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)
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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 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
This is Edina Community Lutheran Church, an ELCA Church in Edina, MN. In the video below the congregation is confessing the Sparkle Creed:
The congregation was celebrating Pride Sunday.
During the children's message (starting at 6:00): - the children were given props and dress up clothes to help them celebrate. - the children were told Jesus says "'I love you just the way you are.' And sometimes we like to celebrate that." This is obviously gay pride related and that is confirmed by the children being told they can take their clothes/props and have their picture taken by the rainbow flag after the service.
At the beginning of the service the pastor acknowledged they worship on the traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota nation. And how they were complicit in injustices done to native people.
(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 magazine, the official magazine of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has once again produced a glowing pro-transgender article. If you read it below, you’ll notice the good guys are those who believe “God made me transgender” and the bad guys are those who disagree with the LGBT movement. This, even though the ELCA claims to allow both conservative and liberal views on the subject. But you will never read a conservative viewpoint on LGBT matters in Living Lutheran, it has been banned. In the article’s last paragraph, you will see that the good guys are also those who support abortion rights, Roe v. Wade, and “gender affirming care“ for youth (which often means allowing hormone blockers and sex change operations on children). Most Americans are opposed to this destructive surgery on minors, but you can read Living Lutheran’s support of “gender affirming care” for youth below. In addition, the ELCA tragically pays for hormone blockers for children in its national healthcare plan, which is funded by offering dollars. May we always believe what Jesus taught: “He who made them in the beginning made them male and female” (Matthew 19:4). Jesus didn’t add “and bisexual and homosexual and transgender and two spirit and…”. And Jesus had very serious things to say about those who harm children (Luke 17:2). Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock (Read the ELCA article in Living Lutheran here) (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
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) |
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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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
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