(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
A year ago the very liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elected the world's first transgender bishop. This is a woman who looks like a man and who wants to be called "they". Now, she (I refuse to say "they") has been asked to step down by the very, very liberal head bishop of the ELCA. You will see in head Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's letter (linked) below, Eaton is very willing to call this singular woman "they". The transgender bishop was not asked to step down because transgenderism denies who God creates people to be, but because she allegedly mishandled a situation with an Hispanic church. In our sad age of sexual confusion, it is tragic that the ELCA leads the way in confusion by electing a transgender bishop to begin with, and then consistently referring to her as "they". In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS In September at the transgender bishop's installation service, Bishop Eaton prayed to the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" also as "Parent, Child, and Holy Breath" and "Rain, Estuary, and Sea" (Here) is Bishop Eaton's press release about the situation
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(The following is a letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton from Gary Eliason. Mr. Eliason gave Exposing the ELCA permission to post his letter.) I feel the need to communicate with the larger ELCA that our family is choosing to leave the denomination. More correctly, that the denomination has left us! I was born and raised in an ALC family. As most kids in that situation, I attended Sunday School, confirmation, Bible camp, worked at Bible Camps for many summers and travelled with a Lutheran mission team for a year and a half, and naturally when the ELCA formed, joined that.
I grew to love the foundation of the church focusing on Grace alone, Word alone and Christ alone. However, in my estimation, the church has been drifting more toward Humanism and choosing to conform to this world, rather than be transformational to those that are in the world. We are told from ELCA pastors, that it doesn’t matter which god you believe in, as long as you believe. We are told that there is no hell or place of judgement. From a seminary professor we are told that Jesus’ death on the cross was not as atonement for our sins, but rather an example of how we should live our lives. Regarding the subject of sexuality, the church’s teaching seems to harken back to a rallying cry of the Hippie era, “If it feels good, do it!” I’m not sure how that coincides with lessons from living a disciplined life, or choosing the narrow way. I am not anti-gay, and I do believe everyone has his/her own rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, Biblically I have found no reference to same sex marriage. Marriage always seems to be referenced in the context of a man and a woman. If 2 people of the same sex choose to live together, I see no reason for them not to, with a civil agreement and legal holdings of traditional marriage, but I find it troubling that we take the sacred meaning of one word and apply it to another circumstance in order to fit our thought pattern, and again, conform rather than transform. Along the same lines, to have openly gay pastors, and to celebrate a trans individual as a church leader is not a concept I find in Scripture. Yes, we must accept all people seeking salvation to be an active part of the church, for we are all sinners, but how can it be justified to say that we are a welcoming church, and that we celebrate all life as holy, but then not welcome or celebrate the life (or as stated “the neighbor”) growing in the womb of the mother into that same church. The neighbor? I can only think of the lesson from the Good Samaritan. Is any abortion justified? While I believe it is the last resort in the case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother, it is interesting to note that the only other 2 countries that have laws as liberal as the US regarding abortion are China and North Korea, where Christianity is banned! The 3 types of cases I referred to account for less than 2% of all abortions, and in fact, 85% of rape victims choose to bring their child to term. To say that the ELCA bases its current views about abortion on a document from 1991 comes full circle to the reason Martin Luther rebelled against the Catholic church. Their teachings relied more on church doctrine and tradition than on the Word alone. I am truly saddened to see that nearly 1.5 million people have chosen to leave the ELCA. Could it be that because the church has tried to stand for everything, it has ended up standing for nothing? In wanting to validate every lifestyle, much of pop theology, yet failing to say yes, yes, and yes to unborn children, it shows no differentiation from itself and much of modern culture. What once was a city on a hill, is now just another house in the subdivision. I am praying that I will be able to find a church that will not leave me again.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Augsburg University has become radically liberal, evidenced by its recent chapel series entitled “Series on Female-Identifying Leaders Who Participate in Proclamation”. Notice, the series is not about “women preachers” but “female-identifying preachers” in order, I believe, to include non-binary, transgender preachers. But it gets worse. The Lutheran pastor preaches to the students that Jesus “screwed up” in His dealings with the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30) and that she had to redeem Him (see minute 15:30 below). That’s right, Jesus gets redeemed by the Syrophoenician woman. The preacher also uses the F word in her sermon. A few years ago I did a post on this same preacher who went on (and on and on) in a bizarre sermon telling her congregational members to call a transgender woman “they” This is the bizarre, new, "enlightened" world of many colleges and congregations of the ELCA. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
If you are prolife you need to stop supporting and end your membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It is time to leave.
