, requiring unique God-given gifts, skills, and talents.” (Veith, “Spirituality Of the Cross” 77) The Lord also calls all of His Church to watch over each other, and from time to time, that will involve some conflict, which may be uncomfortable, but that is a far cry from it being unnecessary.
Just because Luther didn’t categorize “reformer” as a vocation doesn’t mean he didn’t spend a large part of his life in that role; he made an awful lot of sacrifices to work for reforms because it was important work. Luther didn’t create the problems that needed to be addressed, but he understood they needed to be addressed, and that God, through people, was putting him in a position to serve in that role. As you know, Ad Crucem has never set themselves up to be the second coming of the Reformer, they are in a good position to report and help with some of the transparency that is needed in the LCMS in its present condition.
Your assertion that this forum is “an exercise in ecclesiastical ‘group think’” comes across as an insult, which you may or may not realize? I wonder if you would use the same words to describe all the blog and social media discussions in which you’ve ever participated, where you have played a leading role in very exuberant, extended threads of ecclesiastical “group think?”
Regarding your comment about Christian News, whatever your judgment about that particular publication, it’s not fair to assume Ad Crucem will be another Christian News. Good reporting is good for the church, so I think discouraging the service provided by good reporters is not how the church is best served.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. But please don’t put assertions into my mouth. I did not say that this newsletter was an exercise in ecclesiastical group think. I was commenting on the nature of confessionalism and the mistaken notion that unity means conformity. My point was that confessionalism leaves necessary space for disagreement and discussion. No insults were intended. Always read carefully before commenting; it makes for better discourse.
As for my personal social media and blog activities, not to mention my former days in podcasting (Bill&Ted excepted here; that’s about film), I have many regrets and much for which to repent. I could easily justify myself by saying I believe my cause was just, but my conscience tells me otherwise. When I write as I did here, I am writing out of long and sometimes bitter experience. So to answer your question, yes, much of my “exuberance” has been devoted to getting people to see things “my way,” tearing down instead of building up, an ego trip rather than a pilgrimage of humility in obedience to Christ. I would spare those I love from doing the same thing.
I did read your comment carefully, and your reply seems to both deny and admit my understanding of the words you wrote, but I’m not going to, and have no need to argue with you about that, because I certainly accept what you say when you say that you mean “ confessionalism leaves necessary space for disagreement and discussion.“ I agree with that statement, to a point, acknowledging that some issues have been settled by the church, and so are not up for discussion, like recent incidents in the LCMS involving some homosexuality issues, for example, but thus far, discussions on this site have been fairly within the necessary space for disagreement and discussion.
We are all going to make mistakes and have misunderstandings, and have to clarify in most digital discussions, but that is also true in face-to-face discussions. Humility is commendable, and also only my opinion, but I have witnessed maybe not all but a lot of your public commenting over the last 17 years or so, and overall, I don’t think you should be too hard on yourself. You offered all kinds of very valuable input which, in my opinion, helped a lot of people, and even though I probably disagree with some things you have said at various times we are able to apologize when we are careful, but still get something wrong, and I’m sure you have done that too. However, overall, in my judgment, the church is much better for most of those exchanges. It would be a shame if there had been a blackout without any of it ever happening. That would’ve been much worse for the church than the open expressions and discussions that took place, in my opinion.
No survey satisfies every respondent. This survey did not lead bound wills up the garden path to a predetermined outcome.
WRT politics and business. This is a common refrain from institutional representatives. The implied messaging is very clear: folks, you are facing a boycott if you keep up with being critical of the church. It is the soft version of, "Hey, nice business ya got there. Would be a pity if sometin' happened to it."
CPH holds religious, political, and cultural positions that are expressed in its publications and via the authors it publishes. LCMS, Inc. has religious, political, and cultural positions by virtue of what it says and doesn't say, and the things it funds and does not fund. LCMS Foundation has significantly invested offering plate proceeds and gifts in "Sin Stocks" (gambling, alcohol, marijuana and drugs, pornography, transgender medicine, etc.) through market-wide ETFs in its portfolio. A majority of S&P 500 companies have a strong affinity for degeneracy.
I have never heard a Synodocrat worrying about the viability of our entities because they have published or supported false doctrine, or invested in vice.
