|
(The following article was written a few days ago by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent when Christians meditate upon the sufferings of Christ for 40 days before Easter. It is a season of repentance from sin and rededication to God. Many congregations put ashes on the forehead of worshipers to remind themselves that “You are dust and to dust you shall return.“
But the ultraliberal Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is making it about being queer. Instead of ashes, they are putting “glitter ash“ on participants’ foreheads because glitter “is an inextricable element of queer history.” Unbelievable, but being this is an ELCA seminary, believable. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. Below also is a picture of last summer’s ELCA Youth Gathering during which drag queens put glitter on the foreheads of Lutheran teens 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Lent used to be the 40 days in the church year when we think upon Christ’s sufferings for our salvation, repent of our sins, and rededicate our lives to God. But this year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a new devotional for Lent: Dismantling white supremacy and privilege. The lengthy Lenten “devotional” is written by ELCA leaders and pastors who list their pronouns (one of whom is “they/them”) and includes some radical resources, including “womanist theology.“ One pastor describes herself as a “queer, black, disabled, fat, femme woman”.
The ELCA has also produced a Vacation Bible School curriculum for children entitled “At the Table” about overcoming world hunger. Of course, nothing is wrong with wanting to overcome world hunger and racism, but when such things replace the teaching that Jesus is the only Savior, no wonder so many in today’s Church are biblically illiterate. At its last national convention, the ELCA had a resolution stating that “we don’t know” what God thinks of non-Christian religions. A delegate got up and said “Yes we do. Jesus said He is the only way of salvation (John 14:6).” The delegate made an amendment to that effect, but he was voted down by 97%. When 97% of voters at an ELCA convention are unwilling to say that Jesus is the only Savior, the denomination is in very big trouble. So this Lent the ELCA will not talk about Christ being the only Savior, it will talk about dismantling white supremacy. This summer children at Vacation Bible School will learn how to overcome world hunger, but they will not learn that those in non-Christian religions desperately need Jesus. 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.) I graduated from Luther Seminary way back in 1979. At that time it was moderate to liberal. Today, it is radically liberal. Over a year ago Luther hired a “queer theologian“. Luther has brought in transgender preachers at chapel. Luther has observed National Coming Out Day and Transgender Day of Remembrance. Luther has brought in womanist preachers and others who have prayed to “God the Mother“. Luther held a Native American spirituality worship service with prayers to the Great Spirit and burning sage in the pagan practice of smudging. I could go on and on. But look at the below chart and see how drastically Luther has fallen in attendance, being forced to sell off some of its land and buildings (it is the blue line below). And note that the other seminaries of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are also shrinking.
As the Good Book says, you reap what you sow. 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.) Mark Hanson, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, recently came out with the below video speaking against “the weeds of Christian Zionism and White Christian Nationalism“. It was during Hanson’s liberal leadership that the ELCA in 2009 voted to ordain practicing homosexual pastors, which caused a huge split in that denomination. The ELCA has lost 40 percent of its membership since its founding in 1988. Hanson also has defended “children who are transitioning” (to the opposite sex). Hanson preached a sermon in which he claimed that Jesus was mean and hurtful in His language to the Syrophoenician woman. According to Hanson, Jesus used despicable language toward her, but then Jesus changed His mind and helped her. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS For Hanson’s sermon claiming Jesus used mean language and needed to be corrected, listen to minute 35:24 in link below (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Recently President Trump declared there are only two genders. Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has stated that everyone is not either male or female, there is a spectrum. In a new statement (below), Eaton again condemns Trump and the way he is enforcing America’s immigration laws.
