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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.) Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has a lectionary blog article which tortures John 3:16, thus pleasing the pronoun police. This past summer the ELCA in its national assembly passed a resolution saying they want more "inclusive and expansive" language for God, which means they want to be open to feminine language for God. The Living Lutheran blog reads (with my notes): "God loves the world such that God (note "He" is changed to "God") gave up the Son (note: not "His" Son), so that those who believe (note: not "those who believe in Him") will not perish, but enjoy eternal life instead....God did not send God’s son (note: not “His” Son) to condemn the world, but to save it." Later the article talks about "what God is willing to do to reconcile humans with Godself." There is no such word as "Godself'. It is a word invented by religious liberals who cannot bring themselves to talk about "God Himself." Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock --- (See article here) 
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is poisoning the minds of its people. They continually demean God and His Word in their words and actions. This poison is distributed to listeners in the many entities and persons who operate under the ELCA banner.
Case in point, last week the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America published a story in their official magazine, Living Lutheran, praising a transgender boy who, by way of his ELCA pastor father and his mother, has become a spokesperson for transgender rights. Publishing and promoting LGBTQ+ propaganda is common with the ELCA, they even had this same transgender boy, who lives as a girl, speak at the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2018. In the Living Lutheran article readers are told: “Seeing the damage that the faith community does to LGBTQ+ people gave me something to learn about and inspired me to help others understand that God made you who you are, and God does not make mistakes.” (read here) 
How can anyone who loves God and believe His Word stay in this bondage celebrating, Bible and faith destroying denomination? They are harming people who struggle with sinful desires and turning other people away from the Truth God handed down in Scripture.
Jesus said to go make disciples "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20a). This challenge is to help people experience abundant life in Jesus, found in the context of a relationship with Him. The ELCA is teaching people the opposite of what Jesus commanded, telling people to not do as He has said which hinders their relationship with Him. Remaining in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America helps them perpetuate alienation from God and wickedness. And that wickedness grows worse each day. The Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities publishes a magazine called "Intersections." The Fall 2019 edition of the magazine highlighted "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Here are the titles of the articles in the Fall 2019 issue:
(See here) This is the state of "learning" in the ELCA.  (See here)
There are 26 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America colleges. St. Olaf College Grand View University Luther College Augsburg University (College) [in Minneapolis] Augustana College (Illinois) Augustana University Bethany College (Kansas) California Lutheran University Capital University Carthage College Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) Finlandia University Gettysburg College Gustavus Adolphus College Lenoir–Rhyne University Midland University Muhlenberg College Newberry College Pacific Lutheran University Roanoke College Susquehanna University Texas Lutheran University Thiel College Wagner College Wartburg College Wittenberg University
A Facebook post by the ELCA's Metro DC Synod begins by indicating the hashtags, "#dailybible" and "#loveislove" and is followed by a LGBTQ+ flag. Then the synod shares the Bible verse "The voice said to him again, a second time, 'what god has made clean, you must not call profane" - Acts 10:15.
This pro-LGBTQ+ post, combined with the Bible verse, is deeply disturbing. It claims that God is supportive of sexual relationships that fall outside of those that are heterosexual, between one man and one woman. This post indicates that those relationships are "clean," permissible and good. This is a proof-texted use of a Bible verse about Peter's vision, as God called him to go to the Gentiles with the Gospel. God revealed to Peter a new understanding of the law as it relates to what was clean and unclean. Context matters. This is a manipulative use of Scripture to deliver an agenda and cause people to blindly follow a new thought that supports that agenda. 