Somehow, this is always treated as a major issue for Ad Crucem, as if we, the 12-year founder-owners of the business, are incapable of recognizing that some customers will dislike what we say and refuse to buy our products. That has always been the case, even before we ever started AdC News. AdC News is heavily aligned with the customer base that buys our products. We have had maybe 4 ELCA customers in total, many well after AdC News began. No LCMS mega-churches have purchased from us, but Latin Mass Catholics and conservative Presbyterians do. That speaks to some realities.
We never started the business expecting a vast market or rights to the captive base CPH is locked into. We launched into a declining customer base with apparently faster declining discretionary spending power. We had to fight Synod, Inc. at every stage because gatekeepers and walls were in place to keep us (and everyone like us) out. It was only when we threatened a Federal Trade Commission investigation in late 2022 that certain things changed.
The only indirect institutional support we have received is from ONM, which underwrote Rev. Dr. Boyle's wonderful Spanish Postil, a beautiful book to hold in your hands, and surely a treasure to the pastors who will use it. The corporation emphasizes the importance and urgency of its Spanish-language mission. Do you know how many institutional bulk orders have been placed for this unique and vital preaching aide? Zero.
President Harrison's AdC Christmas Cards were provided at cost; not even a margin for the work we put in for design etc.
So, thank you for your concern. However, we have just completed a record January on the business side in terms of revenue and revenue per product, so it appears the response to the news is the opposite of what you feared.
Retail customers love honesty and integrity, and we appreciate their trust.
You need to include Luther Quest (http://www.lutherquest.org) which has had archived active discussions going back to 1999, and has covered (often repeatedly) Lutheran doctrine and theological issues, LCMS historical and contemporary events, and synodical leadership. If it's important for Lutherans, it has probably has been discussed on Luther Quest.
Steadfast was a good news resource whenever you wanted to see reports of the heavy-handedness of LCMS officials engaging in church growth projects. Steadfast Lutherans had a reputation for identifying problems correctly, but they rarely ever proposed any solutions - especially of the structural kind.
Right after the Harrison administration took over, many long-time Steadfast commentors, including the late Paul McCain, were suddenly banned from commenting without warning. I was one of them! And soon after that, the comments section on the entire website was purged. Articles on that webpage became forgettable, as they began to assume a soft, harmless tone. Coincidence? That website has been irrelevant for the past 15 years.
ALPB
If you enjoy watching retired ELCA pastors and their "woke" laymen allies argue "woke and liberal" theological causes with retired LCMS pastors, have at it! If you want to see a fight, you won't be disappointed. The Seminex battles have been won by the LCMS "confessionals", so ALPB is irrelevant.
Facebook
For fun, feel free to join the CLF group in Facebook and then start critiquing pop-Evangelical theology sometime. I dare you. You won't do that again!
Even if you do happen to get a productive conversation topic going for a week and engage with hundreds of comments, your Facebook post will slowly age and fade away into the archives......never to be seen again.
LCMS ministries
LCMS pastors are asking the laymen: "Pop-Evangelicalism? What pop-Evangelicalism? Hey - Look! Squirrel - I mean: Look at those five or six noisy Christian nationalist guys playing brave keyboard warrior in mom's basement! That's the threat to Lutheran churches. Let's get 'em!"
Looking at this report of your survey results as a communication professional, it reads like a self-serving marketing piece. Surveys are ALWAYS and ONLY marketing. Period. It is a well known fact of marketing communications.
There were considerable biases that call for caution and discernment when looking at the report of the findings of this AI online survey. As a researcher, it was clear the survey questions were worded to lead to pre-determined conclusions; the responders were self-selected; and the response rate (18%) and sample size were both sub-optimal. All of this detracts from the credibility of findings. In research, a response rate of at least 80% is needed for reliability (Research Gate). In journal publications at least 60% response rates are expected, and over 80% is expected (NIH). For online marketing surveys, KANTAR and SurveyMonkey, for example, say that above 30% is considered excellent.
The most insightful information would be obtained from LCMS members who have cancelled their subscriptions to Ad Crucem and those who didn't respond to the survey. The problems identified by those who "walked with their feet" are where the truth is more likely to be found.
