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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.) Bishop Deborah Hutterer of the Grand Canyon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is hosting a Fall Gathering to inspire her pastors. One speaker will share Native American spirituality and the other speaker is a pro-abortion rights, pro-transgender pastor who has used the “f” word when preaching. First, the Native American… “This year, our gathering is blessed to feature Elder Perci Ami, an esteemed Hopi/Tewa grandmother, author, and storyteller. Elder Perci Ami is renowned for her work in healing broken spirits and minds through her traditional beliefs and compelling storytelling…Her journey as a healer, educator, and earth protector brings a unique and enriching perspective.” I have a question. Is this speaker a Christian? Nowhere in the retreat’s description of her is Jesus or Christianity mentioned. To me, it sounds more like a New Age type message. The second speaker is ELCA Pastor Andrea Roske-Metcalfe. A few years ago Roske-Metcalfe preached that church members should refer to a woman who identifies as a man as "they". She also preached at the ELCA’s Augsburg University, using the f-word, and saying that Jesus screwed up and the Syrophoenician woman had to redeem Jesus. At a pro-choice gathering she held a sign proclaiming that the Virgin Mary is evidence that we should be pro-choice and the sign called her opponents “mother-f....ers". These are the people this Arizona bishop brings in to inspire her ELCA pastors. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock -- (See article here)
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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.) Is the Great Spirit of Native American spirituality the same as the Christian God? That appears to be the teaching of the Christmas edition of Living Lutheran, the national magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The magazine highlights (see link below) an ELCA congregation called Lutheran Church of the Great Spirit in Milwaukee which “combines the Lutheran church and indigenous ceremonies”. The church hosts a Full Moon ceremony and practices smudging (the burning of plants to drive away evil spirits). The church prays in the direction of the Four Winds to pattern itself after Native American spirituality. I remember years ago, before I led my congregation out of the ELCA, I shared in a sermon that I had attended an ELCA convention in which we prayed toward the Four Winds to pattern our prayers after Native American worship. I got to the microphone at the convention and said “I am from German ancestry, what are we going to incorporate next, Thor and Oden worship to accommodate people like me?” After my sermon, a Native American woman of my congregation came up with tears in her eyes, saying “They’re trying to take us back to what Jesus saved me from.” The Living Lutheran article quotes the pastor of Great Spirit Lutheran to say “Indigenous peoples were living the Christian way before the Europeans came”. What would the Apostle Paul say to this? As Paul traveled the Roman Empire, he did not preach that Zeus was really the same thing as God the Father. In fact, Paul taught that the ancient pagan gods were demons, not reflections of the true God (1 Corinthians 10:20). The ancient pagans indeed were not worshiping the true God before Paul came along. This Christmas, let us worship the one true God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-and let us turn away from all the false gods that we and our ancestors have worshipped. In Jesus our only Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See ELCA 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.) I graduated from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, many years ago when it was still moderate to liberal. It has become radical. The seminary chapel brought in Native American “smudging”, the burning of herbs in order to drive away evil spirits and negative energy. Luther chapel brought in a transgender preacher to pray to “Our Mother in heaven”. A “womanist theologian” at chapel had all the students stand in a circle and imagine they were in the “pushy womb of God”. Luther Seminary chapel has observed National Coming Out Day for homosexuals and also the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Recently, Luther hired a “queer theologian” to be a professor at Luther. So, sadly, it is not surprising that recently Luther Seminary sang a Buddhist hymn about being one with everything. This is pantheism, the Buddhist teaching that God is everything and everything is God. You are God, I am God, the leaves are God, the waves are God, the mountains are God. In contrast, Christian teaching is that God is transcendent, separate from and above His creation. As Jesus taught us, “Our Father art in heaven”. Luther Seminary announced a few years ago that because of failing finances it would have to sell off a number of its campus buildings. It reminded me of Revelation 2:5 where Jesus says “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. Tap on the below and you will see Luther students singing the Buddhist hymn, followed by Buddhist worshipers doing the same https://thedissenter.substack.com/p/lutheran-seminary-chapel-sings-buddhist
