Once again we are indebted to the ELCA

Thanks to the Evangelical Lutheran Church for making paragraphs in news stories like this one possible…

"It's going to be an extremely glorious and festive ceremony because it's the culmination of decades of work to welcome LGBT people into the ELCA," said Amalia Vagts, executive director of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a nonprofit that credentials openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people for ministry.

Megan Rohrer, one of the pastors who will participate in Sunday's rite of reception service, grew up in South Dakota and attended a Lutheran college where she said students tried to exorcise her "gay demons" by throwing holy water on her. Some of those people are now Lutheran pastors in South Dakota, she said.

Rohrer, who is transgender and a lesbian, was ordained by four congregations in San Francisco in 2006, but could not join the ELCA roster until the denomination's national assembly approved the new policy in August

I am not even sure what that means. Ms. (Mr.?) Rohrer was once a dude and now is a transgendered, lesbian “pastor”? I am afraid I don't find that glorious or festive, I find it tragic.

That paragraph comes from the latest story out of the ELCA and shockingly enough it is NOT a sudden reversal and call to repentance for the entire denomination. No indeed, the ELCA takes another step in embracing sin. Here is the crux of it...

Churches can now hire noncelibate gay clergy who are in committed relationships.

What exactly does that mean? We have a date this weekend, I am committed to it. Are we in a committed relationship? What about a heterosexual male ELCA pastor (assuming there are any) who is living with his girlfriend. Is that OK? What if she just sleeps over, does having a toothbrush and a change of clothes at his place count as them being in a “committed relationship”? Does this interpretation require a joint checking account? What if a pastor is committed to a half dozen women? Can he/she/whatever be "hired" as a pastor?

I have a better idea. Since we are supposed to emulate the lives of the elders of the church and since God has made clear that the only acceptable “committed” relationship is one man and one woman in the covenantal bounds of marriage, how about we stop playing social engineering games and stick to the book?

Another denomination splits

A movement has occurred among ELCA churches to split away from the denomination over the issue of homosexuality. This was inevitable and is a sad reminder of the influence of the world on the church, an influence that allowed to run unchecked invariably leads to heresy and schism.

Conservative members of America's largest Lutheran denomination announced that they are splitting from the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, making it the second mainline Protestant church to undergo a major schism over the issue of homosexuality and related matters of biblical authority.

The U.S. Episcopal Church has experienced a similar split, with whole dioceses attempting to leave, new Anglican churches formed and a series of property fights in the years since the 2003 consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

On Wednesday, an 11-member steering committee of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal), meeting in New Brighton, Minn., said it cannot remain inside the 4.7-million-member ELCA after the denomination agreed at its August churchwide assembly in Minneapolis to ordain partnered gay clergy.

That decision, CORE said in a statement, created "a biblical and theological crisis throughout the ELCA and conflict in local congregations."

"We are not leaving the ELCA. The ELCA has left us," said Ryan Schwarz, a steering committee member from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, Va. "A lot of people who are planning to leave are telling us, 'We need you to form a new body that is like a traditional church body.' "

Christ calls us to be unified but a unity based in anything other than the truth is a lie. It is unfortunate that this became necessary but Scripture is clear on this issue.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." (1Co 5:9-13)

Unrepentent sin cannot be brushed aside in the name of fellowship and unity. At some point though, these brothers and sisters need to recognize that the issue of homosexual acceptance runs in the same vein as female clergy. It may be a slight overstatement, but wherever we see normalization of homosexuality in the church, it is invariably preceded by the ordination of women. That may be very un-P.C. to say but it is a pretty easy line to draw.

Prayer is in order

It goes without saying but it also bears saying. Our brothers and sisters, faithful in Christ and trying to hold to their fellowship in the ELCA, need our prayers now. Not passing "Oh yeah by the way" prayers, but serious, broken hearted prayers that God will lead them in this time of darkness. All test and trials are from God and He uses these times of trial and suffering to draw us to Himself. So please pray for these stalwart folks, broken hearted by the abandonment of the Gospel by those who were entrusted to shepherd them.

So THAT is what Paul meant

More on the normalization of sin in the ELCA

This is the sort of thinking that has taken hold of the ELCA....

The Rev. Katrina Foster, pastor at Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church in The Bronx, N.Y., said Lutherans heard similar warnings about flouting Scripture when they made past changes that are now seen as successful — chiefly, the ordination of women.

