(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Revamping gendered bathrooms and cabins, using youth's "preferred pronouns", and helping them be "their authentic selves", Outlaw Ranch of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will host its first gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer camp for youth this June. Outlaw Ranch states "We know that our traditional format of gendered cabins and bathrooms doesn’t provide the space that some of our campers need to feel safe and comfortable." So, youth will be able to "stay with those with whom they feel most comfortable." And, because some youth have felt wounded by the Church, Bible study will be optional. This is especially grievous to me. I attended this camp as a teenager and remember the wonderful time of Christian fellowship there. I would never have dreamt that one day Outlaw Ranch would be promoting the acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism to 14 through 18-year-olds. This is the bizarre new world of liberal, mainline churches. 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
2 Comments
You may be wondering what "Extravaganza" is. The ELCA Youth Ministry Network website tells us it is "...the annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the ELCA." (see here)
So it is a conference for people in the ELCA who teach youth of all ages. Below are a few of the workshops at last weeks Extravaganza 2023:
(The following article was written a number of months ago by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. Pastor Rohrer is no longer a bishop, which is a whole nother story itself. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
In the video below, the world’s first transgender bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reads her children’s book to help children affirm transgenderism. Apparently, children should be free to choose whatever gender they please, regardless of their God-given anatomy. Bishop Rohrer is “married” to a woman and has two children. Rohrer refers to herself as “they.” Before 2009, a pastor engaging in lesbian behavior would have been disciplined by the ELCA. Today “they” are made a bishop. If you are still in the ELCA, time to run from this denomination. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock ![]() In April, 2022 the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA held a middle school youth retreat. (See here) Jonah Davis, a queer transgender individual (see here), spoke to the youth at the ELCA retreat as the keynote speaker. Exposing the ELCA received the following report about this retreat: "This event though the link may seem innocent enough. But the first activity during the camp, the kids were asked for their pronouns. All references to God the father were changed to God the Parent. And they had a transman, a woman pretending to be a man speak to the children. But only partially about his coming out story and how he was hurt by people he loved when he came out as trans." "I was especially uncomfortable with the changing of scripture from John 15. Removing any mention of God the Father and replacing "father" with "parent." A pastor even mentioned the Holy Trinity as "the parent, the sibling, and the holy spirit." It is truly disturbing to see how far they will go to destroy the Lutheran Church from within with their new woke religion." Indoctrinating the youth with beliefs that contradict what God tells us in the Bible is a ploy of Satan. Please do not send your children to anything involving the ELCA.
(See the end of the article for the UPDATE. The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Two years ago the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at its teen Youth Gathering had 31,000 teenagers chant “I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty”. That same event put an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl on stage to promote transgenderism. Below are three of the ELCA youth leaders who are involved in the upcoming ELCA Youth Gathering. As you can see, they announce their “preferred pronouns” to make sure they are being gay/trans inclusive. That should be enough of a clue not to send your teenager to the ELCA Youth Gathering. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS. The ELCA Youth Gathering page at elca.org shows 16 “Meet the Team” youth leaders, and everyone of them lists preferred pronouns. (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 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is ever printing articles promoting the LGBTQIA+ agenda while never allowing a conservative viewpoint to be heard. Witness the June/July 2021 issue. I’ve never seen so many pro-gay articles in one church magazine. First, in its “I’m a Lutheran” column, the magazine highlights a person from the LGBT community. Next is an article by lesbian Pastor Emmy Kegler. Then an article about a California ELCA congregation which helps LGBT people who have experienced “religious rejection” by the Church, which I assume means someone told them that homosexual behavior is sinful. Then there is a disturbing article about a summer camp that is helping youth accept their homosexuality and transgenderism. Lastly are the “Highly recommended” books for the month, a list of seven books, all of which promote the liberal view on homosexuality and, again, not one representing the traditional Christian point of view. Notice how youth are targeted with some of the book recommendations: “Made, known, loved: developing LGBTQ-inclusive youth ministry”, “Outlove: a queer Christian survival story”, “Queerfully and wonderfully made: A guide for LGBTQ+ Christian teens”, and “Welcoming and affirming: A guide to supporting and working with LGBTQ+ Christian youth”, One would think they are reading a gay pride magazine but, no, this is the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA voted in 2009 to ordain practicing homosexuals and to allow for homosexual “marriages”. Back then the vote was somewhat close with 66 percent voting to affirm homosexuality, but conservatives were assured their viewpoint would be allowed in the ELCA. In the ELCA's national magazine, the traditional, Biblical viewpoint is never allowed. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (See publication here) ELCA head bishop sides with homosexuals, not Catholic adoption agency, in Supreme Court case7/12/2021 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
