ELCA Vault - Room 17
The ELCA Vault is a collection of articles, blogs, and documents related to issues with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
It Seems to Me: Many have left ELCA. . .For years the doctrines that have been taught in the colleges and seminaries of the ELCA have departed more and more from the traditional and biblical teachings of the Lutheran Church and from Christianity. The approval of abortion on demand by the ELCA's health care plan offended thousands of its members already decades ago. Then, ELCA studies questioning traditional sexual ethics shocked many ELCA members. . .
Twin Cities publisher agrees to pay $4.5M for pension plan failure. . .The settlement would pay about a quarter of the pension plan's benefits for almost 500 employees and retirees of the Minneapolis-based publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). . .
Christus Victor. . .I read an article (on Holy Saturday of all days) by a bishop (I cannot tell a lie, he was ELCA) saying that we should not speak (even when quoting scripture) of Christ defeating death or sing hymns with lyrics like "death of death and hell's destruction." No, he says, that's too violent and negative. . .
Reality Check. . .Bishop Michael Rinehart, ELCA, posted about the Book of Acts and Matthew Fox. . .
Lutheran, Presbyterian congregations find new life as one. . .The call led to a meeting, and then another, and another. There were joint services, alternating between the buildings, then a shared Sunday school. . . Momentum built in 2011 when the separate governing boards made the decision to consolidate into a single body. . .
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When Did Idolatry Become Compatible with Christianity?
. . .At its root, the issue has more to do with idolatry than marriage, since same-sex marriage could not have advanced in America if believers had not exchanged the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the God of faux-love, cultural acceptance, and open theism. . .
Lutheran climate lobbying provokes schism in Minnesota
. . .Critics also claim the church’s renewable energy advocacy runs counter to its commitment to the needy, particularly in rural Minnesota. . .
Written on Your Heart
. . .It takes much convincing from the misguided leadership of a church to overcome what God has indelibly imprinted on His children. Lies, disguised as “new things” must be repeated over and over, hidden behind the flawed goals of social justice and the imperfect love of the neighbor, masquerading as imparting God’s perfect love. Acceptance of alternate lifestyles, fixing our “broken” planet, decrying white privilege and promoting anti-heterosexism, as what is called anti-racism, and siding with terrorist nations while denouncing God’s chosen people, Israel, are promoted in numerous social statements and messages from misguided churches looking to diminish sin by affirming what an immoral society has accepted. . .
Letter: The Bible does define marriage equality (response to a letter from an ELCA pastor)
. . .For Christians who trust in the will of Christ and not their own will the Bible is crystal clear that sexual immorality destroys a person’s soul. . .
March 2013 Grace Lutheran of Eau Claire, WI Court Case Update - Witness Stone Blog
. . .As you can read in the summary, the judge in the case has sided with the ELCA-supported plaintiffs. The suit forces the congregation to leave its affiliation with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. . .
Disbelief as Lutherans Abandon Reformation Day (2002)
. . .According to the September-October edition of the ELCA publication, Seeds for the Parish (p. 2), denominational officials recommend, "In light of our church's commitment to ecumenical relations, it may be a good idea to shift away from a focus on the 16th century Lutheran Reformation and its readings ('the truth shall set you free') and move toward an ecumenical celebration of reconciliation and the on-going reformation of the church." . .
The Lean Burn...?
. . .If a particular denomination or power dilutes or blends the agenda such that it diminishes Jesus’ sacrifice, we need to note it…
Luther presidential candidate issues statement regarding his withdrawal
. . .this is why I am concerned for Luther going forward. Was the debate in the press representative of the majority of Luther faculty, alumni, and students, or the voice of a small vocal minority? Is the experience of the past week the sign of things to come, the beginning of a narrow litmus test for future faculty, staff, for even Regents? Might future Regents or staff be required to show decades of church affiliations which will be reviewed for the correctness of their theological stance on certain issues? Will it be unacceptable for the next dean to be a Catholic? In the shadow of the historic 2009 ELCA vote on human sexuality, will Luther show tolerance for persons who hail from more conservative congregations in the ELCA, or for those groups which broke away? . .
Legalistic Evangelicalism
. . .We are no longer under the law, but under grace when we have faith in the Risen Christ. When we reach out to help our brothers and sisters lost within the heresies of the ELCA, reach out in true Christian love, praying unceasingly for their hearts and minds to be opened to the Truth..
What Has Gone Wrong in the ELCA?
. . .a crisis of authority of God’s Word. The crisis dates back to the birth of the ELCA and results in numerous problems affecting the governance, mission, and core theology of the ELCA. This resource paper seeks to highlight the key issues and offers the open-minded-reader source documents to investigate the matter for themselves. . .
