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Published Jan. 31, 2019 in the Lake Mills Graphic This letter is in response to the discussions happening over having same-sex marriages performed at Salem Lutheran Church, as there are two gentlemen seeking to be married there. God loves these two men immensely. That is 100% true. And He loves everyone reading this. We are undeserving of His love. Jesus Christ came to offer us all salvation and forgiveness of sin. We all need that forgiveness. Sadly, the people encouraging same-sex marriages are encouraging people to embrace something God does not desire for them. God speaks specifically in the Bible, saying to not engage in same sex relationships. It is one of a host of sins of which God has lovingly warned us to refrain and from which to repent. That doesn’t mean He hates people with same-sex attraction, just the opposite; out of love He wants the best for them and that is not found in homosexual love. Christ defined marriage to be between one man and one woman. God’s Word also says sex should not be between people of the same gender. He has defined what is good and what is not, for our good. When we sin, as all do, He says, “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” (Matthew 4:17) Repentance is “turning from sin.” I don’t know why some have same sex attraction and some are susceptible to other sins, but God desires to give people the power to refrain from it and wants us to help one another do so. When we sin, there is forgiveness with repentance. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32), and in the New Testament book of Acts we read, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). As Christians, we should not enable or bless sinful behavior but lovingly encourage people to repent, to turn away from sin. One of the foundational questions in this conversation is “What is the loving thing to do?” Love leads people to the Lord where we receive truth, promises, a relationship with Him, freedom and so much more. Love invites people to repent, of any sin, so as the verse from Acts above says, “our sins may be wiped out,” and we will be refreshed. That is love. That is grace. Those are promises that invite us to truly live. It is out of love for the people of Lake Mills and of the LGBT community that I write this. Sadly, and discouragingly, those who share this Biblical understanding are often labeled as “not loving” and worse. I care about these two gentlemen, and it would not be right of me, Salem Lutheran Church or anyone else to bless or encourage people to embrace something God says not to do. Dan Skogen --- (See letter here) A bit of background information: - I know one of these gentlemen who is seeking the same-sex wedding. When the two men posted a video on Facebook talking about their hope to have a wedding at this ELCA church in which one of them grew up, it seemed that everyone who responded, encouraged them, and I wrote to them saying much of what was in this letter to the editor. - I grew up in this town and went to this church for a few years before moving. - The church, Salem Lutheran, has had a hard 10 years. After the ELCA's 2009 votes allowing homosexual weddings and pastors who are practicing homosexuals, this church voted to not allow gay weddings. But the church stayed in the ELCA. Now after a decade of turmoil, the church is revisiting the issue. In fact, I've been told by a couple people that the congregation recently voted to allow gay weddings. - Let this be a warning to all ELCA churches who think they can ignore the heresy and false teaching in the denomination, believing that it will not affect them. 
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(The dedication, time and effort needed to report the apostasy of the ELCA is immense. This year a typical full-time ELCA pastor earned 90 times the amount Exposing the ELCA was given. It is time to ask those who have been resourced and blessed by this ministry to support its work. Would you prayerfully consider a gift to this important ministry? Gifts can be given securely by credit card by going to this page on ExposingtheELCA.com and clicking on the "donate" link.) As apostasy grows, it becomes more apparent. We certainly saw this with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2018. True Christ followers, people who believe God and His Word, were exposed to eye-opening rejection of God’s Word and vile behavior and teachings by ELCA leaders--more than I have seen in my nine years of following the ELCA's activities. And more people heard about the ELCA's actions because of an unprecedented number of publications who wrote about them. ExposingtheELCA.com had its most viewed year in the nine years it has been reporting. I believe God is calling His people out of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He is revealing to His people the extent to which the ELCA has turned its back on Him and embraced a counterfeit truth and an abandonment of Scripture. Top ELCA News of 2018 If you haven't been paying attention to the ELCA's antics, please read the articles below by clicking on the headline, and you will see the extent to which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has fallen.
 
What will cause the naive, the scared, the delusional or those in denial to finally leave the ELCA and stand up for God and His Word, which the ELCA has been demonically trying to destroy? What is the final straw that will break the camel's back?
