Showing posts with label Change or Die. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Change or Die. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Navigation for -
LCMS-WELS Joins ELCA's Pro-Abortion, Feminist Gay Ordination Agenda.
ELCA Owns LCMS-WELS, Without a Fight

 ELCA's Heidi Neumark - ELM Mentor

For Even More Research - Exposing the ELCA Blog

 ELCA's Heidi Borkenhagen


"RIC – What is needs to be done - complete an Affirmation/Welcome statement (to be completed by committee formed), hold Adult Forums on this throughout the year (options for meeting: – review what Bible does and doesn’t say; have families come in to discuss this; Bill Beyer 1st openly gay pastor in area come talk). Would be looking to have this completed by end of 2019 to have church vote on this at annual meeting. Committee formed could be short term to long term, based on what the committee chooses to do. Council recommends moving forward with presenting information to church leading to vote by end of the year. Pastor Paul, Linda 2nd, approved. Pastor Heidi will head up committee and start getting Adult Forums plan." -  
GJ - From her congregation's website, but now missing.

For Even More Research - Exposing the ELCA Blog

LCMS-WELS Joins ELCA's Feminist Gay Ordination Agenda - The Two Heidi's

Siebert Foundation
758 N. 27th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53208
414-269-2832

contactus@siebertfoundation.org

 ELCiC's Bishop Susan Johnson (Canada's ELCA, eh?)
Evil Will Be Punished 

Secrecy and Curiosity Provoke Even More Views

Mark Jeske's Change or Die! Conference Proves ELCA's Victory

Damage Control - What Got Erased Overnight

More Research on Time of Grace, Jeske, Change or Die!

ELCA's Heidi Neumark - The Face and Voice of LCMS-WELS

The Fruit of WELS Objective Justification

Ghastly Debacle - LCMS-WELS Working with ELCA

ELCA Says Jesus Is NOT the Only Way of Salvation

For Even More Research - Exposing the ELCA Blog

ELCA's Mission Investment Fund Is One Sponsor

Church and Change Basics - From the Cloaca Magma - Source

 Heidi - "Oh, my goodness!"


Hilariously Bad Change or Die! Jeremiads - Previous Years. Note spelling of "commitee" each year, including 2019.


Change or Die! in 2018 - Plenty of ELCA.

Change or Die! in 2017 - Yes, loads of ELCA here.

Changer or Die! in 2016 - Jeske allows Hisself  to be listed! Ewart a hoot - snarling, arrogant, pompous, like his mentor.

 Note the WELS dude - Steve Witte - was a founder of Church and Change, the false doctrine coven funded by WELS donations, which then organized to grab positions for its advocates and lots more offering money for itself.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Why So Many Views? Secrecy and Cover-ups Provoke Curiosity.
Erasing Pages and Changing Names for the Two Heidis

 Billy loves graphics, Bobby hates the news.

Pageviews so far today
1,593
Pageviews yesterday
2,486
Pageviews last month
31,362
Pageviews all time history
7,112,944
Followers




ELCA gay and abortion activist Heidi Neumark is one of only two speakers for Change or Die! - 2019. She wrote about Jewish persecution in Germany, but what about baby persecution here in America?


ELCA gay activist Pastor Heidi Borkenhagen is on the Steerage Committee. They spell it "commitee" at Siebert - too lazy to edit, too dumb to spell-check. She was tasked with getting her congregation to go full gay with RIC, but that narrative on her church site was erased from the Net - overnight.

WELS Church and Changer John Parlow posed with this performer at the Andy Stanley Drive Conference (Ski, Glende, Bishop Katie, and a host of other dunces). 

Stanley is admired for some reason - and emulated by WELS. At least he does not teach Justification by Faith! He is clearly OJ all the way, as messed up as his dad Charles Stanley.
 WELS D.Min. Bruce Becker is also on the Steerage Committee. Becker has a distinguished record of repudiating Biblical doctrine while enjoying the fruits of apostasy.
 Grand Theft Parish - Time of Grace (Becker, Jeske) was central in stealing Historical St. John Lutheran Church and its endowment, the same church WELS kicked out of the synod. 


Here is an interesting example of spin-doctoring. The link to this debacle is

https://www.siebertfoundation.org/changeordie

But the ugly words - Change or Die! - are absent in the graphic for the gay activist conference. The graphic's file name says "CoD" but the graphic's words do not. The 1 Peter 4:10 citation is New NIV, a dreadful departure from the original text. Do we wonder why people are addicted to "you" when the third person is correct?

Some of us jokers were going to produce Yo! - The Surfer Dude Living Online Paraphrase, but the NIV beat us to it.

