|
(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)
4 Comments
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Decorah, Iowa, is having its annual LGBT pride parade today (October 11th) and Luther College wants its students to be a part. Luther College is a college of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Many years ago, Norwegian immigrants founded the Iowa college to teach their young adults Christianity. They would be grieved to see what Luther College has become and they would be grieved to see themselves mentioned in the gay pride banner below. As a Lutheran pastor, I can recommend ELCA-related colleges to no one.
June is LGBT pride month, but someone has said, “It is no longer gay pride month, it is gay pride year.” Indeed, the just retired head bishop of the ELCA produced a gay pride video in which she said “We celebrate you, our LGBTQAI+ siblings, this month (June) and all year long.” You will never hear a word from the ELCA about repentance from this sinful sexual behavior. Please check out my article. “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?“ at pastorsstudy.org. It is a point of view you never hear from an ELCA bishop or from an ELCA college. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS The ELCA’s healthcare plan, funded by offering dollars, pays for hormone blockers for minors and sex change operations
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, is affiliated with the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. On Luther College's official website we read: "Luther College supports LGBTQIA students, advocacy and programming, Luther PRIDE, partnerships and collaborations in education...Our goal is to... (create) an open and affirming environment void of homophobia, heterosexism, cissexism, transphobia, and gender bias. Through educational, social, and supportive programming, along with conducting training sessions and consultation, the Office of LGBTQ Services serves the entire campus community." Martin Luther believed the Bible's teaching that homosexual behavior is sin. One would doubt that--if alive today-- Luther would be allowed to teach at Luther College. To my knowledge there is not one ELCA college which has rejected LGBTQAI+ "theology" and which still affirms the Bible's teaching on this issue. If you want your child to receive a Christian education, I would steer clear of ELCA-related colleges: Luther, Augsburg, St. Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Concordia Moorhead, Wartburg, and Augustana colleges. 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.)
A friend of mine graduated from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, a school related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He recently received this communication from the university about the university’s specialty housing for LGBTQ+ students, its new LGBTQ+ Resource Center, and Midday Mindfulness yoga: “Susquehanna University recently dedicated the LGBTQ+ Resource Center as an on-campus space where queer students will feel supported and empowered. “We want to promote students and community visibility by empowering and lifting up queer students and giving them a bigger voice on campus,” said Kyoti Tavarez ’24, a QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) student liaison with the resource center. “This is a space where we want to highlight queer students and their accomplishments, talents and joy.” …the center’s creation was due in part to growing demand among LGBTQ+-identifying students, said Dena Salerno, senior director of inclusion & diversity. “…over 30% of a recent incoming class tell us that they identify as queer in some way,” Salerno said. In addition to opening the resource center, Susquehanna also created specialty housing for LGBTQ+ students this year….Midday Mindfulness sessions, led by a certified student yoga instructor, are scheduled…” My friend complained to the university and got this response from the university chaplain: “Theologically—and I speak now as the university chaplain—I want to be very clear: we do not in any way endorse theologies that frame same-gender attraction as wrong or disordered. Quite the opposite, we celebrate the presence of God in the lives and loves of our LGBTQ members, and our community and campus are blessed daily by their inspiring faith, abundant spiritual gifts, and all-around brilliance.” My response: 30% of students are LGBT? Highly unlikely. And never mind prayer at this Lutheran college, let’s promote mindfulness yoga. Yes, this chaplain celebrates LGBT behavior, but he stands in contradiction to the Scripture and 2000 years of Christian teaching (see my article “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?” at pastorsstudy.org). This wholesale embracing of the homosexual/transgender movement is also evident at Augsburg, Concordia Moorehead, Saint Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Augustana, Luther and Wartburg Colleges. The only ELCA college I know of that still has some Biblical faithfulness is Grand View University in Iowa. So don’t send your child to a college of the Evangelical Lutheran church in America thinking they will get a Christian education. Instead, they will be indoctrinated in the lies of our culture. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Susquehanna’s chaplain also wants to make clear where he stands on abortion, see below.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Once upon a time in 1830 Lutherans founded a university in Ohio to teach young people Christianity. It also had a seminary to train pastors. Today, if you watch the below video, both Capital University and Trinity Seminary have fully embraced gay pride. "Everyone is welcome" they say, but I wonder how welcome Martin Luther would be who called homosexuality "a perversion of the devil". The President of Capital University can be seen below marching in the gay pride parade and Trinity Seminary has officially endorsed "gay inclusion" for pastors. I don't know of one college or seminary related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that I can recommend. I don't know of one that has not bowed the knee to the LGBTQAI+ agenda. 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.)
