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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.) Nicole Garcia was born a man, married a woman, and then divorced. After that time he went to a transgender conference and discovered “I’d always been a woman. The weight lifted from my shoulders and, for the first time in my life, I felt at peace. I claimed myself as Nicole.” “She” then joined a congregation of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and “fell in love with Lutheran theology...Now, as an ELCA pastor, I proclaim the gospel of love and inclusion of my savior, Jesus Christ. The ELCA has embraced me.” This article appeared in the official magazine of the ELCA in its September 2020 edition. Today one can be a practicing homosexual pastor and also a practicing transgender pastor and lead a congregation of the ELCA. And the ELCA continues to shrink in members and donations. As I have said before, ELCA really stands for “Extremely Liberal Church in America” or “Everything Luther Cautioned Against” or “Every Lutheran Confession Abandoned.” In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock -- (See Living Lutheran article here) 
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Gay Pride month happens every June. It is a time when you see people, businesses and organizations make statements and social media posts showing their support. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service was one organization which was fully invested in "celebrating" Gay Pride this June. One Facebook post by the organization has a picture of a man dressed like a woman and an article honoring this "Transgender Activist & Immigrant." Another post by LIRS celebrates a "queer" undocumented artist. (See both below)
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) is a partner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the ELCA financially support LIRS. It is time for Bible-believing ELCA Lutherans to stop putting up with the denomination's rebellion against God. Stop being content and silent in your comfortable, "isolated" ELCA church. The ELCA's heretical, faith-destroying beliefs are harming everyone who comes in contact with it. Leading your church and/or your family out of ELCA is the God-honoring action Bible-believing Christians should take. 
Should biological males be placed in female homeless shelters? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is rallying their faithful to advocate: "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a new rule that could decrease shelter access and increase the risk of homelessness for transgender and non-binary people in our communities...HUD’s proposed change would weaken existing protections under the 2016 issued 'Equal Access Rule,' allowing sex-segregated shelters to consider someone’s biological sex — rather than their self-identification — in making placement choices and how they accommodate people seeking shelter. Currently, the unrevised Equal Access Rule requires housing and shelter facilities to ensure equal access to benefits, services and accommodation for individuals based on their gender identity without intrusive and harmful questioning or government ID requirements." The ELCA then asks its readers to send a form letter, provided by the ELCA, to the U.S. government advocating for no change to the current rule. (See here) 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently shared a LGBT+ organization's article with the comment "Each of us is a beloved child of God, perfectly and wonderfully made, just as we are. Thanks to ReconcilingWorks for this Lutheran introduction to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression."
Rev. Tom Brock had this to say about the ELCA Facebook post: "A man used to be 'he' and a woman 'she'. Not anymore in the 'enlightened, woke' world of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. If there is any doubt that this denomination has gone radically liberal, look at the below article from the official Facebook page of the ELCA. And, again, if you are still a member of the ELCA, time to take your money, time and talents elsewhere and join a Biblical denomination." (See here)
(The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Listen to the one and a half minute video below to hear how excited the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is to affirm homosexuality and transgenderism. The Bible declares these behaviors to be sinful, but you won't hear that from the ELCA. I have struggled with same sex attraction most of my life, but I abstain for the sake of Christ and my soul (I Corinthians 6:9-11). You can read my struggle at pastorsstudy.org and also see there my article "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?" I don't appreciate that the ELCA never acknowledges people who have same sex attraction but are celibate for the sake of the Kingdom. The ELCA is all about celebrating those who practice homosexuality and their "loving, committed relationships." Once again, if you are still a member of the ELCA, it is long time past to get out. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS I just put this comment on the ELCA's facebook page, where almost all the comments love what Bishop Eaton says: Bishop Eaton's video is tragic. I personally have struggled with same sex attraction most of my life but for the sake of Christ and my soul, I abstain (see my story at pastorsstudy.org). The Bible teaches that those who continue in impenitent homosexual behavior will not inherit the Kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9-11). It is not loving to tell people that sin is no longer sin. The ELCA leadership and publications regularly highlight clergy and others who live in homosexual behavior ("loving, committed relationships") but you will find no word in Living Lutheran magazine about people with same sex attraction who are celibate for the Kingdom. 