I believe, for many, it will be the ELCA's words and decisions at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering that will cause Bible-believing ELCA members, churches and pastors to finally leave. (Please read about the speakers and what happened at the youth gathering here, here, here, here, here, here and here) Content ranged from foul-hearted keynote speakers placed in front of the teenagers, to extremely liberal messages delivered, to transgenderism lifted up, to far-left social causes presented, and pro-LGBT mantras being communicated. The Director and President of Lutheran CORE, Pr. Dennis D. Nelson, wrote this following the ELCA Youth Gathering, "The ELCA is guilty of a massive breach of trust. The ELCA cannot be trusted. We realize that those are very strong statements, but they are confirmed by the presentation given by one of the keynote speakers at the recent ELCA Youth Gathering." (see page one of his article here)
Generations Radio presented a program called "The ELCA Lutheran Church Dies" that was centered on the actions of the ELCA at the 2018 Youth Gathering. (listen here)
And Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, shared an article from Exposing the ELCA about the ELCA Youth Gathering with his hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook:
I have heard of people leaving their ELCA churches because of what happened at the ELCA Youth Gathering. So will this be a wake-up call for a great exodus of churches and members from the ELCA? Will the evil and false teachings displayed and given to the most vulnerable ELCA membership, the youth, be enough for places such as Lutheran Church of Hope and its satellite ELCA locations in the Des Moines, Iowa area, Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and similar churches throughout the United States to finally stand up for God's Word, for Truth, and break ties to this faith-destroying denomination? I pray so. But shame on them if they remain. Here are some additional examples of what was said and the happenings at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering, to go along with the many articles Exposing the ELCA has already written. These come from the ELCA, ELCA pastors and those attending (again, please read the linked articles above to see the craziness of it all):
The ELCA magazine, Living Lutheran reports, “Last week at the ELCA Youth Gathering, many leaders spoke boldly about family separation and detention. In the AMMPARO/Lutheran Disaster Response space at the Gathering’s interactive center, youth were invited to sign advocacy cards, which will be sent to their representatives.” (See here)
Below are some more notable Youth Gathering social media posts. Notice, the gay affirming rainbow colors were prevalent at the ELCA youth event.
And here is an example of the type of pastors the ELCA is ordaining. Rev. Chesnut is talking about ELCA Pastor Tuhina Verma Rasche, his co-author of a vile "devotional," who was a keynote speaker at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering.
And here the ELCA Youth Gathering is lifting up Ramadan, a celebration of the "first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad." This, of course, is not an event that Christians should be celebration or lifting-up.
Ken Ham is the founder, president, and CEO of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. He is also a sought-after author and speaker. Last week Ken shared Exposing the ELCA's blog, with his 300,000 Facebook followers, regarding the transgender youth who is scheduled to speak at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. Here is his post:  See and "like" Ken's Facebook page here.
Ken Ham sees the danger and faith-destroying work of the liberal Christian church and has been warning people about it for years. He has been a champion of Scriptural truth and a watchman on the wall. My thanks to Ken for helping share the disturbing news of the ELCA's appointments of speakers who will undoubtedly influence the next generation at the national youth gathering. Please feel free to post and share our blog with your friends and acquaintances, with newspapers, websites and reporters, with pastors, speakers, and influencers. Getting the message out about the Bible-defying viewpoints, teachings and actions of the ELCA is of extreme importance. People need to know and be warned. Here is a link to the Exposing the ELCA blog that Ken Ham shared. The State of Israel passed a new law this year. The law denies entry of anti-Israel activists, those who support the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israel. The authors of the bill explain its purpose saying, "Over the past few years, calls for boycotts against Israel have grown louder. It seems to have become a new battlefront against Israel and the State has yet to be able to duly counter it. This bill seeks to prevent private individuals or those representing companies, associations or organizations that support boycotting Israel from promoting their agenda on Israeli soil." (see here)
ELCA leaders and even members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) should be very concerned that they will be denied entry into the Jewish State. They are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which has been actively working to harm Israel. (see here and here) Last year the ELCA approved two resolutions aimed at Israel. One calls on the United States government to end all aid to Israel until a list of ELCA demands are met. The other resolution is titled “Justice for the Holy Land through Responsible Investment.” The resolution’s main aim is to stop investments in Israel and select companies that do business with Israel. (See here and here) An article titled “Evangelical Lutherans Divest from Israel over 'Settlement' Activity” speaks to last year’s votes by the ELCA. (see here) During an interview in 2014, before the 2016 resolutions, the ELCA’s highest bishop outlined the different actions the ELCA had taken concerning Israel. This is what she said: - “We've urged our government not to engage in grants to the state of Israel while the settlements are going on.” - “We also support that the blockade of Gaza be lifted.” - “We also engage in selective purchasing. So we not only try to trade with the Palestinian Authority, but we do not purchase products made in the illegal Israeli settlements.” - “...We are contacting the Congress, the President and saying that the illegal settlements must stop. We’re hoping that people are listening to