District Websites: Asleep at the Wheel?

Perhaps one reason more parishioners don’t know what’s going on in our synod is because no one tells them. I stopped by the website of all 35 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod districts, and found that at least nine of them made no mention of the recent LCMS convention (which ended on July 17). Another six districts had nothing other than a link to the LCMS website convention page. It seems that the districts ought to be interested in keeping the people in their care informed about major events in the synod, and there is no event more major than the national convention.

In their “News” section, the Iowa East District doesn’t report on the national convention, but they do report on their district convention – the one held in 2006. To their credit, they also have a blog that reported on the convention, although they never note the election of Rev. Matthew Harrison as President. A couple of districts linked to the Red Chair videos that featured their District President, but not much else.

I was annoyed by Ohio District President Terry Cripe’s comments, but maybe you’ll have a different reaction. Southeastern District President Jon Diefenthaler, in his post titled "Remaining Ablaze!," seemed most excited about the continuation of Ablaze!, and “the fact that two out the three congregations that received special recognition for their participation in the Ablaze! fundraising effort were from the SED.” Sorry, but I really don’t share his enthusiasm.

Mid-South District President Kenneth Lampe and Minnesota North District President Donald Fondau both gave decent one page overviews of the convention. The best review in my book was that of Rocky Mountain District President Randy Golter, whose four page review was insightful and pastoral – exactly what you’d expect from a District President.

Overall, the district website tour was a bust. With most sites offering very little information on the convention, it’s disappointing that momentous restructuring changes and the election of a new President were largely a non-event judging from the district website reactions. District Presidents, as well as the parish pastors out there in the trenches, should be encouraged to keep their parishioners informed on synod news. An informed laity goes a long way in fostering unity and making sure the synod’s doctrine remains on solid ground.


photo credit: Watt_Dabney