I Remember the Good, Old Days

Anonymous raised an interesting perspective about the good, old days. I remember the post-WWII era very well, since I was in grade school in the 1950's. All the mainline congregations in the 1950's were building new additions for us little Baby Boomers.

Billy Graham was the Protestant minister of America. Bishop Fulton Sheen was the priest for Roman Catholics. Sheen was demoted over a fight to get some donations, but he is still remembered today and rebroadcast. Graham is alive, but ailing.

Ministers complained in the 1950's that attendance was only half the membership on a given Sunday. In large congregations that figure is more likely 25% or lower.

The Lutheran congregation I joined in 1965 (LCA) was far more conservative, Lutheran, and liturgical than WELS-LCMS-ELS today. My pastor was trained in the 1930's, when the Augustana doctrinal textbook was from the Hoenecke of his day. (The founding leader of my own school, Waterloo in Canada, had a similar claim.)

The Disciples of Christ congregation I left was just as traditional in its own way. No one thought of entertaining the visitors. Pit bands would have been a one-Sunday event. We had soloists, but they sang church music, not tear-jerking Reformed pap. The choirs sang anthems, not pop music. Sunday School was packed at both congregations.

What changed? The ministers and church leadership changed. The apostates took over, finally wrestling control from the traditionalists. Church bureaucracies grew enormously on the generous contributions of the membership. Bureaucrats awarded themselves fat salaries and benefits. Even today the WELS drones at The Love Shack earn considerably more than the seminary professors. Look up the synod scale for yourselves. Mission pastors get the least and are treated like dirt. They are supposed to be CGM finger-puppets, like their apostate bosses.

If someone assumes the true Church grows only through the Word - and I realize WELS fanatics reject this - then it makes sense that the promotion of man-made wisdom has been strangling all the denominations since the 1960's.

Here is a case in point. The last gasp of WELS traditionalism came in breaking with the LCMS. Almost immediately WELS began dabbling in the Church Growth Movement. Ron Roth was already editing an official Church Growth periodical for WELS (with SP Naumann's blessing) by 1977. Kelm and Hartman edited it later. Then Radloff. Valleskey taught Church Growth as a seminary course while Kelm promoted the CGM every chance he got. One of the new synod VP's, James Huebner, complained in print that people did not like his beloved Church Growth Movement.

WELS is not a Lutheran church body now. WELS is a Reformed sect where some pastors are still allowed to use the liturgy. The Lutheran Hymnal is dead in Wisconsin. Members and pastors make fun of the liturgical service. WELS leaders adore working with ELCA and do so every chance they can get. They also work with Missouri - which may be good. Missouri is less tainted with Church Growth, but not from lack of trying.

The tree is rotten at the roots, so the fruit is not coming forth. Law motivation is not drumming up the financial support because the lash only generates the minimum. Wisconsin leaders do not use Gospel motivation because they no longer know, no longer trust the Gospel.

The more Wisconsin shrinks, the more the apostate leaders order the membership to invite their friends to church and give more money. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

When the brain-washed read the truth about WELS, they react against me. I have already been called every name in their limited vocabulary, so I do not mind their response. Even if I were 10 times worse than they pretend, WELS would still be insolvent and apostate.