EXPOSING THE ELCA
  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
    • on Universalism & Hell
    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
    • on Gospel Reductionism / Antinomianism
    • on Called to Common Mission
    • on Other Critical Issues
  • Responses to ELCA
    • The Bible vs. ELCA
    • Churches Respond
    • Pastors Respond
    • Exposed Quotes
    • People Respond
    • More Responses
    • ELCA Finances
    • Alternatives to the ELCA
  • Exposed Blog
  • Share
  • Support
  • More
    • About & Contact
    • Help and Advice on Leaving ELCA
    • Important Information
    • Church Produced Info
    • ELCA Vault
    • Readers' Comments
    • ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber
    • ELCA Colleges
    • ELCA Seminaries
    • Want to Know Jesus?
    • Exposing the ELCA Newsletters & Important Websites
    • Submit Tips

'The Holy Family is queer' Says ELCA Pastor

1/3/2022

2 Comments

 
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:
​
Picture
Picture


​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. 

2 Comments

Heretical Pastor Rising in ELCA Leadership

5/5/2020

5 Comments

 
Picture
ELCA pastor Lura N. Groen has been highlighted on Exposing the ELCA many times. She is one of the most radical and heretical ELCA pastors I have come across. (See here and below for a number of things she has been saying. Some of it is blasphemous and vile.)

With that said, Pastor Lura N. Groen has been endorsed and placed into postions of influence and leadership by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 


  • Last year, Rev. Groen was "elected to the Discipline Committee" at the 2019 Delaware-Maryland Synod (See page 2 here). 
 
  • Delaware-Maryland Synod (ELCA) Bishop Bill Gohl is very familiar with Rev. Groen saying, "Pastor Lura Groen, with whom I belong to a weekly pericope Bible study group and who I know to be a (hard) truth-teller..." (See here).
​
  • Rev. Groen was a guest speaker, teaching a class at an ELCA seminary.
 
  • She was even on a panel discussion with the ELCA's Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as you can see in the picture above.

Below are some writings and social media content from Rev. Groen. Sorry for the shocking and odious content.  How can the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leadership allow someone, who speaks and believes as this pastor does, to rise in their leadership ranks?  How can they allow Rev. Groen and many ELCA pastors like her, to mock the One True God? 


The ELCA is culpable and responsible for this.  They allow it and give it a platform in their midst. 

The true God of Scripture is not the God the ELCA serves. The Holy Spirit does not dwell in it.

Picture
Picture

Continuing from Rev. Lura N. Groen's article posted above "I Hope You Have Only Good Sex" (see the complete article here), she writes, "This is, for me, an open expression of a deeply faith based sexual ethic. My Christian way of saying the same thing is to hope that each of you has sex in way, and only in a way, that is set free to love God, self, and neighbor. And that every time you have sex you respect the image of God in yourself and in your partner(s). That you treat yourself and every other body involved as holy, a temple, beloved by God, created beautifully, fearsomely and awesomely made."

Some of Rev. Groen's comments get even worse:

Jesus was Queer, anti-establishment, pro-heaux, and rejected heteronormative relationship models. https://t.co/L3er24ndL3

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 30, 2020
Picture

Did it work? pic.twitter.com/D6jLnR5Aku

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 28, 2020
Picture
Picture

God is fat. And She twerks marvelously.

And you know what? You don’t fucking know if She has diabetes. And it’s none of your fucking business. She’s glorious either way.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) January 9, 2020
Picture
In the next post Rev. Lura Groen shared an article titled "What Promiscuity Taught Me About God's Love." The article was from QueerTheology.com. 
​
Picture

I honestly believe it’s our shame that has perverted our sexuality. Shame that had been too often taught by the church.

Trying to control the gender and sexuality God has given people twists it into terrible things.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 29, 2020

I don’t know who needs to hear this* but:

Feeling your anger can be fucking revolutionary.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 26, 2019

Sometimes I say fuck, but usually only when I’m talking about holiness, so now you’re prepared.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 22, 2019

It’s ok to not know your gender.

It’s ok to change your mind about your gender.

