Long Supply Lines

Have you heard the big news? The LCMS is partnering with Blackbaud, Inc. “on a multi-year project to change the organization’s [I think that mean’s the ‘Synod’s’] strategic approaches to constituent relationship management, financial management, and online collaboration.” On another LCMS front, “a collaboration of LCMS entities is seeking a staff ‘catalyst’ to identify and coordinate resources for existing congregations and for starting new ministries in rural areas and small towns.”

While some people way smarter than me, like Dan, Mollie, and Frank, seem to be all worked up about these new moves of the Holy Spirit, I’m really excited. It allows me to brush up on my bureaucratese, plus it means new acronyms!

CRM = Constituent Relationship Management

NMCRSTM = The National Missionary Catalyst for Rural and Small-Town Mission

WMNMT = LCMS World Mission-National Mission Team

NRSTTF = National Rural and Small-Town Task Force

SPIFE = Saint Paul Institute for Education

And who couldn't be excited about another task force! I am a little disappointed though that the NRSTTF (National Rural and Small-Town Task Force for you slow learners) didn't make the "Blue Ribbon Task Force" cut, and will have to languish in relative anonymity. Maybe they'll get the nod for Blue Ribbon honors at their next annual review.

I do have one serious concern though: With this many task forces running around, supply lines will be stretched to the breaking point, and the risk of friendly fire will be greatly increased. I’m going to suggest to headquarters that they appoint a high level ultra-blue-ribbon task force to thoroughly examine the logistics of this complicated situation and attempt to coordinate acronyms, before the command and control structure becomes hopelessly entangled in dead links, competing bureaucracies, overtaxed consultants, turf wars, and Reformed theology. Hopefully, with the oversight created by this new supervisory ultra-blue-ribbon task force layer, all of our task forces will march together as one mean, lean, über-missiological fighting machine. We won’t have much time for teaching and learning with all the fund raising going on, but at least we’ll be marchin’.