ELCA Teen Assembly video… where is Jesus?

(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