It’s ok to not have a gender at all.

You are ok. You are good.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 19, 2019
Picture
Picture

Unpopular opinion: Divorce can be a really good thing, and more people should probably get them. https://t.co/PHyEVaPGNd

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 16, 2019
Click to set custom HTML
Picture
Picture

Now I’m Queer. Not just LGBT, as in let’s expand heteronormative relationship structures to same sex people, but Queer, as in, fuck heteronormative relationship structures, because they’re based in capitalism and white supremacy.

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) May 1, 2020
5 Comments

ELCA Seminary Student Defends the Polyamorous Lifestyle, Offers the Idea that Jesus 'Proposed' to the Disciples At the Last Supper, and sadly more...

4/16/2019

2 Comments

 
This all began with a podcast about polyamory. "Polyamory...is the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the consent of all partners involved." (See here)

Invited to speak on the podcast was "theologian" J.D. R. Mechelke, an ELCA Luther Seminary student who is getting his M.A. and is also a high school youth minister for an ELCA church. 


When introducing himself J.D. R. Mechelke, pictured in the lower right hand corner, mentioned that currently there are two big projects he is tackling which  center around "sexuality education with youth in the church" and writing a paper on "creating a kinky doctrine of sin..."

Picture
The headlines are numerous with this one so let's dive in and take a look at what this ELCA seminary student had to say, beginning with this blasphemous quote: ​

-  "Some would say that the Last Supper, Jesus is proposing to the 12 friends and so it's very gay and very polyamorous."

Here is J.D. Mechelke's full statement beginning with a question from the podcast host:
Picture

More from the ELCA seminarian:

- "In the evangelical world, there are a lot of the songs and prayers that are used talk about, there's this very intimate, individualistic relationship that people have with God and it's very erotic sometimes. My favorite example is this old song. It's not old, but '90s, "In the secret and the quiet place, I want to touch you. I want to see the--"

"You start to think, 'That's kind of erotic and yet it's evangelical.' It's that we're doing that, which is fine. There are queer theologians that are taking that and saying, 'Maybe we have this erotic thing going on with Jesus.' Also thinking about it, 'This is my body.' You're taking somebody's body in your mouth, and so there's some phallic-."

- "There's this idea of the polyamorous crisis that's gained traction, but usually the safe way to say it is that God loves everybody. This isn't very safe to say, but God's a total slut in that sense."

- "Oh, God, I love when Jesus says 'bush'...I don't think of the burning bush, I think of something else."
​
Picture
(I believe the ELCA seminary student misspoke or there was a transcribing error in the second paragraph, and the first sentence that should say "...there's this guideline for pastors basically that says you can [not] have sex outside of marriage.")

If you are wondering what church would be most welcoming to polyamory, J.D. Mechelke answers: 

"If a church is openly for gay and queer folk, my guess is that you probably won't have that much push back (on) polyamory..."

See here for transcript or see the video below)


2 Comments

Sermon At ELCA Seminary Says Jesus Was 'in Many Ways Queer'

11/4/2018

5 Comments

 
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  A couple weeks ago, Masters of Divinity student Elle Dowd preached during worship in the school's Augustana Chapel (listen to it here or read it here).

​Elle Dowd didn't want us to miss it, as she contacted me a number of times wanting me to read her sermon (and write about, no doubt).

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago certainly thought highly of it as well, because they promoted it on their Facebook page and linked to the full audio of the sermon. 
Picture
(Go see the seminary Facebook post here)

Here is Elle Dowd's second tweet seeking my attention:

I can never figure out what sets off @ExposingtheELCA and what they’ll ignore. Tell angry women to organize? Get called out. Preach a sermon in Lstc chapel comparing Jesus to a trans woman of color? Nothing. I thought for sure that’d be a thing because he hates our seminaries □□‍♀️

— elle dowd (@HowNowBrownDowd) October 19, 2018
​
Below is the type of teaching and preaching future ELCA pastors are digesting (and it has been like this for years). 

Lowlights of the sermon:


  • "Grace and peace are yours from the One who made all genders in Their image. Amen".
 
