Plan with wisdom and faith
In the new year, TV news channels often review the past year. The annual ritual includes significant events and achievements in politics, science, medicine, and international relations. There is the…
Purposeful discussions
Sixty years ago, our synod was faced with the most difficult decision in its history. For more than 20 years, WELS and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) had been working…
Upholding biblical values
Ours is a culture in which values seem to be constantly changing. Invariably, the change is in the wrong direction. The traditional values that have served as the common bond…
President’s message: To judge or not to judge
It’s always a little baffling to me that some of the most familiar words in the Bible can so often be misunderstood, misquoted, or misapplied. How many times have you…
President’s message: A field ripe for harvest
Our synod has been involved in world missions for well over a century. From the start, our efforts in world missions focused almost entirely on sending WELS missionaries to foreign…
President’s message: Thoughts about the new hymnal
After years of careful development, our synod now has a new hymnal. Someone may well ask the question, “Why a new hymnal? What is wrong with the one that we’re…
President’s message: Cooperating in externals
WELS confesses and teaches that for church bodies to express unity and fellowship there needs to be full agreement in doctrine. Such fellowship is practiced when members of each church…
President’s message: Canceling the cancel culture
“Cancel culture” has arrived. Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles because of something they have said or…
President’s message: Making normal a reality
You’re reading this in May, but it’s February as I’m writing. We’re at a time when we are all asking the questions, “When will this COVID thing finally be over?…