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(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Below is a service at my alma mater, Luther Seminary, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In the below video, Luther professor Amy Maria, who teaches a course in "Womanist, Feminist, Mujerista Theology", is careful in her sermon to avoid using the pronoun "He" for God, and refers to God as "Mother" and "She." At the end of the service the congregation prays the Lord's Prayer with "Our Father who art in heaven", but in the past Luther chapel has also prayed to "Our Mother in heaven". So the new normal at Luther is to periodically call God "Father" and to periodically call God "Mother." Jesus never prayed to God as Mother and never taught us to do so. But that doesn't stop people who think they are enlightened from doing so. A few months ago I wrote about Luther Seminary's homosexual and transgender chapel preachers and how Luther's financial problems are now necessitating the sale of a number of its buildings. Sadly, they are not learning from their error. From what I can see, no sign of repentance. Please say a prayer for the ELCA colleges and seminaries. It would take an act of God to turn them around, but sometimes God acts! Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
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You are playing with fire when you send your teenager to an ELCA college. That is definitely true of Augustana University, as you will see below, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Augustana University is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2015-2016 it had an undergraduate enrollment of 1,563. For Bible-believing followers of Jesus, the stances and activities of Augustana University should be disturbing and alarming. Here is what my investigation uncovered: Drag Shows - If you like to look at men dressed up as women, or women dressed as men, you can see it at Augustana University.
- The Augustana Student Association gave $250 "for an 18 plus drag show" to the Gender & Sexuality Alliance. (See here, page one)
Sex and LGBT Related
- Augustana University has a student group called the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) which describes itself in this way, “The Augustana GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) is an organization committed to the representation and advocacy of the Gender/Sexual diverse.” (see here)
- The Augustana Campus Ministry website displays "The Augustana Student Congregation Welcome Statement." It begins this way:
“Come to me, All who believe, all who wonder, and all who don’t know what to think; All who are joyful, all who suffer, and all who are complacent; All who are homosexual, or heterosexual, or bisexual, and all who simply don’t know; All who are male, all who are female, and all who are transgender.” (See here) - The Augustana University Campus Ministry is also a Reconciling in Christ Congregation which, in essence, means they view LGBT behaviors as normal and not sinful. (See here) - A lecture by Austen Hartke, a bisexual, transgender man is happening October 29th, 2018 at Augustana University (See here) More about Campus Ministry - The Campus Ministry likes to delve into the politics of the day, seen here co-sponsoring a “Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Refugees, Immigrants and Sojourners” with the Muslim Students' Association (MSA), area churches, the South Dakota Synod of the ELCA, and the Muslims Community Center. (See here) Non-Christian Religions
- At Augustana University you will find a student group called the Muslim Students' Association (see here)
- Augustana University has a Interfaith Reflection Room. The university reports that the "space is designed to provide a safe place for people of all religions and non-religious traditions to pray, meditate, worship, reflect, study and practice their faith . . . the room includes sacred texts from a variety of religious traditions . . .” (See here) - The Augustana Magazine printed an article highlighting the atheist group, Augustana Open Minds. (see here on page 25 and the group page here) - The university also partnered with a Unitarian Universalist church. (see here) - Augustana University newspaper, The Augustana Mirror published a 2 page article about two Augustana seniors who practice witchcraft. It is titled "Modern witches: two students find spirituality in Wicca." (See here)
"Cultural Appropriation" - Augustana University website, "VikingCentral," has this article, see below, titled “4 Acts of Cultural Appropriation You Should Avoid this Cinco de Mayo.” (Also see here) 
- This must be an important idea to the university since they posted seven other related articles informing students what they feel is right and what is wrong when it comes to culture and costume. See below and here) 
Housing - Flexible housing is offered at Augustana University. This means “that students may select roommates or housemates regardless of gender.” This is available at select university housing. (See here)
Lastly, see how Augustana University was rated by students who attended the school, and what they had to say about their experiences here.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