 Reimagine? How clever! The whole Jeske Church and Change, Change or Die! effort has been aimed - with great success - at replacing Biblical, Lutheran doctrine and worship with a ferago of fads, Left-wing activism, and third-rate Calvinism.
Most organizations would look at its failures, the leaders of those failures, and fix things. Not WELS or LCMS - oh no - they are running to Hell when they could offer Heaven for free.

Friday, September 6, 2019

If You Want To Motivate Me, Just Tell Me Not To.
Keep Up with the Exposing the ELCA Blog,
Which Means LCMS-WELS-ELS Too

 I know this is Nadia at the ELCA youth conference, but I wanted to point out she is not the exception - but the rule - in ELCA and in Mark Jeske's world.

I was satisfied with my research about Mark Jeske's latest disaster, the Change or Die! conference. But a Missouri pastor on Facedbook chose to attack me for "not assuming people were already talking to the LCMS leaders about it." (Note the subtle hints of Matthew 18 and Pharisaical outrage.)



I answered that I did my part in objecting to everyone at once (Luther on the Eighth Commandment, his quia subscription). So he got nastier and ended that he was going off to take the Gospel to some people in the hospital. Undoubtedly he is a classic Job's Comforter, so willing to blame the weak and unfortunate like me. I have no friends. Nobody reads this blog, and I have no credibility.

He erased his tirade, perhaps knowing I can do a copy and paste as fast as Tim Blende and Skisky. (The names have been changed to protect the guilty, an old WELS tradition.)

My immediate reaction was, "My dreams were too small. Now I am going to do a serious job of research!"

I published this late last night, my battered eyeballs screaming for rest.

ELCA's Rev. Heidi Neumark - The Face and Voice of LCMS-WELS-ELS




I immediately noticed in my graphics research that Exposing the ELCA was there before me, not only warning people about Pastor Heidi, but also writing about a brigade of activist amazonian warriors. Note the the other Pastor Heidi (on the Change or Cry! steerage committee) is another activist.

Here is the Exposed Blog, by Dan Skogen, which has enough information to make a hardened ELCA warrior feel sick.

Dan Skogen (on Facebook) has labored many years to show what is happening. The Left-wing ALPB Forum really dislikes him, so that is the highest possible vote of approval.

I keep his main site linked in the left column all the time.

 A Luther Seminary student bragged about his pastoral call on his Facebook page and featured his drag dance in the seminary chapel. Officials wonder why enrollment is down so low they are selling off land.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

ELCA's Rev. Heidi Neumark - The Face and Voice of LCMS-WELS-ELS

 A Change or Die! update is posted here. Yes, SEO is that blatant on this homespun blog.

Former ELCA member - "No Lutheran denomination should be partnering with Rev. Heidi Neumark."



--

Pride Sunday Sermon, Posted on Facebook
Rev. Heidi Neumark’s Pride Sunday Sermon.

---




2019 Change or Die Speakers

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer is the president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. President Meyer has been speaking and preaching for more than 40 years and his areas of interest and study include 1 Peter, the church in a changing culture, and the Sabbath applied to life today.
Rev. Heidi Neumark

Rev. Heidi Neumark

Rev. Heidi Neumark is a founding member of South Bronx Churches, an ecumenical community organizing group that trained local leaders, built hundreds of low-cost homes, and established a top-ranked public high school.

--

Biography posted for her congregation - linked here.

The congregation is RIC.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Mentor

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries - Recognizing Her Activism

Mentor to HIV Positive ELCA Pastor

ELCA Pastor Endorsing Heidi's Work

Yale Divinity School Kudos

Duke Event

Pro-Abortion






2019 Change or Die Conference




Our 2019 Change or Die! Planning Commitee consists of:


Rev. Walter BairesELCA South Central Synod of Wisconsin
Rev. D.Min. Bruce Becker, WELS, Time of Grace Ministry
Rev. Heidi BorkenhagenELCA Grace Lutheran Church, Grafton. "RIC – What is needs to be done - complete an Affirmation/Welcome statement (to be completed by committee formed), hold Adult Forums on this throughout the year (options for meeting: – review what Bible does and doesn’t say; have families come in to discuss this; Bill Beyer 1st openly gay pastor in area come talk). Would be looking to have this completed by end of 2019 to have church vote on this at annual meeting. Committee formed could be short term to long term, based on what the committee chooses to do. Council recommends moving forward with presenting information to church leading to vote by end of the year. Pastor Paul, Linda 2nd, approved. Pastor Heidi will head up committee and start getting Adult Forums plan."
Michelle Burmeister, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Gretchen Jameson, Concordia University
Charlotte John-Gomez, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Rev. D.Min. John Parlow, WELS, St. Mark Lutheran Church, De Pere
Rev. Randy RaaschLCMS First Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cedarburg 
Rev. Matthew ShortELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod
Rev. Tom Wink, Retired, LCMS Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Pewaukee

The Ten New Commandments

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Two Approaches to Scripture - The Springboard or The Source.
As Always, the Scholars Are Divided


His name was Abraham Malherbe, part of Nils Dahl's effort to have Biblical scholars in his department at Yale Divinity School. Most of us had been subjected to years of efforts to deny the reliability of the Scriptures, courtesy of Halle University, the home of Objective Justification.


