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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.) 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)  
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ELCA pastor Margarette Ouji.
Queer ELCA Lutheran pastor helps transgender people understand "God created them just as they are"7/2/2024 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Dawn Bennett is a queer pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who works with transgender people. Pastor Dawn helps people see that if they are biological males but identify as females, God made them that way. In a glowing article in the ELCA's national magazine, Kathy Halbrooks of PFLAG, “Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,” says this about queer Pastor Dawn's work: "I see so many LGBTQ+ people emotionally damaged by their experiences with negative organized religion. Pastor Dawn of The Table helps people understand that God loves them and created them just as they are." So if you believe what Jesus said, that "He who made them at the beginning made them male and female" (Matthew 19:4), you are part of "negative organized religion". You need to understand something that Jesus never said, namely, that God also makes people to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, pansexual, tri-spirit, etc. etc. This is the "brave new world" of the ELCA as it drifts further and further from Biblical truth and embraces the confusion and deception of modern American culture. Rather than help people out of sexual confusion, the ELCA confirms people in it. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See Living Lutheran 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 below video by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America shows an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl (minute 8:29) and says the ELCA “respects diverse bodies rather than devalues them”. This child spoke to 31,000 teens at the ELCA’s Youth Gathering, promoting transgenderism. The video states the ELCA supports “reproductive health care”. The ELCA indeed pays for abortion for any reason in the denomination’s healthcare plan, which is funded by offering dollars. The video rails against the “patriarchy” and states God is not literally a Father. If you want to be part of a denomination which believes what Jesus said about human sexuality, that God made us “male and female“ (Matthew 19:4)…If you want a denomination which values human life from conception to death…and if you want to be part of a church which unashamedly worships the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, do not join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA’s woke 9 minute video below looks more like a commercial on why not to join the ELCA. 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.) Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Their church sign is on a busy highway and states “God is proud of all Their children”. The word “proud” is in gay rainbow colors. Thus God is no longer a “He” but a “They” in order to make God non-binary and trans-friendly. The church is just a few minutes from my house and years ago it had a godly, Bible-preaching pastor, but that pastor left and I visited Prince of Peace a few years ago to see a rainbow sign in the church office. Today if you go to the Prince of Peace website, the pastors and staff all list their preferred pronouns, because if you are a “he” but identify as a “she” or a “they”, Prince of Peace wants to be sensitive. What would the real Prince of Peace say to all this? He already said it in Matthew 19:4, “He who made them in the beginning made them male and female”. Notice, Jesus calls God “He” not “They”, and says there are only two genders, male and female. I believe it is blasphemy to change God’s “preferred pronoun” (He) to make God fit the LGBT agenda. May God have mercy on Prince of Peace Lutheran and return it to sanity. In the meantime, this church will continue to be a horrible witness to the people driving by in Brooklyn Park. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
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.) Below is more heresy from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s website. No, all people are not children of God. The Apostle Paul taught that we begin life as children of God’s wrath and only become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:4, Galatians 3:26). The ELCA bids us to speak truth to power. So let us do that… ELCA leaders, please stop killing unborn children in the womb with the offerings of the people of God through the ELCA’s healthcare plan. ELCA leaders, no, a little boy cannot become a little girl, so please stop giving hormone blockers to children through the ELCA’s healthcare plan, again, funded by offering dollars. ELCA’s leaders, no, a man cannot become a woman, so please stop paying for sex change operations with offering dollars. ELCA leaders, you should not ban the Bible’s teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful as you are doing in your national publications like Living Lutheran magazine. ELCA leaders, you should not be embarrassed by “Father, Son, Holy Spirit” language for God as you instead seek for more “expansive, inclusive” language for God. ELCA leaders, you should not deny Jesus’ teaching on the reality of Hell as your head bishop did when she told a Chicago newspaper “If hell exists, I think it is empty“. ELCA leaders, your head bishop should not produce another gay pride video this June as she has done the last two years to celebrate LGBT pride month. ELCA leaders, you should not put a confused 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl on stage to promote transgenderism to 31,000 teenagers at the national ELCA Teen Assembly. ELCA leaders, you should not send your head bishop to the White House to promote abortion rights as she did before the fall of Roe v. Wade. ELCA leaders, you should not vote down an amendment stating that Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6) as you did at the ELCA national assembly. Because of all of the above, I encourage everyone who is still a member of this denomination to find a more biblical Christian denomination to join. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America made the following post on Facebook.  The ELCA has failed to correctly impart God's Word to people, as is documented on this website. Here is another example of the ELCA telling people something that goes against the truth explained in Scripture. The post, speaking to God, says "You call all people of the world your children." This is not what the Bible says. God's Word tells us in John 1:12, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, the gave the right to become children of God". You can read similar statements like this in the Bible that have the same sentiment. (learn more about this here) Please stop listening to ELCA leaders, ELCA pastors, ELCA institutions, and ELCA publications. Know the Bible, do not just believe what you are told by others. Check them against what God's World says. This is true for all pastors, including those that are not ELCA but have been educated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Vice President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Imran Siddiqui, took to Facebook to address some of the new state child protection laws, which he calls "anti-trans laws". He calls them "unchristian". See the full statement below.
