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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.)
The below two minute video is of a gay pride worship service of a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. During the prayer Jesus is referred to as God’s “Child” (“Son” would be sexist) and states: “You sent your Beloved Child to dissolve the binaries”. Really? Jesus said that God made us binary, male and female (see Matthew 19:4-6). The pastor reads from a children's book “’Twas the night before Pride…the drag queens all brushed their wigs with great care.” A youth tells his/her/their story of coming out as transgender. During communion the pastor tells everyone to “Bring your trans bodies, your bodies destined for metamorphosis, your scarred bodies, your pierced bodies…”
The good news is, as you can see from the video, almost nobody attends this church. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock
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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.)
If you want evidence that teenagers are being indoctrinated with a liberal political viewpoint in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, look no further. The below video is from this month’s ELCA Youth Gathering. 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 national Teen Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in New Orleans has just concluded. The ELCA has produced the below five minute video of the week. I heard Jesus mentioned just once, when a liberal ELCA bishop says “Jesus calls us to challenge systems of oppression and power”. A transgender, non-binary, “they/them” pastor (minute 3:00) tells the youth not to be pressured into being who other people want them to be. Another speaker also tells the teens they need to be who they are, and Elizabeth Eaton, head bishop of the ELCA, tells the teens “You can be disruptive”. There is a good kind of disruption, such as rebelling against the evils of our culture like abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. But that is not what the ELCA is talking about. The ELCA endorses abortion rights, homosexuality, and transgenderism. It is no wonder Jesus is just mentioned once. In some liberal circles, Jesus is no longer the Savior who saves us from sin, dead and Hell. According to some of them, Hell does not exist. Bishop Eaton told a Chicago newspaper that if Hell exists, she believes it is empty. So what does Jesus save us from? The liberal view of Jesus makes Him sound like a community organizer who saves us from oppressive systems of power (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia). But if that is true, why didn’t Jesus attempt to overthrow the oppressive Romans? The reason is that He is a much bigger Savior who saves us from our much bigger enemies: Sin, death, and Hell. I wonder if the ELCA teens heard that message. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS I hope the person hugging the teens at minute 2:00 is not a drag queen, but I am not sure In a prelude to the ELCA Youth Gathering this week, the ELCA held the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE). The ELCA describes it as "(a) pre-event of the Gathering and the largest gathering of people of color within the ELCA, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) empowers young people of color and those whose primary language is not English to claim their story as part of God’s story." (See here) As you can see in the pictures, a speaker at the event took the stage with Palestinian flags hanging from his neck. The speaker is Rev. Khader El-Yateem, the Executive Director for ELCA Service and Justice. The ELCA has a long history of advocacy against Israel and for "Palestine." (See here and here) The ELCA is representing it to youth attending their event, during a time of evil, carnage, violence and rape perpetrated against innocent Israelis by "Palestine" (on Oct 7, 2023 and continuing in many ways including launching rockets at civilians in Israel.)     See pictures on the ELCA synod's Facebook page here.
The ELCA Youth Gathering is happening this week and it runs till July 20, 2024.
16,000 youth and adults are expected to be in attendance. Here is one of the speakers they will be listening to: 
The 2024 ELCA National Youth Gathering has announced "nearly 16,000 youth, adult leaders and others from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will participate in the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, La., July 16-20." (see here) This is approximately half of the attendance numbers from 2018 (the last gathering) and 2015. Both of these previous National Youth Gathering attendance numbers where reported to be over 30,000. (see here and here) This is disastrous for the denomination but a reason to praise God for those that have seen the wickedness proclaimed from the stage and the assembly at the previous ELCA Youth Gatherings. (well documented on this website) Let's pray that even less attend and that it is completely shut down in the years to come.  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) I have reported earlier on a South Dakota Bible camp of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America called Outlaw Ranch. I attended many years ago as a teenager and it was biblical. In a week it is holding an LBGT Pride Camp for 14-18 year olds.
