Nothing much is going to happen in WELS until people start openly applying the Word of God and the Confessions.
The Shrinkers spent WELS money to get their Church and Change organization going. They lost control of the Love Shack, but they still run Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Sausage Factory in Mequon.
Like the unclean spirit, the Shrinker goes out and recruits more unclean spirits when he is expelled. Bruce Becker went to Jeske's LCMS media ministry, which is also the fetid womb of The CORE. Kelm went to WLC. Stroh got himself funded again. Wayne Mueller was un-elected and was replaced by Wayne Mueller. Finally Mueller quit and Jim Huebner, Fuller alumnus, replaced him as First VP.
Kelm would say, "Change I can believe in."
The Church and Changers have their annual get together -- remember Leonard Sweet? -- and no one has stopped them. Ex-SP Gurgle claimed he shut them down, but he was a member all along. The joke's on you WELS. And Rich Gurgle, his brother at the Sausage Factory, is another one.
And where did Gurgle land after his exile in a secure, undisclosed location? Patterson's Safari Center, furnished with a free vicar each year! Listen to this whopper of a lie - Patterson is not a Church and Changer, but he spoke at their convention, gathered a bunch of WELS workers for the Exponential pan-denominational fest, and traveled to the latest Changer convention. Patterson and the DPs support the Rock N Roll Church in Round Rock, made famous by its own blog.
In other words, these people are running circles around the typical WELS layman, pastor, and teacher:
1. The Changers have their own secret mailing lists, so they can network.
2. The Changers protect one another's jobs.
3. The Changers make no secret of what they represent and who is associated with them.
4. The Changers take turns beating up and expelling anyone who gets in their way or who even questions their precious agenda.
Tipping Point
I see WELS at the tipping point. The apostates are starting to feel the pain, but they escape to fight again (Kelm, Stroh, Becker). The duplicitous DPs in Wisconsin stand behind their apostate Boomer pals.
Some stay in the background (wink, wink) - like Kudu Don Patterson - and promote the cause relentlessly. Patterson is not that subtle, and he certainly howled when his actions and words got onto the Net. If it is sound doctrine, why be ashamed? If you are ashamed, Don, why are you doing it?
Other Shrinkers, like John Lawrenz, are in deep cover on the other side of the world. But when a Shrinker pioneer like Steve Witte, with a DMin from Buffalo Chip Divinity, gets a call, he gets an upgrade to full-time bureaucrat. Both men are working on your dollar, WELS members.
Power is not taken away but given up, as Stuckenberg taught in the 19th century. WELS members have given up their congregational power by being passive. The pastors and teachers have given up their influence by being silent.
The district conventions are a good time to expel flabby DPs and put in faithful men. The district conventions are an ideal opportunity to demand doctrinal reform, instead of waiting around for someone else to do it.
ELCA members let the Lavender Mafia control the agenda from 1987 to 2009. They are finally fighting and leaving, often without the pastor or the building. Now that they have seen the ugly backside of apostasy, literally and figuratively, they prefer the Gospel.