Siddiqui also addressed what he called "my trans family in Christ" saying, "Know that you are deeply loved by God. Not in spite of who you are, but because of the entirety of who you are." This seems to say that the ELCA Vice President believes God loves the transgender aspect of these persons. Up till ten years ago most would call these transgender thoughts dysphoria, confusion, spiritual deception, and/or sin-based. 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
In the November, 2021 edition of Living Lutheran, the national magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton writes an article avoiding calling God “He” and twice using the word “Godself” to avoid saying “God Himself”. But “Godself” is not a word, and has been invented by liberals in the church to avoid talking about God Himself. At its most recent national convention, the ELCA passed a resolution stating it desires to move to more expansive, inclusive images for God. We must never forget the language Jesus gave us for God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). But at the installation service of the ELCA’s first transgender bishop, Eaton also referred to God as “Parent, Child, and Holy Breath” and as “Rain, Estuary, and Sea”. As the ELCA estranges itself more and more from the Biblical language for God, I believe it will experience more and more of God’s judgment. Indeed, it already has, as huge numbers have left the ELCA for more biblical denominations. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (See article here on page 50)
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
The below church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The biblical language of referring to God as “He” and “Father” is being challenged in many ELCA congregations which now also refer to God as “Mother”. This is because many “progressive” pastors think male language for God is oppressive and patriarchal. But Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father who art in heaven”, never once to “Our Mother”. But these pastors seem to think they are better experts in language for God than Jesus Christ. And this is not just some radical individual church, the head Bishop of the whole ELCA has also prayed publicly to God as “Mother.” The person who sent me the below is concerned for her loved ones who attend this church. I would be too. If you are still a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, time to leave and join a denomination which unashamedly worships God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We cannot improve upon the teaching of Jesus Christ and people are arrogant who think they can do so. 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.)
Fast forward to today. A while ago at Luther Seminary, a transgender chapel preacher said “Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer in whatever way you are comfortable, “Our Mother who is in heaven…”. At the ELCA’s recent Churchwide Assembly, many delegates announced their “preferred pronouns” before they spoke, regardless of whether those pronouns matched their God – given anatomy. This was their way of being “trans inclusive”. In today’s strange world of religious liberalism, if you don’t call someone by their “preferred pronouns” you are doing “gender violence.” What about respecting God’s “preferred pronoun”? God consistently revealed Himself as “He” in both the Old and New Testaments. Yes, there is some female imagery for God in the Bible, like when Isaiah talks about God caring for us as a mother. But the pronouns are always masculine and Jesus never prayed to God as “Mother” but only as “Father”. This kind of desexing of God language is also taking place in the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church USA. How about respecting God’s “preferred pronoun”? Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
Jennie (Jennifer) Chrien is an ELCA pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, in Simi Valley, CA. She has this to say about Mary, Joseph and Jesus:
The ELCA's Southwest California Synod Bishop, Brenda Bos, a lesbian, made a comment under this Facebook post by Rev. Chrien. There was no admonition by the ELCA bishop. Below are some additional posts from pastor Jennie Chrien on her Facebook page.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
In the below worship service led by a transgender pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this man who presents himself as woman says "The grace of Jesus the Christ, the love of God the Creator, and the communion of the queer-making Spirit be with you all." The creed in this service states "I believe in Jesus Christ, Sophia, the Word". "Sophia" is a feminine image for God that feminists use to worship the "Divine Feminine." Along the same line, God is referred to in the service as "The Divine Seamstress". This is the strange new world of the ELCA. One cannot say that the extremes of the below service are not shared by the ELCA's national leadership. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has made two gay pride videos and at the ELCA's Youth Gathering an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl was put on stage to promote transgenderism to 31,000 Lutheran teens. At the installation of the ELCA's first transgender bishop, Bishop Eaton prayed to God as "Parent, Child and Holy Breath" and as "Rain, Estuary, and Sea". I hear from people periodically who say they stay in their ELCA congregation because they have been members so long and they would have to leave their friends. But sometimes Jesus says to leave and "shake the dust off your feet". I believe that time is now for Bible-believing Christians who are still in the ELCA and supporting it with their offering dollars and their presence. Our first allegiance is to Jesus, not to our friends nor to our denomination. 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.)
The first article in the October 2021 edition of Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, says this: ”And the Spirit transforms you and me by her relentless presence in, with, and among humanity”. The Bible never calls the Holy Spirit “her” or “she”, but that does not stop the feminist ELCA from revamping the biblical language for God. Indeed, years ago, the ELCA came out with its most recent hymnal which desexed all the Psalms to get rid of masculine pronouns for God. I hope you attend a good church which unashamedly worships the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the only true God. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS The same article also talks about the “kindom” of God (whatever that is) instead of the “kingdom of God“. I’m presuming we can’t even say the word “king” anymore because that is too patriarchal and oppressive. |
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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