  • "Jesus, a sexual minority himself at the time by virtue of being unmarried and in many ways queer, is telling this story of equality to the religious aristocracy..."
 
  • "And in Mark today Jesus just refuses to fall into their trap and stay within their bounds.  This is a very queer thing to do as well, to blur lines, subvert hierarchies. Marcella Althaus-Reid says that – in addition to calling Jesus 'God in human drag' – Jesus is queer precisely BECAUSE of his transgressiveness. To be queer is to be transgressive. To break the rules and norms of society."
 
  • "And the church, with its queer-antagonistic, white supremacist, and misogynistic interpretations of scripture, has their blood on our hands."
 
  • "Creating a permanent criminal underclass is the foundation of mass incarceration and modern day slavery, and the United States Empire – cheered on by our own Religious Aristocracy – delights in setting traps of racism and poverty for the purposes of their own profit."
 
  • "In our white supremacist colonial context . . ."
 ​

You can read more about this ELCA seminary student here.

ELCA pastor Lura Groen responded to my tweeting this article:

What a powerful sermon! Thanks for publicizing it, so that more people may feel God’s Queer love!

— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) November 6, 2018

And this from ELCA pastor John Sipf:
​

@ExposingtheELCA
You know, I really should follow you.

You are lifting up so many wonderfully gifted theological minds in the Church today.

Thank you!

— John Sipf (@Pr_JT_Sipf) November 6, 2018
5 Comments

What’s Going on In ELCA Churches?

2/17/2017

3 Comments

 
It doesn't take much effort to find heretical and controversial things happening in ELCA churches. So let me show you just a few things I've found. 

Would you like to be part of the “Feminine Sacred Circle” at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in North Hollywood, CA? Here's what that's about:

​
Picture
(see here) 

Or you could be part of a Queer Virtue lecture taking place at ELCA pastor Clint Schnekloth's Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
​
Picture
(see here) 

​On the “Queer Virtue” book website it tells us “Authentic Christianity is and must be queer.” And one of the book reviews on the website is by Emily M.D. Scott, an ELCA pastor, who was a main speaker at the 2015 ELCA National Youth Gathering. She writes:
 
“A breath of fresh, queer, air…With vivacious smarts and a wicked sense of humor, Edman compels her readers to fully embrace our gloriously multifaceted God-given identities. If you’ve wondered if you can be fully queer and fully Christian, the answer is a resounding “yes,” and Edman will show you the way.'
—Emily M.D. Scott, Pastor, St. Lydia's -- A Dinner Church, Brooklyn, NY”
​(see here) 


Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN devotes a page on their website to Black Lives Matter.

Picture
(see here) ​

And of course you have ELCA churches trumpeting their encouragement of sin.

Augustana Lutheran Church, Omaha, NE
Picture

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in North Hollywood, CA, the church that has the “Feminine Sacred Circle,” also has a vast LGBTQ Ministry (see here) 

3 Comments

ELCA Pastor Writes, "May the Love of the Universe...Wrap Her Thighs Around You"

8/25/2016

18 Comments

 
Exposing the ELCA has introduced ELCA Rev. Lura Groen to you in the past. (see here) A couple weeks ago, Rev. Groen proudly posted, on her Facebook page, her delight that during Reconciling Works morning prayer time at the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly, they would be using a "Blessing" and liturgy she wrote. 

Reconciling Works is an organization that has been pushing LGBT rights, approval, gay marriage, gay clergy and the blessing of homosexuality in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for a good number of years.


​Here is Rev. Groen's Facebook post:



​Here is ELCA pastor Lura Groen's "blessing":

May the Mighty One dance Her fierce dance on all the walls of injustice.
May the Strong, Proud Mama keep all Her babies safe.
May the Femme of all Femmes paint us in beauty.
May the Seductive One change our hearts.
May the Love of the Universe wiggle Her wide hips at you, and wrap Her thighs around you.
May the Promiscuous One make love to you, 

And may She rock your world. (see here)


(Reconciling Works did not recite the 4th, 5th or 6th sentences.)