Dr. Peter Carlson teaches at California Lutheran University, which is affiliated with the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Professor Carlson‘s pronouns are They/Them He/Him and Carlson has a man as his “spouse”. Carlson teaches Gender and Religion and Queer Theology and CLU’s Facebook page quotes Carlson “I am going to be so brazenly queer that people will be forced to deal with queerness…. I will wear skirts and blouses when I preach in chapel. I will talk about my queer home life as much as other faculty talk about their straight home life. I will include gender and sexuality in every course I teach."
Below is a picture of Carlson wearing a skirt and heels on his way to preach at chapel. As he says, “Preachin’ in chapel gettin QUEER AF TODAY”. If you want your child to receive a Christian education, the ELCA’s California Lutheran University is about the last place you want to send them. 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.)
Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Augsburg University has become radically liberal, evidenced by its recent chapel series entitled “Series on Female-Identifying Leaders Who Participate in Proclamation”. Notice, the series is not about “women preachers” but “female-identifying preachers” in order, I believe, to include non-binary, transgender preachers. But it gets worse. The Lutheran pastor preaches to the students that Jesus “screwed up” in His dealings with the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30) and that she had to redeem Him (see minute 15:30 below). That’s right, Jesus gets redeemed by the Syrophoenician woman. The preacher also uses the F word in her sermon. A few years ago I did a post on this same preacher who went on (and on and on) in a bizarre sermon telling her congregational members to call a transgender woman “they” This is the bizarre, new, "enlightened" world of many colleges and congregations of the ELCA. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Capital University, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America school, will require students to be fully vaccinated by December 17, 2021. Capital University is located in Columbus, Ohio. (see article here) The university will still require students to wear masks too, saying "Until further notice, everyone must continue to follow all University-required COVID health and safety protocols, including the University’s mask policy." 
(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 a not-so-pleasant nostalgic walk through Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, a college of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Some of my most difficult memories are here since this is where we often held the conventions of the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod. A handful of conservative pastors and I would get to the microphone and ask “Why is the bishop’s office promoting homosexuality in its literature? Why is the ELCA paying for abortion for any reason in its healthcare plan which is paid for with offering dollars? Why are we incorporating non-Christian Native American worship practices into our worship services? As I walked today into the beautiful Christ Chapel at Guatavus, I saw the below placard. Notice, the chaplain’s office, overseen by Lutheran clergy, will help connect students with a “deity/God“, not necessarily the Christian God. Indeed, some years ago a Buddhist worship service was held in Christ Chapel and they laid an offering to Buddha on the altar. How far things have fallen since the 1800’s when Scandinavian immigrants founded Lutheran colleges to pass on the faith to their children. Today I would send no one to Gustavus, Saint Olaf College, Luther College, Concordia Morehead, or Augsburg University, as they have become so far removed from biblical Christianity. The congregation I served and I left the ELCA years ago, but I get comments today from people who have left the ELCA because they saw our TV show explaining these very things. In God our Father, Pastor Tom Brock
Just because a college is associated with a Christian denomination doesn't mean the school will abide by Biblical teaching or be a Godly learning environment for students. Carthage College, located in Kenosha, WI., is a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is very liberal mainline denomination. Read the following and ask yourself if you want Carthage College educating and disciplining your child. Carthage College: Homosexuality - Carthage College has a LGBT group. “The LGBT Student Association is a student-run group that is focused on educational events, social gatherings, and advocacy surrounding LGBTQIA+ issues.” (See here) - Carthage College has “SafeZones” for LGBTQ people. (See here) As you can see below, ELCA campus pastor is a LGBTQ SafeZone representative. (See here)  - A showing of Moonlight, a film about a homosexual man, took place at Carthage College and was sponsored by Carthage Activities Board, Advocates for Social Change, Black Student Union, and LGBT-SA. (See here) - A Coffee and Conversation gathering about the homosexual based National Coming Out Day was held at Carthage College and hosted by Multicultural Affairs. (See here) - No Hate Week took place at Carthage College. Events included an LGBT speaker, a LGBTQ and Ally Student Panel, “the acknowledgment of the rainbow-painted Kissing Rock…(and) the day of silence, where participators will remain silent to acknowledge the many silenced voices of those who have fought for equality and those who cannot speak up for themselves.” (See here) - A recipient of the Lambda Pioneer Award for contributions to the LGBT literary community spoke at Carthage College. (See here)