Malherbe had a plain but effective statement about Acts. "New Testament scholars scoff at the historical accuracy of the Book of Acts. What are their timelines based upon? The Book of Acts." He let that sink into our propagandized brains. He had the most effective defense of Acts - all the scholars depended upon its precision.

 Nils A. Dahl studied under the great Biblical scholars of Europe, including Mowinckel and Bultmann. Nevertheless, he emphasized the text rather than modern, harebrained theories.
Robert Wilson, Old Testament, Yale, wanted us to learn from the text itself. Colleges and seminaries typically teach theories and loyalty to certain denominational favorites.

Two Approaches to the Scriptures
Biblical studies can be divided into two categories:

  1. The Scriptures are my springboard.
  2. The Scriptures are the source.

Springboard
The first one is the most popular and will always remain dominant in culture. Historic Christianity has always considered the Bible to be infallible and inerrant (until Halle University), but every heresy and cult has used the Scriptures as the launching point of their bizarre claims. The celebrity of the day has often claimed, "I will show you those truths which only I can unearth for you." In time, a fortress is built around those claims - at the Vatican, in Switzerland, and in Mequon, Mankato, St. Louis, and Ft. Wayne.

The Source
In ancient times - and when the light of truth shines for a moment - the Bible is God's own Word, powered in every phrase and word by the Holy Spirit. That divine power (denied by Calvin, Barth-Kirschbaum, and modern Lutherans) is not taught by man but by God.

All the textbooks could be removed and this approach would still be easily derived from the Biblical text itself. That is why a layman armed with the Scriptures - in a good translation - is wiser than a Biblical scholar who knows the original language but denies the original teaching.

What Dahl, Malherbe, and Robert Wilson offered was not a series of theories or a list of their favorite experts, but a return to the source.

Knowing some early church history - from Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent - turns synodical wisdom into a comic sketch. The ancients paraded the Scriptures before their conferences, to remind one another that the Bible was the source. The muddier the water, the more they needed to return to the source. Therefore, they would not start with this or that confession.

ELCA's Bishop Liz Eaton is harder to remove than the Three Stooges - Harrison, Schroeder, and Moldstad.

But ELCA, solemnly convening with proper robes, incense, white gloves, and gay leaders, has declared by vote that Jesus is not the only way of salvation.

The laity will vote with their feet, leaving their endowments and buildings behind. If I were an investor, I would gather funds to grab the empty  ELCA, WELS, and LCMS buildings. Then I would convert them into restaurants, gyms, theaters, bookstores, and coffee shops. Many churches already have theater seats, gyms, and gourmet coffee equipment.

WELS and the LCMS, by approving their leaders' work with ELCA leaders, have signaled their fellowship with the craziest cult since the flagellants whipped themselves into a frenzy. See the link for Change or Die! here.

After Change or Die! takes hold, all the synods will have better but fewer members.

Read the Siebert Foundation registration form -

"Please select if you require a gluten-free or vegetarian meal for lunch.

Gender identification - Male, Female, Other."


Our 2019 Planning Commitee consists of:

Rev. Walter Baires, ELCA South Central Synod of Wisconsin
Rev. D.Min. Bruce Becker, WELS, Time of Grace Ministry
Rev. Heidi BorkenhagenELCA Grace Lutheran Church, Grafton. "RIC – What is needs to be done - complete an Affirmation/Welcome statement (to be completed by committee formed), hold Adult Forums on this throughout the year (options for meeting: – review what Bible does and doesn’t say; have families come in to discuss this; Bill Beyer 1st openly gay pastor in area come talk). Would be looking to have this completed by end of 2019 to have church vote on this at annual meeting. Committee formed could be short term to long term, based on what the committee chooses to do. Council recommends moving forward with presenting information to church leading to vote by end of the year. Pastor Paul, Linda 2nd, approved. Pastor Heidi will head up committee and start getting Adult Forums plan."
Michelle Burmeister, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Gretchen Jameson, Concordia University
Charlotte John-Gomez, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Rev. D.Min. John Parlow, WELS, St. Mark Lutheran Church, De Pere
Rev. Randy Raasch, First Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cedarburg - LCMS
Rev. Matthew Short, ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod
Rev. Tom Wink, Retired, LCMS Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Pewaukee

 Change or Die! enabler, Change or Die! enabler, Change or Die! enabler.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 21, 2009 Contact: Joel Hochmuth Director of Communications Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod joel.hochmuth@wels.net 



WELS president expresses regret at ELCA decision on gay clergy
Milwaukee, Wis.—Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is expressing regret at the vote of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) convention regarding homosexual clergy. Friday, delegates approved a resolution committing the church to find a way for “people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships” to serve as professional leaders of the church.