It is especially disingenuous to presume this survey speaks for or reflects LCMS members. There are 1.67 million baptized members of LCMS, according to the latest published LCMS report (1,674,315). Not only do we not know how many survey respondents were even members of LCMS, the subscribers to this substack (2570) fail to represent even one percent of members -- only 0.15% of LCMS members. Those who responded to the survey --if they were all LCMS members --represent only 0.028% of LCMS members.
Journalists are professionally called to report the facts accurately and using the most credible and verified sources. They are not unelected arbiters of morality or spokespersons or ringleaders of political agendas.
Do I value the opinions of reporters and unidentified vested interests -- who are not pastors with seminary training and experience -- when it comes to information on theological questions about my church? No. Christ commands us to be discerning, question everything, and follow the truth.
I am very thankful for your work, which I have just discovered. Is there any way that I can become a paid subscriber or make a contribution to the cause? I did not see a button to change from an unpaid to a paid subscription.
I didn’t take the survey because I didn’t have an account until a few days ago. But I’ve been following along with the News operation since it started and have been so pleased with it that I made this Substack account to follow along during Lent.
I’m also a repeat customer to Ad Crucem and will continue to be so. Thank you for all you do.
I just found the Wartburg Watch, which used some of your reporting in their own piece. Not strictly LCMS though, I suppose. I thought their coverage was solid:
Also, could you give the BHoP episode number and timestamp of the excerpt you reference in the article? The provided link just sends me to iTunes to the current episode of BHoP I'm listening to. Kindest regards.
On this, the one-year anniversary of the launch of Truth & Light Media, we appreciate your non-polemical (tic) shout out. We believe that your comments are the first time we have witnessed “liberals” being associated with Fox News while degrading the largest population of the LCMS (baby boomers). Heads are likely exploding all around the universe at this association!
To be clear, we model our web site after the Drudge Report, with 99+% of all content being reposts from other public domain sources. Unlike most sources cited in your “non-polemical” (again, tic) comments, we do not profess to tell people HOW to think, but provide them with information and perspectives so they can use the minds with which God gifted them to critically consider that content and draw their own conclusions about what is happening in the LCMS.
Finally, in the spirit of transparency and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about Truth & Light Media (and to not be falsely characterized by a biased third party), we are pleased to provide our Mission Statement with the invitation for anyone to drop by our web site, or our recently launched Substack, any time to read more comprehensively about what is going on across our church body.
Mission Statement:
Truth & Light Media exists to aggregate, curate, and publish a breadth of public domain and original news and perspectives gathered from across our church body and the Christian Church at-large, particularly those stories that are under- or completely unreported by formal Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod channels. We work to help educate, represent, and give voice to all the people in the pews and the congregations of the LCMS. In so doing, we desire to help foster loving, honest, transparent, respectful, and robust conversations within the LCMS that lead to the best decisions for our congregations and schools, our districts, and our national church body, all for the sake of the Gospel and The Great Commission.
Peace. +++
The difference between T&L and Drudge Report is that everyone knew Matt Drudge was the founder and author. Since he sold it, we have no idea who operates it, but we do know that the audience and traffic have collapsed because the headline writing is terrible.
T&L has gone to great lengths to be a dark-money political operation. If your mission statement were actually true and believed, you would not be hiding your identity. Instead, you would be proud of placing the work under your name.
As to the FN Boomerism, the correspondence is uncanny, I can assure you. The remaining difference is that FN is not publicly trans sympathetic and is giddy for Trump.
As to the "non-polemical", we never said we will never be polemical again, but used when appropriate.
The fixation on the "who" (publisher) rather than the "what" (content) is a fundamental problem with humans, and deflects and distracts from dealing with reality. Shooting the messenger does not make the message invalid. +++
That is the worst cope! I hope your pastor is wearing a burkha during the Divine Service.
Come on, stand up and show yourselves. You guys are not even close to having the right to claim the pseudonym Publius.
Why would you hope that? Seems odd.
It would make the pastor anonymous. lol
What does "(tic)" mean? Are you trying to make some kind of wordplay on "sic"?
Interesting, excellent post, and I am impressed with the niche summaries; it is helpful to have them, thank you.