Other Religions - Carthage College has both a Muslim Student Association and a Pagan Forum which you can see listed here. - In 2016 we see that there was an Annual Hijab Day observed at Carthage College where students were encouraged to wear red scarfs over their head. (See here) - Carthage College writes, “You may be thinking, ‘Wait a minute, this is a college rooted in the Lutheran tradition, right? Why would you encourage other faith traditions?’ We do this because we are a college rooted in the Lutheran tradition. Lutherans believe we are saved by grace through faith, and that this grace gives us the freedom we need to love and serve the world — the whole world, not just the Lutheran world.”  - Interfaith leader and Muslim, Eboo Patel spoke at Carthage College. (See here) - A Celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, took place at Carthage College. (See here and here) - James Lochtefeld, Chair and Religion Department Professor of Religion and Asian Studies “specializes in Hindu pilgrimage.” (See here) Drag Show - In 2018, the second annual Heels For Hope Drag Show was held at Carthage College. (See here) Inclusive Language - Carthage College has a “Glossary of Working Language for Conversation” page. On this page we learn: “Carthage College believes that we are to nurture an enlightened and inclusive college community that inspires meaningful contributions towards a better world. It is to that end we promote a working language that frames our understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion within the context of deepening equity and access, institutional receptivity, diversity in the curriculum, and student/adult learning development to promote equitable student outcomes.” Carthage College then gives a set of words with definitions that frames "our understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion." Included are such words as Adultism, Allyship, Cis, Cisgenderism, Gender identity, Gender neutral pronoun, Heteronormativity, Homophobia, Intersectionality, LGBTTQQIA, Marginalize, Microaggression, Queer, Questioning, Safe space, White guilt, White privilege, Whiteness, Xenophobia, etc. (See here) Politics/Anti-Trump - Carthage College professor Mimi Yang writes about Trump, the boarder wall and bigotry. (See here) - A similar article by the same Carthage College professor can be seen here. - Carthage College President writes of his support for the DACA program. (See here) - A Carthage College professor, Stephanie Mitchell, commented on her pastor allegedly being arrested by ICE saying, “She’s my pastor and my government kidnapped her..." (See here) Campus Pastor at Carthage College - ELCA Rev. Kara Baylor is the Carthage College Campus Pastor. Here is a one of her Facebook posts showing LGBT support/pride.  Anti Christian Zionist Speaker - Controversial speaker, Bishop Dr. Munib Younan, Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, spoke last year at Carthage College. (See here) Read a little about him and some of the controversial things he has said here. "It’s all about U-terus!" presentation - In 2016 Carthage College had a presentation titled “It’s all about U-terus! Come learn about your lady parts!” (See here) As you can see with Carthage College, one should not trust that a school is right for you or your teenager just because they are affiliated with a supposed Christian denomination. One last thing. Check out these ratings of Carthage College. (See here) 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
The Rev. Jes Kast is coming to Augustana University this month. Rev. Kast is an minister in the United Church of Christ and "serves on the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy Board."
Rev. Kast has been asked to speak at the Augustana Chapel of Reconciliation as well as give a lecture titled, "Won't You Be My Neighbor? Friendship and Solidarity Across Religious Differences," which is sponsored by Augustana's Department of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, Augustana Campus Ministry and the Thomas Staley Foundation. (See here)
Augustana Campus Ministry shared the event on their Twitter page:
The following Tweets are from Rev. Jes Kast:
Rev. Jes Kast retweet the following:
Pacific Lutheran University is holding their Ninth Annual Lutheran Studies Conference, which they call "Naked and Unashamed: Sex, Shame and Faith." Pacific Lutheran University's website says:
"The conference itself provides tools and national experts on religion, churches and current political landscapes that influence our discussions of sexuality and identity. A session will review one church tradition, the ELCA, for its social statements on abortion, sexuality and gender justice. We will also explore ways spirituality and religion may heal or hinder a healthy sense of sexuality." See here.
Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ELCA pastor, will be the evening speaker for the conference. Rev. Bolz-Weber is widely known and embraced by the ELCA despite her heretical teachings and disgusting words and actions. (See here)
Another speaker at PLU's conference will be Dr. Mary Streufert, the ELCA Director for Justice for Women from the Office of the ELCA's Presiding Bishop. Dr. Streufert reportedly once presented images of a female Jesus during the "Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference" (see here) held at the goddess worshiping ELCA congregation known as "herchurch." The title of Dr. Streufert's presentation was "Jesus Christ Beyond the Divide: A Christian Feminist Proposal."