Here is another post by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America synod that also uses the LGBTQ+ mantra, "love is love." It seems that the background image of the picture also supports that message.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has a recent article entitled “Who is God?” The author is Erin Strybis who is content editor of Living Lutheran and who writes “These days I long for a softer God. God as Breath. God as Water. God as Mother. God as Healing.” In many of its articles, Living Lutheran tortures the English to avoid calling God “He”. But Jesus never prays to God as “Mother”, only as “Father.” This past summer the ELCA passed a resolution calling for more “inclusive and expansive language for God”. My alma mater, the ELCA’s Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, periodically offers prayers to God as “Mother”. It is tragic and arrogant when people think they can improve upon Jesus’ language for God.  Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock --- (See article here)  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is inviting all of its pastors to a gathering in Phoenix this July. Many “caucuses” and workshops will be offered by the ELCA to its pastors, and much of it reads like a wish list of liberal theology. One workshop will be led by Jamie Bruesehoff, an LGBTQ+ advocate and pastor’s wife and the mother of a boy who identifies as a girl. Two summers ago, when the boy was 12 years old, he spoke to 31,000 ELCA teenagers at the ELCA Teen Gathering to promote transgenderism. Here is another workshop at the upcoming ELCA pastors gathering: “LGBTQIA+ Identities in Ministry Caucus ...Rostered ministers who identify as LGBTQIA+ are invited to a caucus and share a time of celebration, sharing, and solidarity. We will take time for...a ritual of celebration of queerness. This caucus is for those who identify as a gender and sexual minority and not allies”. Even the secular pro-gay group GLAAD will show up with the below workshop which seeks to teach pastors how to leverage the media in hopes of getting the “moveable middle” to become pro-gay: “Calling for Justice in our Modern Media Landscape Deacon Ross Murray, Senior Director, GLAAD Media Institute...Participants will learn how to leverage the media and articulate a message of God's justice. Equipped with research and best practices gleaned from 30 years of LGBTQ advocacy, the GLAAD Media Institute will work with participants to communicate their message with the movable middle while combating the often-polarizing narrative surrounding faith and social justice.” Mary Streufert, Director for ELCA Justice for Women, will offer a workshop on expanding God language, which usually means moving beyond God the Father language and using feminine language for God. Such are among the offerings at the upcoming ELCA pastors gathering. And such is the reason liberal, mainline denominations like the ELCA, the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church in America, the Disciples of Christ, and the PCUSA Presbyterians continue to shrink and shrink. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See ELCA workshops here)  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The current edition of Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, highlights the ministry of ELCA Pastor Joseph Castaneda. He is a homosexual with a "husband" whose ministry is authorized by the ELCA's Southwest California Synod. His ministry produces "Queer Faith", a Youtube series for LGBTQ+ people. The ELCA bishop for the Southwest California Synod is Guy Erwin, also a homosexual man who is "married" to a man. In recent years, Living Lutheran has printed glowing articles about the ministries of practicing homosexuals and transgendered persons. Living Lutheran has refused to run an advertisement for OnebyOne, a ministry which holds to the traditional, Biblical view that homosexual behavior is contrary to God's will. This in spite of the fact that the ELCA's 2009 decision to ordain practicing homosexuals assured conservatives that their voice would also be honored. But that voice is never allowed in the ELCA's national magazine. 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.) This month a memorial service was held for Herbert Chilstrom, first head bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America when it was newly formed in 1988. Bishop Chilstrom stood for abortion rights and for the ordination of practicing homosexuals. Chilstrom chose former ELCA head Bishop Mark Hanson to deliver his funeral sermon. It was during Hanson’s tenure as bishop in 2009 that the ELCA voted to ordain practicing homosexuals, causing the largest church split in American history. Bishop Hanson said this in his sermon regarding Chilstrom’s vision for the Church: “Sometimes we will need to engage in public acts of repentance for that past, for the perpetuation of white, heterosexual, patriarchal systems of power and privilege that continue to enslave both church and society today”. Hanson said Chilstrom had a vision for the church “in which those who identify as LGBTQAI+ are not just welcomed, but whether single or partnered, lay or ordained, you are leading congregations  and synods and church-wide ministries...”