​This is blasphemous. "(T)he Promiscuous One make love to you," "wrap Her thighs around you." This is the direction of the ELCA. As more and more CINO's (Christian In Name Only) and false teachers graduate from ELCA seminaries, the denomination that is already rejecting much of Scripture will be increasingly championing doctrines of demons. 
Here is a liturgy by ELCA pastor Groen called "a Liturgical Proclamation of Queer Holiness." It too was recited at the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly Reconciling Works morning prayer gathering:

My Beloved Queer Ones,

(y)our lives are holy.
(y)our lives are holy.
(y)our dancing is holy.
(y)our dancing is holy. 
(y)our protest is holy.
(y)our protest is holy.
(y)our grief is holy.
(y)our grief is holy.
(y)our rage is holy.
(y)our rage is holy.
(y)our community is holy.
(y)our community is holy. 
(y)our gender presentations are holy.
(y)our gender presentations are holy.
(y)our bodies are holy.
(y)our bodies are holy.
(y)our sex is holy.
(y)our sex is holy. 
(y)our love is holy.
(y)our love is holy.
(y)ou are holy.
(y)ou are holy.
We are holy.
(see Rev. Groen's blog with this liturgy here)

​(The Reconciling Works speaker added a few lines to this liturgy. - Here is a video of the blessing and liturgy. The ELCA Bishop of the Southwest California Synod, Guy Erwin attended this prayer gathering and can be seen in the video below. The liturgy begins around the 5:10 minute mark)

This is vile, crazy and a heresy that permeates the ELCA. 
​
18 Comments

"Queer Theology" Workshop at Upcoming ELCA "Grace Gathering"

8/7/2016

2 Comments

 
(The following article was written last week by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org.  You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)
 
In August the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will hold its national assembly with a variety of workshops. The ELCA voted in 2009 to allow for the ordination of homosexually active pastors, but the ELCA also allows conservative congregations not to do so.
 
At the upcoming assembly there is no workshop representing the traditional, Biblical viewpoint on this issue. Instead the following will be offered at the ELCA's "Grace Gathering" held in partnership with the national assembly:

Introducing Queer Theology and Its Intersections with Lutheran Theology
...Queer theologians have developed transformative, challenging and more inclusive ways of understanding God, Jesus Christ and the human person and have helped redefine family and church. In this workshop we will explore what queer theologians are teaching and writing about these doctrines and how some key claims of queer theology surprisingly align with Lutheran teachings.
The presenter of the workshop is Mary Elise Lowe, associate professor of Religion at the ELCA's Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Her most recent publication is “Re-Embracing the Body of Jesus Christ: A Queer, Lutheran Theology of the Body of Christ”...
 
There is little doubt what Martin Luther, who said homosexuality "comes from the devil", would think of this workshop. A question that should be asked is: For the sake of balance and fairness (and truth!) why is there no workshop representing what Christians have believed on this issue for 2000 years? Why only one point of view?
 
This is another example of why it is time for Christians to leave the ELCA and take their time, talents, and treasures to a denomination which honors their Biblical beliefs.
 