If you look at the last three press releases from the ELCA, two are against Trump and one is about healing from racism. Whatever happened to saving the lost by bringing them to Christ? That is something one does not hear about from Eaton. She told a Chicago newspaper that, if Hell exists, she believes it is empty. She has also stated that the business of the Church is not so much about saving souls. So what is the business of the Church? From the ELCA’s press releases, it appears to be promoting liberal politics. And one will never hear a word for the protection of unborn children from the head bishop. A few years ago before Roe v. Wade was overthrown, Eaton went to the White House to lobby in favor of abortion rights. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (Read here) (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Bishop Stacie Fidlar of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is staunchly against the belief that there are only two genders, even though that is what Jesus taught in Matthew 19:4. She claims to love transgender, non-binary and non-conforming people. But part of loving people is telling them the truth, and if God created a person a male then you are lying to tell him he can be a female. And it is not loving to destroy children by giving them hormone blockers and destructive surgeries. With leadership like this, no wonder ELCA membership is shrinking into oblivion. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (See here.) 
ELCA leaders are not happy.
Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, "I encourage our congregations to use the resources of the ELCA Witness in Society Team with advocacy networks on the state and federal level. And get involved with AMMPARO, the ELCA’s strategy toward just and humane policies affecting migrants." "As a church, we are called to speak up when the government distorts or denies the image of God in each person by endangering access to protection, peace and daily bread. Where harm or inequity occur, we are called by God to respond with love and advocacy." "This church is committed to upholding the humanity of everyone, regardless of who we are or where we come from." (See here)
Letter by ELCA Region One Bishops:
"As people who have received God’s mercy and grace, we are called to extend that same mercy and grace to others. This means offering opportunities for new beginnings, particularly for those already present in the United States without legal documentation... We are called, as individuals and as a society, to remember that the immigrants among us are not intruders or enemies but bearers of the image of God, deserving of our care, respect, and advocacy." (See here) ELCA partner, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, now called Global Refuge, has been issued a government stop-work order. This ELCA partner receives millions of dollars a year from the US government. Below are addition communications and outcry against the new illegal immigration policies - Illinois ELCA Bishops Issue Pastoral Message on Executive Orders https://nisynod.org/news/illinois-elca-bishops-issue-pastoral-message-on-executive-orders 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Big Bear Camp in Pennsylvania is a camp of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church America. Take a look at their “welcome page“. (here)
Hard to know where to begin. I can’t imagine why parents would send their children to such a camp, or why a denomination would be this blatantly evil. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock https://bearcreekcamp.org/our-welcome/
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Today I took another nostalgic walk through Luther Seminary, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. When I graduated in 1979, Luther was moderate to liberal, but still had a number of conservative professors. Those days are gone and today Luther is radical. A year ago the seminary hired a “queer theologian” and Luther’s chapel has commemorated National Coming Out Day and Transgender Day of Remembrance. The chapel brought in a guest transgender preacher who led the students in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Mother in heaven”. Luther also brought in a womanist/feminist preacher who had the students get in a circle, hold hands, and imagine they were in the “pushy womb of God”. Luther also had a “smudging ceremony” when a Native American preacher burned a plant and waved a feather over it, telling students it was “releasing the energies within yourself”. She said she is a hybrid and practices both Christianity and Native American religion. Prayer was made to the Great Spirit. Today I talked to an African man at Luther. African Lutherans are much more conservative than the ELCA and sometimes Africans come to Luther to get theological training, becoming aghast at the heresy. I don’t know, but maybe in a sense God is sending these Africans as missionaries to Luther. I pray they don’t get infected and take the seminary’s false teaching back to Africa. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. I took the below pictures today of a couple professors’ doors (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) United Lutheran Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has as its president Guy Irwin, who was the first practicing homosexual bishop of the ELCA with a “husband”. The ELCA has now elected seven practicing homosexuals, along with the world’s first transgender bishop. This month Erwin’s seminary in Pennsylvania is putting on a gay pride event to try to convince us that the Bible doesn’t really say what it says about homosexuality. The first speaker is Pastor Colby Martin who desires to “unclobber” the “clobber verses” of the Bible. He believes the traditional understanding of the Bible is toxic and wrong and we need to unclobber those views. The second speaker is Dr. Diane Sorrento who aims to convince people to accept transgenderism. Academic institutions often claim to be about diversity and hearing various viewpoints. You can bet that there will be only one viewpoint at this seminar, and it will be that of the radical left which has overtaken the ELCA. Also, this month in California is a gathering of people who have left the homosexual lifestyle behind. It is put on by Restored Hope Network and features scholars who hold to the biblical teaching on homosexuality and who repudiate sex change operations. Participants will hear testimonies of those who have come out of homosexuality and transgenderism and who have been transformed by Jesus Christ. You can bet none of these speakers will be invited to speak at an ELCA seminary. The people who are really clobbering people—for eternity— are those who teach that people can live in impenitent sexual sin and still inherit the Kingdom of God. They can’t (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. For “What does the Bible teach about homosexuality?” see my article at pastorsstudy.org. It lists all the “clobber verses”  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Pastor Lura Groen is a pastor of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at All Saints Lutheran Church in Bowie, Maryland. Below are two of her postings. In the first one, she claims God told her that being pro-choice on abortion is her “f—ing choice”. In her mind, not only is God in favor of the choice to abort babies but He also uses the “f” word. Her second post claims God and the angels celebrate transgenderism. This is the strange new world of the ELCA, as it abandons Scripture and follows the world. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock From Pastor Lura Groen: “Theologically, God gave me this body, and gave me stewardship over it. GOD TOLD ME MY BODY MY FUCKING CHOICE God gave you your body to care for. God says you are the one who should make decisions about your own body. God said it’s your body, and your choice”. ”You are not alone, dear Non-binary siblings. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of Trans, GenderQueer, and non-binary witnesses, all beloved by God, with a chorus of genderless angels singing glory to our genderful God using all the non-binary pronouns that have ever existed. Can you hear them?” (here)   (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is a congregation of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Many years ago, it had a biblical pastor, but times have changed. Today Prince of Peace has a big sign on a busy highway declaring “God is proud of all Their children.” The word “proud” is in gay rainbow colors and God is no longer a “He” but a “They.” The current senior pastor just retired, and the associate pastor just took a position at Edina Community Lutheran Church, another ELCA congregation which went viral when it recited the Sparkle Creed, saying “I believe in a non-binary God” and “Jesus had two dads” (the recently retired ELCA bishop didn’t understand why people got so upset with this). Prince of Peace has a “What We Believe” statement, not about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit or the authority of the Bible, instead we get this: “What We Believe …By de-centering whiteness and acknowledging the harm caused by racial violence, we’re working to heal and restore…We are working to create safe, affirming spaces where people of all genders and sexual orientations can be themselves, loved, and accepted just as they are…We amplify the voices of women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals…We use inclusive language, respecting pronouns and gender identity. We refuse to tolerate hate speech…We are dedicated to supporting efforts that honor and protect Indigenous practices of land stewardship,…” It is tragic that many liberal mainline churches have abandoned preaching Christ for the salvation of the lost. They do this because they no longer believe people are lost and they no longer believe in Hell. So what replaces the Gospel? Making sure we overcome whiteness, use LGBT pronouns, and endorse sexual behaviors which God forbids. 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.) I just came across the below picture from this summer’s Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, attended by less than 16,000 teens. The attendance six years ago was 31,000 at which they put an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl on stage to promote transgenderism. The ELCA healthcare plan, funded by offering dollars, pays for this child’s hormone blockers to prevent him from developing his God-given sexuality. Regarding this summer’s gathering, we read this from the ELCA blog: “At the Naming Project booth, participants relaxed in the colorful Garden of Eden, receiving sparkle blessings from local Drag Queens. Deacon Ross Murray’s message was clear: everyone is known and loved by God and the church just as they are”. (See here) If you are an ELCA Lutheran, I believe it is time to take your money, time and talents—and teenagers—and run from this denomination. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
Below are just a few of the many social media posts made this week by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or their partners about Transgender Remembrance:
|
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.
Give online by clicking the "donate" button below: Categories
All
Archives
March 2025
 Exposing the ELCA is on Facebook 
Follow Exposing the ELCA on Twitter
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
|
RSS Feed