I didn't participate in your survey not because I didn't want to, but because I found the questions and their answers to be leading and biased. Objective surveys are notoriously difficult to do.
A question I would pose is whether it is wise to attach a publication such as this with your business. Ad Crucem provides wonderful ecclesiastical arts to the greater Christian community. Your cards for feast days, baptisms, funerals, and other occasions are without peer. I have purchased banners, christmons, cards, etc. from you. You have no competition even remotely close to what you.
Here's my concern: I love Penzey's Spices but their owner, who is kind of the black sheep of the Penzey's clan, has gone off the political rails and makes Penzey's spices rather odious for people who do not align with his politics which he placards ad nauseam in email, FB posts, and his web site. While I'm no fan of boycotts and could not care less about his political opinions, the constant barrage has caused me to take my business elsewhere.
I speak from deep personal experience when I say that taking a critical stand against the church body comes with a certain degree of risk. Do you want to risk your business for the sake of stirring up the church's muck and mire?
Pastor, we have never sold anything for the purpose of making money. For twelve years, every cent we have earned has been reinvested into improving Ad Crucem and the quality of our products.
This has never been about selling trinkets that will pass away with this age; it is about serving eternal souls. If standing for purity of doctrine within our synod results in no one purchasing from us again, then so be it. Our mission remains unchanged.
That said, we were deeply troubled by the veiled threats we received last week. This is not how we operate, nor how we believe Christian brothers and sisters should treat one another. Additionally, the current barriers to entry within LCMS, Inc. (including restrictions on advertising in its publications and a nonprofit entity retaining exclusive copyrights for resources that should be in the public domain) create an uneven and unjust environment.
I was just going to comment that Pastor Cwirla’s comment sounds a lot like a temptation and a challenge for Ad Crucem to abandon its mission. To put the very best construction on it, it was only brotherly concern, but it sure sounds very much like a temptation and a challenge to me. I would not be surprised if Ad Crucem receives not only veiled threats, but all kinds of tempting offers and ideas from all sides to try to get you to abandon your mission, because it is a noble mission, in my opinion. God bless you for the courage and resolve you demonstrate to stand by your principles based on Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions.
Wanita - Just so readers of this thread are clear, you and I have a long history, and I've been a supporter of Ad Crucem, the ecclesiastical arts company, since its inception. I love you guys and your work and will continue to support you.
My concern was not intended as some "veiled threat." I have absolutely no synodical authority and being emeritus, no real voice in the synod. I speak from years of experience with the darker corners of the synod. I would hate to see Ad Crucem - the ecclesiastical arts company - get sucked into synodical quicksand. Trust me, I know.
As for Ad Crucem News, the jury is still out in my mind on that. I'm not sure that self-appointed watchdog and whistleblower is really a "vocation," so much as it is a matter of circumstance. Even Luther didn't see "reformer" as a vocation, though others forced it on him. I am committed as you are to openness, honesty, and confessional integrity in our church body. I devoted thirty years in the parish defending confessional orthodoxy and practice. I still adhere to those principles, write and lecture where invited, and support any endeavor that contributes to the well being of Christ's church and the edification of His people.
I don't think we need another version of "Christian News." While that publication did serve to expose some wrongs in our synod, it also did a lot of damage to peoples' lives and reputations, and in the end, did more harm than good, in my estimation.
Please don't interpret honest questions, concerns, and constructive criticism as "temptations or challenges" for you to abandon whatever mission you may have charted. Confessionalism is not about conformity to a party line or an exercise in ecclesiastical "group think." It is a shared commitment to the catholic faith and the centrality of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for the justification of the sinner.
Please take to heart what I am saying. I am speaking out of love for Christ and for His holy church, of whom we are all members in one Body. Peace.
Thanks Pastor. I didn’t see you post as a threat, I consider you a friend. It was interactions last week to which I was referring.
Tim started his career as a journalist 30 years ago. This is his wheelhouse, he speaks to the next generation of leaders. We have a huge interaction with pastors and lay folk across the synod. They have voiced their concerns to us for more than a decade. If these concerns had been addressed over the years, we would not be writing about them. AdC is a good vehicle for those concerns. We are completely independent, and we are fair. We give praise where praise is due, caution where caution is due. I hope you will warm up to the reporting.