(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 official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, a writer talks about how she practices both Native American religion and Christianity. She partakes in smudging ceremonies, burns tobacco as worship, and makes offerings to “Mother Earth”. I remember years ago when I was still part of the ELCA, the Minneapolis Area Synod convention had a prayer time in which people turned to the north, south, east, and west, to pattern our worship after Native American prayers to the four winds. I got to the microphone and said “I am German, my ancestors worshipped Thor and Odin, are we going to incorporate Thor worship at our next convention?” I went home to my Lutheran congregation and preached how the convention is now incorporating pagan practices. A dear Native American woman of my church came up afterward with tears in her eyes and said “They are trying to take us back to what Jesus saved me from!” Some believe that the various world religions are all aspects of the same God. The Apostle Paul did not. He believed pagan Roman religions were not worshiping God, but demons (1 Corinthians 10:30). It is tragic the ELCA’s national magazine does not see that. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See page 28 of 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 liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has just concluded its national assembly. At the assembly, smoke was dispersed to cleanse from evil spirits and negative energy according to the Native American ceremony called smudging. No, ELCA, evil spirits are not driven out by smoke but only by the name of Jesus Christ. If you tap on the second link below, you can watch pagan smudging going on during an ELCA worship service. Also, the ELCA took up the issue of "bound conscience". Back in 2009 when the ELCA voted to ordain practicing homosexuals, conservatives were assured that their "bound conscience" against homosexual behavior would be allowed in the ELCA. But now, some want that reconsidered so that LGBT people will feel more welcomed in the ELCA. The ELCA already has two practicing homosexual bishops and a while ago elected the world's first transgender bishop. But that is not welcoming enough, some say, and they want the "bound conscience" language to be reconsidered. Kevin Strickland, an ELCA homosexual bishop with a "husband", took to the microphone to share his angst that someone refused to receive holy communion from him because the person objected to the bishop's homosexual behavior. The bishop said that he is tired of having his "personhood" challenged. He wants the church to "reconsider the church's current concept of bound conscience" because the ELCA should be a place where all are welcomed and loved, not condemned. I personally have struggled with homosexual temptation most of my life but for the sake or Christ and my soul, I abstain from this behavior (see "My struggle with same sex attraction" at pastorsstudy.org). I would say to the ELCA's homosexual bishops that no one is challenging their personhood. People are challenging homosexual behavior which the Bible condemns and in which the bishops engage. It is out of love that we tell people to turn from sin since sin dishonors God and hurts us. Indeed, it is very unloving to condone a sin which can eternally separate people from the Kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9-11). So now the ELCA has reached the point where it will examine whether to even allow the traditional, biblical view of homosexuality in its ranks. Indeed, the ELCA's national magazine already bans the conservative viewpoint in its pages. Given the ECLA's syncretism with pagan practices and its affirmation of homosexuality and transgenderism, it is long past time for Bible-believing Christians to leave this denomination. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (To see Bishop Strickland's convention remarks, tap on second link below). Smudging at the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly https://www.facebook.com/100075432623373/videos/839357237232129/
The 2022 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Churchwide Assembly is happening this week.
