Pastors Respond to the ELCA

Excerpts from an Email to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson from Jaynan Clark, President, WordAlone Ministries

. . .So “enough is enough” and the time to stand up according to the true Spirit of God as revealed in His Word is now. Your Heavenly Father has not given you a spirit of timidity. It is His temporal adversary who demands this type of silent, even cooperative, obedience. . .

An Open Letter to the Voting Members of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

. . .The proposals are in fact no compromise. They clearly imply that same-sex blessings and the ordination and rostering of homosexual persons in committed relationships are acceptable within the ELCA. The teaching of the church will be changed. . .

An Open Letter to Bishop Hanson by; Rev. Martha Uecker Nelson, an LCMC Pastor

. . .During seminary & the years after, I had not realized the extent to which the seminaries were teaching things that go against sound Biblical teachings. When I was there, LSTC was starting to teach political correctness of situational ethics and the devil was a debatable entity, the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand was an issue. . . Now, I understand, that we are to believe that there are no miracles, no virgin birth, no walking on the water, no resurrection, Jesus is just one savior among many, the Bible is just one authority- not THE Authority for our lives...I could go on. I had a fellow pastor, who is on Synod staff, say to my face that we can change the 10 Commandments any time we want. . .

What Has Gone Wrong in the ELCA? by Pr. Bryan Anderson

The sexuality votes of the August 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly were only the tip of the iceberg. Underneath this was the true problem—a crisis of authority of God’s Word. The crisis dates back to the birth of the ELCA and results in numerous problems affecting the governance, mission, and core theology of the ELCA. This resource paper seeks to highlight the key issues and offers the open-minded-reader source documents to investigate the matter for themselves. . .

Loving Your Neighbor: What Does Love Mean? By Rev. David N. Glesne

. . .We have a tendency to think that in order to love someone – let’s say someone in our family who commits sexual sin – I can’t think that what they are doing is really that bad. Because if I think that what they are doing is really bad, it’s really tough for me to love them. That is getting it all backwards! Jesus reaches out aggressively in love precisely because the bad things people do put them at great risk of not inheriting God’s kingdom which he is proclaiming. . .

IT'S ABOUT DOCTRINE - Pastor John Nelson, Hosanna Lutheran Church (PDF File)

. . .I believe that God put His laws in stone because He was so serious about us keeping them. Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” A growing number believe the ELCA has strayed from the Bible, the Lutheran Confessions, and the theological bearings which have supported the Church for centuries. . .

Wearing the Disguise of Faithfulness - by Rev. Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.

. . .The claim that these two contradictory understandings of the Bible’s teachings on human sexuality can coexist and be recognized as being equally faithful to the Scriptures is nonsense. Those pressing for the normalization of homosexuality must put the Scriptures through hoop after hoop of theological acrobatics. The claim that a church can both condemn and bless homosexual relationships with equal faithfulness falls false on its face. Worst of all, it sows a disastrously deadly confusion about the nature of sin — a confusion that subverts the Gospel and brings eternal consequences. . .

_94 Theses by Rev. Doug Gast

. . .After much personal study and investigation I have concluded that what is at issue is not specifically the sexuality issues but rather issues of theology and Biblical integrity. The ELCA has cut the lines of traditional theological teaching and now aligns itself with cultural relativism. Oh, that we can learn from the past and repent before it is too late. . .

Pastor Letter to Church Council and Congregation

(by Pastor Joel Berthelsen) . . . the following will be a concise list of reasons why I think Hope Lutheran church should leave the ELCA, with brief explanation. . .

With a Profound Sense of Sadness - by Pr. Marshall Hahn

. . . not only was I convinced that there was no Scriptural warrant for changing our teaching on human sexuality and our ministry standards with respect to homosexual behavior, I also could not reconcile myself with the fact that an argument from Scripture was not even offered within the documents approved by the assembly which authorized these changes. . .

ELCA Journeys: Personal Reflections on the Last Forty Years

(by Michael C. D. McDaniel). . . However "good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," we must not sacrifice God's truth on an altar of unity. . .

Wresting the Wheel from God: Theological Roots of the Current Crisis in Christianity

. . .As most of you know, the life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has been marked by a perpetual series of controversies. At the very beginning was the disagreement over the office of ministry. The Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which formed the ELCA, could not agree on an understanding of ministry, so it decided to postpone the issue, thinking that it would be easier to reach agreement after the merger. It was not. After a long and expensive study by a task force, its report was rejected by the churchwide assembly in 1993. . .

Let’s agree to disagree. . . . Not this time!

. . .Who gave authority to the church, this human institution, to “unsin sin”? The true church where the Word of God is preached purely and the sacraments administered rightly is calling “foul.” This usurped authority has done nothing less than engaged in warfare against the very basics of the Christian faith. . .

A Pastor's Letter Resigning From ELCA Clergy Roster

. . .I cannot in good conscience meet the expectation (from “Vision and Expectations”) that an “ordained minister supports not only the work of the congregation, but also the synodical and churchwide ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” I also cannot meet the ELCA’s expectation that a pastor respect the beliefs of those who persist in error regarding the teaching of the Bible and of the Christian Church rather than call them to repentance and faithfulness. I believe that the expectations “to confess and teach the authoritative and normative character of the Scriptures ‘as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life’” and to “teach nothing ‘that departs from the Scriptures or the catholic Church’” stand in opposition to the ELCA’s new teaching and practice on marriage and sexual ethics. . .

