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(The following article was written 4 years ago by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Reverend Jules Erickson spoke recently at Luther Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is senior pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, whose website states "Pastor Jules and her beloved, Beth, live in Hastings with two bouncing Goldendoodle dogs." The ELCA began ordaining practicing homosexuals in 2009 and has been shrinking in numbers ever since. In the below sermon (minute 18:35) Pastor Erickson has the congregation say "Hell, yes" more than once. What is wrong with this? Eternal Hell is a real place and we should not trivialize the word by using it as profanity. But, sadly, many liberal ELCA pastors and seminary professors no longer believe in Hell. Universalism, the teaching that all people will be saved regardless of faith in Christ, is so prevalent that even head ELCA bishop Elizabeth Eaton told a Chicago newspaper that, if Hell exists, "I think it is empty." One of the things Reverend Erickson thinks we should say "Hell yes" to is the waning numbers going on in churches "if that means our Empire building days are over, maybe that's a good thing." I agree that the shrinking numbers of the ELCA, the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church USA are a good thing. People are getting fed up with the unbiblical heresy they are hearing in these denominations and are heading for more faithful churches. In prior posts I have written of prayers to God the "Mother" being offered at Luther Seminary chapel. At the end of this service below (minute 23:33), you will hear yet another instance of this as the congregation prays a new version of the Lord's Prayer to the "Father and Mother of us all.” Earlier this year Bishop Elizabeth Eaton asked this about the ELCA's declining numbers: "What is to be done? Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA membership decreases by 70,000 people a year...There is a dearth of people in their 20s and 30s in our pews. How do we change this?" I have an answer: Get back to the Bible, believe in Heaven and Hell and that Jesus is the only Savior (John 14:6, Acts 4:12), stop paying for abortion with offering dollars in the ELCA's healthcare plan, and stop the promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism in ELCA publications. I see no sign of any of that happening, and so I believe the ELCA will continue to shrink, and it should. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
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See the false blanket statement below made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA is deceiving people. Not everyone is a child of God. God tells us in His Word:
“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” - 1 John 3:10 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
I came across this strange video of a drag queen stumbling as he walked into a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. From what I can gather, this Milwaukee congregation was hosting a drag queen event called “Drag Me to Church” to raise money for an LGBTQ community center. Protesters in front of the church were shouting that the congregation should not be hosting a drag queen performance and sexual perversion. But the congregation’s website (Village Church in Milwaukee) says it supports the LGBT movement. This is the bizarre world of the ELCA, as it caves and conforms to the craziness of our culture. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
Additional information below add by Exposing the ELCA.
Clint Schnekloth, ELCA pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is hosting a Halloween party call The Nightmare Before Gay Christmas. One of the activities will be Tarot card readings. Tarot card readings is a form of divination. God' tells us "Do not practice divination or seek omens." Leviticus 19:26b. Read more about Tarot cards here. https://www.facebook.com/events/703571038291483    Six days after the Hamas attacks on Israel, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton issued a statement which blames Israel for what Hamas did. In the statement, which was highly distributed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, their top leader writes: "We must also call a thing a thing. The power exerted against all Palestinian people — through the occupation, the expansion of settlements and the escalating violence — must be called out as a root cause of what we are witnessing." (See here) The ELCA is saying that Israel is to blame for Jewish babies being beheaded by the Palestinians. Jewish citizens, the elderly, women, men and children being hunted down and murdered. Israelis burned to death, girls being raped and 100+ people kidnapped, all by Palestinian attackers is the fault of the Jewish state according to ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. The ELCA holds a satanic view of the Israeli-Palestinian historically, including the current situation. They have continually acted to harm the only Jewish country. (See here) The ELCA is evil and doing the work of Satan. Please let your friends and family who attend ELCA churches know this, so they are aware of what they are supporting and part of.  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Somehow preaching from the book of Jeremiah, the below preacher at my alma mater Luther Seminary, a seminary of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, calls us to repent. We need to repent of a laundry list of liberal concerns (listen to minute 14:55 below). I assume from her transgender statement that she believes those wanting to protect children from hormone blockers and sex change operations need to repent. I assume from her "book banning" statement that parents who desire to keep obscene and LGBT books from their children also need to repent. I got to thinking, I wonder when is the last time a preacher at Luther Seminary preached against abortion, homosexual behavior and transgenderism? I'm guessing it has been decades. Instead, Luther Seminary concerns itself with the biggest sins according to those on the left: homophobia, transphobia, sexism, climate catastrophe, etc., etc. And the preacher is very careful never to call God "He". Its all "God...God...God...God" in accordance with the ELCA's desire to use "inclusive language" for God. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
On September 17, 2023 Jeff Johnson was elected bishop of the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod. Rev. Johnson is gay and is married to a man.
