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ELCA Pastor Imagines Lesbian Angels Who Flirt With You

7/25/2022

9 Comments

 
"Goodness and Mercy can be the names of God's righteous lesbian angels, mercilessly (and consensually) flirting with you your whole life.

If you like that sort of thing. Ruthless and sacred pursuit from lesbian angels."

A pastor in synod leadership in the ELCA, Lura Groen, wrote that on her Facebook page.  (see below) 

Anything seems to go in the ELCA, from polyamory, to goddess worship, to sexual thoughts about angels and so much more. 

The ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a denomination that has twisted the Bible for years. Satan is the biggest perpetrator of twisting the words of God and it looks like Satan is active and in many ways controlling this denomination. 


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(Go to Pastor Groen's FB post here)

Read more about this prominent ELCA pastor here.


9 Comments

Abortion Hysteria of ELCA Pastors

5/5/2022

11 Comments

 
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:

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​From ELCA pastor Lura Groen:

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​ELCA pastor Emily Scott responded to the news with this Facebook post:



​From ELCA pastor Kwame Pitts:
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​ELCA pastor Clint Schnekloth writes:
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​From ELCA pastor Diana Edis:

​(link to her ELCA.org page)
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​Here is what ELCA pastor Tuhina Verma Rasche is saying:

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Replying to Tuhina's tweet, Rick Barger says:

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From ELCA pastor Elle Dowd:

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​From Carmine A. Pernini, ELCA pastor:

11 Comments

Tuhina Tweets: A Look into Someone the ELCA Lifts Up

8/17/2021

4 Comments

 
ELCA pastor Tuhina Verma Rasche is someone who has been lifted up and placed in teaching positions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  In 2020 Rev. Rasche was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the 2020 ELCA Young Adult Discernment Retreat (see on the right) and in the past has spoken to 30,000 ELCA youth at the national ELCA Youth Gathering. 

It is important for you to see the kind of people ELCA leadership is placing in positions of authority, who they want instructing their members and leaders. Below are social media posts by Rev. Rasche. Read more about her here, including her F*** This S*** devotional, and her using God's name as a cuss word here. 


Goddamn, whiteness is a hell of a drug. https://t.co/8ZQWU3evYp

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) April 5, 2019

Hey, God.

Thanks for accepting "God damn it" as a complete and honest prayer.

Amen.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) August 17, 2021
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Dear Speaker Pelosi, how about overtly stating #IStandWithIlhan, because the white nationalist rhetoric being used by 45 is putting her life in danger? https://t.co/SfcDV7JvnO

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) April 13, 2019

Thread. Prayer. #nosuchlaw https://t.co/O5UIkBCMtn

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) April 29, 2017

I went out for a walk between Zoom meetings. There was an old white man wearing a Trump 2024 hat eating at… a Mexican restaurant.

Asshat.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) August 13, 2021
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God damn white supremacy and the desire for proximity to whiteness. #AsianAmPBS

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) May 12, 2020
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Are you critiquing Antifa and weren't in Berkeley today?

Then also talk about Berkeley PD armed & ready to go on peaceful protestors.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) August 28, 2017

Lifting up in prayer those gathering in Berkeley to stand up to white supremacist Nazis.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) August 27, 2017
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House meeting last night with different organizations & faith communities.

The marginalized faith communities had a common thread: how do we keep our people safe in the vulnerability of worship when White Christian Supremacy is out to literally kill us?

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) March 27, 2019

On #GivingTuesday, the seminary from which I graduated highlighted older white cishet voices. Because of the lack of equity in representation of of the church catholic, my alma mater will not be receiving my donation.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) May 7, 2020

If you are "Christian" & agree with #MuslimBan2, your religion is if Caesar & Empire, not of Christ.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) March 6, 2017

Blessed are those who fight for Trans rights. #Beatitudes

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) January 25, 2017

Blessed are those fighting for reproductive rights for women. #Beatitudes

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) January 25, 2017

Blessed are the Sanctuary cities. #Beatitudes

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) January 25, 2017

A3: I'm also angry at #whitechurchsilent. There have been so many opportunities to speak up and out, yet... crickets. #Presbyintersect

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) January 19, 2017

Bad bitch for Jesus. pic.twitter.com/knGgcY1HD2

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) July 16, 2021

Just... holy shit, y'all.#SPS21 #SPSAssembly2021

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) May 7, 2021

pic.twitter.com/9WpXWkU1Gd

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) May 7, 2021
4 Comments

What Is ELCA Bishop Bill Tesch Saying?