The Supreme Court this month unanimously ruled that a Catholic adoption agency in Philadelphia receiving government funding should not be forced to violate its beliefs by giving children to homosexual couples. Elizabeth Eaton is head bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She recently did a gay pride video to celebrate pride month and now has come out with a statement regarding the Supreme Court decision: "The ELCA stands with our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ...affirming (their) vocation..as parents and foster parents." It is tragic that the ELCA has decided to side with practicing homosexuals and not the Catholic Church, which is simply trying to live the faith it has practiced for 2000 years. God invented the family. It takes a father and a mother to create a child. It is sad that the ELCA leadership apparently thinks it knows better than God on how to design the human family. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock https://www.elca.org/-and-Events/8111 Living in and embracing sinful behavior is wrong. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has chosen to defy God and His will by celebrating and encouraging sinful sexual lifestyles. But more than that, the ELCA is advocating for children to be placed in households that are openly living in sexual perversion.
In the ELCA article linked below the ELCA's Presiding Bishop writes about "...recognizing and affirming the vocation of LGBTQIA+ people as parents and foster parents." People living the LGBT life should be lovingly cared for as we pray they would chose to live in obedience to God. But children should not be placed in a household where the adults have decided to joyfully and defiantly live in sexual sin. So the ELCA is harming both those that are attracted to people of the same sex and also children who are forced to live in that defiant-to-God household. (See the ELCA article here)
Transgenderism normalized and celebrated by the ELCA in front of 30,000 teenagers. (read more about it here)
Just because a college is associated with a Christian denomination doesn't mean the school will abide by Biblical teaching or be a Godly learning environment for students. Carthage College, located in Kenosha, WI., is a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is very liberal mainline denomination. Read the following and ask yourself if you want Carthage College educating and disciplining your child. Carthage College: Homosexuality - Carthage College has a LGBT group. “The LGBT Student Association is a student-run group that is focused on educational events, social gatherings, and advocacy surrounding LGBTQIA+ issues.” (See here) - Carthage College has “SafeZones” for LGBTQ people. (See here) As you can see below, ELCA campus pastor is a LGBTQ SafeZone representative. (See here) - A showing of Moonlight, a film about a homosexual man, took place at Carthage College and was sponsored by Carthage Activities Board, Advocates for Social Change, Black Student Union, and LGBT-SA. (See here) - A Coffee and Conversation gathering about the homosexual based National Coming Out Day was held at Carthage College and hosted by Multicultural Affairs. (See here) - No Hate Week took place at Carthage College. Events included an LGBT speaker, a LGBTQ and Ally Student Panel, “the acknowledgment of the rainbow-painted Kissing Rock…(and) the day of silence, where participators will remain silent to acknowledge the many silenced voices of those who have fought for equality and those who cannot speak up for themselves.” (See here) - A recipient of the Lambda Pioneer Award for contributions to the LGBT literary community spoke at Carthage College. (See here)
Other Religions - Carthage College has both a Muslim Student Association and a Pagan Forum which you can see listed here. - In 2016 we see that there was an Annual Hijab Day observed at Carthage College where students were encouraged to wear red scarfs over their head. (See here) - Carthage College writes, “You may be thinking, ‘Wait a minute, this is a college rooted in the Lutheran tradition, right? Why would you encourage other faith traditions?’ We do this because we are a college rooted in the Lutheran tradition. Lutherans believe we are saved by grace through faith, and that this grace gives us the freedom we need to love and serve the world — the whole world, not just the Lutheran world.” - Interfaith leader and Muslim, Eboo Patel spoke at Carthage College. (See here) - A Celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, took place at Carthage College. (See here and here) - James Lochtefeld, Chair and Religion Department Professor of Religion and Asian Studies “specializes in Hindu pilgrimage.” (See here) Drag Show - In 2018, the second annual Heels For Hope Drag Show was held at Carthage College. (See here) Inclusive Language - Carthage College has a “Glossary of Working Language for Conversation” page. On this page we learn: “Carthage College believes that we are to nurture an enlightened and inclusive college community that inspires meaningful contributions towards a better world. It is to that end we promote a working language that frames our understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion within the context of deepening equity and access, institutional receptivity, diversity in the curriculum, and student/adult learning development to promote equitable student outcomes.” Carthage College then gives a set of words with definitions that frames "our understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion." Included are such words as Adultism, Allyship, Cis, Cisgenderism, Gender identity, Gender neutral pronoun, Heteronormativity, Homophobia, Intersectionality, LGBTTQQIA, Marginalize, Microaggression, Queer, Questioning, Safe space, White guilt, White privilege, Whiteness, Xenophobia, etc. (See here) Politics/Anti-Trump - Carthage College professor Mimi Yang writes about Trump, the boarder wall and bigotry. (See here) - A similar article by the same Carthage College professor can be seen here. - Carthage College President writes of his support for the DACA program. (See here) - A Carthage College professor, Stephanie Mitchell, commented on her pastor allegedly being arrested by ICE saying, “She’s my pastor and my government kidnapped her..." (See here) Campus Pastor at Carthage College - ELCA Rev. Kara Baylor is the Carthage College Campus Pastor. Here is a one of her Facebook posts showing LGBT support/pride. Anti Christian Zionist Speaker - Controversial speaker, Bishop Dr. Munib Younan, Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, spoke last year at Carthage College. (See here) Read a little about him and some of the controversial things he has said here. "It’s all about U-terus!" presentation - In 2016 Carthage College had a presentation titled “It’s all about U-terus! Come learn about your lady parts!” (See here) As you can see with Carthage College, one should not trust that a school is right for you or your teenager just because they are affiliated with a supposed Christian denomination. One last thing. Check out these ratings of Carthage College. (See here)
Lutheran Pastor Tom Brock addressed the situation saying: "Here is drag queen story time for your children, presented by the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I am not making this up. This is not a satire. Here is drag queen story time for your children courtesy of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." "Claire Burkat, retired ELCA bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, wrote of the drag queen story time books: 'Three books I will buy for the little ones I love:)'" (Read Rev. Brock here) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a mission to indoctrinate their membership, including children, with their ultra-liberal, Bible-rejecting beliefs. How can anyone who fears God and believes His Word stay in this vile denomination that is teaching evil, in many forms, to people under their care?
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 -
ELCA Living Lutheran magazine: Everyone is saved, helping Lutheran camps be pro-LGBTQIA+, and more4/24/2020 (The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Living Lutheran, the national magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran, regularly promotes a liberal viewpoint and the April 2020 edition is no exception.
Another article highlights that a grant has been given to ELCA Lutheran camps to help them be more welcoming "to people who identify as LGBTQIA+." The Bible teaches homosexual behavior is sin, but the article does not mention that. Another article is written by a young woman who left her evangelical upbringing and joined the ELCA. She writes "When I left my evangelical roots and began to find a home in the ELCA, I realized there were many faithful Christians who hadn't interpreted being "in the world but not of it" to mean shunning R-rated movies." She now watches R-rated movies and says "I met up with truth in young adult fiction and R-rated movies..." Since 2009, the ELCA has ordained practicing homosexuals and Living Lutheran often highlights homosexual pastors. In this edition, Pastor Joe Larson, "the first openly LGBTQ+ pastor called by an ELCA congregation of North Dakota" talks about sharing worship space with a Jewish synagogue. "We see the Spirit of God moving among us." He said he and the rabbi share a similar vision of what a faith community is meant to be. "We are working together on shared values." My response is this. Christians are indeed to love and respect people of other religions, but how can Christians have a "similar vision of faith community" with religions which reject Jesus as Lord and Savior? This is more evidence of Universalism in the ELCA. This past summer a delegate to the ELCA's national assembly tried to amend an inter-religious resolution by affirming that Jesus is the only way of salvation. He was voted down by 97 percent. Much as the ELCA claims to love diversity and inclusion, in its national magazine conservative viewpoints are rarely heard. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock --- (Three different articles in the April 2020 ELCA magazine spoke of "LGBTQ+" or "LGBTQIA+." Link to the Living Lutheran April 2020 magazine here.)
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 -
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: |
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
Archives
May 2023
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
|