I want to thank the synodical drones for telling students, pastors, and laity "not to waste their time on Ichabod." Nothing motivates people more than a ban, and nothing demotivates more than required reading.
In the last month the average daily page-reads were 2,000. Many days the total was 4,000 to 4,500 - doubtless because people know where to get the news - and it is not from headquarters.
Here is a FAQ you will not find on the fabulously expensive WELS.net website, mismanaged by Martin Spriggs.
Q - Did WELS know about Joel Hochmuth's obsession with homosexual child pornography?
A - Yes. Wisconsin Child and Family, a synod agency, counseled Joel and his wife about it, when she caught him viewing it. The official line is she caught him, which sounds better than being caught at work.
Q - Was he in trouble before?
A - He is 52. His employment record suggests abrupt changes, including leaving CNN, having almost no employment, and then leaving a tenured teaching position to be a flack for WELS.
Q - Did Synod President Gurgel know this when Joel was hired?
A - Definitely. The WELS KGB knows - or think it knows - when someone changes toothpaste brands.
Q - Did SP Schroeder know?
A - Yes. That is why he is not giving up the details about Joel being counseled.
Q - Did the counselor and synod violate the law?
A - Yes. Here is one link.
Q - Did the Chief Technology Officer of WELS, Martin Spriggs, with a "Mind Like Water," know about child pornography being viewed on the WELS local area network?
A - Yes. There are many ways it would show up, especially since the network has to be monitored against spam and hacking attempts. Almost all email is spam, most of it dealing with contraband. Proxie files would show the use of the computers.
Q - Did the staff at WELS headquarters know?
A - Most likely they did. The mutual blackmail atmosphere promotes the keeping of secrets.
Q - Is Hochmuth repentant?
A - He admitted his crimes to the police at his home, where the warrant was served. The details are in the Criminal Complaint. He told them far more files were at his office at WELS headquarters, and the police found them there, too - hundreds of them. But his lawyer claimed this was just an adult pornography case - a lie. The lawyer speaks for the client, so the story has changed, in spite of the facts.
Q - I find it hard to believe that WELS would do nothing about a federal crime. How can that be?
A - The pastors knew about DP Ed Werner molesting little girls in his own congregation. That went on for decades. When he started on a new generation of children, the mothers reported him and he went to state prison. Likewise, Fred Adrian knew about his married vicar's love affair with a minor girl. Nothing happened until the girl's family went to the police.
Q - What is the best way to protect our children?
A - Leave WELS.