12/28/2020

3 Comments

 
Rev. Bill Tesch was elected bishop of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA in 2019.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America members and pastors voted for Bill Tesch to be their bishop.

We should ask, who did they choose to lead them? What  does he believe and support?  Does his position align with God's Word?

Lets take a look at some of his social media posts.
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​Bill Tesch is excited, as you can read in the below post about Kevin L. Strickland, an openly homosexual man (married to a man), becoming bishop of Southeastern Synod, ELCA. 


Calling the Holy Spirit "her."

Below Rev. Bill Tesch writes about NOT being elected as bishop of the ELCA's South Dakota Synod saying "
I had thought I might be called, but the Holy Spirit, in her typically messy way, has revealed that I am not."


What about false religions?  Politics?  Check out the following by the ELCA bishop:

“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” From the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Here’s the report.

Posted by Bill Tesch on Thursday, November 12, 2020

Grateful this morning for the civic minded people who love our democracy, mostly volunteers, our fellow citizens who...

Posted by Bill Tesch on Friday, November 6, 2020

Today’s breaking news that the FBI thwarted an attempted kidnapping of a sitting governor should turn attention to some...

Posted by Bill Tesch on Thursday, October 8, 2020

Our nation mourns perhaps the smallest-statured giant in our history. A giant of the law, a giant adovcate for oppressed...

Posted by Bill Tesch on Sunday, September 20, 2020

This image created by Marty Two Bulls in SD translates to “Black Lives Matter” in Lakota.

Posted by Bill Tesch on Thursday, June 4, 2020

Iowa: much ado about nothing. Who agrees that Iowa should voluntarily take a step back in future election cycles?

Posted by Bill Tesch on Tuesday, February 4, 2020

For a season, “Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline” will function as the sole ecclesial document outlining the...

Posted by Bill Tesch on Sunday, March 8, 2020
3 Comments

ELCA Church Says 'Being Gay Is Not A Sin. Period.'

7/21/2019

4 Comments

 
"Being Gay Is Not A Sin. Period", according to multiple social media posts by ​St. Paul's Church in Rye Brook, New York, an ELCA congregation (see below). This is a message that the ELCA churchwide continually sends in all they do to lift up LBGT lifestyles in their words, actions and publications. Of course, the ELCA's 2009 decisions communicated this too, when they approved of gay weddings and practicing homosexual clergy in the denomination.

The truth is, homosexual lust and sexual relations is a sin. God says this in His Word.

Below are some St. Paul's Church social media posts, beginning with the post saying "Being Gay Is Not A Sin. Period.":



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#LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/9vIISwMaVp

— Jim O'Hanlon (@PastorJimOH) February 24, 2019

Gay Straight Alliance fundraiser for PCHS #GSA #LGBTQ #ELCA Money will help kids attend Prideworks Conference where clergy will be leading one among many of the workshops https://t.co/xU4f2Yca1R

— Jim O'Hanlon (@PastorJimOH) February 24, 2019
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4 Comments

ELCA Pastor Films Himself Giving the Middle Finger and Posts His Disdain For America

12/18/2018

3 Comments

 
Jason Chesnut is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). You may know him from being a co-creator of some vile "devotionals" that have been popular in many ELCA circles. (see here)

If you check out his social media pages you will see a lot of ugly, hateful posts. But there are three in particular I'd like to show you. The first is a rather disturbing post on Facebook by Rev. Chesnut where he displays his foul mouth and disdain for the United States of America. 
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You can also see the above post here.

The second post is a tweeted video of ELCA pastor Jason Chesnut giving the middle figure (x2) to you. This is a pastor ordained by the ELCA who is paid by offering dollars, money intended for God and His Work.