From the ELCA to the NALC - by Russel E. Saltzman

. . .My real disaffection with the ELCA didn’t start with sex. It began in earnest over the ELCA abortion statement and the subsequent decision by the national council to treat elective abortion for pastors and dependents as a reimbursable medical expense under the church health plan. . .

Speech by Ryan Schwarz To ELCA Churchwide Assembly

. . .I believe that we are not of one mind as to how we read and interpret Scripture.
I believe that we are not of one mind as to the proper role of human experience, reason, and the tradition of the church in the interpretation of Scripture. . .

95 Reasons - By Rev. Roger K. Miller

“. . .For a church which allows itself to be pushed to regard homosexual activity as no longer a departure from the biblical norm and to recognize homosexual partnerships as a form of personal relationship equivalent to marriage would no longer stand on the foundation of the Scripture but rather in opposition to its unanimous witness. . .”

Why I Will Be Eventually Leaving the ELCA With Burning Hope and Optimism - By Rev. Carlton Anderson

. . . A third reason for leaving is the simple statistical fact that while denominations and churches that ride with the values of the culture are in swift decline, those that are holding to traditional Christian doctrine and morality are growing in numbers and spiritual energy around the globe. . .

Letter by Rev. David R. Fisher - (PDF file)

. . .I cannot and will not support the ELCA and simply agree to disagree with a decision and direction that is so contrary to what I believe and teach. My only option for leadership as senior pastor is to lead the congregation to stand in protest and opposition to the ELCA's direction and recent decisions. . .

Letter of Resignation

. . .For many years, however, I, with many in the ELCA, have been concerned that our denomination has been departing from its confession of faith. During the past 10 years or so, I've been able to continue to serve as an ELCA pastor only because of the support of the many friends and colleagues who remain committed to that confession within the ELCA. . .

The ELCA? By Pastor Mark Bankson

. . .The ELCA has been forging a new identity. The crafting and shaping has not been one that has happened overnight. Over the last two decades, shaping this new identity has been strategic and methodical by its leadership. . .

Pastor Daniel M. Powell's Perspective on Denominational Developments

. . .Biblical truth is divinely inspired, not democratically determined. The emphasis must be on “God’s inspired Word,” not our preferences or anecdotal experiences. . .

My Line in the Sand (1/2 way down page)

(Scroll half way down the page to read the blog)
. . . I cannot scripturally endorse same-gender sexual relationship as being an accepted, on-going human relational state before God. I further believe that the ELCA has therefore become apostate through its legislative acts. . .

Greenford Congregation Knew What It Was Doing in Leaving ELCA

. . .reconciliation cannot take place at the expense of the truth revealed in God’s Word. That is so even within that most forgiving and accepting of places, the church. . .

Sermon by Pastor John Christopherson

This is an audio of Pastor Christopherson's sermon. Click on the triangle play button when your get to the above linked page.

Just the Tip of the Iceberg by Pastor Donald Allman

. . .In a culture that has trouble believing in absolute truths, we as God’s children are called to believe in the Bible as truth from God. Even if we find that this Word is counter cultural or politically incorrect we still need to stand on the Word. . .

A Message for Lutherans out on a Limb

. . .Love without the cross is mere passion. We no longer let Scripture define what love is. We define love ourselves, then use our fallen understanding of the term to reject parts of Scripture we disagree with. . .

God is a Majority of One!

(by Rev. Vance A. Fossum) . . .For many years the ELCA has been operating under the false notion that by a majority vote of poor, sinful human beings they may decide what is “true” and “right”before God, even though God has already spoken in His Word – the Bible. . .

Rev. Jim Cords Letter of Resignation

. . .I firmly believe that the Lutheran Confessions, which I have vowed to follow, are very clear that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. I believe they are very clear that the Bible is the only authority to which all teachings and teachers are subordinate. I see the ELCA moving away from these convictions and I do not wish to do so. . .

An Open Letter to Bishop Murray Finck

. . .My concern with the ELCA began a decade ago during seminary. It has increased as the ELCA has endorsed many things consistent with Liberal Protestantism: Called to Common Mission, an obsession with political and social projects, Human Sexuality Gift and Trust, and Full Communion with the United Methodist Church. . .

An Open Letter—to Presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson (2007) from Bishop Emeritus George Paul Mocko

All my life I have been proud to call myself a Lutheran. Given my Hussite roots, I have quipped that I was a Lutheran a hundred years before Luther. That pride is not what it was, as I feel it breaking down before feelings of betrayal and alienation. This is happening as I watch my church, like a juggernaut follow the path of the ECUSA (The Episcopal Church USA) in the matters of the ordination of those openly living in homosexual relationships and the blessing and marrying of those in such relationships. . .

David Yeago, Facing Reality in the ELCA

. . .In all those years, no one in the ELCA has ever asked me, as a theologian of the church, to come and talk to them about the Lord Jesus Christ. . .

“Where have you been David?”

. . .It wasn’t until our South Carolina Synod assembly last year that I realized the body I served as pastor, the ELCA, had headed off in a direction moving away from biblical authority and confessional witness with no plans of ever looking back. The traditional and confessional voice is no longer a part of the proclamation of the ELCA in so much as defined and practiced by the church catholic. . .