WELS Viewed from the Inside

Hi little boy, we are taking over your group too.

I have man-hands, but I'm a girl.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Nominate Chicanery Awards Here":

Bad spelling, not knowing German, and CG all symptoms of the the WELS trying to educate men for the ministry on the cheap. The men know it, too, so enough of them aren't properly motivated to do better at studies, and learn German well--beyond the two-year requirement.

Here's the history of the rise and decline of the WELS (some details of which you mentioned before). Through the 1970s tuition was cheap, and one knew that he'd get back whatever he paid into the system once in the ministry. Then, once the 1970s crowd graduated, they changed it so synodical monies went toward missions and not so much toward synodical schools. So the guys who went through the system nearly free also got the synod to subsidize their careers!

So the inexpensive schooling ended, and then guys started working a lot during college and seminary just to make ends meet, even working all hours of the night and weekend, paying money into the system they knew they'd never see again.

Ironically, I met one of the guys who went through the system when it was nearly free. He made enough money to meet all expenses during college and seminary mainly by typing other guys term papers!. He was shocked that I didn't know German any better than I did. I told him that not only was knowing it better not required (two years German minimum), but after all the odd jobs I worked to pay to graduate, I had no motivation or time left for knowing German better. Moreover, I told him that if I had been supported like he had been in the past, not only would I have had the time for more academic pursuits, but I would be as impressed with the WELS system and theological system as he was, and thus I'd learn German well just to become expert in that system. However, from what I saw and experienced and know, the liberal theological schools and seminaries are just as cheap and provide a better education (accredited all the way).

What happened to the WELS is they started to believe their own propaganda, so they expect young men to be motivated purely by their message, which is the souped up Gospel, that is, UOJ-turbo charged Gospel, and that this is enough and they don't even have to spend much money on them. Anyway, they were wrong, and now they are putting out poorly educated clergy who spell bad, forgot whatever German they learned, and get involved in CG due to poor theology.

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GJ - WELS was still giving back all prep, NWC, and seminary tuition at graduation in 1987, but they began taking that away soon after. The account above would also fit Missouri and the ELCA segments, pre-merger, because tuition was low and home congregations chipped in.

The old mission theme was, "That light is brightest at home which shines afar." Most pastors come from large congregations. Now synods and congregations both spend their income on themselves while letting future pastors graduate (if they do) with huge debt loads unrelated to future income.

WELS took back the graduation bonus in the name of saving money, got the biggest charitable gift in history from St. Marvin of Schwan, and still went broke.

Still, the money picture is a reflection of bad theology pumped from the cesspools of the Reformed. Many WELS leaders truly believed the synod would grow from enormous expenditures of money. I heard more than one Mequon student gush over how much ELCA spent on public relations. I wondered, "Who is telling them this? Why do they think that matters?" I tried to tell the innocents that all ELCA received in national attention was a big story on DMS, a parish blowing up over radicalism.The glazed eyes remained.