Dr. Streufert as well as Dr. Mary Lowe, from Augsburg University, will collaborate, presenting "Gender Justice and Faith: 2019 ELCA Social Statement.” The description of this presentation indicates, "...they will introduce three themes in the statement: sexism as sin, intersectionality as an approach to the problem of sexism, and the ELCA’s ongoing effort to view sex and gender in non-binary ways." (See here and below) 
Opening remarks of the conference will be by Dr. Marit A. Trelstad, PLU Chair of Lutheran Studies and Professor of Constructive and Lutheran Theologies at PLU. (See here) Pastor Jen Rude, of PLU Campus Ministry, will be speaking at another session. She is openly gay and the former program director for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. (See here)
The morning of the conference there will be a pre-conference where the "Focus of this time will be to review the content of ELCA Social Statements on Abortion (1991), Human Sexuality (2009) and Gender Justice (2019) and to discuss their implementation/impact and current issues congregations are facing in terms of gender and justice in their congregations...We may also have representatives from Extraordinary Ministries and Reconciling Works present as ELCA-focused ministries." (See here) Extraordinary Ministries and Reconciling Works are pro-LGBT organizations.
Below is an article by our friend Rev. Tom Brock with more details about the conference: (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) I got a phone call today from a father in Colorado whose son was considering attending Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, a college affiliated with the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He stumbled across my website in which I criticize ELCA colleges for promoting the LGBT movement and liberal theology (teachings such as universalism, the belief that all people will be saved regardless of faith in Christ). The father, given that Gustavus calls itself a Christian college, assumed it holds to Christian values. Then he watched the below video of the sex skits for incoming Gustavus students. The video is from years ago, but to my knowledge, nothing has changed. I was told years ago that Gustavus lost a huge financial gift because of these videos (you can view more of them on youtube, just google "Gustavus Adolphus Freshman Orientation"). The father told me he talked today with a member of Gustavus' admission staff about his concerns and eventually the staffer said "Well, I think this conservation is over." The father now has no desire to send his son to Gustavus, even though his son is being offered a scholarship. If you are considering sending your son or daughter to Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf College, Augsburg College, Luther College, Wartburg College, or Concordia Moorhead, I would think again. The heresy in ELCA colleges has been going on for years. Even way back in the 1970's I remember one of my high school friends went off to Concordia Moorhead and came back home denying the resurrection of Christ because of one of her professors. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Problems With Bethany College (Kansas), a School of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America1/20/2019
Bethany College is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, and boasts that it "is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), owned and operated by the Central States Synod and the Arkansas/Oklahoma Synod of the ELCA" (See here).
If you have looked through the multitude of documented information on Exposing the ELCA, you know that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is shockingly liberal and progressively extreme. Exposing the ELCA began investigating the colleges of this denomination, and in this installment, we will look at Bethany College (Kansas). It was more difficult, than other ELCA colleges, to unearth material about Bethany, because they do not have as much information online. This is what was found: - On campus at Bethany College is “The Ally Group." It is "a gay/straight alliance of students, staff and faculty who support gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. The group also works to promote a positive campus environment for GLBTs.” (See here)
- Bethany College provides condoms and Depo Provera birth control shots at the school's nurse office. See the Health & Wellness page here.
- In 2017, the president of Bethany College wrote a letter in favor of DACA saying
"...Jesus did not teach us to deport the stranger, but to take them into our homes and to love them." (See here)
- One of the most vocally liberal ELCA bishops, Michael Rinehart, will be speaking at Bethany College. He is bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod. (See here)
- Controversial Pastor Michael Himlie was a speaker at Kansas' Bethany College recently. Pastor Himlie "spoke at chapel, met with local area pastors, and gave a public lecture in the evening." He graduated from Manchester University majoring on peace studies and focusing on "Israel’s occupation of Palestine." (See here)
Rev. Amy Truhe is the Bethany College Campus Pastor. (See here) Below are some posts she has made on her Facebook page and it tells a lot about the type of pastor she is.
Bethany College Campus Pastor Amy Truhe also shared a number of Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber related posts in the last couple months. Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ELCA pastor, has very troubling views of God's Word and sex. Read more about Rev. Bolz-Weber here and here.
With that in mind, consider also the pride Bethany College has in being affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as you can again see below. It is hard to imagine any reason to tout that connection unless you align with their ways.
|
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
December 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