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By Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. Follow Pastor Brock on Facebook (here) and twitter (here.)
Back in 2013, lesbian ELCA Lutheran Pastor Barbara Lundblad preached at a "pride" worship service at a church in New York City. She admits she had been in a lesbian relationship for 25 years. People knew she was breaking the rules back then before the ELCA allowed homosexually active pastors, but no one did anything to discipline her. Now that the ELCA allows homosexually active pastors, she preached a sermon using the parable of the widow and the unjust judge from Luke 18:1-8. She said at the pride service "We must keep knocking, too — knocking on the door of the unjust judge. Congressman John Lewis is knocking. Trans people are knocking. Queer people in 37 states are knocking. This isn’t only a political agenda. This is Jesus’ agenda: Be persistent in prayer. Be persistent in working for justice...." Talk about turning a parable on its ear. So Jesus' parable about prayer is used to promote pride in a behavior the Bible calls "sin". And Lundblad is one of the favorite speakers in the ELCA. This is one more evidence that people who love the Lord should take their time and talents and join a denomination other than the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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Just one week ago a delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which included ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton, held a meeting with a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member. The ELCA delegation sat with the Palestine Liberation Organization representative listening to the outright fabrications the PLO is famous for creating about Israel. The PLO issued a press release afterward summarizing the meeting. Here is a segment from the press release; please note the sinister lies many of the statements contain -
(The PLO Executive Committee member) “briefed the ELCA delegation on the latest political developments, including current Palestinian initiatives and political options for the future; Israel’s ongoing violations of international law and human rights, including the escalation in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, the expansion of the apartheid wall and checkpoints, the annexation and political, geographical and cultural transformation of Jerusalem, the targeting of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its worshipers and Israel’s efforts to incite a holy war in the region, Israel’s most recent horrific war in Gaza, the superimposition of ‘Greater Israel’ on historical Palestine, and Israeli policies of ethnic cleansing, particularly in Jerusalem, Area C and the Negev; the substantial diminishment of Christians from Palestine due to Israeli policies of military occupation; Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues; and the domestic situation and rift in Palestine, as well as issues of mutual interest and cooperation.” (read here) So far there has been no press release from the ELCA about this meeting. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently joined highly controversial political activist Rev. Al Sharpton for his march in Washington. The ELCA advocacy group even bragged about it saying,
“Lutheran response to police violence issues Last month, Lutherans helped take action on police violence by encouraging the Senate to pass the Death in Custody Reporting Act. The successfully passed act will require law enforcement agencies to report all deaths of people held in police custody to the Department of Justice, serving to improve transparency and local accountability. ELCA Advocacy also supported Lutherans in the Justice for All March in D.C. on Dec. 13. The march, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, protested police violence against men of color. Our office organized dozens of Lutherans, including passionate lay people, young seminarians, and ELCA pastors from D.C. and New York. Lutheran attendees held a small vigil at Luther Place Memorial Church before joining the march on the Capitol.” (read here) This is how members' hard-earned dollars, given to the ELCA, are spent. The Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba is the former Director of African National Ministries of the ELCA. However in 2010, he resigned from his position and left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for good. Below is a word from Dr. Buba explaining his decision. Dr. Buba was challenging his listeners to know that Jesus is calling them to himself, “Sometimes God calls you, but you don't know where he called you to . . . don't build relationship with institutions, build relationship with a Person. Don't build relationships with a religious system, build relationships with Jesus . . . (Jesus) call them (the disciples) to Himself. He did not call them to--that is what Luther got during the Reformation. That's why he said, 'Who are you, sitting in Rome, dictating over the Word of God? Who are you, Council of Cardinals, bishops and archbishops, snuffing out the Word of God? Declaring your authority above the Word of God? Who are you? You are just an institution.' He says 'I'm not going to stand and line up with an institution, I will walk with Jesus.' The day I resigned from my position in the churchwide office in Chicago, my office was on the ninth floor. I sit on that floor and look down on O'Hare airport, and I was big, and I was earning, and I was just in a position in an institution. And Jesus, was standing down (pointing down, as in out a window), he was not on the ninth floor with me; he left that building. He left that institution. He left that organization. He was right there on the grass, and he was saying, 'Are you going to stay in the institution or follow me?' December 8th, 2010, I submitted my resignation, came down with an elevator and went to that field. Jesus and I went into my Jeep, and that day I did not drive, I flew. I went home. All the burden was gone.” Jesus left the building. Jesus left the ELCA. Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba is now the Assistant to the Bishop for Mission for the NALC. View Dr. Buba's remarks starting at the 1:42.45 minute mark - By Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. Follow Pastor Brock on Facebook (here) and twitter (here.)
Montana Bishop Jessica Crist has written a "pastoral letter" to the churches telling them that each congregation is to decide whether to perform gay marriages. "There is nothing in ELCA policy that requires you to do same-sex marriages. And there is nothing that prohibits it, where the law allows". I couldn't help but think: Bishop, what about God's law? Nowhere in her "pastoral statement" does she mention Scripture. Of course, no one can find a Bible verse to support homosexual "marriage". The ELCA is reminiscent of the Old Testament verse "Everyman did what was right in his own eyes." I'll say it again, it is time to leave the ELCA for a more biblical denomination. --- (Read the Bishop's letter here. At the end of the letter are comments about the letter from Pastor Alan Baglien.) The ELCA's official magazine cover story for their December 2014 issue of The Lutheran is titled “Mary & mariachi music:Virgin of Guadalupe, Dec. 12.” In the cover story we read all about Trinity of Manhattan [N.Y.] Lutheran Church celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe:
“The day commemorates the vision and miracle when a girl appeared to peasant Juan Diego on a hill outside of Mexico City with instructions to build a temple on the site. When he delivered the message to the local bishop, roses not native to the area fell from Diego’s cloak and an image of the Virgin Mary was impressed on the simple garment.” The Lutheran magazine goes on: “The first part of Trinity’s celebration, Las Mananitas, occurs at 6 a.m. on Dec. 12. Worshipers leave roses at the altar. They sing songs to Mary, enjoy Mexican sweetbread and a rice drink, and go on to work or school.” (read here) Is this the message ELCA leadership wants to send its readers, that singing songs to Mary is encouraged in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? A church that sings songs to someone other than God sounds like it is worshiping that entity. And why is the ELCA lifting up a celebration of a supposed vision of the Virgin Mary? It's hard to believe they would believe this was a God-directed occurrence when the denomination's top leaders do not even believe the first chapter of the Bible (God's account of creation). I guess the ELCA will do anything to get people into their pews, even that which doesn't conform to the truth of Scripture. Sadly this is not the first time, nor, I might say, will it be their last. |
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Dan Skogen
Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word. If you have been helped and blessed by Exposing the ELCA's ministry, please help us continue to proclaim the truth of God's Word to ELCA members who need to hear it.
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