Popular ELCA Minister Flips-off "Masterpiece Cake Shop" for Its Traditional Marriage Stance1/30/2020
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) beloved and notorious pastor, author and speaker continues to show the world why to stay away from ELCA pastors and their churches.
A couple of days ago, ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber sent out this Tweet, 
Masterpiece Cake Shop, which made national news, is the business that was taken to court for not baking a cake, and thereby not endorsing, celebrating and participating in, a same-sex wedding. The Tweet, which looks to have been taken down by Rev. Bolz-Weber, has caused an uproar, even bringing some criticism from people who support the radical pastor (see here). If you do not know a whole lot about ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, we have a collection of information about this pastor who is admired by many ELCA bishops. (see here)
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(The following is a past article written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Living Lutheran, is ever promoting the homosexual agenda. The January 2018 issue talks about “Christ’s radical inclusivity at the table” as a reason some are promoting the LGBT movement. The issue tells us that next month an article will be devoted to Reconcilingworks, the pro-LGBT group which enlists Lutheran congregations around the country to identify as LGBT friendly. Another article talks about yoga and drumming. It quotes an ELCA pastor who said she “had a deeply profound experience of God’s presence following a yoga class.” She “combines the Hindu practice of yoga with Christian devotions”. Over 35 Twin Cities congregations use her yoga class for “God’s healing presence” through yoga. A yoga class member said “Sometimes I think the whole group is experiencing something at the same time. I believe its the Holy Spirit.” Another article talked about claiming “our womanist ethic”. Another article on “transformation”—which to me sounded more New Age than Christian—talks of waiting “in stillness and silence” until “your soul will reveal the wounded parts of you that need healing and restoration. Your soul will reveal the false selves you’ve crafted.” The article does not mention transformation through prayer and Bible reading. And yet another article gives a one-sided view of immigration without exploring that there might be good reasons for upholding immigration laws. All in all, it was what I have come to expect from the official magazine of the ELCA, which some say really stands for “the Extremely Liberal Church in America”, or, “Every Lutheran Confession Abandoned”, or, “Everything Luther Cautioned Against.” Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, first head bishop of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has died. For many years, he was my bishop, and it was a difficult relationship. I believe in the infallibility of Scripture, and Chilstrom wanted no one to teach at the seminary who held such a view. I am pro-life and opposed to the ELCA paying for abortion for any reason with offering dollars, Chilstrom publicly defended abortion. I have struggled with same sex attraction most of my life but for the sake of Christ and my soul, I abstain. Chilstrom promoted the acceptance of homosexual relationships and the ordination of homosexually active pastors, which the ELCA approved in 2009. Someone asked me "Do you think he is in heaven?" I replied "Only God can sort that one out." Many years ago a wonderful pastor by the name of Maynard Force died, who had been Chilstrom's professor and who grieved over how liberal Chilstrom had become. At his death, Chilstrom wrote a letter to pastors informing that Maynard had died and that, though we don't believe in the Bible the way Maynard did, we still stand at the foot of the same cross of Christ. A conservative pastor wrote back stating that, yes, Bishop Chilstrom, some of us still do believe in the infallible authority of Scripture. Back in the 1980's a controversy erupted when Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota started showing hard-core pornographic films to teen sexual offenders and their families as part of "therapy" (including in one case a 10-year-old sister). At a large public hearing Chilstrom was asked if he could bring these films before the Judgement Seat of Christ. Chilstrom responded "Yes, I think I could." A huge groan went through the crowd. I remember a farmer saying of the controversy "When I go to clean something, I don't use a dirty cloth." Bishop Chilstrom treated people graciously, including myself. But I am sad that he was instrumental in helping the ELCA become the unbiblical, radical denomination that it is today. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS The below article shows how Chilstrom "evolved" on homosexuality https://www.gvnews.com/news/longtime-church-leader-herb-chilstrom-dies-at/article_4d4bed20-3b41-11ea-be82-13fa671df8e9.html ---  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America cares about this planet, and that is admirable. But all too often this platform results in extreme measures and calling for policies based on questionable-science and conclusions. In an article from the ELCA's Living Lutheran website, Amy Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy, states, "Climate change is the result of human sinfulness, as we in the U.S. consume more than our fair share of natural resources through unsustainable lifestyles and energy use while those who contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions are suffering its impacts the most.” (See here) Ruth Ivory-Moore, the ELCA Program Director for Environment and Corporate Responsibility, similarly states, “All of creation is experiencing the impact of global warming. These extreme weather patterns result in unprecedented floods, droughts and wildfires, and rising sea levels that are leading to the degradation of the earth. And the consequences are not being borne equally. The most vulnerable among us are paying a higher price; that is, they are disproportionately impacted with extraordinary losses and damages. We are truly in a dire situation, but there is hope—both spiritually and scientifically.” These are highly questionable statements. Offering dollars given to the ELCA go to pay for this kind of advocacy.  Rev. Kevin L. Strickland is the bishop of the ELCA's Southeastern Synod and the former Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and Executive for Worship. Last spring Rev. Strickland said the following: "For many years, I felt like I was 'broken' as I fought the internal struggle to come out and say that I was gay and to not only do that but then to continue being able to serve as a pastor in this church. I felt shame, brokenness, sense of not being right. Then a dear friend and pastor, reminded me, I was exactly what God created and even in what may feel broken to me, God calls it beautiful. I now can claim that I am a beautifully and wonderfully created child of God who is gay. Being broken-open means I now live free as the person that God created me to be. In that broken-openness, there is such beauty." (See here) In the ELCA and world it is common for people to say that "God made me gay." This is a lie.  (The following article was written last year by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Because of a snow storm, the Missouri Synod Lutheran church I attend was closed, but the ELCA Lutheran church nearby was open so I attended there (Missouri Synod is conservative, the ELCA is liberal).