The unbiblical native American practice of "smudging" was one of the events taking place in the large gathering that included all of the ELCA leadership. "Smudging is a Native American ritual that links smoke with spirituality... This is a common ceremonial ritual among indigenous people, held closely within these cultures to purify, spiritually cleanse, rid physical spaces of negative energy, and bless." "Smudging is the bridge between mortal life and higher realms, bringing in good spirits and eliminating any negative, stagnant ones. This ceremony lifts away any sadness, impurities, anxieties, and remediates poor health, leaving nothing but peace and harmony for both individuals and the environment after the cleansing." (Read here) In the comment section of this post by the East Central Synod of Wisconsin are additional pictures and another video. (See here) ELCA Lutherans to incorporate Native American worship and praying "to the four directions"8/6/2022 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
The increasingly heretical Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will meet in assembly August 8-12 in Columbus, Ohio. The ELCA will denounce "the doctrine of discovery" (Christopher Columbus). Head Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will open the assembly acknowledging their meeting is taking place on the ancestral homelands of the Shawnee, Miami, and Kaskaskia peoples. The worship service will "include a prayer to the four directions, which will incorporate a gathering of waters from the four directions within the territory of the ELCA, and a time of repentance as called for in the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery." (see here) Years ago when I was still a pastor in the ELCA, I went to one of our conventions where we turned to the north, south, east, and west in order to pattern our prayers after Native American spirituality. I got to the microphone and said "I am German, my ancestors worshiped Thor and Odin. Are we going to incorporate Thor worship at our next convention?" When I returned home, I told that story to my congregation and a Native American woman with tears in her eyes said "They're trying to take us back to what Jesus saved me from." This is called syncretism, when people mix various gods and religions together. It is what got the ancient Jews in trouble when they tried to mix Baal worship with the worship of Jehovah. Please take a moment to pray for the ELCA and its upcoming assembly. Pray that the ELCA will remember the First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock I guess we should not be surprised that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, by way of the Metro D.C. Synod and their Synod Council Interim Vice President, produced a devotional video with a Buddhist/Hindu statue sitting in the background. Let me be clear to ELCA leadership and anyone who doesn't know God's Word very well. Buddhism is a false religion. Hinduism is a false religion. God says this in Exodus 20:2-3, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. - Isaiah 42:8 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6  Help Exposing the ELCA raise $75,000, an amount many ELCA pastors make in one year. Gifts can be given by credit card, or PayPal at www.paypal.com/paypalme/exposingtheelca. If you'd like to give by check send me a message (here) for more information. (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Living Lutheran, the national magazine of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has an article giving advice on how to observe lent. It starts with this "Deep breaths.… Remember to breathe deeply. While doing so, perhaps you can meditate on a mantra such as "I breathe in peace. I exhale worry.” A mantra is the Hindu practice of repeating a phrase over and over to achieve magical and spiritual results. The article also recommends reading a “centering poem” each day and “Light a candle. Sit by its glow. Watch the flame and smell the scent. Repeat as often as needed, whether aloud or silently: “Jesus is the light of our world.” This incorporating of non-Christian religious practices reflects what the ELCA did at its last national assembly in affirming that we do not know what God thinks of non-Christian religions. One delegate tried to amend that saying, yes, we do know since Jesus said He is the only way of salvation (John 14:6). The delegate was voted down by 97 percent. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (See article on page 9 here)  (The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) As the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America shrinks in membership and donations, so do its seminaries. Two ELCA seminaries in Pennsylvania had to merge, Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota had to sell off some of its buildings and in 2017 the building of the ELCA seminary in California was sold to a Muslim College. The President of California Lutheran University (which owned the California seminary property) was delighted to sell to the Muslim college: "We are delighted that the property is going to another nonprofit, faith-based educational institution". The President of the Muslim College stated "We are humbled and honored by this beautiful display of interreligious cooperation." This past summer the ELCA in convention passed an interreligious resolution stating that we do not know what God thinks of non-Christian religions. A delegate tried to amend that, stating that the Bible teaches Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6). His amendment was voted down by 97 percent. We should grieve that a once Christian seminary building is now being used to promote Islam, but instead the President of the ELCA's California Lutheran University is "delighted". Such is the new world of ELCA interreligious cooperation. I have written many posts about how radical my alma mater Luther Seminary has become with its chapel services featuring transgender preachers, "God the Mother" worship, Native American "Great Spirit" worship, and the commemoration of National Coming Out Day and Transgender Week of Remembrance. I cannot help but think of the Bible's teaching "You reap what you sow." For years the ELCA has sown arrogance and rebellion against the Scriptures, and slowly but surely the ELCA has reaped its own decline. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
A post last week by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is extremely disturbing. The ELCA official Facebook page published a post wishing people a "blessed Ramadan." This is encouraging a teaching and religion that is opposed to Christian beliefs. Kindness and love are Christian tenets, but the ELCA's belief in universalism, that all people are saved, has taken them to a place where they bless the practice of false religions and encourage people participating in them.
