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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.)
The liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America prides itself for being “open and inclusive”, but here is an example where conservatives are shown the door.
Look at the below post from ELCA Bishop Bill Gohl of the Maryland-Delaware Synod. He is urging his churches to observe the “Transgender Day of Remembrance“, but if you disagree with this, he will delete and block your comments. Not very open and inclusive. I wonder if this bishop has asked his congregations to observe a day of remembrance for the thousands of Nigerian Christians who have been killed by Muslim extremists. Maybe he has done this, but I doubt it. The priority in the ELCA is all things LGBT. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Pastorsstudy.org
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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.) The Grand Canyon Synod of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America just released the below, praising God for the “faithfulness” of the ELCA’s first three head bishops. Let's talk about each. (See here)
Bishop Herbert Chilstrom was my bishop in Minneapolis before he became head bishop over the entire denomination when it formed in 1988. He was very nice, diplomatic, but liberal, man. He did not want anyone teaching in ELCA seminaries who believed in the inerrancy of scripture. So much for diversity. During his tenure or shortly thereafter, I sent 11,000 letters to all ELCA churches when I discovered the ELCA was paying for abortions for any reason with offering dollars in the denomination’s healthcare plan. Chilstrom was pro-choice on abortion. Next is Bishop H. George Anderson. During his tenure, it went all the way to the ELCA’s national convention to stop paying for abortions for any reason with offering dollars. That resolution failed two to one. It was then I came back to my church and suggested that we leave the ELCA. Next is Bishop Mark Hanson. During Hanson's liberal leadership, the ELCA voted to ordain practicing homosexuals, which started the largest church split in American history at that time (I think the recent split in the United Methodist Church over the same issue is even bigger). Hanson also referred to “God Godself” in order to stay away from referring to “God Himself.” Hanson has also defended “children who are transitioning” to the opposite sex. In a sermon Hanson stated that Jesus was mean and hurtful to the Syrophoenician woman. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has lost 42% of its membership since it was founded in 1988. These three head bishops are not reasons to rejoice, but reasons to mourn. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock pastorsstudy.org (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) St. Olaf College of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Northfield, Minnesota, was founded by Norwegian pastors in 1874 to teach young adults Christianity. But ELCA colleges have been hijacked by liberal theology and the LGBT movement.
For example, St. Olaf’s President Susan Rundell Singer has announced in St. Olaf Magazine that the beautiful Boe Chapel on campus, once dedicated to the glory of Christ, will now be used for “meditation and smudging”. Smudging is a pagan practice of Native American religion in which herbs are burned to produce smoke to connect with the spirit world and “balance energies”. Rundell Singer writes “We are expanding initiatives to support community and belonging on the Hill, including opening two new spaces in Boe Memorial Chapel focused on meditation and faith-related incense and smudging — a practice involving the burning of herbs like sage that has roots in various faith and cultural traditions, including many Indigenous cultures”. (see page 2 here) I looked through St. Olaf Magazine and did not find one mention of the words “God“ or “Jesus“. But I did find a picture of a lesbian wedding. Contrast Saint Olaf College with University of Northwestern in Saint Paul, Minnesota, an evangelical college. Northwestern states “We believe that we are under divine obligation to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints by proclaiming to a lost world the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and the enthroning of Him as Lord and Master (Jude 3, Acts 16:30, Col. 3:1-3)…. our relationship to Jesus Christ and commitment to obey God’s Word will be at the very center. This promise to God and to each other is what binds us together and sets us apart from the world. We believe that it is our duty, honor and delight to live under the Lordship of Christ, to study His Holy Scriptures, to reach all nations with the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ and teach them how to be disciples”. The difference between St. Olaf and Northwestern is night and day. The ELCA’s Luther Seminary of which I am a graduate also held a Native American smudging service in its chapel. Luther Seminary is now selling off all of its buildings and moving elsewhere as attendance and donations have declined. St. Olaf was King of Norway in 1015. After his conversion to Christ in France, he returned to Norway with a mission to Christianize his kingdom. His influence led to the widespread conversion of the Vikings to Christianity. I am guessing that Saint Olaf would like to have his name removed from Saint Olaf College. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Pastorsstudy.org PS You will notice that Jesus is nowhere mentioned in St. Olaf’s “Why I Study Religion” (see here)
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Here is another video from the lesbian New York bishop of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America promoting homosexuality. She claims God led her to speak to a young woman who is “queer”. The bishop assured the woman that God made her queer, even though her family has religious objections to homosexuality. The bishop says the woman’s family exhibits “the height of hypocrisy“. But the bishop, who has a “wife”, does not see the hypocrisy of calling herself a bishop of the Church and yet engaging in homosexual behavior.
This is the “right is wrong, and wrong is right” world of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS For the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, see my article. “What does the Bible teach about homosexuality?“ at 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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