WELS Convention Wrap

Office and Travel Expenses - Reduced

From WELS -

Some of the decisions made included:

1. passing a balanced budget for 2009-11;
   
2. changing the first vice president position to part-time;
   
3. electing Rev. James Huebner as first vice president, Rev. Joel Voss as second vice president, and Rev. Robert Pasbrig as secretary;
   
4. restructuring the Board for Parish Services and placing it under the Conference of Presidents; and encouraging continuing education for WELS called workers.
   
   
5. Delegates passed the $30 million budget—a budget cut from $38 million or 20 percent—after more than two hours of debate. The budget approved by the convention differs from two budget options brought to the convention by the Synodical Council (SC). The SC's options—and the convention-approved budget—all reflected $8 million in needed cuts across all areas of ministry. The SC was giving the convention the option of deciding whether $1 million of the cuts should come from missions or ministerial education. In the proposal approved by the convention, that $1 million comes from technology, financial services, communications, Parish Services, mission counselors, and travel.
   
   
6. Schroeder finds blessings even though cuts needed to be made. "We have confidence that God is going to get us through this," he says. "Whatever he has in store he is going to use it to bless his church."
   
   
7. This was Schroeder's first convention as WELS president. "The synod convention doesn't sound very exciting. It sounds just like a lot of reports and votes and motions and paper shuffling, but I would really wish that everyone in the synod could have been a part of this convention," he says. "It refocused our attention on both the reason for our joy and on the mission that we are privileged to carry out."

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GJ - Let us not forget that Church and Chicanery will have two rallies in the next couple of months:

1. WELS Prayer Pietism Institute, August, at the seminary, with Bruce Becker leading the recovery effort.
2. Church and Change convention in November, with Bruce Becker (ex-head, Perish Services) leading the recovery effort. No, I am not repeating myself. The Chicaneries are repeating themselves. His topic in November is "Regaining Momentum." Stroh, from Perish Services, is speaking on the same topic.

I don't want you to get the idea from the speakers that Perish Services is run by Church and Change - or that Church and Change is run by Perish Services. That is simply a coincidence. Ha ha.

The Chicaneries have been dealt a body blow, but they will fight on. As I predicted, they closed ranks to get one of their own (Huebner) elected as First Veep, replacing Wayne Mueller, who quit in a huff. Mueller got into doctrinal trouble at Mequon, so his buddies invented a full-time job as the Administrator of Perish Services. Afterwards, Mueller was promoted to First Veep, but he considered himself SP until Mark Schroeder was elected. Thanks to the insights of Church Growth, which Mueller promoted covertly, WELS lost members faster than it lost money - while enjoying a deluge of loot from Thrivent and St. Marvin of Schwan.

SP Schroeder has proven himself a doctrinal leader in the midst of chaos. Fortunately, the second Great Depression is making it necessary to cut the fat from synodical overhead. Since that fat consisted of CG efforts like Airport (!), the surgery is welcome. As one member noted, his congregation puts out all communications by PDF, with only a few copies printed and distributed at church. Everyone's great-granny has email now, so why spend lavishly on printing?

Palpable disgust for Church Growth is another blessing in disguise for SP Schroeder. The sour looks about Church Growth--which VP Huebner noted with dismay so many years ago--are based upon the crafts and assaults of the movement. When I raised the issue with my first article about in in Christian News, around 1988, I was bombarded with letters from WELS pastors and laity thanking me.

Some of the more obvious reasons for Lutherans turning against Church Growthism:

1. Constant deceit. The Shrinkers never tell the truth, about themselves or anyone else. They pretend to have the purest motives while feathering their nests with synodical subsidies, Thrivent grants, and foundation loot.
   
2. Blended doctrine. The Shrinkers are Reformed, but they use their Yes, But rhetoric to start with Lutheran principles so they can insert Reformed conclusions into everything. Some examples are: VP Huebner, Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth Larry Olson, Paul Calvin Kelm, Bruce Becker, Valleskey, Bivens, and Al Sorum.
   
3. Blended worship. The Shrinkers promote non-liturgical worship wherever possible, substituting blended worship as a half-way step toward Babtist-Pentecostal Sneaker Services.
   
4. Women's ordination. After assaulting clear Biblical principles about women teaching men and women usurping authority, the Shrinkers have moved on to promote women's ordination in various insidious ways. Note how many Shrinker experiments feature full-time women staff members.
   
5. Disappearing money. They are poor stewards of the big things (doctrine) and even worse stewards of the little things (money). The CORE leased a movie theater in the midst of WELS congregations, to promote Groeschel sermons and make $250,000 disappear in a few months. Rock N Roll asked the Antioch Foundation for $200,000 for a worship leader when they had two full-time staffers and attendance of 30. Parlow and Jeske never stop scrounging for grants while talking about how successful they are. Gunn began job-hunting as soon as outside money dried up.
   
6. Ashamed of the word Lutheran. Shrinkers eliminate the word Lutheran from everything they do, but they want Lutherans to support them unhesitatingly.