"We can learn not to define ourselves by negation," said Foster, a lesbian. "By not only saying what we are against, which always seems to be the same — against gay people. We should be against poverty. I wish we were as zealous about that."

Past changes that are seen as successful? Successful? In what way? Certainly not in terms of numbers as numbers have been declining precipitously in the ELCA for years. Certainly not in terms of Gospel witness and faithfulness as exhibited in their wholesale abandonment of Scripture. Nor in terms of uniting the ELCA which clearly is on the way to schism like the Episcopalian church is going through. The only success here is from those who deny Christ successfully remaking a denomination in their own image, an image designed only for the purpose of providing them with a veneer of religiosity to cover their own shameful behavior.

If you want to know what Southern Baptists think, you talk to Al Mohler. Apparently if you want to know what the ELCA thinks, Ms. Foster (pictured above) seems as good a voice as any. I took the liberty of checking out her blog and even in my wildest imagination I could hardly have envisioned this sort of flaunting and twisting of the Scripture mixed in with posts about "Hair: Spiked or non-spiked?".

However, when I saw persons from Exodus International at the entrance to the dining hall yesterday, my ability to keep my mind on Jesus was deeply challenged. Prayer, electric shock therpy, constant shame and internalized hatered can have dramatic effect, even moving people to committ to living out their sexuality in ways that are foreign and unnatural. Exactly in a way that St. Paul wrote & preached against in Romans 1. (spelling errors in original)

Read that last line again: Exactly in a way that St. Paul wrote & preached against in Romans 1. Ah, so that is what Paul was talking about. He was referencing people going through same-gender attraction counseling, not the abomination that is homosexuality. How could I be so blind, it is so obvious from the text...

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Rom 1:24-28)

Or maybe not. The ability of sin to delude the mind is incredible. Apparently under the leadership of people like Ms. Foster, the only sin in the ELCA is speaking about Biblical sin. The only thing shameful is to say someone should be ashamed of their perversions. The only thing one needs to be forgiven of is intolerance of deviant behavior.

The title speaks for itself

Lutherans to allow sexually active gays as clergy

MINNEAPOLIS – Leaders of the nation's largest Lutheran church voted Friday to allow sexually active gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy.

Gays and lesbians are currently allowed to serve as ministers in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America only if they remain celibate. The proposal to change that passed with 68 percent approval.

At 4.7 million members and about 10,000 congregations in the United States, the ELCA is one of the largest U.S. Christian denominations yet to take a more gay-friendly stance on clergy.

The final decision on whether to hire gay clergy in committed relationships will lie with individual congregations.

Some critics of the proposal have predicted its passage could cause individual congregations to split off from the ELCA, as has been the case with other Christian denominations, including the Episcopal Church.

I can't imagine Luther would be pleased at how his name is being represented here. Fortunately for him, he is in glory with our Lord and such things no longer concern him. It is stunning that this wasn't even close. Nearly seven out of ten leaders in what purports itself to be an Evangelical Christian organization voted to embrace sin as normal and in doing so tacitly declare the Word of God to be meaningless.

What now do Christians in the ELCA do? I can't speak for them but I also can't see how people who take the Word of God even slightly seriously can stay in fellowship with something like this. I am not sure how schism is avoidable, nor do I see how schism should be avoided. The Gospel is a call for sinners to repent and trust in Christ, not a call to embrace sin as normal and something to celebrate. Several verses of Scripture come to mind here...

Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Rom 1:32)

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." (2Co 6:14-18)

Please join me in prayer for our Lutheran brother and sisters in the ELCA, faithful in Christ, who are now faced with a church that has abandoned them by abandoning the Gospel.

Who needs the Bible when you have "The Spirit"?!

Yet another denomination finds itself on the precipice of abandoning all semblance of the faith.

From the Washington Times (emphasis added)

America's largest Lutheran denomination has reached its crossroads on homosexuality and allowing openly gay clergy, with crucial votes slated at its biennial assembly this week in Minneapolis that participants say are too close to call.

"We recognize we're in for some long conversation this week," said Virginia Synod Bishop James F. Mauney, who oversees 42,000 members in 163 churches across the state. "I am hopeful that our worship will guide our conversation and we will be guided by the Holy Spirit."

The gathering of 65 synods representing the 4.6-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America mirrors a denomination split over homosexuality.