. Hanson’s sermon was reminiscent of his 2013 sermon when Hanson installed the ELCA’s first practicing homosexual bishop Guy Erwin. In that sermon Hanson “repented” of the churches prior teaching that practicing homosexuals should not be ordained with these words: “There is weeping for joy this day, because for too long many of you have wept tears of bitterness from the experience of being rebuked. Rebuked for believing that God could call you to the ministry of word and sacrament and to the vocation of marriage with your beloved Rob (my note: Rob is Erwin’s “husband”). Rev. Erwin, in your call to serve the gospel in the office of bishop, we as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are saying again and saying publicly and forthrightly, such rebuking shall not be what we as a church will be saying quite openly any longer. But let our public resounding 'no' to such shaming and bullying and rebuking also become our public repentance...” At Chilstrom’s funeral, Mark Hanson also preached that Chilstrom’s vision “was of a nation not with fortified borders and barriers, not separating out families and keeping out immigrants and refugees and asylum seekers but the vision of a nation welcoming the stranger.” Holy Communion was served at Chilstrom’s funeral, but with a more liberal understanding of communion. Communion used to be reserved for those who repented of their sins and who had faith in Christ. But at this service these words were said:. “Wherever you are in your journey you are welcome to take communion”. Through the leadership of Bishop Herbert Chilstrom and Bishop Mark Hanson, the ELCA has become the extreme, heretical denomination that it is today, a denomination which pays for abortion for any reason with offering dollars and which ordains not only practicing homosexuals, but now also ordains transgendered people. The ELCA even promoted the acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism to 31,000 teenagers at its 2018 Teen Gathering. But God is not mocked and he will have the last word. The ELCA continues to shrink in membership and donations. Two ELCA seminaries had to merge and another had to sell off some of its buildings. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock 
President Trump's updated immigration policy, which applies heavy restrictions on immigration from certain countries, is being branded as racist by a top Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leader. A recent ELCA Facebook post shares an article written by Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Kathryn Lohre and highlights the quote,
"We are denouncing this policy not only as anti-Muslim, but also as racist and xenophobic..." The updated policy added the following countries to the United States immigration restriction list: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania. The ELCA has always been against the "travel ban," but they cheapen real racism and xenophobia by trying to brand this policy as such. The fact that one of the top leaders in the ELCA wrote this, and the ELCA chose to share and highlight this quote in their social media, should be concerning to all. 
Rev. Harold L. Peterson is a retired ELCA pastor. For his birthday last year he was asking people to give money to Planned Parenthood. The retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor wrote, "I've chosen this nonprofit because their missions means a lot to me..." The ELCA is notorious for their support for abortion. (See here and here) The evil runs deep in the denomination and it isn't just coming from bishops and young pastors. See pastor Harold L. Peterson's post below or here. 
The leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has chosen a gay man, John Weit, to be the next Assistant to the Presiding Bishop, Executive for Worship. He replaces Rev. Kevin Strickland, also a gay man, in this position.
In a church bio of John Weit we are told, "John lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood with his spouse, Matt James, and their cat, Buddy." (See here)
John Weit is a member of Proclaim. Proclaim is a "professional community for Lutheran ministers and candidates, who publicly identify as LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, plus)" (Quote from here).
Upon hearing this news, Rev. Tom Brock addressed the situation saying, "Before the ELCA’s 2009 decision to ordain practicing homosexuals, a pastor would have been disciplined for engaging in homosexual behavior. Today practicing homosexuals are placed in the highest positions of the denomination." (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.) The deaconness movement in Lutheran denominations has a long and wonderful history of women serving people with the gospel of Christ. But I stumbled across the below from the website of the deaconess movement of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It shows how extreme this ELCA organization has become as it now lets men who think they are women become deaconesses. We are now to even re-spell the word “women” in order to avoid binary “male/female” language, overcome patriarchy, and include transgender people. To say “the Spirit” is calling the Church to do this (below) is close to blasphemy. Jesus Himself said that God made us male and female (binary) in Matthew 19:4.  Read the below and you will wonder what on earth has happened to the Lutheran deaconess movement. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock From ELCA deaconess website: WHY WE WRITE WOMXN At the Deaconess Community’s 2016 assembly, we voted to become a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) community. Included in that vote was the decision to open our doors to female-identifying people. The spelling of “women” and “woman” originate from Old English, where “man” was used as a gender fluid pronoun much like “one” and “they” have turned into today. While dictionaries do not officially recognize the spelling (Google labels “womxn” as nonstandard), it’s often used to promote inclusivity among cis- and transgender women... (read the rest of the article here) 
The first person to post a critical comment wrote, "Please consider the racial implications of what you are saying here. There is no darkness in him- really??? I assume exclusion (from God) is not your intent, but that is the impact. Please apologize and remove this post."