The ELCA has an agenda. They want to instill their beliefs into people including children and teenagers. That is why you should not send your youth to ELCA Youth Gatherings. The ELCA has demonstrated this indoctrination for the last decade at the ELCA National Youth Gatherings (see here, scroll down the page) and they did it again last few months in these posting on the official Twitter page of the ELCA Youth Gathering -
(The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) This is so tragic and difficult to watch, I couldn't make it all the way through. Austen Hartke is a transgender person who has been featured in Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In the below video, Hartke interviews Reverend Dr. Megan Rohrer, the first ELCA transgender pastor. Rohrer uses the pronoun "they" and identifies as both male and female. Rohrer talks about the medical decision on whether to become "Ken or Barbie" and reveals that her child is also transgender. A different transgender pastor preached at my alma mater, the ELCA's Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, to commemorate the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The transgender pastor led in the Lord's Prayer, saying "Our Mother in Heaven." This is the strange new world of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which has decided to reject God's intention for sexuality and has opened itself to a variety of "sexualities" for its pastors. May the Lord lead you out of this denomination if you have not left yet. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock  (The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)  10 years ago the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to ordain practicing homosexuals as pastors. This caused the largest church split in American history and the ELCA lost many members and donations. One ELCA seminary building was sold to Muslims, two other seminaries merged, and my alma mater Luther Seminary has had to sell off some of its buildings. Nevertheless, some ELCA bishops celebrate the move to have non-celibate homosexual and transgender pastors. Here is a statement from Bishop Jim Arends of the La Crosse Area Synod: "This is the 10th anniversary of the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ clergy and deacons. As we celebrate the work of the gay pastors in our synod we seek to grow in understanding and inclusion. The Synod Council voted this spring to provide training in the issues and realities of the LGBTQIA+ community. As opportunities are offered in the months to come, please take advantage of them." (See here, a little over half way down the page) So it appears it is not enough that liberals in the church got the ELCA to approve homosexual relationships in 2009, now in 2020 they want to train Lutheran church members to be on board with the LGBTQIA+ movement. Your ELCA offering dollars at work. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock
The ELCA's Pennsylvania Synod is promoting "LBGTQ-friendly" books to read to your children. The Facebook post takes you to an article that lists 17 LGBTQ-friendly books. They are stories about "transgender" children, a controversial gay rights leader, supportive books about children whose parents are gay, a child at a parent's gay wedding, a book that talks about "gender fluidity for children and encourages them to explore their identities," a story about a "prince falling in love with a knight" and many same-sex love stories.
The ELCA is trying to influence you and your family. Here they are targeting children with their view on homosexuality, gender fluidity and transgenderism. Why are you a part of a wayward denomination that preaches lifestyles that go against God's will for people? 
Rev. Tom Brock addressed the situation this way -
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is poisoning the minds of its people. They continually demean God and His Word in their words and actions. This poison is distributed to listeners in the many entities and persons who operate under the ELCA banner.
Case in point, last week the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America published a story in their official magazine, Living Lutheran, praising a transgender boy who, by way of his ELCA pastor father and his mother, has become a spokesperson for transgender rights. Publishing and promoting LGBTQ+ propaganda is common with the ELCA, they even had this same transgender boy, who lives as a girl, speak at the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2018. In the Living Lutheran article readers are told: “Seeing the damage that the faith community does to LGBTQ+ people gave me something to learn about and inspired me to help others understand that God made you who you are, and God does not make mistakes.” (read here) 
How can anyone who loves God and believe His Word stay in this bondage celebrating, Bible and faith destroying denomination? They are harming people who struggle with sinful desires and turning other people away from the Truth God handed down in Scripture.
Jesus said to go make disciples "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20a). This challenge is to help people experience abundant life in Jesus, found in the context of a relationship with Him. The ELCA is teaching people the opposite of what Jesus commanded, telling people to not do as He has said which hinders their relationship with Him. Remaining in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America helps them perpetuate alienation from God and wickedness. And that wickedness grows worse each day. (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The deaconness movement in Lutheran denominations has a long and wonderful history of women serving people with the gospel of Christ. But I stumbled across the below from the website of the deaconess movement of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It shows how extreme this ELCA organization has become as it now lets men who think they are women become deaconesses. We are now to even re-spell the word “women” in order to avoid binary “male/female” language, overcome patriarchy, and include transgender people. To say “the Spirit” is calling the Church to do this (below) is close to blasphemy. Jesus Himself said that God made us male and female (binary) in Matthew 19:4.  Read the below and you will wonder what on earth has happened to the Lutheran deaconess movement. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock From ELCA deaconess website: WHY WE WRITE WOMXN At the Deaconess Community’s 2016 assembly, we voted to become a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) community. Included in that vote was the decision to open our doors to female-identifying people. The spelling of “women” and “woman” originate from Old English, where “man” was used as a gender fluid pronoun much like “one” and “they” have turned into today. While dictionaries do not officially recognize the spelling (Google labels “womxn” as nonstandard), it’s often used to promote inclusivity among cis- and transgender women... (read the rest of the article here) 
Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America endorsed transgenderism by having a 12-year-old "transgender" person and his/her advocate mother speak to 31,000 youth at the ELCA Youth Gathering. (See here) This last week, the ELCA is pushing the transgender narrative by promoting a television show about about this same child, calling him/her the "Marvel's first transgender hero." (See below)
This liberal, Bible-defying, God-mocking denomination is encouraging and celebrating sinful lifestyles. Attending and financially supporting the ELCA makes it possible for the ELCA to push their sinful agenda and pay professionals to indoctrinate people under the guise of Christianity. 