Only celibate gay clergy can serve in ELCA churches. A small majority - 54 percent - of ELCA clergy support gay ordination, according to a Clergy Voices survey conducted in May and posted recently on the denomination's Web site.

Let's look at that and notice what is missing from Mr. Mauney's quote: the Word of God. You can make a case for a lot of things by following your heart and arguing from anything and everything but the Word of God. See, I sort of think that the Word and the Spirit are meant to be used together. Spirit-less study of the Word leads to vain academics, seeking the Spirit apart from the Word leads to all manner of mischief, heresy and damnation.

I am all for seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. What worries me is when we seek the guidance of the Spirit divorced from the Scriptures. That is a recipe for making a decision relying on your own wisdom and chalking it up to "the prompting of the Holy Spirit". About the last thing in the world I trust is my own heart, for I know all too well how deceitful my heart is (Jer 17:9) and how easily I can convince myself of things that are contrary to the Word of God. I hope someone has the courage to stand up during these meetings, open the Bible and declare the wisdom of God in contrast to the wisdom of man.

Is sin not a salvation issue?

See, I thought that it was.

When I browse around the news, I come across all sorts of stuff that gets me upset. Sometimes I read things that are just tragic. A news piece titled At 1 Lutheran church, gay, partnered and preaching is one of those tragic stories. This is how the story starts off:

MINNEAPOLIS – Brad Froslee was installed as pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church at a special Sunday service attended by dozens of his fellow pastors, as well as Froslee's proud parents and grandmother, all devoted lifelong Lutherans.

But the Minneapolis Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America officially lists Calvary's ministry as vacant. That's because, sitting with Froslee's family at his installation ceremony in February, was his male partner of 5 1/2 years — living proof that Froslee has flouted the ELCA's prohibition on non-celibate gay pastors.

This is kind of a self-described “Don’t ask, don’t tell” ministry. We will pretend that a person openly living in a sinful lifestyle is our “pastor” and the ELCA will pretend that he is not there even though they know he is. The ELCA is considering changes to allow homosexuals in “committed relationships” to serve in the clergy. I am not sure what that means. A “committed relationship” in this case means that they have been consistently committing sin with the same person for years. I am not sure that consistently engaging in sin without a whiff of repentance is a quality that is listed in Scripture for elders.

"In the City for Good," reads a banner on the front of the church, a symbol of Calvary's mission of social justice and outreach to distressed communities. When it came time last year to replace the married couple who served as co-pastors the last 13 years, Calvary's lay leaders wanted someone who would help realize that mission.

"We're a church that's serious about being real about issues of crime and poverty and racial and social injustice," said Josh Moberg, a stay-at-home dad who's president of the church council. "And Brad had experience working with diverse and poor communities. The identities seemed like a good fit."

So they replace a married couple who are “co-pastors”, which should set off warning bells, with a homosexual living in blatant and unrepentant sin. I would suggest to Mr. Moberg that before they start getting serious about their understanding of “injustice”, they need to start getting serious about sin. They need to worry about “being real” about the Gospel. I understand and applaud their desire to help the disadvantaged but not when they set aside the Gospel to do so. I wonder why they even bother with the pretense of being a Christian ministry at all when they ignore the Word of God? I wonder if anyone has ever heard a message like the one Peter preached at Pentecost that ended with “Repent and be baptized”

What is truly tragic is this section:

Rev. Peter Strommen, a pastor from Prior Lake, Minn., who led the task force that proposed the policy change, said it's an attempt to officially recognize the lack of consensus across the ELCA.

With rapid social change on gay rights even in recent weeks, including the sudden legalization of gay marriage in Vermont and Iowa, he said the Lutheran church must find a way to proceed amid strongly divergent viewpoints.

"We've tried to stress here that this is not a core issue of our faith," Strommen said. "It's important. But it doesn't get to the level of the risen Christ and salvation."

