They cancelled Issues, Etc. Can you believe this? How are we supposed to stay current on issues affecting the church? This must be a sign of the apostasy to come!

Rules of the Board forbid me to call these idiots what they are.

In shock in Iowa.

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Timothy Johnson
First United Presbyterian of Moline
PCUSA (Yea, I know)
Theology/Philosophy Sunday School Teacher
Davenport, IA

Hmph. This is a downer. Issues, etc. was a pretty good program. Did they give any reason for closing it down?

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Devin Brian
1689er
Attending Trinity Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA.
Vivian, Louisiana, USA

"The fall of man is written in too legible characters not to be understood: Those that deny it, by their denying, prove it." - George Whitefield

And this was probably by far the most successful outreach to non LCMS people as well, and the program apparently did not lose money.

Here are some blog posts with more information:

Riddleblog - The Latest Post - How to Help Our Friends at "Issues, Etc."
Riddleblog - The Latest Post - LCMS Pulls the Plug on "Issues, Etc."
Alpha and Omega Ministries, The Christian Apologetics Ministry of James R. White

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C.P. --Member, Pineville Presbyterian Church (OPC)

"Where is the young man who fears the judgment to come? What is the breath of an enemy of God to the blast of the soul by the breath of the Almighty? If you fear the frowns of a fellow worm, how will you stand in judgment with an angry God?" --Asahel Nettleton

Click to get: Board Rules--Signature Requirements--Suggestions?

My husband loved listening to them when we were in StL. That program was instrumental in us becoming Reformed.

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JC
URCNA
PA

Are they still going to publish the journal? We've been subscribers for a l-o-n-g time...

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Margaret
Free Church of Scotland [Continuing]
Michigan

"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John 3:30

Kim Riddlebarger has a post on his Blog concerning this...

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA
Fairmount ARP Church

Student of Theology
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
My Blog

It makes one wonder why we needed Issues, etc. to know what the issues in today's church are. We could have just gone to the local Christian bookstore and looked at the bestsellers. Heck, we could have gone to Barnes & Noble and looked at the bestsellers - the two have the same books there.

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Dan Pemberton
Member, First Baptist Church
San Luis Obispo, CA

In college studying to be an astronaut.

Borders is better. To be honest, I'd rather go to Borders than to a "Christian" bookstore. At least I can find Calvin and Augustine, history, and education in the aisles. Rather the latter simply slaps you with Beverly Lewis, Joyce Meyers, a bunch of ceramics, and Veggie Tales.

So true LadyFlynt, so true

- I'm a big fan of several local Borders stores, for these same reasons. Their organization of topics is MUCH better too.

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Scott
Dallas, Texas
PCA

"I believe that pluralistic secularism, in the long run, is a more deadly poison than straightforward persecution." - Francis Schaeffer

Well Said Scott and LadyFlynt...

I signed the petition. I like those guys.

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Traci
Lynnwood OPC
Psalm 52:8-9
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

I used to work at Borders for a year, but I couldn't play the corporate games, so I left.

What exactly was Issues, etc.? something like a Lutheran White Horse Inn?

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Davidius
Member: First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham (RPCNA) - Durham, NC
Student: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, German Literature and Classics

And though the really inspired artist may complain that, with the majority, piano-playing is mere strumming, and painting little more than daubing, yet, the exuberant feeling of having a share in the privileges of art is so overwhelming, that the scorn of the artist is preferred to the abandonment of art training in education. To have laid a production of your own, however poor, upon the altar of art becomes more and more the characteristic of an accomplished civilization. - Abraham Kuyper

Yup.

Issues Etc. tackled with world issues from a Lutheran persective. The issues usually were political or ecclesiatical in nature. My world has changed because of one classic broadcast. It was the issue of Pietism. I was never aware of it until I heard Issues Etc. This show will be sorely missed.

I hope y'all will keep this thread up to date. I've found very little to say why Issues Etc. were shut down, and that doesn't make any sense. It's appears as if they did it for no reason what so ever. There must have been some reason for pulling the plug - even if the reason was stupid or irrational, someone thought there was some reason to do this. This wasn't a random act.

I would add that it is possible that there was a good reason to pull the plug - or at least that it's possible I could agree that the decision was reasonable. But what bugs me is the lack of explanation. I have not listened to enough shows (it was a radio show? no?) to know if I even agree with their viewpoints or theology. (I probably do not .) I'm assuming I'd consider them a better show to listen to then the typical Arminian junk the predominates the airways. So I hope there will be an explanation coming that would make it clearer what the reasons were for do this.

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R. Anthony Coletti
Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Jonesborough, TN
[i]et venite et arguite me dicit Dominus[/i]

It's so strange considering a little over a year ago that they celebrated their 10th anniversary. They seemed so determined to go another 10 years. I'll miss very much the Joel Osteen sermon reviews, and the three part diagnostic to every review. They had such a tremendous influence on my crossover to Reformed theology that this is why I bear a Lutheran avatar.

It's sad. I've heard rumors about the ordination of women coming from the LCMS president, and he told Wilkens to quit dissing Joel Olsteen. I've been listening since the days of Don Matzat hosting it.

Well now, I just found a reputable source for this info - The Wall Street Journal of all places.

Radio Silence - WSJ.com

Enjoy!

Sad, just very, very sad. My assistant is the wife of a LCMS pastor. She and her husband love listening to White Horse Inn. My guess is that they were fans of "Issues, Etc." too.

Even with my theological training in the broad evangelical movement and one of my master's degrees in organizational management (with two other certificate programs in cognate fields), this just grosses me out! Maybe we should skip biblical and theological training entirely and just send ordinands off to get their MBAs. Then they could come by their market driven reductionistic techniques honestly.

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Dennis E. McFadden
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

The TL's vs. the BL's!

So true! But sad. Maybe in my theological class, I need to get rid of my Bible and replace it with laser lights, fog machine, and a flanger/microphone to talk about God's Law!

White Horse Inn interview about the sudden firing of Todd Wilkins and producer Jeff Schwartz and the cancelling of the show Issues Etc. Below are part 1 and 2 of the interview with M.Z. Hemingway

Thank you! That was good to hear.