From One of Many Excommunicated by WELS

Re: Brett Meyer's Ichabod post about women reading liturgy in WELS.

The statement in the post which summed up WELS for at least the past forty years said it all. WELS "practice is detached from doctrine". In the 1970's the big controversy about government grants to Milwaukee Lutheran High School resulted in ex-communications of WELS members who protested to Synod, then protested publicly, for public largesse is a public matter. The lay members did so on the basis of WELS Statement of Belief published in 1967 which said, "We reject any attempt on the part of the Church to seek the financial assistance of the State in carrying out its saving purpose." The response by some synod leaders in defending the use of government grants was: We didn't seek the grants, they were offered to us. The more things change the more they remain the same.

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GJ - WELS Pharisaical law is amusing. They were once dead-set against gambling, written policy. Now they are gung-ho for gambling - ever since some big giver was involved in casinos. WELS legalized gambling.

Some other excommunications have included: criticizing the budget process, favoring the KJV over the Reformed NIV, and questioning AAL (now Thrivent). WELS removed men from the ministry over the last two. The big one - daring to critique the Church Growth Movement.

PS - Joining the Boy Scouts went from mortal sin to A-OK.