I was at a WELS gathering, after the dedication of a church building, around 1991 or so. I wore my Fuller Seminary sweatshirt, so I would fit in better. That made many of the pastors uneasy. Later, Northwestern College students borrowed the sweatshirt to wear around campus. More unease.
I told the son of Oscar Naumann, "WELS is a liberal denomination."
He said, "Why do you say that?"
I responded, "The liberals are rewarded and the conservatives are punished." He left the room. His father began the Church Growth Movement in WELS by approving of The Evangelism Life Line, that tacky little newsletter started to promote the cause of the CGM. Ron Roth, Bob Hartman, and Paul Kelm all promoted CG through TELL and found themselves promoted.
Where are the WELS false teachers now?
Ted Hartwig is the champion apostate. He was exposed for advocating the Historical-Critical Method. Nothing substantial was done. He continued to teach at MLC (nee Dr. Martin Luther College). Hartwig remained very influential in WELS and introduced the feminist creed in Charismatic Worship to WELS, in the journal and the magazine.
Larry Olson went to Fuller Seminary for a D.Min. and became the Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth at Martin Luther College. Paul Kelm earned a D.Min. at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and worked his way down through the ranks. Now he is a pastor at one of WELS' largest and most ridiculous congregations. President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller got in trouble over doctrine at Mequon, so he was put in charge of Parish Services, then elected First VP of the sect. Joel Gerlach got in trouble about doctrine while teaching at Mequon and remained influential in WELS.
Slick Brenner, the father of Mequon professor John Brenner, told me about Wayne Mueller and Joel Gerlach.
David Valleskey went to Fuller as a parish pastor and became the president of Mequon, something little noted nor long remembered, but significant for the sect's growing passion for Reformed doctrine and marketing savvy. His friend Frost Bivens went to Fuller as a parish pastor and became a Mequon professor.
James Huebner went to Fuller and is now a synodical VP, which may mean next to nothing, but it is a post no opponent of CG will ever have.
No one even minds that WELS works with ELCA on a wide variety of ecumenical efforts, from worship to evangelism. Sure, WELS cared enough to lie about Snowbird, the Joy radio show, the multi-cultural project, and some other events. But no one is going to fuss too long or too hard.
The Michigan District passed a resolution about having Martin Marty lecture at Wisconsin Lutheran College. (He already had at Orlando, at a joint WELS-ELCA-LCMS evangelism event, but so what!) That resolution is still celebrated as The Moment of Spine...in the Michigan District. WLC thumbed its nose at Michigan (gave it the finger, according to Pastor Guy Purdue) and had Marty speak anyway. No one said anything about the Roman Catholic Archbishop and pedophile Weakland speaking (with other priests) at WLC. After all, that fulfilled one of the multi-cultural goals.