ELCA pastor Emily Heitzman writes:
Of course, "Rebekah's" mother is heavily promoting her child's show. Below are a couple examples. "Rebekah's" father is an ELCA pastor. Pastor Tom Brock had an excellent post about this story. I will embed it below:
That is wrong. But what was sinful is when the ELCA voted to allow the ordination of practicing, monogamous homosexuals. It is a position that has harmed many people.
Is being monogamous even a requirement anymore or was it ever? And if the ELCA was sinning because they did not ordain practicing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Allies (LGBTQIA+) people, it stands to reason that the ELCA believes that those that do not celebrate these behaviors are also guilty of sin. One must also consider as to when the ELCA voted to ordain people who identify as bisexual and transgender? After the ELCA comment, a few posts later, the ELCA recommended resources that are made by an LBGTQIA+ organization. (See below) 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Facebook statements were made in the comment section of the ELCA-posted video (below), celebrating "the process of inviting more than just cis-men to ordained ministry."
Nicole Garcia is the latest transgender pastor ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA made the announcement:
"Let it be acclaimed that Nicole Garcia is a called and ordained minister in the church of Christ. Pastor Nicole has been called by the Rocky Mountain Synod Council to serve as mission developer for Westview, a new worshipping community in Boulder CO. Christ's Church, Better Together!" One needs to ask, is Rev Nicole Garcia and the "new worshipping community" being financially supported by the ELCA synod? In the pictures that follow you will see the Rocky Mountain Synod Bishop Jim Gonia, high-profile ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, and transgender ELCA pastors Megan Rohrer and Asher O'Callaghan. 
(The following article was written a few days ago by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) A student named Madeline opened the worship service by saying she uses "she/her" pronouns. Lace (who uses "they" as a pronoun) assisted during the service, as did Luther Seminary professor Amy Marga who is interested in "queer theologies and feminist theologies". The preacher was Austen Hartke, a "transgender person of faith" who is the author of "Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians". Instead of opening the service in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the service invoked the "Creator, Christ and Holy Breath" (some believe it is sexist to refer to God in exclusively masculine terms such as "Father" and "Son"). During the sermon, the transgender preacher talked about the persecution of transgender people because they often cannot use the bathrooms they prefer and "because those of us who are sex workers aren't legally protected." The preacher talked about transgender suicide caused by "religious intolerance and exposure to conversion therapy." The preacher bemoaned the "churches who teach that the white, Western gender binary is God-ordained...(and) the parents who believe that their child's soul is at risk if they transition..." Transgender people "are acting in Jesus' name by embracing the identity that God gave them." The preacher encouraged the seminarians to "correct the nurse who uses the wrong pronouns for a patient". He encouraged the seminarians to "begin the conversation about becoming LGBTQ+ affirming in your church." By "allowing LGBTQIA people...the opportunity to testify... you will find that God's new heaven and new earth are already breaking in." During the strange closing prayers (which sounded very New Age), it was stated that God "delights in every flourishing twirl...of gender expression...". When I attended Luther Seminary many years ago, I remember being taught that the Church is not to follow the "Zeitgeist" ("spirit of the Age") but the Holy Spirit since Christians are to be "in the world, not of the world." Today, Luther's namesake seminary shows itself to be both in the world and of the world as it follows the Zeitgeist wherever it leads. Since the ELCA claims to be open to both conservative and liberal voices on transgenderism, it would now be appropriate to balance the above worship by bringing in a chapel speaker like Walt Heyer who went through gender transition and regrets it (see his video at https://youtu.be/k9jC34sk_3I). But don't expect that to happen, the Zeitgeist at Luther Seminary will not permit any voice but its own. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock https://youtu.be/aHhepYaIbIk  |
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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