Even more disturbing, in the same Facebook post, is the statement made by the ELCA: "This month commemorating the revelation of the Qur’an is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation, devotion, and reflection" (italics mine). "Revelation," according to Lexico.com, is defined as "the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world." The ELCA, by their own words, is saying that the Qur'an has divine origins, that it was given and disclosed by God! The Qur'an was written long after the New Testament and clearly states that Jesus is not the son of God. This reality, among other examples of the Qur'an not being a Christian resource, reveals a toxic sentiment by the ELCA that is opposed to orthodox teaching. It is heretical and evil of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to post that the Qur'an is a revelation, from God. God's Word in Galatians 1:6-7 tells us "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." How far the ELCA has fallen. They twist, distort and deny God's Word but lift up a different religion's writings as being from God. It is time to leave this denomination that has left the Truth. 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Luther Seminary of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently held a chapel worship service based on Native American spirituality. A Native American woman burned a plant and waved a feather over it, explaining that smudging "releases the energies within yourself". She led the congregation to inhale and exhale "which cleanses you" (see minute 4:02 below). Prayers were made in the direction of the four winds, patterned after Native American religion. The preacher explained that her Christianity is an extension of Native American spirituality. She said "I am a hybrid" in that she practices Christianity and holds to native spirituality. She talked of her "natural fusion of Christian and Sioux spirituality". She spoke of "the foundational values of God's original covenant with Native Americans that must never be violated." A version of the Lord's Prayer was made to "the Great Spirit."
Years ago when I was still in the ELCA, our Minneapolis Area Synod convention had participants pray toward the North, South, East and West. At that convention I got to the microphone to complain about the Native American worship. I said "I am German. My ancestors worshipped Thor and Odin. I hope we aren't going to incorporate Thor and Odin worship next." I shared this with my congregation and a Native American woman came up to me after church with tears in her eyes saying "They are trying to get us to return to the things that Jesus saved me from!" Luther's Christian/Sioux worship service is consistent with where the ELCA is heading. At the recent ELCA church-wide assembly, in the presence of representatives from non-Christian religions, the ELCA overwhelmingly passed an interfaith resolution stating that we don't know what God thinks of non-Christian religions. A delegate said that we indeed know since Jesus said He is the only way of salvation (John 14:6), but the delegate was voted down by 97%. Some time ago an elderly woman who has donated to Luther Seminary asked me if she should continue to do so. I said "Not a penny." One Luther chapel service brought in a transgender preacher who prayed "Our Mother in heaven". Another Luther chapel service had a feminist/womanist preacher tell the students to hold hands and imagine they were in "the pushy womb of God". Another chapel service observed National Coming Out Day for homosexuals. Another chapel service observed the Transgender Day of Remembrance. And now this smudging service (watch it below). Like I said, "Not a penny." Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS Luther Seminary is selling off 15 acres and some of its buildings because of the seminary's financial problems.
Jesus did not and would not invite worshipers of Baal into the Temple of God to worship their deity. But the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA proudly reports on one of their ELCA churches that invited Muslims to pray at their church.
A second Facebook post by the ELCA synod has the ELCA church's pastor saying they "Sometimes even pray with them." 
Below we learn from the ELCA's Living Lutheran magazine:
"This Ramadan Shoulder-to-Shoulder (of which the @ELCA is a founding member) is visiting 5 cities across the U.S., holding interfaith celebrations. Tonight the #RamadanRoadTrip concludes in Washington, D.C"
See here.
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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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