How sad that when you send a Lutheran teenager to the ELCA’s national teen gathering, they come back knowing they are now pro-gay and pro-transgender and that this is the stance of their denomination. The Bible is clear that homosexual behavior is sin (Romans 1:24-27, I Corinthians 6:9-11) and Jesus taught that God made us “male and female”, not transgender (Matthew 19:4-6). This has been the belief of virtually all Christians for 2,000 years with the exception of the last forty years as some Protestant denominations have been overtaken by liberalism. As the ELCA continues to corrupt teenagers and drift from God’s Word, I believe its numbers will continue to shrink at the alarming rate that has occurred since 2009 when the ELCA decided to allow its pastors to be practicing homosexuals. In Christ our Lord, Pastor Tom Brock  An article by an ELCA seminary professor titled “Bearing witness through community organizing” was printed and hosted on the ELCA’s Living Lutheran magazine and website. The article is another example of heresy being taught, allowed and disseminated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The author of the article writes:
“Jesus emerged initially in his own Galilean community as a prophet concerned with the renewal of village life…For a variety of reasons we have come to interpret the story of Jesus through an individualistic lens as the saving of souls and deliverance from personal sin. But throughout Scripture salvation refers to rescue from present danger or liberation from oppression, and the language of sin in many instances refers to structural evil. The numerous healings and exorcisms show Jesus restoring bodies and minds suffering the effects of colonization. Although the exorcisms are performed on individuals, they were symptomatic of internalized oppression that was the consequence of the domination and control of social and political space.” (read here) This is a warped and deceitful understanding of Christ and his mission on Earth. God’s Word explains why Jesus came here. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15, ESV). “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10, ESV). “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:17, ESV). "’ . . . even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (Matthew 20:28, ESV). “’I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness’” (John 12:46, ESV). “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV). ELCA congregation: Take Holy Communion, whether you believe or not, or have been baptized or not9/9/2018 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians that some of them were sick and dying because they were abusing Holy Communion. He then instructed them to examine themselves before taking the Lord's Supper: "Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (I Corinthians 11:28). All Saints Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa, a congregation of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, states this on their website regarding who may receive Holy Communion: "This meal is God’s love for you. All are welcome to receive the gift of bread and wine (wine or grape juice). This includes people of all ages and abilities; any faith (or non-faith) background; and people who believe, want to believe, or don’t know what to believe. Even if you have not yet been baptized, come and eat!" The Christian Church has always taught that baptism is to precede Holy Communion. "This meal is God's love for you" is true for those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ for forgiveness. But for those who do not, this meal becomes God's judgement. "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (I Corinthians 11:29-30). Probably the people at All Saints Lutheran think they are being loving by saying that anybody can take communion. In reality, they are hurting people in this life and possibly the next. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See All Saints Lutheran Church's website where it talks about communion here) (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 go to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Advocacy blog (blogs.elca.org) you will get posting after posting of politics from the left of center. Here is how the ELCA's Rev. Dustin G. Wright of Messiah Lutheran Church in Schenectady, New York describes Jesus: "Jesus was a refugee, a day laborer, after all, lynched in the manner of a political revolutionary by one of the most powerful empires the world has ever known specifically because he sought to challenge and change that system. While he talked about getting into heaven, for sure, this world, not the next, was the focus of his ministry....Jesus was a poor man. How then could followers of the Way of this poor revolutionary become identified with policing folks’ bedrooms but not saying much of anything about the systemic sins of poverty, racism, militarism and ecological devastation? The “moral narrative” of this country, influenced in part by a false, ahistoric and heretical brand of Christian Nationalism that has almost nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus, has quite simply become distorted." Wow, who is doing the distorting here? Jesus mainly focused on this world and "sought to challenge and change" Rome? Jesus told Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world" (John 18:36). And I can't recall Jesus saying anything about "militarism and ecological devastation". The ELCA claims to be a church based on diversity and inclusivity, a "big tent" where people of all views are welcome. But go to blogs.elca.org and take a look at the ELCA advocacy blog, see if you find any evidence that, say, unborn children should not be aborted or that Christians should promote traditional marriage. No, you won't find that in the ELCA (the ELCA pays for abortion for any reason in its healthcare plan and the ELCA now allows for homosexual "weddings"). Instead of diversity from ELCA headquarters, you will overwhelmingly get one point of view: liberal politics. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock |
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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