Real Church Leadership - Witness Stone Blog
. . .Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. . .
'Nuff Said?
. . . The leaders of the ELCA continue to lead our brothers and sisters in Christ toward the gospel of tolerance, acceptance and affirmation and away from the Lord. They continue to tout that is with love that they reach out and accept behavior that God prohibits. . .
Polishing the silver: On ELCA’s 25th year
. . . Press releases trumpet the very good things the ELCA has been doing and continues to accomplish. But there seems to be an important element missing. And that element is Lutheran theology, specifically its emphasis on repentance and the forgiveness of sins. . .
ELW: Don’t Buy It! (page 10-11) and Not forgetting the essentials of our faith (page 13,16)
. . .Prof. Nestingen said, is the new ELCA worship book, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). “I hate that cranberry book!” he said. And he continued by pointing out the Confessional deficiencies in ELW. . .
Florida ELCA congregation is helped by Mustard Seed ELCM
. . .The newest congregation to join ELCM has as one of it treasured members the son of the last President of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Lay leaders of our most recent member congregation initially sought help from ELCM in dealing with the Florida - Bahamas Synod, ELCA. . .
Lay leaders of our most recent member congregation initially sought help from ELCM in dealing with the Florida - Bahamas Synod, ELCA. . .
Ethiopian Lutherans Break with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
. . . In 1999 the ELCA decided that it would avoid “cultural imperialism” by no longer sending missionaries to those who had never heard the Gospel (pioneer missionary work). Instead, it would concentrate on “accompaniment,” which meant helping churches that had already been established. Though nothing is wrong with “accompaniment” in itself, the new strategy seemed to deny the Great Commission. . .
Eye on the Prize
. . .The leaders of the ELCA abdicate their responsibility to lead the lost to Christ and instead challenge the ageless truths of Christianity. . .
Leave the light on…
. . . So… God destroyed two cities with fire and brimstone — the worst Biblical punishment after the Flood — because the inhabitants were inhospitable?
Really? Can anyone believe this? . .
Really? Can anyone believe this? . .
Minneapolis Area Synod - embezzlement of synod funds
. . .The staff is working diligently to recover the embezzled funds, to discern how they affected synod ministries. . .
Anti-Israel Zealots Chastise Episcopal Church
. . .They lavishly quoted from Martin Luther King to justify their “call for justice on the land where Jesus lived his earthly ministry,” ignoring that King himself strongly supported Israel. . .
Changes in ELCA Seminaries
. . .They misnamed the Bible as the “Book of Faith”. It is not. Calling it such indicates the problem. It is the Book of the Words of God to point us to Jesus Christ in order to create faith. “Book of Faith” implies the human-centered spiritual experience of ‘my faith’. . .
One of The Largest Lutheran Churches in the World Severs Ties With The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
. . .Expect to see more of this happening. African Lutherans have had it with the leftist homosexual/feminist agenda and all the attendant theological evils associated with it, and the bankrupt theology that produces it. . .
Carson preschool to close after alleged student sexual activity
. . .The California Department of Social Services cited the school for at least one sexual incident between the kids, overall lack of supervision and an improper teacher-child ratio. . .
Less money means fewer ministers
. . .According to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, more than 1,000 ELCA churches have closed in the past decade. . .
Lutheran church in Rockford formally accepts LGBT community
A rainbow banner outside Emmanuel Lutheran Church proclaims: “I Am Beautiful Inside,” encouraging the community to see the majesty in the congregation and themselves. . .
Moral Bankruptcy of Interfaith Groups on Display
. . . interfaith organizations ought to, at the very least, probe the statements and associations of their constituent members or facilitate others’ attempts to do so.
The same admonition should be heeded by the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia (RLCGP), another interfaith group which includes important Christian and non-Christian clergy, such as the archbishop of Philadelphia, the head of the Southeastern PA Lutheran Synod. . .
The same admonition should be heeded by the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia (RLCGP), another interfaith group which includes important Christian and non-Christian clergy, such as the archbishop of Philadelphia, the head of the Southeastern PA Lutheran Synod. . .
Reasons vary for churches to part with denominations
. . .At the time, a Peace Lutheran leader said the ELCA's churchwide assembly in August 2009 had “raised the red flag” to church members regarding the denomination's perceived shift away from Scripture. . .
Cruel to be Kind
. . .When the presiding bishop of the ELCA fails to maintain sound doctrine and allows lay people to undermine God’s authority, he betrays his pledge to our Lord. . .