<Christians either beating the dead horse of “suicide is an unforgivable sin” or doing the more culturally-acceptable “eat better and take a walk!” bullshit rn> pic.twitter.com/7X0mvIyFmA

— Jason Is In The Bible (Acts 17:6-7) (@crazypastor) June 8, 2018
And for good measure. 

Ahhhhhhh, that’s good coffee.

Also, Dan, you highlighted my first — and, honestly, less artistic — attempt at the middle-finger GIF.

Here’s the updated one. I offer it to you, good sir. Directing it at you, as it were. pic.twitter.com/YVQqeNQCYn

— Chesnuts Roasting On All The Fires (@crazypastor) December 19, 2018
3 Comments

ELCA Leaders Talk of 'Rage' While Attacking White Men Over the Kavanaugh Confirmation

10/17/2018

5 Comments

 
Those who are "of the world" have taken over the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This happened decades ago, but "the world" is showing itself in the ELCA in increasing fashion each year since. Those "of the world" are changing and twisting God's Word, un-sinning and celebrating sin, pushing their evil, hate and reprobate mind (see Romans 1:28).
​

We see the "world" in the reaction of many ELCA leaders to Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation to the United States Supreme Court. (See a previous blog on this topic here.) Below are disturbing comments and reactions from ELCA leaders about the Kavanaugh confirmation and nomination. 

​-- ELCA pastor Clint Schnekloth shared ELCA seminary student Elle Dowd's social media post that encourages readers to be "radicalized," "rage-filled," "plug(ed) into leftist organization movements," and to "become ungovernable."


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Elle Doud also tweeted:

Listen I am pissed as hell at Senator Collins but I am just as mad at all those bazillions of male Senators who did the same fucking thing.

— elle dowd (@HowNowBrownDowd) October 7, 2018
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--  ELCA Pastor and ELCA Youth Gathering keynote speaker Tuhina Verma Rasche decided to pen "A Rewriting of Psalm 10." In it she says (language warning) "Wake the fuck up, God!" and speaks of "mediocre white men." Pastor Rasche's rewritten Psalm includes photographs of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Anita Hill. (See here and a segment of the rewrite below).

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And then there is this from Pastor Rasche,
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I just woke up on the other side of the Atlantic and heard that he was confirmed.

God damn it.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) October 7, 2018

--  ELCA Pastor Joelle Colville-Hanson is the Director for Evangelical Mission at the Northeastern Iowa Synod. (read more about her here) Seems she has hopped on the racist liberal mantra that white men are bad. See the tweet below. 

Not all old white men are awful https://t.co/j8uvE01L6P

— JoelleColvilleHanson (@PastorJoelle) October 7, 2018

-- ELCA pastor Lura Groen, (read all that I have written about her here), responded to the Kavanaugh confirmation by saying it is okay to scream, rage and throw rocks. She ends her tweet by calling God "she."

A reminder that screaming, raging, and throwing rocks into the void can all be prayers.

God can take it. God will hear you. She may even be screaming with you.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) October 6, 2018

-- ELCA pastor ​Joy Gonnerman​ is another church leader attacking white males saying they need to be voted out of office. 

Everyone. Everyone needs to vote this midterm. Show the old white men that they no longer get to determine the lives of women, children and non-white people any more. Vote. Them. Out. https://t.co/7WVmExUP7h

— PrJGonnerman (@JoyGonnerman) October 8, 2018

-- ELCA pastor Michael Tassler attacks conservatives in his tweet saying conservatives "fully and completely affirm, support and encourage sexual assault as the given right of males." 

So, let’s be clear: conservatives, behind the cloak of piety and morality, fully and completely affirm, support, and encourage sexual assault as the given right of males. It’s one of the rungs on the ladder to success.

— Michael Tassler (@mtassler1) September 25, 2018

--  ELCA pastor Emmy Kegler calls Judge Kavanaugh an "abuser" and says Republicans do not care whether the abuse really happened. 

We are making a woman flay raw the most painful part of her past on live television, and the Republicans are planning to approve her abuser anyway.

I don't believe whether it "really happened" matters to them.

What matters to those in power is power.

— Emmy Kegler (@emmykegler) September 27, 2018

-- Then there is superstar ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber tweeting how she is terrified, furious and "rage-y."