us. I'm not sure that the government of Israel is listening to the United States when we ask for these settlements be stopped. But we have to keep trying.” (see here) In 2017 the ELCA, by way of its top bishop, signed a letter to congress stating its opposition to the "Israel Anti-Boycott Act." It said "we collectively affirm and defend the right of churches and organizations to use economic measures in the specific case of Israel-Palestine." (see letter here) The ELCA, which boycotts (they use the words "selective purchasing") parts of Israel, is defending churches and organizations that boycott Israel. The letter is advocating for the United States Congress to reject the “Israel Anti-Boycott Act” which "prohibit support of international state-sponsored boycotts of Israel by U.S. citizens engaged in interstate or international commerce." (see article here) As you can see, the ELCA is involved in and supports divestment, boycott and sanctions against Israel. Anyone associated with the ELCA should be prime candidates to be denied entry into the Jewish State. ELCA leadership and bishops should be forbidden entry into Israel. ELCA pastors and missionaries should be denied. And anyone who is an ELCA member should be denied entry to Israel, because they have chosen to be part of an organization that actively seeks to harm Israel. There is a precedence for this. In 2016, an Israeli government directive resulted in an “Associate General Secretary for the World Council of Churches (WCC)” being “blocked from entering Israel because of her work with the group to malign Israel and damage it through an economic boycott.” (See here) There is also this, “Presbyterian Official Denied Israel Entry Amidst Divestment Tension.” (See here) Top it all off with the fact that the ELCA sends “missionaries” to “the Holy Land” who take part in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) (see here, here and here) “which brings activists to the Jewish State to create publicity material alleging that Palestinians are oppressed.” (read more about EAPPI here) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pushes policies that are harmful to Israel. ELCA employees should no longer be allowed to come to Israel until the denomination rescinds all their anti-Israel policies, actions and rhetoric. Additional information: Rev. Khader El-Yateem, an ELCA pastor says, “I support BDS. And I will say this publicly, I say it to everyone.” (See here) The ELCA's Peace Not Walls program is an initiative of the ELCA to implement their Anti-Israel agenda. (See here) Here is an excellent response to an article about the two anti-Israel ELCA resolutions: “How does one distinguish between the ELCA’s actions as being anti-Semitic as opposed to merely anti-Israel? Well, because in presenting and arguing the proposed boycott the major proponent, an organization called Isaiah 58, characterized the history of Israel’s presence in the Middle East as nothing but a land grab. They characterized the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations as nothing but apartheid. They said nothing about why Israel came to exist, i.e. the Holocaust; they said nothing about the fact that Israel has had to defend against four wars from hostile Arab neighbors; they said nothing about the constant threat of terrorism that plagues Israel on a daily basis. They invited no one to speak to the Israeli side of the issue. From an ELCA standpoint, Jewish Lives Don’t Matter. When an organization cherry picks facts in order to support a position of discrimination as the ELCA did in this case, goes out of its way to not hear any evidence or meaningful argument which doesn’t support its agenda; when an organization fails to consider that the BDS movement undoes 50 years of engagement between Lutherans and Jews; and when an organization fails to realize the…BDS movement serves as a justification for hate crimes against Jews everywhere from Portland and Los Angeles to Brussels and Marseilles; that probably qualifies the organization’s actions as unambiguously anti-Semitic.” (See comment section here) Exposing the ELCA has compiled an enormous amount of information about the ELCA and their harmful work against the Jewish State. (See here and scroll down here) As you look through these links you will find that the ELCA continually takes the Palestinian position on the conflict, uses the Palestinian talking points, calls for Israel to divide Jerusalem and never condemns the Palestinians for their violence, terrorism and hatred toward Israel. From Portico Benefit Services, the ELCA’s largest institutional investor we learn that “New SIF Investment Creates Jobs and Housing in the Holy Land.” No, they are not investing in Israel, they are investing in Palestine. (See here) Taking a page out of the liberal extremists’ playbook, an ELCA pastor in a sermon to her congregation said that Exposing the ELCA was the Lutheran version of the hateful, deranged WestBoro Baptist Church. You know, the people that are famous for carrying awful signs and protesting at military funerals. Here is the back story. A couple weeks ago, Exposing the ELCA posted a blog titled, “The Most Bizarre Sermon I Have Ever Heard: An ELCA Pastor Celebrates Transgenderism.” (see here) It highlighted a sermon given by ELCA pastor Andrea Roske-Metcalfe. Days later Rev. Roske-Metcalft took to the pulpit of Grace Lutheran Church of Apple Valley, MN saying, “Our congregation was featured this week on the blog of Exposing the ELCA. This group has been around for several years. They’re basically the Lutheran version of the WestBoro Baptist Church because they really only exist to hate other people. In this case, they exist, in particular, to hate the ELCA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is our denomination. Because we love too many people. Because our understanding of God is too expansive. You know, because we don’t think the LGBTQ people are sinning simply because of who they are. Because we celebrate all manor of gender identity and expression. Because we are interested in interfaith conversations. Because sometimes we call God “she.” Because Jesus wasn’t white. And because we believe that Black Lives Matter. Because we believe that, in order to, take the Bible seriously, we can’t possibly take it literally. Because not all of our pastors are heterosexual cisgender men…” (listen here) Grace Lutheran Church also took to Facebook with this post:  (If you have Facebook you can view the church's post, "likes," and comments here.)