The camp states: "We are all created in the image of God and believe that all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions reflect God’s creative identity." What? God Himself (or Herself or Itself or Theyself) is LGBT? For pride week, the camp will revamp gendered bathrooms and cabins, use youth's "preferred pronouns", and help them be "their authentic selves". And if you are LGBT, you can opt out of Bible study. The camp states: "We recognize that church may not have been a welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ youth. With that in mind, we will offer our daily Bible study and worships, but it will not be required. Alternative activities will be provided. The goal of Outlaw’s Bible study is for our campers to understand that they are beautifully and wonderfully made and that God loves them no matter what." May I ask you to stop and say a prayer right now, that God would somehow intervene for the sake of these teenagers and put an end to the deception that this "Bible" camp is promoting? I can't help but think of the verse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fashioned around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock Source: https://www.losd.org/pridecamp (The following article was written last year by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) As my liberal State of Minnesota is on the verge of proclaiming itself a “safe state“ for “gender affirming care“ for youth—which means giving children hormone blockers to prevent them from developing naturally—you would think the head of a Christian denomination would stand up against this barbarity. Instead, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who produces a yearly gay pride video, has decided to stand up for transgenderism. You will note below that she talks not about “our transgender brothers and sisters“, that would be too binary, instead she calls them “our siblings”. In contrast to the transgender craziness that has overtaken much of our culture, Jesus said that there are only two genders (Matthew 19:4). It would be good if Eaton would remember to follow Christ and not the depraved mind of our culture. The ELCA even pays for hormone blockers for children in the denomination’s healthcare plan. That’s right, your ELCA offering dollars at work, destroying children’s sexuality before it can develop. ELCA offering dollars also pay for abortion for any reason in the denomination’s healthcare plan. Just today I heard an elderly ELCA Lutheran bemoan the fact that her congregation is closing because young people aren’t coming anymore. But they can’t come if the Church is killing them in the womb. And if a denomination is telling a boy that he can really be a girl, that denomination is doomed to shrink. And the ELCA is shrinking under Eaton’s leadership. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS. Famed atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins recently stated that “There are only two sexes, and that’s all there is to it.” He said LGBTQ activists trying to discredit two biological sexes are pushing “utter nonsense.” (Read ELCA statement here.)
We are seeing violence, Jew-hatred, anti-American speech, and discrimination against Jews coming from many college anti-Israel encampments. Lets see what the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is saying about the protest encampments.
A Facebook post by the ELCA documents the ELCA financially supporting the University of Minnesota's pro-Palestine/anti-Israel encampment. The ELCA post, shown below, calls what is happening in the student's encampments "holy work", proclaims the ELCA's support, and encourages people to "reach out to your local encampments and support the students protesting for a ceasefire and divestment of funds!" A second ELCA Facebook post says, "Students are protesting on campuses across America for a ceasefire and to divest from corporations who profit from Israel's war on Gaza. The students are rising up, are you? Connect with ELCA Sumud to learn how you can get involved in movements in your synod and the ELCA!" (The ELCA has renamed their Peace Not Walls initiative that targets Israel. It is now titled Sumud) 
Coming to the 2024 ELCA National Youth Gathering.
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has affiliated camps around the country. This year four camps will host symposiums to promote the LGBT agenda and "inclusion".
One of the speakers is the "openly queer mother" of a "trans girl" (that is, a biological boy who believes he is a girl). The 11-year-old child spoke promoting transgenderism at the ELCA's Teen Gathering a few years ago and is now fifteen years old. The ELCA's healthcare program, which is funded by offering dollars, pays for the teen's hormone blockers. Here is how Lutheran Outdoor Ministries' website describes its speaker: "Jamie Bruesehoff will be leading the workshops focused on total inclusion of persons who are LGBTQIA+. Jamie (she/they) is an... openly queer woman married to a Lutheran pastor and mom to three spirited children, including a fifteen year old transgender daughter... Jamie writes and speaks about LGBTQ identities, policies and practices..." For more information, click here https://www.lomnetwork.org/total-inclusion-symposiums/ Beware of sending your child to an ELCA camp. The ELCA-related Outlaw Lutheran Bible Camp in Custer, South Dakota, this summer will hold its second annual LGBT Pride Camp for 14 through 18-year-olds. Many years ago as a teen I attended Outlaw Lutheran Camp and it was wonderful. Today I can recommend it, and the ELCA, to no one. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS It looks like Outlaw Lutheran Camp requires Pride Camp participants and staff to use "preferred pronouns". From its website "Our community will call people by their names and use desired pronouns to uphold an environment that is respectful, safe, and identity-honoring" The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has produced a confirmation curriculum for their youth titled "Queer Confirmation." It is a project originating from the ELCA's Wartburg Theological Seminary. "The Queer Confirmation curriculum (QC) is a 1-year (24 sessions), synchronous, online curriculum for LGBTQIA+ teens accompanied by a safe adult (parents/religious leader)." (See here) "Queer Confirmation is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)." (See here) The author of the curriculum "underscored the monumental impact of the ELCA's partnership, viewing it as a significant step toward churchwide accountability. The financial support from the ELCA, a tangible affirmation of their statements, marked a historic moment. Budgets are moral documents, and this funding represents a commitment to accountability, inclusivity, and healing within the Church. The ELCA's support went beyond financial contributions, extending to visibility and access through national platforms and social media. The partnership opened doors to present at key