As a layman myself, if you really do have a good faith concern about "synodical quicksand", I therefore welcome any good faith efforts to shine a line on the pits of quicksand and advise on or act in ways to ameliorate these pits or make them fully solid again.
There are either problems that ought not remain unaddressed, or there are not problems. Hopefully wise men can learn lessons of prudence from Christian News: what was helpful, what was not.
But "Don't" or "Stop" seem not to be proper lessons.
Private advisement of caution? That's anyone's prerogative.
But what to do?
AdC News has started to do something. The normal response for any officer who hears about a problem for the first time (not that the problem itself is new) is basic verification of the claim followed by standard action to resolve the problem, via self action, reports upward, and commands downward.
Or is there disagreement about the existence of particular problems? Or is official standard action ultimately keyed to something other than truth, light, & right?
Generally, officers and non-officers alike do not react so dramatically to reports of a leaky pipe in the storage room. Everyone knows it's got to be addressed. There is standard action to resolve a leaky pipe.
Nor does anyone, generally, take it personally when someone raises questions of routine pipe inspections, inventory, building codes, maintenance budgets, room usage guidelines, etc. etc.
People are more complicated.
And more urgent.
Dear Pastor Cwirla,
I can assume your comments come from the concerns you’ve expressed, but I also disagree with several of your points.
Your description of Ad Crucem’s role in reporting as that of “self-appointed whistleblower” is incorrect. Some of the information they report is public information, some might be from different whistleblowers, at different times, as a matter of circumstance, when those circumstances arise, just as you posited. Journalists do exercise a watchdog type of function, but Ad Crucem is not a “self-appointed watchdog.” A significant number of churchgoers have expressed they benefit from Ad Crucem’s service. “Lutherans were the first to use ‘vocation’ to refer also to secular offices and occupations. . . every legitimate kind of work or social function is a distinct ‘calling’ from God, requiring unique God-given gifts, skills, and talents.” (Veith, “Spirituality Of the Cross” 77) The Lord also calls all of His Church to watch over each other, and from time to time, that will involve some conflict, which may be uncomfortable, but that is a far cry from it being unnecessary.
Just because Luther didn’t categorize “reformer” as a vocation doesn’t mean he didn’t spend a large part of his life in that role; he made an awful lot of sacrifices to work for reforms because it was important work. Luther didn’t create the problems that needed to be addressed, but he understood they needed to be addressed, and that God, through people, was putting him in a position to serve in that role. As you know, Ad Crucem has never set themselves up to be the second coming of the Reformer, they are in a good position to report and help with some of the transparency that is needed in the LCMS in its present condition.
Your assertion that this forum is “an exercise in ecclesiastical ‘group think’” comes across as an insult, which you may or may not realize? I wonder if you would use the same words to describe all the blog and social media discussions in which you’ve ever participated, where you have played a leading role in very exuberant, extended threads of ecclesiastical “group think?”
Regarding your comment about Christian News, whatever your judgment about that particular publication, it’s not fair to assume Ad Crucem will be another Christian News. Good reporting is good for the church, so I think discouraging the service provided by good reporters is not how the church is best served.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. But please don’t put assertions into my mouth. I did not say that this newsletter was an exercise in ecclesiastical group think. I was commenting on the nature of confessionalism and the mistaken notion that unity means conformity. My point was that confessionalism leaves necessary space for disagreement and discussion. No insults were intended. Always read carefully before commenting; it makes for better discourse.
As for my personal social media and blog activities, not to mention my former days in podcasting (Bill&Ted excepted here; that’s about film), I have many regrets and much for which to repent. I could easily justify myself by saying I believe my cause was just, but my conscience tells me otherwise. When I write as I did here, I am writing out of long and sometimes bitter experience. So to answer your question, yes, much of my “exuberance” has been devoted to getting people to see things “my way,” tearing down instead of building up, an ego trip rather than a pilgrimage of humility in obedience to Christ. I would spare those I love from doing the same thing.