See the ELCA news release and the tweet below from the ELCA Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, about the Supreme Court and their likely decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would give states the right to decide on abortion. The news release is a statement from the Presiding Bishop titled "A pastoral message on abortion." (See here) The tweet above is included in the ELCA news release. Here are some additional quotes from the statement:
I don't care what your reason is to remain in the ELCA, whether you are a pro-life pastor or a pro-life congregation or a pro-life member. You are part of a denomination that supports and advocates for the killing of unborn children (the ELCA also pays for employees' abortions). You can not justify remaining.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) A few years ago a Chicago newspaper asked Elizabeth Eaton, head bishop of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, "Is there a Hell?" Her response: "There may be, but I think it's empty." I am not aware of one time when Bishop Eaton wrote or talked about the centrality of reaching lost souls with the saving gospel of Christ. So if everyone is saved, the ELCA must find other things to do with its time and money. For Bishop Eaton, that has included producing two gay pride videos and the recent video below about "climate justice". Go to elca.org and look through the ELCA's news releases and you will find much mention of liberal political causes. Sadly, evangelism is rarely mentioned and pro-life issues are absent. In fact, Eaton in a press release some time ago reminded people that the ELCA supports abortion rights. I hope you attend a good church that preaches what Jesus preached: There is a heaven and a hell and it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be saved (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Acts 16:31). In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
Why is Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, an ELCA seminary, selling their property and buildings? The slow death of the apostate denomination rolls on.
A news release by the school titled "Institutions Agree on Plan for Sale of Hyde Park Property" can be read here. The article did not list the sale price. This news was a surprise to the ELCA's United Lutheran seminary president: I found this an interesting side note. The LSTC Seminary website says this: "ABOUT THE LAND The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago recognizes that our school stands on the lands of the Potawatomi, Miami, and Peoria peoples. For thousands of years before their forced removal, this was their traditional homeland, and it continues to hold their ancestral stories and wisdom. We honor and thank the elders of these and other nations, past and present. These lands are still home to many indigenous people, and we are grateful to learn in this place." (see here) With such a statement I find it telling that the ELCA is not giving the land "back" to the Potawatomi, Miami, and Peoria peoples. And we have yet to learn if the ELCA will keep the money made on the sale the "native American lands."
Abortion is evil and barbaric. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America supports abortion.
The leaked draft from the United States Supreme Court indicates the law on abortion will likely change. States, the people, will get to decide. This change has upset many including ELCA pastors and leaders. Here is a small segment of what they are saying: From ELCA pastor Jennie Chrien: From ELCA pastor Lura Groen: ELCA pastor Emily Scott responded to the news with this Facebook post: From ELCA pastor Kwame Pitts: ELCA pastor Clint Schnekloth writes: Here is what ELCA pastor Tuhina Verma Rasche is saying: Replying to Tuhina's tweet, Rick Barger says: From ELCA pastor Elle Dowd: From Carmine A. Pernini, ELCA pastor:
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
I graduated many years ago from Luther Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was moderate to liberal back then, today it is radically liberal. Witness the below screenshot of a recent chapel service. You will see Professor Amy Marga preaching and her preferred pronouns are listed in order to be gay/trans sensitive. You’ll also notice she doesn’t use the word “his” for God and avoids masculine pronouns for God. Later in this same service, God is prayed to as a “Holy fool”. Luther chapel in the past brought in a transgender preacher who prayed to God as “Our Mother in heaven“. Luther chapel has also observed National Coming Out Day for homosexuals and also the Transgender Week of Remembrance. Luther chapel has also had deep breathing meditation and Native American smudging during some worship services. A few years ago Luther Seminary, because of failing finances, had to sell off some of its buildings. Today attendance is much lower than when I was there. This is what happens when a denomination leaves the authority of Scripture. It slowly shrinks and dies. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
Pam Rocker is the LGBTQ+ Theologian in Residence for the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA. In a Facebook post she writes:
"I support any kid in expressing who they are through whatever affirms them, whether it's through clothes, medication, or surgery. I believe that withholding these supports from them is cruel and criminal." (See below) Then in a retweet of a Facebook post Pam Rocker confirms her support of a statement that says "This is indeed part of my queer agenda: To expose children as early as possible to all the possibilities of their beautiful becoming. To leave no doubt that whichever way their love blossoms and their gender blossoms and their body unfurls, they will be protected, cherished, celebrated, loved." (also see below) The two ELCA synod posts below show Pam Rocker being placed in leadership positions. Next are some additional FB posts by Pam Rocker which reveal some of what kind of person she is, what is important to her and what her beliefs are: |
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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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
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