What is the risen Christ and salvation about if it is not about sin? Christ came to save people from their sins, the Holy Spirit comes to convict people of sin and change hearts. Christ didn’t die on the cross and rise on the third day so that you can embrace and wallow in your sins. Mr. Strommen should crack open that leather book on his shelf with “Holy Bible” on the cover and read Romans 1:

Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)

Not only those who do such things but also those who approve of them. Instead of calling on this lost man claiming to be a minister of the Word to repent, he seeks to enable and encourage his behavior. I need to be in prayer for the faithful remnant that is sticking it out in the ELCA among all of the rejection of the Word of God, people who are trying to hold the line while remaining loyal to their denomination. I fear that the fight they are waging was lost decades ago. I also need to be in prayer for men like Brad Froslee and Peter Strommen, in prayer that God will work in their hearts. The Gospel is not a weather vane that changes direction with the cultural winds. It is the bedrock, the unchanging declaration of man's sin and Christ's redemption.

Congratulations to Ms. Debby Rieselman!

Her inane Letter to the Editor in the Cincinnati Enquirer wins my coveted "Totally missing the point" award. It starts off with a cutesy headline ("Lutherans' opening up to gays a loving act") and goes downhill from there with quote after quote that shows an utter ignorance of the Bible and Christianity...

It's a little murky, but reformation, as Lutherans know, is always murky. As the leader of the Protestant Reformation nearly 500 years ago, the Lutheran church claims a tradition of "always reforming itself."... It wasn't easy. Some delegates wanted to delay the vote for two years until a church task force made more progress. Others uttered the words of our founder Martin Luther: "How soon 'not now' becomes 'never.' "

The Reformation that Luther in large part started, and that has continued throughout the centuries is not about "tolerance" or "acceptance". It is about a continual concern with and return to Biblical fidelity. The idea of an openly homosexual man (or woman) standing in a pulpit with their homosexual partner gazing on lovingly from the pews would be abhorrent to Luther.

Her final comment is an ominous one...

This was a compromise. And it was only a first step. But it was a loving step.

This is but the first step towards a goal of complete tolerance. The goal is not about minor steps but complete capitulation of the Bible to the whims and perversions of the day. This has never been about acceptance, but has always been about the submission of the Word of God to the sin of the day, remaking God into an idol of our own image. Churches like the ELCA frankly, and this sounds harsh but the truth often is, either need to repent of their sins or stop calling themselves Christian churches. I know I don't get to dictate who is or is not a Christian, but Christ does and the actions of the ELCA have put them directly at odds with the revealed Word of God and therefore against Christ Himself.

Ms. Rieselman's bio describes her as follows:

Debby Rieselman is a lifelong Lutheran, a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Crestview Hills, and a lay leader in many areas of her local church, as well as the synodical and national levels of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

One would think that someone in a position of leadership such as hers would have a better grasp of the totality of the Biblical witness, rather than a mere sentimentalism that sees all sinners as inherently good and God as obligated to save them despite their rebellion and sin.

What would truly be a loving act would be for Lutherans to call homosexuals in their midst to Biblical repentance, calling on them to turn from their sinful lifestyle and "sin no more". But that might strike some as "intolerant"...

Another nail in the coffin

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has softened it's stance against homosexuality yet again. It has now gotten to the point of having absolutely no standards at all for personal holiness and Biblical submission. On Saturday, August 11th their annual assembly passed a resolution, 538-431, to encourage tolerance of homosexuals "pastors" living in sinful relationships with their partners.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Homosexual Lutheran clergy who are in sexual relationships will be able to serve as pastors, the largest U.S. Lutheran body said on Saturday. ..The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) passed a resolution at its annual assembly urging bishops to refrain from disciplining pastors who are in "faithful committed same-gender relationships."

Openly homosexual "pastors" who live in sexually deviant relationships will now be openly and warmly accepted. Dwell on that. What do you suppose Luther would have thought of that?

But the real question, I suppose should be: Why not? Once they started down the road of selecting what Biblical standards they would accept, it was inevitable that this is where it ends up. The Bible very clearly lays out the parameters for the role of pastor. But once you start to abandon pieces of the Bible, it snowballs until the Bible is completely irrelevant. It often starts at the beginning, with an abandonment of the Biblical truth of creationism, and then drifts into the calling and ordaining of female pastors, and once you get to that point you start to abandon penal substitutionary atonement, the doctrine of eternal punishment, justification by faith alone, the inerrancy of the Bible, and before you know it the Bible is boiled down to a misinterpreted set of teachings from the Sermon on the Mount and John 3:16. The worst part is that the 4.3 million members of the ELCA have been so misled by their leadership that they have joined the ranks of churches where members are saved in spite of, not because of, their attendance.

(I think for once I beat Dr. Mohler on a news item!)