events and engage with influential figures within the Church, creating a ripple effect of positive change." (See page 10-11 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 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this July will hold its national Youth Gathering for teens. This month, ELCA youth directors and children’s directors will gather at a conference for them. Perhaps you read that back in 2018, the ELCA put an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl on stage to promote transgenderism to 31,000 Lutheran teens. His—I can’t say “her”—mother is Jamie Bruesehoff, an activist for transgenderism. Bruesehoff will be a speaker this month at the ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza. The ELCA website says Bruesehoff is “rooted in her queer identity.” Many of the other Youth Extravaganza speakers appear to be very far left of center (click here, then hit “General Session Speakers” https://elca.memberclicks.net/extravaganza-2024). We have not been told yet who will be speaking at the Youth Gathering for teens in July, but if this month’s Youth Ministry Extravaganza speakers are any indication, it will not be good. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. The ELCA prides itself on being inclusive and diverse, so why don’t they have a speaker like me who has same-sex attraction but abstains for the sake of Christ (see my story at pastorsstudy.org)? But, no, only the liberal position on the LGBT issue is now allowed in the ELCA’s national magazine and also apparently at its youth conferences. From ELCA website: Jamie Bruesehoff is an award-winning LGBTQ+ advocate, heartfelt writer, and mother of three, including a transgender teenager. Rooted in her queer identity, her experiences raising a transgender child, and two decades of youth and outdoor ministry experience, Jamie equips leaders to create more inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA youth. She is the author of Raising Kids beyond the Binary: Celebrating God’s Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children.  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) This coming summer in New Orleans the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will hold another Youth Gathering. The last time this happened was in 2018 when 31,000 Lutheran teens were told to support transgenderism by an 11 year-old-boy who thinks he is a girl. Also, ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber led the teens in a kind of mock baptismal vow, saying “I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty.” For 2024, the Teen Gathering theme will be “Created to Be”. “We are created to be free—to work for justice for all our siblings”. You will notice the ELCA now shies away from calling people “brothers and sisters” because that is too binary and excludes transgender people, so instead we get “siblings”. Teens are told to introduce themselves in this way, “Hi, my name is ________ and I use the pronouns __________.” Teens are told to “honor everyone by calling them by the name and pronouns they feel comfortable with…You might be surprised to learn that someone in your group has been longing to introduce themselves to you in this way!” Sessions of the Teen Assembly will begin with a “Land acknowledgement”, stating that the Assembly is being held on land stolen from Native Americans. A big theme of the Youth Gathering will be to teach teens to become “disruptive to injustice”. Teens are told to discuss “what injustices you have experienced” and are told “We are created to be disruptive, to work for justice for all our siblings”. Youth are taught “interrupting phrases” such as “We don’t say things like that here” to “help them disrupt an unjust situation”. In a nod I believe to the LGBT movement, teens are told to “be authentic and bring our whole selves”. Then comes this strange statement: “Our host city, New Orleans, has always been its true, authentic self…. New Orleans was built to host and be a city where all God’s children come together.” I’m not sure how the ELCA knows this. Teens are asked in small groups “What would it mean for you if your congregation became a Reconciling in Christ congregation?” Reconciling in Christ is the movement that promotes all things LGBT in the ELCA. It is no secret how the ELCA wants to influence teens here. Lastly, teens will be taught not to think of sin as “darkness” because this is racist. “One particularly harmful part of theology is associating sin with all things dark and black…(this creates) an implicit bias against things that are black…harmful intertwining of white supremacy and God’s love…”. Teens are asked “How does claiming the holiness of darkness reframe who God is for you?” This, of course, is nonsense—most black Christians have no problem at all agreeing with the Scriptures, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). Perhaps the most tragic thing in all of this is there is no mention of evangelism and bringing lost friends to Christ. The head bishop of the ELCA has stated that she believes Hell is empty. So if everyone is going to heaven and we don’t need to instruct in evangelism, what will the ELCA do with its teens at a teen gathering? Teach them liberal politics and how to “interrupt injustice.” And of course, the injustice being done to babies in the womb is nowhere mentioned. The ELCA is a strong supporter of abortion rights and even pays for abortion with offering dollars in the ELCA healthcare plan. If you know an ELCA Lutheran, please urge them to keep their teens away from the ELCA. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock https://www.elca.church/gathe.../about/promotional-materials  (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Today I was out and about and followed signs to a church rummage sale, arriving at this church in a Minneapolis suburb. Walking around the church, I saw its “all gender bathroom” and it dawned on me that a couple years ago I had written an article about this congregation. Christ Lutheran wants you to announce your preferred pronouns in order to be sensitive to the LGBTQAI+ community. Christ Lutheran's staff wants to avoid calling God “He”. Below is their recent 2023 gay pride worship service. It featured a trans speaker and a communion table with rainbow decorations. The pastor encouraged children to attend their yoga class and the children’s sermon was all about inclusion. Of course, there was no mention of sin and repentance. The church's website recommends reading "A Kid's Book About Being Non-binary" and "A Kid's Book About Being Transgender." You may watch the entire service below, if you can endure it. Again I have to say, this ain’t my grandma’s Lutheran Church. How horribly far some American churches have fallen. A friend of mine said today “We are in the end times.” In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock  |
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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