The pastor preached on Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The pastor asked the question "Does this mean if you don't confess and believe in Christ you won't be saved?" The pastor answered "Not necessarily."
Yes, necessarily. Read Romans 10:9 for yourself. The clear implication is that those who believe in Christ will be saved and those who don't, won't. Elsewhere in Scripture it is clear that faith in Christ is necessary for salvation (John 3:18, Acts 16:31). Sadly, the false teaching of universalism (that all people will be saved, regardless of faith in Christ) is often preached in liberal, mainline denominations. Universalism denies the existence of Hell and teaches that even Hitler and the Devil will be in heaven because God is love. Jesus taught differently. I believe if you count the verses, Jesus talks more about Hell than He does about Heaven. I hope you attended a church today that unashamedly preaches that Jesus is the only way of salvation. In Jesus the only Savior, Pastor Tom Brock pastorsstudy.org P.S. This ELCA church also has a yoga class.
ELCA leadership has rejected the creation account that God has given us in Scripture (see here and here). Does Lutheran Church of Hope agree with their denominational leaders? We see and hear the answer in a sermon preached at the megachurch when questions from the congregation were answered: “How can I fit my beliefs in God with physical science, evolution, etc.?” Senior pastor and founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) megachurch, Mike Housholder, answered first, saying “…if you look at the pattern of creation in Scripture and you line that up with scientific views of the order how things happened, there is a lot of alignment and there isn’t nearly as much conflict as a lot of people would suggest” (See video below or here). 
Rev. Housholder speaks as if all science agrees on the time-frame and order of creation; they do not. There is a great deal of scientific evidence that shows the Earth to be young (here, here and here are a few).
Claiming that God's creation account lines up with the most popular scientific conclusions like those of the Big Bang Theory and the macro-evolutionary time-frame, is completely false (See here and the Answers in Genesis chart above).
Dr. Caroline Boehnke-Becker, who was part of the team of three Lutheran Church of Hope pastors/leaders answering questions from the congregation, confirmed Pastor Housholder's answer, that evolution and the Bible fit together saying, “...you can not ask the ‘how’ question of the Bible.” “I see no problem…the more I delve into science. It makes so much sense from a faith standpoint. And the more I delve into the Biblical text, it all makes sense and it all comes together.”
So Lutheran Church of Hope is teaching that God, through His Word, is not communicating to people how He made everything, how creation came into being, despite that clear reading of Genesis. God is in fact doing that. ELCA Pastor Mike Housholder also replied “I've never understood those who turn it into an 'either' 'or.'" Rev. Housholder continued on by lifting up scientist Francis Collins, who is a theistic evolutionist. (Read about Francis Collins here). Francis Collins "founded and served as president of The BioLogos Foundation, which promotes discourse on the relationship between science and religion and advocates the perspective that belief in Christianity can be reconciled with acceptance of evolution and science, especially through the advancement of evolutionary creation" (See here). Pastor Michael Mechsner viewed the Lutheran Church of Hope sermon, questions and answers and commented, “The problem with 'theistic evolution' is that it allows for DEATH before the fall. Death is the result of sin. That is the real problem for 'theistic evolution.' Jesus CONQUERED death which is what defines mankind's SIN” (See here). Biblical creation champion Ken Ham addressed the compromise of God's Word on evolution and God's Genesis account, like what you see at Lutheran Church of Hope:
A couple of Christian articles address the pattern this way: - "there is simply no way to merge theistic evolution with the witness of Scripture as to what actually happened in history. They are incompatible." (See here. “Lesson 4: Adam, Eve, & the First Sin” from the Is Genesis History? Bible Study.) - "There are major contradictions between a straightforward reading of Scripture and the order claimed by uniformitarian/evolutionary ‘science’." (See here) Lutheran Church of Hope has embraced the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This is a denomination that preaches universalism (that all are saved), is pro-abortion, demonizes Israel, encourages homosexual relations even with their pastors, allows goddess worship, pushes liberal policies, ordains transgender individuals, pays for employee sex-change surgery/drugs and abortions, twists and ignores Scripture and rejects God's clear historical account of creation recorded in Genesis. Members of the ELCA and of Lutheran Church of Hope should be ashamed to be part of this wicked, faith and soul destroying denomination. Below is the Lutheran Church of Hope sermon. The question on evolution starts at 24:20 minute mark.
Evolution and the Big Bang theories do not fit with God's account of creation. It is ignorant and disingenuous to say they do. Martin Luther tells us: “The days of creation were ordinary days in length. We must understand that these days were actual days (veros dies), contrary to the opinion of the Holy Fathers. Whenever we observe that the opinions of the Fathers disagree with Scripture, we reverently bear with them and acknowledge them to be our elders. Nevertheless, we do not depart from the authority of Scripture for their sake.” - Martin Luther as cited in E. Plass, What Martin Luther Says: A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1991, 1523. Luther further commented on this critical topic: “When Moses writes that God created heaven and earth and whatever is in them in six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are. For you are to deal with Scripture in such a way that you bear in mind that God Himself says what is written. But since God is speaking, it is not fitting for you wantonly to turn His Word in the direction you wish to go.” - What Luther Says. A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, compiled by Ewald M. Plass, Concordia, p. 93. |
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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