Sad. Angry. Terrified. Furious...and alternately numb and rage-y.

— Nadia Bolz-Weber (@Sarcasticluther) October 6, 2018
5 Comments

Pastor Tom Brock's TV Show Talks About the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering

6/21/2018

2 Comments

 
(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 our recent show about heresies in the Church, including info about the upcoming ELCA Lutheran Teen Gathering and its radical speakers

If you or someone you know is part of the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church USA, United Methodist Church, Catholic Church, or Disciples of Christ, you may want to watch this. Especially if you know someone who is going to the ELCA Lutheran Teen Assembly coming up on June 27th, have them watch this dealing with the radical speakers they are bringing in to speak to 30,000 Lutheran teens.

In Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock


2 Comments

ELCA Pastor/A Former Leader In Lutheran CORE Shares Her Support of Abortion and Gay Marriage

6/4/2018

2 Comments

 
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​A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s NPR news station posted an article entitled, “The Politics And Ethics Of Pennsylvania's Proposed Down Syndrome Abortion Ban.”
 
The article’s reporters spoke to several people about the abortion ban. One of those interviewed was Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor Natalie (Gessert) Hall:
 
“Hall said she doesn’t know if she would be capable of raising a child with Down syndrome, which she said is why she might have considered terminating such a pregnancy.
 
‘I’m not convinced that I would have the care and support I would need to embark on caring for a child with Down syndrome,’ she said. ‘Or a child with any other significant developmental or physical difficulties.’
 
...Hall said she’s counseled women who have struggled over whether to have abortions. Ultimately, she said it’s a personal choice that’s made more difficult by a society that’s not very accepting or supportive of people with disabilities.” (see here)
 
And thus we have another public statement by an ELCA clergy person who is supportive of a woman aborting the baby who is growing and developing in her womb. This is a common position for ELCA leadership and is reason alone for pro-life people to leave the denomination. 

But there is more to this blog than Pastor Hall's public statement about abortion. See, I am familiar with her. She “follows” me on Facebook.  Rev. Natalie Hall, formally Natalie Gessert, was a part of Lutheran CORE for a time (I am assuming that is no longer the case). In fact, she held a leadership position with Lutheran CORE.  Lutheran CORE is a "Network for confessing Lutherans...(and an) advocate for Biblical authority and confessional fidelity among churches of the Lutheran community..." (see here)

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 A Lutheran CORE publication said:

“Pr. Chavez recognized and
thanked the Lutheran CORE staff, all
but two of whom are part-time…Facebook Moderator Natalie Gessert." (Page 2 of
http://www.lutherancore.org/archive/pdf/Connection-Aug-Sep-11.pdf)

She was also involved in this project: 
 
“The 2010 Sola/ReClaim Edition* is a faithful word-for-word translation from Luther’s German Catechism.” “By the cooperative effort of Sola Publishing and ReClaim Resources this edition of the Small Catechism was produced in 2010 translators/authors representing Lutheran Core, WordAlone, LCMC, and NALC. The primary translator of the 2010 edition is Rev. Scott Grorud, with Rev. Thomas Jacobson, Rev. Natalie Gessert, and Dr. Gracia Grindal as translational consultants.” (see here) 

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So what happened to Pastor Natalie (Gessert) Hall? Why is this former leader in Lutheran CORE speaking out for abortion rights. Why is she posting on Facebook her support for homosexual marriage and rights? (see screenshots from her page posted on this blog). I do not know the answer, but I do know it is dangerous to place yourself in toxic cultures and environments. That is what you are doing by staying in the ELCA. It is dangerous and can bring about the compromising of your faith and Scripture. Sometimes when you are around someone long enough you succumb to their beliefs.  

This is one reason I encourage people to leave the ELCA, pastors and members alike. 

Below are additional interesting Facebook posts by Rev. Hall. 

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2 Comments

Two ELCA Pastors' Warped View of God and Abortion

5/25/2018

7 Comments

 
A recent article titled, “Can I Get An Abortion If I'm Religious?” features a number of religious figures in the United States who share their thoughts with the author, and two are pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
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ELCA Pastor Paul Eldred, who is "married" to a man, answered,
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"In my reading, the Gospel of Luke tells us that Mary consented to becoming the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:38)…If God Gave Mary that option, why wouldn't we think that all women should have the choice to become a mother or not?"

