Getting Used to the New Temperature
Have you noticed that the furor has died down? All the wailing and action committees and new websites and crying in the wilderness has now simmered down. Heck, it's not even simmering right now, but feels pretty tepid.
A friend of mine pointed out that this is the way in the LCMS...and most bureaucratic controversies. The Bosses raise the temperature a few degrees and everyone begins to cry how boiling hot it is, but pretty soon it feels about normal, and the Bosses throw out a few bones to quiet the masses and problem is solved. But the temperature is never actually lowered and we stew until the next issue, when we shall cook a little more, and slowly but surely we all become boiled.
UPDATE: Would nobody tell me of the glaring typo I had in the Title?
7 comments :
Well, you know what they say about the frog in the kettle.... But I must ask: "Are you referring to anything in particular, or just to 'business as usual'?"
Not that we should be professional thorns-in-the-flesh to the point that people perpetually roll their eyes whenever we speak about the problems in synod (I know you're thinking names here); however, we need to be perpetually and quietly diligently working to turn the temperature back down. A wise person once said (not an exact quote) the church thrives in times of trouble. Not that we would wish for trouble, but do we really think that Winston Churchill would have become the leader for which we remember him had there not been a war going on?
Nothing in particular. Everyone was crying "purge" and "foul" and now they're not. Business as usual.
Orianna--thanks for reading and commenting!
There is a great difference between being a thorn-in-the-flesh and a herald...or...words escape me...and you already said it well.
Good points, all. Thanks!
One thing not to forget is that there was a "wise and judicious" raising of the heat. There was no true purge. The foul was limited to where it directly impacted. . . what. . . 2 employees.
Now, if there were 100s ousted. . . or even 2 people of note every other week. . . it would be noticed. But, again, small increments.
If you're referring to the "Issues, Etc." matter, it's also instructive to notice what's changed.
The central body gains tighter control over KFUO than it had...but at the price of alienating a number of good-giving supporters.
The "Issues" supporters gain a more secure outlet for the confessional point of view...but at the price of being increasingly marginalized from the central body.
Two metaphors suggest themselves, neither of them pretty:
* decomposition, in which a formerly living body breaks down into the elements from which it was composed;
* a bouncing ball, which bounces back from a crisis, but never as high as it was before.
Forgive the metaphors. No one can have any joy seeing what's happened except the prince of darkness.
I would note that more than one prophet of God spent time 'out in the desert' away from the 'mainstream' during the course of their work.
Post a Comment