This is certainly malicious rhetoric by the ELCA pastor, but much of what Rev. Roske-Metcalfe said is an indictment on the ELCA. What this all comes down to is that far-left radicals control the ELCA. They twist Scripture and ignore the rest. They advocate positions that go against God's Word and are harmful to the people they think they are supporting. What you need to understand is that ELCA leadership does not respect conservative, Bible-believing Christians/members; in fact they loathe you. They put up with conservatives for their financial backing, for the power and influence a larger membership gives the ELCA and for your family and children that they hope to influence toward their worldly, anti-Biblical values and viewpoints. If you are tired of the ELCA leftists: - demonizing you for holding to the truth - calling you homophobes, bigots, Islamophobes, haters, transphobic, racist, white supremacists, xenophobes and misogynists - lying about you - destroying people’s faith and - encouraging people to live out sinful, harmful lifestyles, it is time to get your family out of their churches, stop funding them and stop giving them a larger voice in this world. Leave and find a God-honoring church. -- As you can see, Exposing the ELCA is on the front lines. Please pray for this ministry, that Exposing the ELCA will continue to make a difference in God's Kingdom. And if you would like to help Exposing the ELCA continue to reach people with the truth of God’s Word and the ways the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is misleading people and mocking God with their false-teaching, gifts to Exposing the ELCA can be made here. It is #GivingTuesday today. The ELCA is out in full force asking for money. They preach against Scripture, make anti-Semitic policies, are accepting of goddess worship and do not seek lost souls to bring them to salvation. But they still bring in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Exposing the ELCA is here telling all who will listen what the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is doing. Major ministries, who once did the same are no more. If you appreciate this work that God has called Exposing the ELCA to do, help us stand up to the multi million dollar wayward denomination with your gift (see here). Thank you! The internet and social media are today’s primary avenue in reaching people with news and information. Exposing the ELCA, with that in mind, would like to announce the addition of our two new ELCA focused websites:
- TheELCA.com takes a softer, more reserved approach, but only in its title, “Learn About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Teachings and Actions.” Most of the information on this website points people, like a portal, to information on ExposingtheELCA.com and ELCAToday.com. (see here) - NadiaBolz-Weber.com is our website dedicated to informing people of the non-Biblical and non-Christ-like teachings, actions and quotes of this popular ELCA pastor, national speaker and best selling author. (see here) It is our hope that hundreds of thousands of ELCA members and potential ELCA members will come to our websites and learn what the ELCA believes and for which it advocates. If you would like to help us financially in this effort, you can give by going here. http://www.exposingtheelca.com/help.html This past month I've been praying about new opportunities to reach more people with the truth about the non-Biblical teaching, beliefs and policies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and I've come up with a few new strategies. One idea, after our recent achievement of exceeding 1 million page views, is to pursue greater promotion of the website in order to make it more visible -- allowing more to know about and be resourced by this ministry.
Would you pray for Exposing the ELCA and prayerfully consider financially supporting this ministry to make this and other initiatives possible? If you are willing to give, gifts can be made by credit card, click "donate" on this page http://www.exposingtheelca.com/help.html or by check. Just contact me on this page (click here) to request a mailing address. Tea Party supporters have come to expect liberals to call them names, denigrate them and try to weaken their influence. The mainstream media has been doing it for years. The scandal involving the IRS targeting Tea Party organizations grows bigger every week. Yet you wouldn't expect church leaders, who are supposed to be followers of Christ, to do this. But it happened just yesterday. A large synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) let the “cat out of the bag” and very clearly revealed just how it feels about the Tea Party. The Northern Texas - Northern Louisiana Mission Area, an ELCA synod representing 108 ELCA churches wrote this on their official synod Twitter account:
Below is my reply and the ELCA synod's next tweet:
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been growing more and more liberal over the last decade. They have been moving away for the truth of Scripture and adopting the liberal agenda as their gospel. Even so, there are still hundreds of thousands of conservative members in the denomination and no doubt many supporters of the Tea Party. So the ELCA has had to, very slyly, implement their liberal agenda, much like a lion sneaking up on its prey, so as not to chase away their Bible-believing conservative members, who give quite generously to the church.
So in a refreshingly rare moment, out of anger toward my ministry, Exposing the ELCA, this synod of the ELCA jumped up and declared what they believe and feel about the Tea Party. The ELCA synod even said “don't we stand for everything they're against?” Tea Party supporters and conservatives within the almost 4 million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, do you want to be a part of a denomination that thinks this way about you? A denomination that stands against everything you believe in? A recent Exposing the ELCA poll asked:
"How did you find Exposing the ELCA?" Here are the results:
Total Votes: 273 |
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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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
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