Following that mind-blowingly ludicrous response

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​from the ELCA pastor, the author of the article continued, “For Eldred, the creation story in Genesis 1 reveals another biblical argument for access to comprehensive reproductive health care, abortion included. ‘We are told that God created humanity in God's own image,’ he says. ‘We believe this makes every human body holy and that every body bears divine image — this certainly includes the full expression of women's bodies, including trans, non-binary, etc. No one should be able to make choices about someone else's holy and divine body without their consent. God wants our bodies to be healthy, and that means that our choices on healthcare should be our own and are between us, our doctor, and our God.’"

Does everyone see the absurdity of that statement? What about the unborn baby’s body, Rev. Eldred? It is okay to destroy their “holy” body? I thought you said “No one should be able to make choices about someone else's holy and divine body…”
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The second ELCA leader interviewed was Pastor Anna Ernst from Elmhurst, Illinois. She is quoted saying,

"I am concerned for the rights of all women. We cannot go back to clothes hangers and knitting needles. That is not life-giving, and I believe that is not what God wants," (see article here).

God does not want babies to be killed. This article gives us an example of the depravity of ELCA leadership and how far the denomination has gone since its founding. 


To learn more about the ELCA and its leadership's position on abortion see here and here (scroll down).


7 Comments

An Interview With ELCA Pastors: “Some of (Scripture) is a Box Covered With Animal Dung"

4/10/2018

8 Comments

 
​A year and a half ago ELCA pastors Matthew Pensinger and Brian Beissel took part in a conversation that was hosted by the Lehigh Valley Humanists (PA). It was called "Humanist/Lutheran Dialogue," and they posted the video on YouTube.
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What follows is an intriguing view into the mind-set, thoughts, understandings and beliefs of two ELCA pastors. Their words are quite disturbing in what they believe but also in what they reveal about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America itself.

Discussing the interpretation of Scripture, Interviewer Jason Brocious asks, “What would it take to push things too far and get in trouble (with the ELCA)?”

ELCA Rev. Brian Beissel said, “I think to say you don't believe in Jesus or the divinity of Jesus. I think that would probably be the breaking point I think.”
 
ELCA Rev. Matthew Pensinger: “Maybe.”
 
ELCA Rev. Brian Beissel: “Maybe. I don’t know.”
 
ELCA Rev. Matthew Pensinger: “It depends on, you know, who complains about it and who they complain about it to.” (see video below, at around the 15 minute mark)
 
The ELCA pastors continued, next sharing their thoughts on the authority of Scripture.

ELCA Rev. Brian Beissel stated, “Let me say something about the authority of Scripture…in the Lutheran tradition, Martin Luther himself, well first of all when he put together his own Bible, the Luther Bible, he put the books of Revelation and Hebrews at the end of Bible and didn't number them, which tells you what he thought of those specific books, you know.  Also he said, I believe this is a Luther quote, that Scripture is like the cradle or where the baby Jesus is placed. Meaning, does scripture reveal to us something about the essence of Christ? Yes. But does that mean everything in Scripture is, you know, is all of it inspired? Well yes, but I'm inspired by God too but and when I'm inspired by God I don't always do great things, you know, I mess up…”
 
ELCA Rev. Matthew Pensinger: “Some of it (Scripture) is a box covered with animal dung, is what is the point of that quote.”
 
ELCA Rev. Brian Beissel: “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes”

So the ELCA teaches that God's Word is just a dirty, disgusting, smelly vessel that talks about Jesus?  It is no wonder the ELCA rejects, twists and ignores many Biblical accounts and instruction.  
 
Later in the video the interviewer mentioned a tragic situation and asked the pastors, “how do you look at prayer and how that fits into, can it help these situations and in what way can it?”
 
ELCA Rev. Brian Beissel replied, “I'm going to say something that if my congregants watch this on YouTube, sorry.  Prayer without action is meaningless. I'm sorry, I'm sorry but it is. When you pray for something and ‘oh I’m a good person because I prayed for this’ and you don't put it in action it's just words.”
 