I did read your comment carefully, and your reply seems to both deny and admit my understanding of the words you wrote, but I’m not going to, and have no need to argue with you about that, because I certainly accept what you say when you say that you mean “ confessionalism leaves necessary space for disagreement and discussion.“ I agree with that statement, to a point, acknowledging that some issues have been settled by the church, and so are not up for discussion, like recent incidents in the LCMS involving some homosexuality issues, for example, but thus far, discussions on this site have been fairly within the necessary space for disagreement and discussion.
We are all going to make mistakes and have misunderstandings, and have to clarify in most digital discussions, but that is also true in face-to-face discussions. Humility is commendable, and also only my opinion, but I have witnessed maybe not all but a lot of your public commenting over the last 17 years or so, and overall, I don’t think you should be too hard on yourself. You offered all kinds of very valuable input which, in my opinion, helped a lot of people, and even though I probably disagree with some things you have said at various times we are able to apologize when we are careful, but still get something wrong, and I’m sure you have done that too. However, overall, in my judgment, the church is much better for most of those exchanges. It would be a shame if there had been a blackout without any of it ever happening. That would’ve been much worse for the church than the open expressions and discussions that took place, in my opinion.
No survey satisfies every respondent. This survey did not lead bound wills up the garden path to a predetermined outcome.
WRT politics and business. This is a common refrain from institutional representatives. The implied messaging is very clear: folks, you are facing a boycott if you keep up with being critical of the church. It is the soft version of, "Hey, nice business ya got there. Would be a pity if sometin' happened to it."
CPH holds religious, political, and cultural positions that are expressed in its publications and via the authors it publishes. LCMS, Inc. has religious, political, and cultural positions by virtue of what it says and doesn't say, and the things it funds and does not fund. LCMS Foundation has significantly invested offering plate proceeds and gifts in "Sin Stocks" (gambling, alcohol, marijuana and drugs, pornography, transgender medicine, etc.) through market-wide ETFs in its portfolio. A majority of S&P 500 companies have a strong affinity for degeneracy.
I have never heard a Synodocrat worrying about the viability of our entities because they have published or supported false doctrine, or invested in vice.
Somehow, this is always treated as a major issue for Ad Crucem, as if we, the 12-year founder-owners of the business, are incapable of recognizing that some customers will dislike what we say and refuse to buy our products. That has always been the case, even before we ever started AdC News. AdC News is heavily aligned with the customer base that buys our products. We have had maybe 4 ELCA customers in total, many well after AdC News began. No LCMS mega-churches have purchased from us, but Latin Mass Catholics and conservative Presbyterians do. That speaks to some realities.
We never started the business expecting a vast market or rights to the captive base CPH is locked into. We launched into a declining customer base with apparently faster declining discretionary spending power. We had to fight Synod, Inc. at every stage because gatekeepers and walls were in place to keep us (and everyone like us) out. It was only when we threatened a Federal Trade Commission investigation in late 2022 that certain things changed.
The only indirect institutional support we have received is from ONM, which underwrote Rev. Dr. Boyle's wonderful Spanish Postil, a beautiful book to hold in your hands, and surely a treasure to the pastors who will use it. The corporation emphasizes the importance and urgency of its Spanish-language mission. Do you know how many institutional bulk orders have been placed for this unique and vital preaching aide? Zero.
President Harrison's AdC Christmas Cards were provided at cost; not even a margin for the work we put in for design etc.
So, thank you for your concern. However, we have just completed a record January on the business side in terms of revenue and revenue per product, so it appears the response to the news is the opposite of what you feared.
Retail customers love honesty and integrity, and we appreciate their trust.
Thankful for your reporting.
“Filling a Niche”
Wait! What?!?
You need to include Luther Quest (http://www.lutherquest.org) which has had archived active discussions going back to 1999, and has covered (often repeatedly) Lutheran doctrine and theological issues, LCMS historical and contemporary events, and synodical leadership. If it's important for Lutherans, it has probably has been discussed on Luther Quest.
Sorry, that’s who I forgot!
Steadfast
Steadfast was a good news resource whenever you wanted to see reports of the heavy-handedness of LCMS officials engaging in church growth projects. Steadfast Lutherans had a reputation for identifying problems correctly, but they rarely ever proposed any solutions - especially of the structural kind.