Another wrote, "Please don't ever again pretend to be confused about why we're 97% white. This post tells me so much about how my church is in relationship to my dark skin." A ELCA pastor also replied, "Just because it’s a bible verse does not mean it can’t be used to inflict harm on our siblings of color and perpetuate systemic racism in a church that is 98% white. The bible has been used to silence women, oppress LGBTQIA+ persons, and justify slavery. We need to choose our imagery carefully. We need to do better and not (unintentionally or not) alienate our fellow siblings in the body of Christ." And they went on blast mode from there, so much so that the ELCA had to edit their Bible verse image post with an addition: "Dear siblings in Christ, We have been paying very close attention to the conversation created by this post. Thank you all who have voiced your experiences and concerns regarding the language used. The verse shared here comes from last week’s lectionary readings. As themes of darkness and light will appear again in lectionary readings later in Lent, we have chosen to leave this post and its discussion here so that it can inspire deeper conversation and reflection as we prepare for the season ahead. We apologize that the language in this post has caused harm, and we recognize that this image can be a painful reminder of the harmful power dynamics, racism and inequity that exist in this church. It is our responsibility to be intentional in our use of images and language. We are committed to this work, and we are committed to learning from our mistakes." See the ELCA Facebook post here or below. So, not only are ELCAites upset and viewing this Bible verse as racial, but the ELCA responds by apologizing for the pain people may feel from quoting it. Who wants to support the ELCA and worship in a denomination that does that? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America apologized for quoting God's Word, for saying "God is Light, in Him there is no darkness at all." Shame on them and shame on anyone who remains in this denomination. Not surprising, the ELCA went on to say this, 
(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.) Bishop Herbert Chilstrom was my bishop for years before he became the first presiding bishop of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America back in 1988. My heart sank back then when he became head bishop because I knew of his liberal views. He later became a champion for the acceptance of homosexual relationships in the ELCA. And his view won the day in 2009 when the ELCA voted to ordain practicing homosexuals and to allow gay "weddings". Near where I live is an ELCA church where the male Lutheran homosexual pastor has a "husband" who is an United Church of Christ pastor. This is the new world of the ELCA. This month Living Lutheran, the ELCA's national magazine, is presenting a five-part series by Chilstrom on the authority of the Bible. His first article says this: "If the Spirit of God is alive and at work in the church in every age, should we not expect that new insights into our understanding of the Bible will emerge in our own generation—or from the experience of believers in the world?" These words remind me of a conversation I had years ago with a liberal Lutheran pastor on the subject of homosexuality. I pointed out the clear teaching of Romans chapter 1 forbidding homosexual behavior. His response: "The Holy Spirit is leading us to a higher consciousness on this issue than the Apostle Paul had in the First Century." In other words, the Holy Spirit today is contradicting what He inspired the Apostle Paul to write in the First Century. The most liberal Protestant denomination is the United Church of Christ whose motto is: God is still speaking. I'm afraid this means "Yes, God spoke against certain things in the Bible long ago, but God is saying new things to the Church today." This understanding of Scripture allows you to get around any Bible verse that you don't like. And it is tragic, perhaps near blasphemy, to say that the Holy Spirit is the one leading the liberal, mainline Protestant denominations to embrace the world and reinterpret Scripture. The answer to all this, of course, is to remember the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible and He will not contradict Himself 2000 years later. The Lutheran Reformation was founded upon the Latin phrase "Sola Scripture" which means "the Bible alone" has the final authority. Would that liberal Protestant leaders remember that and not try to imagine a Holy Spirit who contradicts the very book He has inspired. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
The topic of "white privilege" is a trending liberal issue that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has decided to propagate.
The ELCA's official magazine, Living Lutheran, has a short article, that the ELCA's official Facebook page has posted, sharing the ELCA resource "Study guide: Unpacking white privilege." The following are two quotes from the ELCA's "Study guide: Unpacking white privilege:" “It is not enough to say, ‘We are sorry.’ We must put actions behind our words. ... We must take a moral inventory of our wrongs and make reparations for the same." And, “It is not enough to feel bad or say ‘sorry.’ As an African American ELCA pastor, I am asking white folks to do the work of dismantling their privilege so that the ELCA can be a safer place for all of God’s children. … It is our prayer that predominantly European American ELCA congregations will begin to pray—and then act—to become anti-racist Jesus followers, committed to dismantling white privilege both inside and outside our churches.” (Here is the article and here is the study guide) 
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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. 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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