Sincerely in Christ,
 
Pastor Tom Brock
pastorsstudy.org

(you can find the link to this workshop here)
2 Comments
    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
    2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly
    Abortion
    Adam And Eve
    Advocacy
    All Paths Lead To God
    Angels
    Anglican Church
    A Pastors Thoughts
    Astrology
    Bds
    Belief
    Berlin Wall
    BIPOC
    Bisexual
    Bishop
    Black-lives-matter
    Blasphemy
    Border Fence
    Camp
    Christian Nationalism
    Christmas
    Church Leaves Elca
    Church Plant
    Climate Change
    Columbus Day
    Communion
    Community Organizing
    COVID
    Covington-catholic
    Creation
    Cross Dressing
    Cursing
    Deaconness
    Decolonizelutheranism
    Divorce
    Drag
    Drag Queen
    Eappi
    Easter
    Elca
    ELCA Churchwide Assembly
    Elca College
    ELCA Conference Of Bishops
    Elca World Hunger
    Environmentalism
    Episcopal
    Equality Act
    Evil
    Evolution
    Exposing The Elca
    Feminism
    Feminist Theology
    Fracking
    Franklin Graham
    Fundamentalists
    Future
    Gay Bar
    Gay Marriage
    Gender
    Gender Neutral Language
    Gnosticism
    God
    Goddess Worship
    Gospel Of Affirmation
    Grace Luth Eau Claire
    Guns
    Heaven-on-earth
    Hell
    Herchurch
    Heresy
    Heterosexism
    Holy Spirit
    Homosexuality
    ICE
    Ilhan Omar
    Illegal Immigration
    Illustration
    Immigration
    Inclusion
    Inerrancy
    Interfaith
    Intersex
    Intolerant
    Israel
    Jesus
    John Dominic Crossan
    Jonah
    Judge Kavanaugh
    Lcmc
    Lent
    Letter
    Liberal Theology
    Liberation Theology
    Lift
    Living Lutheran
    Lutheran Church Of Hope
    Lutheran Core
    Lutheran Immigration And Refugee Sevice
    Lutheran Social Services
    LWF
    Mainline Protestant
    Mantra
    Marcus Borg
    Martin Luther
    Masterpiece Cake Shop
    Masturbation
    Media 1517
    Membership
    Methodist
    Mike Housholder
    Missionaries
    Money
    Mother God
    Naked And Unashamed
    Nakedness
    Nalc
    National Day Of Mourning
    Non-Binary
    Operation Christmas Child
    Other Religions
    Overpopulation
    Pam Rocker
    Pat Robertson
    PC(USA)
    Police
    Politics
    Polls
    Polyamorous Relationships
    Pornography
    Portico Benefit Services
    Prayer
    Premarital Sex
    Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
    Presiding Bishop Herbert Chilstrom
    Pronouns
    Purity Rings
    Queer Eye
    Queer Theology
    Race
    Racism
    Rage
    Reform Elca
    Refugees
    Reiki
    Resurrection
    Rev Nadia Bolz Weber
    Right And Wrong
    Rob Bell
    Salvation
    Salvation Army
    Samaritan's Purse
    Sanctuary
    Satan
    Saul Alinsky
    Seminaries
    Sex
    Silencing Free Speech
    Silencing Pastors
    Sin
    Smudging
    Socialism
    Social Justice
    Spirit Guides
    Standing Rock
    Store
    Substitutionary Atonement
    Syncretism
    Synods
    Taxes
    Thanksgiving
    The Bible
    The Finger
    The Gospel
    The Lutheran
    The Tea Party
    Thrivent
    Tolerance
    Transgender
    Trump
    UCC
    Unitarian Universalist
    United Methodist Church
    United Nations
    United States Of America
    Unity
    Universalism
    Universal Salvation
    Vagina
    Video
    Virgin Birth
    Welca
    White
    White Privilege
    White Supremacists
    Wiccan
    Wordalone
    Yoga
    Youth


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009


    RSS Feed


    Exposing the ELCA
    Exposing the ELCA is on Facebook

    Picture
    Follow Exposing the ELCA on Twitter

    ​Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11

Home

Share

Exposed Blog

HELP

Contact

Exposing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
​Copyright © 2021
Photo used under Creative Commons from lcm1863
  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
    • on Universalism & Hell
    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
    • on Gospel Reductionism / Antinomianism
    • on Called to Common Mission
    • on Other Critical Issues
  • Responses to ELCA
    • The Bible vs. ELCA
    • Churches Respond
    • Pastors Respond
    • Exposed Quotes
    • People Respond
    • More Responses
    • ELCA Finances
    • Alternatives to the ELCA
  • Exposed Blog
  • Share
  • Support
  • More
    • About & Contact
    • Help and Advice on Leaving ELCA
    • Important Information
    • Church Produced Info
    • ELCA Vault
    • Readers' Comments
    • ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber
    • ELCA Colleges
    • ELCA Seminaries
    • Want to Know Jesus?
    • Exposing the ELCA Newsletters & Important Websites
    • Submit Tips