Right after the Harrison administration took over, many long-time Steadfast commentors, including the late Paul McCain, were suddenly banned from commenting without warning. I was one of them! And soon after that, the comments section on the entire website was purged. Articles on that webpage became forgettable, as they began to assume a soft, harmless tone. Coincidence? That website has been irrelevant for the past 15 years.
ALPB
If you enjoy watching retired ELCA pastors and their "woke" laymen allies argue "woke and liberal" theological causes with retired LCMS pastors, have at it! If you want to see a fight, you won't be disappointed. The Seminex battles have been won by the LCMS "confessionals", so ALPB is irrelevant.
Facebook
For fun, feel free to join the CLF group in Facebook and then start critiquing pop-Evangelical theology sometime. I dare you. You won't do that again!
Even if you do happen to get a productive conversation topic going for a week and engage with hundreds of comments, your Facebook post will slowly age and fade away into the archives......never to be seen again.
LCMS ministries
LCMS pastors are asking the laymen: "Pop-Evangelicalism? What pop-Evangelicalism? Hey - Look! Squirrel - I mean: Look at those five or six noisy Christian nationalist guys playing brave keyboard warrior in mom's basement! That's the threat to Lutheran churches. Let's get 'em!"
Looking at this report of your survey results as a communication professional, it reads like a self-serving marketing piece. Surveys are ALWAYS and ONLY marketing. Period. It is a well known fact of marketing communications.
There were considerable biases that call for caution and discernment when looking at the report of the findings of this AI online survey. As a researcher, it was clear the survey questions were worded to lead to pre-determined conclusions; the responders were self-selected; and the response rate (18%) and sample size were both sub-optimal. All of this detracts from the credibility of findings. In research, a response rate of at least 80% is needed for reliability (Research Gate). In journal publications at least 60% response rates are expected, and over 80% is expected (NIH). For online marketing surveys, KANTAR and SurveyMonkey, for example, say that above 30% is considered excellent.
The most insightful information would be obtained from LCMS members who have cancelled their subscriptions to Ad Crucem and those who didn't respond to the survey. The problems identified by those who "walked with their feet" are where the truth is more likely to be found.
It is especially disingenuous to presume this survey speaks for or reflects LCMS members. There are 1.67 million baptized members of LCMS, according to the latest published LCMS report (1,674,315). Not only do we not know how many survey respondents were even members of LCMS, the subscribers to this substack (2570) fail to represent even one percent of members -- only 0.15% of LCMS members. Those who responded to the survey --if they were all LCMS members --represent only 0.028% of LCMS members.
Journalists are professionally called to report the facts accurately and using the most credible and verified sources. They are not unelected arbiters of morality or spokespersons or ringleaders of political agendas.
Do I value the opinions of reporters and unidentified vested interests -- who are not pastors with seminary training and experience -- when it comes to information on theological questions about my church? No. Christ commands us to be discerning, question everything, and follow the truth.
Who represented the survey as a gold standard of statistical brilliance? Who represented the survey as reflecting the views of the LCMS?
I am very thankful for your work, which I have just discovered. Is there any way that I can become a paid subscriber or make a contribution to the cause? I did not see a button to change from an unpaid to a paid subscription.
I didn’t take the survey because I didn’t have an account until a few days ago. But I’ve been following along with the News operation since it started and have been so pleased with it that I made this Substack account to follow along during Lent.
I’m also a repeat customer to Ad Crucem and will continue to be so. Thank you for all you do.
+ VDMA +
I just found the Wartburg Watch, which used some of your reporting in their own piece. Not strictly LCMS though, I suppose. I thought their coverage was solid:
https://thewartburgwatch.com/tww2/2026/02/02/lcms-district-president-and-pastor-michael-mohr-arrested-and-detained-on-federal-child-pornography-charges-did-anyone-question-the-backpack-bear/
Also, could you give the BHoP episode number and timestamp of the excerpt you reference in the article? The provided link just sends me to iTunes to the current episode of BHoP I'm listening to. Kindest regards.
Please see: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bhop-340-evil-underneath-the-horror-of-lost-highway/id1188406469?i=1000747657553
BHoP#340 Evil Underneath - The Horror of "Lost Highway"