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A few weeks ago many Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leaders amassed at the United States and Mexico border. It was a planned attempt to garner attention. Photos were taken (mostly by ELCA people) and posted on social media by ELCA leaders and synods. Even a video surfaced of a prayer said by the wall by the ELCA's Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton where she called Jesus a refugee (a couple times) and then said,
"Bless...all that we do. That we might be a symbol of hope and hopefully of reconciliation, the tearing down of walls. We ask in Your name, Amen.” (see video below) So while standing by the border wall/fence the ELCA leader references the "tearing down of walls?" I do not believe this was just a poor choice of words by the Presiding Bishop Eaton. It was a calculated phrase, a political call to remove the wall that stops illegal immigrants free access to come into our country unchecked. How do I know this? Because the ELCA has been against the US border wall all along. (see here) What an unsafe, extreme position for a denomination to take, being against the securing of our country's borders. On a related note, the ELCA has an advocacy page name "Peace Not Walls" that refers to the protection wall built by Israel. And in 2005 the ELCA passed a resolution calling for it to be removed. (see here) Prayer for Refugees at the Mexican-U.S. Border, January 2016
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(The following two articles were written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)
Still waiting for one ELCA prayer for the lost The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's weekly "Prayers of the Church" printed in the bulletin are less than evangelistic. Prayers are regularly made for the environment, but I am still waiting for one prayer asking God to "save the lost" or "bring unbelievers to Christ". Instead, this Sunday we prayed: "... For coastlands and mountains, rivers and deserts, prairies and valleys; for wilderness and cities, lakes and oceans; for farmlands and pastures, forests and rangelands; and for orchards, vineyards, and gardens. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer." There was a prayer for the Church, pastors, bishops, teachers and missionaries, but that is as close as we get to pleading for God to bring people to Christ. Wouldn't a prayer like the following be great? "Lord, bring Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, atheists and all kinds of people to saving faith in the Lord Jesus, and use our missionaries to save the lost." But we never hear an ELCA prayer like this. Instead, we often pray for plants. I fear part of the reason is that many in the ELCA hold to the heresy of universalism, namely, that all people will be saved, regardless of whether they believe in Christ. The number of missionaries the ELCA sends out has gone done dramatically since its founding in 1988. Head bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the ELCA was quoted to say "The work of the Church is not so much saving souls, that's God's work." It is God's work, but it is a work that Jesus has given into the hands of the Church in His last words (Matthew 28:19-20). Until the ELCA realizes that Jesus' main command is to "go ye therefore", I am afraid there will be more prayers for "lakes and oceans, vineyards and gardens." Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock pastorsstudy.org (And) More ELCA prayers to save the planet, not the lost Again, today's prayers from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Augsburg/Fortress Press that are used in ELCA worship services had no mention of praying for the lost to be saved. Instead we asked the Lord to "preserve the whole creation so that animals, plants, and land flourish. Protect endangered species and renew polluted waterways....Lord, hear our prayer." "Endangered" grabbed my attention. Do we care that human souls are endangered with a Christ-less eternity? Or do we care more about "endangered species and polluted waterways"? Years ago, when I was still in the ELCA, some conservative pastors and I offered a resolution reaffirming the Bible's teaching that Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). It lost. But a statement warning church coffee drinkers about the dangers of the non-biodegradable styrofoam cup was received warmly. I got to the microphone and pointed out that if we cared half as much about the dangers of Hell as we do about the dangers of styrofoam cup, there might be hope for the ELCA. That was years ago. The number of ELCA missionaries has gone down dramatically since. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock pastorsstudy.org
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia decided to merge with “one school on two campuses with multiple points of access.” (see here)
The ELCA is trying their best to put a positive spin on this whole situation (read the article) but anyone with their eyes open and some common sense understands what is really going on. A similar situation is happening in the northwest corner of the United States. Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, Washington, at one time known as Lutheran Bible Institute (LBI), has decided to shut their doors and will "cease academic instruction at Trinity in May 2016." (see here) Trinity Lutheran is not officially affiliated with the ELCA but they have many ELCA connections (see here). Trinity Lutheran also offers the ELCA Bishop’s Scholarship to one student from each ELCA synod in region 1. This is nothing to be sad about, if fact, it is something that should be celebrated. The ELCA has been leading people away from the Truth of Scripture and our Lord Jesus Christ for years and one of the main culprits of that false teaching is the ELCA seminaries and colleges. Seeing the institutions that instruct the upcoming pastors and leaders of the denomination wither, have less influence, less power and a weaker voice is good. God is at work and often times He removes those entities that are standing against Him and harming His sons and daughters. (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.) I wrote an article criticizing Pastor Hiortdahl of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for saying that a homosexual couple will be reunited in heaven. (see here) I Corinthians 6:9-11 and other passages teach that those who live in impenitent sin will not be saved. A private ELCA clergy Facebook page has been taking me to task. One ELCA pastor (a former classmate of mine) writes: "I wonder what Tom…says at the funeral of an obese person (sin of gluttony) or a person who has continued to amass wealth over the years and not shared with others or any other sinner who has persisted in impenitent sin? Lord have mercy!" My response: I don’t think it is a pastor’s place to necessarily put anyone in heaven or hell at a funeral. Funerals are a time to preach the Gospel. But I would say to anyone, whatever their sin, that living in impenitent sin puts their soul in danger. The Bible warns against the “cheap grace” that Bonhoeffer wrote about. “Shall we continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be!” (Romans 6:1) says the Apostle Paul. And Jesus Himself warned that there will be people on the Last Day who call Him “Lord, Lord” but are lost because they were “workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). It is wonderfully true that we are saved by grace alone and not by good works. But I heard something at a clergy conference once I will never forget: We are saved by grace alone, but grace never is alone. Grace always changes a human life. Yes, we continue to sin in thought, word and deed, but when we sin we repent, we battle with sin. If there is no fight, no battle, no repentance, the Bible is clear that “the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9-11). One cannot live in impenitent sin and be saved. And repentance is not a “work” that we do. Repentance itself is a gift of the grace of God (see Acts 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25-26). I have been open that I personally struggle with same sex attraction (see my story at pastorsstudy.org). Another person on this Facebook page writes: "For the fact that he struggles with same sex attraction, that is particularly uncharitable.Could someone let him know that having gay sex isn’t going to condemn him to hell? Let alone loving a man?" My response: A man having sex with a man is not “loving” him. It is being hurtful to him. The Bible teacher that “gay sex” is a sin (see my article “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?” at pastorsstudy.org). Another person writes: "Screw him and screw his hate-filled blathering. He’ll get his desserts when he is welcomed to heaven by a chorus line of queer folk singing Broadway show tunes." Particularly tragic is that a woman who is the Director of Justice for Women at ELCA headquarters praised those words by responding: "The imagery of your post truly soothes me! Thank you for your prophetic words!" Lastly, I received this tweet about my criticism of the pastor: "(Pastor) Hiortdahl’s gospel-filled ministry beats your crusade of hate anytime. Jesus must weep to hear you call yourself a pastor." So, if you disagree with the homosexual agenda, you “hate”. Actually, the opposite is true. Those who are approving of homosexual behavior are the ones who are hurting homosexuals. Homosexual behavior can take years off of a person’s life, and then there is eternity. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom pastorsstudy.org (see comments from ELCA Clergy Facebook group at the bottom of the page) UPDATE: ELCA pastor says I am an "---hole, picketing funerals" Because I wrote an article criticizing an ELCA pastor for saying a homosexual couple will be reunited in heaven, another Lutheran pastor is claiming that I am like Westboro Baptist and I am "picketing funerals". He also called me an "---hole." (see below) This is the same pastor who wrote that if Jesus wasn't single, he was in a committed relationship with the disciple John--we shouldn't assume Jesus was attracted to women. It is tragic to see a Lutheran pastor malign Jesus, spread falsehood, and use profanity. Please pray for him, his congregation, and the ELCA. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (Clint Schnekloth is a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)  (Below are the comments from the ELCA Clergy Facebook page.)  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)
If you Google "Resurrection Lutheran Church Chicago" you will find a very, very pro-homosexual ELCA congregation. Pastor Brian Hiortdahl wrote this about a homosexual member who died: "Frank recounted his heartbreak for Richard, his beloved partner, as he watched him die slowly of AIDS. Today Frank and Richard are reunited in God's embrace. But before he died, Frank left us two remarkable gifts." (see here) The pastor then goes on to say Frank left the church a generous bequest of money. Reunited in heaven? The Bible teaches that those who persist in impenitent sin will not be saved, including the sin of homosexual behavior (I Corinthians 6:9-11). How tragic that a pastor would tell people that they can live in impenitent sin and go to heaven. I am sure, however, that this pastor would not say homosexual behavior is a sin. That is what happens when people refuse to submit to the authority of Scripture. They make things up as they go. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock Pastorsstudy.org
You can tell a lot about a person by what they say on social media. That is also true of pastors. Let's look at what a number of ELCA pastors are saying. (sorry about the language)
Rev. Scott A. Johnson is an ELCA pastor at St. Petri Lutheran in Story City, IA. Check out this screen shot of his twitter page. Notice the unbecoming words on the Chevy Chase picture that this ELCA pastor chose to post.