Below is a report by Pastor Tom Brock about the recent election of Jeff Johnson:
The following is some addition information about Bishop-elect Jeff Johnson: Rev. Jeff Johnson, and his church University Lutheran Chapel (ELCA) in Berkeley, CA were conducting a monthly "Goddess Rosary" service in 2010. (see here)
In 2017 Rev. Jeff Johnson signed a letter stating changes they want to see with the ELCA, among other things,
"Specific changes we would like to see include: - No longer privileging marriage as the only acceptable form of sexual relationality - Updating ELCA policies to reflect marriage equality in the United States - Editing out language that perpetuates heteronormativity and sexual oppression” (see here) It also said:
Rev. Jeff Johnson also signed a letter supporting evolution and rejecting truth of creation. (See here) Below are a few Facebook posts from ELCA Pastor Lura Groen:    Former ELCA head bishop: Jesus was hurtful and mean to Syrophoenician woman, but He changed His mind8/21/2023 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) I have reported before on Elk River Lutheran Church in Elk River, Minnesota, and their gay pride worship services. It makes sense that they have twice invited former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mark Hanson, to speak since it was during his leadership in 2009 that the ELCA voted to perform gay weddings and ordain practicing homosexuals. In his sermon, Hanson defended “children who are transitioning” (to the opposite sex). Hanson then preached that Jesus was mean and hurtful in His response to the Syrophoenician woman. Gratefully, according to Hanson, Jesus changed His mind and showed mercy to the woman. Also, Hanson stated that the woman’s daughter was not really demon possessed in Matthew 15:21 but instead she had a mental illness. Hanson could have pointed out that Jesus was challenging and testing the Syrophoenician woman’s faith and then He rewarded her faith. Instead, Hanson stated that Jesus used despicable language to her. Hanson states that he was “flummoxed” by the way Jesus treated her (start about minute 35:24 below). But if Jesus sinned against this woman, then He would not be the innocent Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If Jesus sinned, He would have to die for His own sins and could not die for ours. For this reason, the New Testament insists that Jesus was sinless (I Peter 1:18-19, 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, I John 3:5). Sadly, this former head bishop of the ELCA did not insist on that point. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
Please read the first ELCA post below, including the segment on the bottom right on how to identify "Christian Nationalism."
Additional ELCA Facebook posts about "Christian Nationalism" are posted below. 
(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 was out and about and followed signs to a church rummage sale, arriving at this church in a Minneapolis suburb. Walking around the church, I saw its “all gender bathroom” and it dawned on me that a couple years ago I had written an article about this congregation. Christ Lutheran wants you to announce your preferred pronouns in order to be sensitive to the LGBTQAI+ community. Christ Lutheran's staff wants to avoid calling God “He”. Below is their recent 2023 gay pride worship service. It featured a trans speaker and a communion table with rainbow decorations. The pastor encouraged children to attend their yoga class and the children’s sermon was all about inclusion. Of course, there was no mention of sin and repentance. The church's website recommends reading "A Kid's Book About Being Non-binary" and "A Kid's Book About Being Transgender." You may watch the entire service below, if you can endure it. Again I have to say, this ain’t my grandma’s Lutheran Church. How horribly far some American churches have fallen. A friend of mine said today “We are in the end times.” In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
This is St. Luke Lutheran Church, an ELCA church in Atlanta, GA.
This church and their activities were featured in the ELCA's magazine Living Lutheran here. 
From the article The Church's Desperate Need For A New Reformation. By David R. Barnhart. From The Vine and Branches magazine. Vol. 38. Summer 2023, Issue 2. "At the time the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was formed in 1988, the America Lutheran Church (ALC) had within its constitution an unalterable article of faith that affirmed the Bible as the 'inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God.' It was this unalterable article that require the ALC be dissolved and an entirely new church be created, rather than have a traditional merger. The ELCA deliberately set aside this foundational, historical, and confessional article of faith regarding Scripture. The ELCA not only denies the inerrancy of Scripture, they forbid it from being taught in their colleges and seminaries. Today there is not a teacher in any ELCA college or seminary who affirms the Bible as "the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God."  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Many years ago, the below church had a godly, biblical pastor. He helped conservative pastors like myself stand against the pro-gay onslaught that has now overtaken the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. But this church stayed in the ELCA. Today this church has a transgender pastor. That is the danger of staying in an heretical denomination. Liberal bishops help direct you to your next pastor. And a pastoral candidate can sound very biblical during the interview phase, so you have to ask direct questions like: Do you believe there is a hell? Do you believe Jesus is the only way of salvation? Do you believe we should worship “God the Mother”? What do you believe about abortion, transgenderism and homosexuality? Those questions will help scout out whether you want that pastor or not. But even if you can still find a biblical pastor in an unbiblical denomination, I would still get out while you can. And please say a prayer for the United Methodists who are now splitting over homosexuality. Pray that many congregations will leave United Methodism and join the new, biblical Methodist group that is forming called the Global Methodist Church. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. Just a reminder, Jesus said there are two sexes, male and female (Matthew 19:4). If you are a female and you think you are a male, you are still a female—even if you take hormones and now have a beard.  June is Pride month and every year the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) displays their support and encouragement of LGBT+ ideology and lifestyles. With very little effort I found the posts below, coming from all segments of the ELCA. I did not come across any segment of the denomination stating the Biblical position on homosexuality, that it is a sin.                                        |
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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