ELCA Rev. Matthew Pensinger: “…to me prayer is about centering oneself. It's about clearing, you know, the clutter from the mind and from the spirit. It's about prioritizing or re-prioritizing you know the things and so.”

What a warped view of prayer. One says prayer is meaningless without human action? The other says it is for one's self. They both went on and said their god is not a wish-granting fairy or genie. It sounded as if they do not believe in a God who answers prayers, performs miracles or takes part in believers' lives.  This is the kind of pastor the ELCA has trained and ordained. They are in a place of authority.  They are influencing the faith of their congregations.  
 
If you are sitting under the teaching of an ELCA pastor, I highly recommend leaving.
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8 Comments

ELCA Pastor Calls Out His Denomination

4/2/2018

0 Comments

 
It is great to see at least one ELCA pastor publicly criticizing ELCA leadership.  

“The Revd Paul Messner, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who serves at the Otsego County Lutheran parish, in rural Upstate New York, voted for Mr Trump as 'the lesser of two evils'. He says that opposition to the administration by his own denomination and other mainline Protestant ones is 'frankly irrelevant: they are "bleeding" members. Many in the Church on the Left relish their self-indulgent "prophetic’ role,"' he argues, 'and forget their pastoral role toward all in their congregations and communities.'” (see here)


Rev. Messner is correct that the ELCA is "bleeding" members. 

“The ELCA saw its membership decline to 3.5 million members in 2016, down from 5.2 million in 1988 when the denomination was formed as a merger of three other smaller Lutheran groups. Today, 40 percent of its churches have between 50 and 100 worshippers each Sunday.” (see here)
 

The ELCA is a dying denomination. Any conservative, Bible-believing members still in the ELCA need to stop funding this liberal, radical, Bible-twisting and faith-destroying denomination and leave it for a God-honoring, truth preaching, Bibilical church. 

0 Comments

Giving Some Denominations "Over to a Depraved Mind" (Romans 1)

3/12/2018

2 Comments

 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org.  You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
 
April/May 2018 The Pastor’s Study Newsletter
 
Dear Friends of The Pastor’s Study,
 
Does God ever give up on a person?  I think, since He saved the thief on the cross, we can say that God is willing to save people right up to their last moment.  But the Bible also teaches that God does “give people over”.  Romans 1:24, 26, and 28 says three times that God gives people over to “impurity, degrading passions, and a depraved mind”.  This God does only after they have rejected Him for themselves.  Perhaps you know people who have so rejected God that they have become lost in bizarre thinking and behavior. 
 
Does God ever “give over” a denomination?  I have a sad example to share.  The liberal branch of Lutheranism is called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (other Lutheran denominations like the Missouri Synod are much more Biblical).   Back in 2009 the ELCA decided to violate Scripture and ordain practicing homosexual pastors.  Things have gotten stranger and stranger ever since.  Recently a Chicago newspaper asked head ELCA bishop Elizabeth Eaton if Hell exists.  Her reply “It may exist, but I think it is empty.”  In its most recent edition, the ELCA’s national magazine has a whole article promoting the acceptance of transgenderism and the ELCA now has transgender pastors.  The ELCA continues to pay for abortion for any reason in its healthcare plan, which is funded by offering dollars.  The ELCA is a tragic example of God giving a denomination which has rejected Him over to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28).  And sadly, the same is true for the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church USA.  Many years ago these were good, Christian denominations, but step by step they have rejected the authority of Scripture and have entered the world of the bizarre.
 
The main purpose of The Pastor’s Study is to preach salvation from sin, death and Hell through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (and, yes, Jesus did teach repeatedly that Hell exists).  But a second purpose of The Pastor’s Study is to alert people to the false teachings in today’s denominations so that people will take their money, time and talents and join a more Biblical church.  Just yesterday a more conservative ELCA pastor called me needing support for his Biblical views and in a gentle way I tried to encourage him to consider leading his congregation out of the ELCA into a more Biblical branch of Lutheranism. 
 