The language used on his picture is not funny and the people of St. Petri in Story City, Iowa should be embarrassed and disgusted that their pastor posted such a thing. He should be disciplined. Jesus said "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:10b,11
--- Fritz Wendt is an ELCA pastor living in New York City. He gets political sometimes on Facebook, one time calling republicans "repugnicans." (see here) And Pastor Wendt apparently liked the following enough to share with all his Facebook friends - Posted by Fritz Wendt on Sunday, January 3, 2016
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Next is Eric Clapp. He is an ELCA pastor in Clinton & Camanche, Iowa. On his blog he is pictured holding a sign that says "I'm a Pastor's husband and I'm a Jesus Feminist". (see here) Eric is not a stranger to Exposing the ELCA. We blogged about him previously pointing out the filth that proudly spills from his mouth. (See here) --- ELCA Rev. Jealaine Marple at Elvira Zion Lutheran Church in Clinton, Iowa describes herself on twitter this way: “Wife. Mom. ELCA Pastor. Church nerd. Bearcat (NWMSU). Feminist. Liberal. Tattooed. Foul mouthed. All tweets my own. Grace abounds! Pronouns: She/her” (see here) --- Candice K. Wassell is an ELCA pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in O Fallon, Illinois. She likes to share her social and political opinions on twitter. Here are a couple of them:
Exposing the ELCA asked readers "Are the members of your church more liberal today than they were 3 years ago?"
65.24% said "Yes" (137 votes) 34.76% said "No" (73 votes) Total Votes: 210 (The following two articles were written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)
Pastor Lee Hallstrom is a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He preached a coming out sermon to his Minnesota church saying: “In this journey, its been amazing to see the grace of God at work. One such example is in having someone special in my life. His name is Dennis. Actually it's the Reverend Dr. Dennis… (another pastor)…I was trying to help a _friend find a partner and amazingly I'm the one who receives a partner. I believe the only thing wrong with Dennis is he is not Lutheran!… Dennis thinks I'm far too “Christo” centered (Can’t help being a Lutheran)….I’ve come to see these givens as an amazing display to us of God’s creativity. We have a God who happens to love diversity! Again, please know that no one would choose being gay.” I personally know what this struggle with same sex attraction is about (see my article “My struggle with same sex attraction” at pastorsstudy.org). I also know the Bible is clear that homosexual behavior is a sin. We may not choose our temptations in life but we do choose what we do with them. Deciding to get a partner and engage in homosexual behavior is indeed a choice. Now 80 percent of Pastor Lee’s congregation has voted to allow homosexual “weddings” at the church. Pastor Hallstron was interviewed by the local newspaper and defended his position. From the article: “Hallstrom responded to some of the arguments against the church’s position. “We, as an ELCA church, take the Bible very seriously,” Hallstrom said. “It’s our authority for faith and life. We realize those five to seven references to homosexuality in the Bible don’t speak of homosexual orientation. They don’t speak of two people wanting to love each other in a committed relationship.” Another argument Hallstrom has heard suggests the ELCA, and the local congregation, is “caving in to culture” or “whitewashing the Gospel.” “No, we’re saying, ‘What does the Gospel say to us through the power of the Holy Spirit today through God’s Word?’” Hallstrom said. “That’s very important to me because I don’t want people to think we’re irresponsible with the Bible.” Instead, he suggests interpreting the Bible contextually and asking, “What would Jesus do?” “Jesus said absolutely nothing about this issue in the Bible, so it leaves us with Jesus’ life,” Hallstrom said. “He spent his earthly ministry largely including the excluded of the day.” My response: Those “seven references” to homosexuality happen to be God’s Word on the subject. It is not true that these verses do not speak of two people wanting a loving, committed relationship. There were many homosexual relationships in the ancient Roman world and the Apostle Paul condemns them all as “shameless acts” in Romans 1:26-28, saying they are “against nature.” He doesn’t add “But its okay if you love each other.” (see here) Hailstorm brings in “the Holy Spirit today” in his defense of homosexuality. It is common for liberal pastors to say that the Holy Spirit is saying “something new” to the Church about homosexuality. But for that to be true the Holy Spirit would have to contradict Himself since He is the one who inspired the writing of the Bible. And did Jesus say “absolutely nothing” about this issue? Read Matthew 19:4-6 where Jesus refers to marriage as between one man and one woman. It is true Jesus never explicitly addressed homosexuality, but He never addressed rape or incest either. We are not to interpret His silence as approval. Jesus was a Jew who believed in the Old Testament teachings on such issues. So what we have now in the ELCA is a Lutheran pastor in the pulpit who preaches to his church about his homosexual partner and defends homosexual behavior in the local newspaper. I will say it again, this ain’t my grandmother’s Lutheran church. If you are a member of the ELCA I highly encourage you to take you time, talent, and money and join a denomination which honors Christ and the Scriptures. If you or someone you love struggles with homosexuality, please go to restoredhopenetwork.com and see if there is help in your area. You can also view TV shows I have done on my struggle with same sex attraction at pastorsstudy.org Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock pastorsstudy.org |
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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