Editorial: Religion: A Word to the WELS

A church body with lots of lovable eccentricities in which many people look pretty much alike, i.e. pretty much like me--how could I resist?  For the last several Sundays, I've been hearing word of how my beloved church, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, is having financial troubles (note: I do not endorse the linked site, but recommend reading it nonetheless).  I feel that the source of the problems is more obvious than others have picked up on.  The WELS demographic is heavily exurban and small-town.  For instance, the congregation to which I belong, Grace, is made up of perhaps half members who come from far away: outer-ring suburbs and beyond.  A survey of the streets surrounding the church building on any given Sunday makes it pretty clear where those folks' money has been going (at least in part) over the last two or three years.  They drive Big Steel.  At the risk of sounding xenophobic, I wonder how those Christians square their faith with the practice of funding the Saudi government and other oil-producing nations who are not exactly promoters of Christianity.  In a bitterly ironic twist, the WELS is pulling missionaries from the field while its members bankroll the caliphate with their transportation choices.

At some point, the WELS became, in my estimation, too identified with the middle-class American lifestyle and its aspirational spending tendencies.  Must have coffeehouse!  Must have granite countertops!  Must have SUV!  This is all the more regrettable due to faith's power to convey real identity, rather than the artificial smoke and mirrors of the aspirational lifestyle.  In fact, it gives us the ability to do things such as walk or bike for transportation, while wearing modest clothing, without this throwing us into an identity crisis.  One could think of this as walking like Jesus, and perhaps even walking for Jesus...

Comments

[WordSprite]

This is your best. post. ever.

[Bruce Church]

I even know a WELS pastor whose sent tons of money to Saudi Arabia via his extended cab pickup and his big boat that he hauls hundreds of miles to lakes during each vacation!