You have helped The Pastor’s Study spread the Gospel of salvation through Christ.  And you have helped us alert people to false teachings in today’s Church.  Because of your prayers and giving, we are reaching a wider and wider TV audience.  Again I want to say a big “Thank you” for your prayers and giving!  We will be honest stewards of your contributions. 
 
Have a great Spring,
 
In Jesus our Savior,
 

Pastor Tom Brock
 
PS  You can give online at  pastorsstudy.org  or by mail to:
The Pastor’s Study
PO 41294
Minneapolis, Mn 55441

2 Comments

Prominent ELCA Pastor Says He is a Universalist

3/1/2018

9 Comments

 
More and more ELCA pastors are coming out of the closet and admitting they are universalists. Universalism is the belief “that all human beings will eventually be saved.” (See here)
 
Below is a recent Facebook post by prominent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, Clint Schnekloth. Schnekloth is a pastor, author and blogger; he created and facilitates the ELCA Clergy Facebook Group that has over 5800 members.


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This is a false teaching that is dangerous, risking the eternal lives of people who put their trust in it. The Bible, which is God’s Word, teaches that some people will be saved and go to heaven when they die and some people will go to hell with they die. "...Universalism and universal salvation are unbiblical beliefs. Universalism directly contradicts what Scripture teaches…To say that those who reject God’s provision of salvation through His Son will be saved is to belittle the holiness and justice of God and negate the need of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.” (See here)

Rev. Schnekloth is one of the growing number of ELCA pastors that espouse this belief.  The most renowned pastor in the ELCA, Nadia Bolz-Weber, is a universalist. (See here)  Rev Bolz-Weber will be a keynote speaker at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. Around 30,000 youth typically attend the event.
 
There are still ELCA pastors who will not admit to the label “universalist,” most likely because they understand that it is viewed as heresy, but they do openly teach the principles of universalism. For example, the leader of the ELCA, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, in an interview last year was asked, “Is there a hell?” She replied, “There may be, but I think it is empty.” (See here) That is universalism, plain and simple. If hell is empty, all people will go to heaven. Presiding Bishop Eaton is a universalist.
 
There are many more examples of the ELCA propagating universalism. They do it in their seminaries, in their publications, on social media and in their churches. If the growth of universalism is a concern to you, please go to the following links, here (and scroll down the page) and here, to find just how prevalent this teaching is in the ELCA. 


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ELCA's Augsburg University Holds Muslim Friday Prayers in Their University Chapel

12/23/2017

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​A recent chapel service at St. Olaf’s Boe Memorial Chapel (St. Olaf is an ELCA college) featured a message by Fardosa Hasson, an Augsburg University Muslim Student Program Associate, and part of the ministry staff at the ELCA’s Augsburg University (formerly Augsburg College).
 

Having someone of a non-Christian religion giving the message at your
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chapel service or church should not happen. Religions other than the Judeo-Christian faith are false, but it gets worse.
 
At the St. Olaf service, Fardosa Hasson spoke of how Muslim students at Augsburg University asked her to help them hold Friday prayers on campus. She said,
 
“The Director of Ministry, Pastor Sonya (Hagander), says, ‘Oh it would be great if we can actually have it in the Chapel.’ And I remember the conversation, as we go on, and now that I see every Friday, on campus, we have Friday services, inside the Chapel…it is reaffirming of diversity and inclusion to actually have it in a space where we all worship that one god. And remember, our chapel is not like here, where there are so many pictures of Jesus and Mary…” (see here)
 
So Muslim prayer services, to Allah, who is NOT the God of the Bible, are happening every Friday at Hoversten Chapel at Augsburg University. This is happening, as the speaker said, at the initiative of ELCA Pastor Sonja M. Hagander, University Pastor and Director of Ministries and Associate Director at Augsburg University (see here), and obviously with the approval of Augsburg University itself.
 
Using a house of God to worship other gods is a violation of the first commandment. God’s Word in Exodus 20:2,3 tells us, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
 
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
 
Here are some similar verses - https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Do-Not-Have-Other-Gods
 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its colleges, like Augsburg University and St. Olaf College, cannot and should not be trusted with the responsibility of teaching and guiding you or your family’s faith development.
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    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.


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