“To view same-sex relationships as acceptable to God is to place cultural viewpoint and human opinions above the clear Word of God,” says Schroeder. “The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, along with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and other smaller Lutheran synods, maintains and upholds the clear teaching of the Bible that homosexuality is not in keeping with God’s design and is sinful in God’s eyes.” 

At the same time, Schroeder says WELS congregations stand ready to support those struggling with same-sex attractions. “As with any sin, it is the church’s responsibility to show love and compassion to sinners, not by condoning or justifying the sin, but by calling the sinner to repent and by assuring the sinner that there is full forgiveness in Jesus Christ,” Schroeder says.

WELS, with about 390,000 members and nearly 1,300 congregations nationwide, is the third largest Lutheran church body in the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there are more than 201,000 members and 417 congregations. “It’s unfortunate that many headlines have referred to the recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as something ‘Lutherans’ have decided,” Schroeder says. “In fact, the ELCA is only one of many Lutheran denominations. We are saddened that a group with the name Lutheran would take another decisive step away from the clear teaching of the Bible, which was the foundation of the Lutheran Reformation.” 

Schroeder says that WELS is firmly committed to upholding God’s design for marriage as outlined in Scripture—a design intended for one man and one woman. “We believe, and the Bible teaches, that God designed this relationship to be a blessing for men and women and for society. Any departure from what God himself has designed does two things: it denies the clear teachings of Scriptures and it undermines God’s desire that the man/woman relationship in marriage be a blessing.”

---


On the WELS.net site I found a reaction to that news release, but not the news release itself.

Feedback to a WELS news release quoting Pres. Mark Schroeder's reaction to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to allow homosexuals in "lifelong, monogamous" relationships to serve as pastors continues to flow in.

On Aug. 21, the day the ELCA churchwide assembly approved the resolution, Communication Services posted Pres. Schroeder's response expressing WELS opposition based on clear biblical principles on the synod's Web site. A news release was also sent to Religion News Service for worldwide distribution.
So far, the reaction has been almost universally positive, with statements of support coming from both WELS and non-WELS members. "I appreciate your statement and share your disappointment," writes one woman from Michigan. "Thank you for posting the statement with a clear Biblical viewpoint."

"As a member of an ELCA church, I applaud you standing up for the Word of God and having the backbone to speak up and put your 8/21 letter on your Web site," writes another woman from Minnesota.
While it is impossible to gauge precisely how widely published Schroeder's comments were, the news release was printed virtually verbatim on more than a dozen blogs. Schroeder's comments were quoted in an MSNBC.com article (link no longer available) on the reaction to the ELCA decision from both WELS and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

---


Hochmuth was not excommunicated, but Rick Techlin and the Krohns were.





Thursday, August 29, 2019

ELCA Has Determined That Jesus Is NOT the Only Way of Salvation,
But the Jeske Crime Family Moves On Anyway



WELS Discussions on Facebook

Scott Kruz shared a link.
You may not like what's happening to our worship life and theology but you don't have a choice. You see, my friends, even our very own WELS pastors attend Change or Die and will be sitting at the feet of the apostate ELCA ministerium as well. It's clear they've "learned" from them in the past and have no qualms about doing so in the future.
Personally, I'm praying for an early death.




Change and Die! Speakers, LCMS, ELCA

2019 Change and Die! Speakers

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer

Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer is the president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. President Meyer has been speaking and preaching for more than 40 years and his areas of interest and study include 1 Peter, the church in a changing culture, and the Sabbath applied to life today.
Rev. Heidi Neumark

Rev. Heidi Neumark

Rev. Heidi Neumark is a founding member of South Bronx Churches, an ecumenical community organizing group that trained local leaders, built hundreds of low-cost homes, and established a top-ranked public high school.
Evil Steering Committee
Rev. Walter Baires, ELCA South Central Synod of Wisconsin
Rev. D.Min. Bruce Becker, WELS, Time of Grace Ministry
Rev. Heidi Borkenhagen, ELCA Grace Lutheran Church, Grafton
Michelle Burmeister, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Gretchen Jameson, Concordia University
Charlotte John-Gomez, Siebert Lutheran Foundation
Rev. D.Min. John Parlow, WELS, St. Mark Lutheran Church, De Pere
Rev. Randy Raasch, First Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cedarburg
Rev. Matthew Short, ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod
Rev. Tom Wink, Retired, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Pewaukee


  • Pam Bain Seriously? “Rev. Neumark is the author of "Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx" and SHE will talk about ways to engage your ministry in the reality around you and how to *****organize the community to build up leadership and createSee More
    3
  • Sam Novak If there should be any dialogue, it should be between WELS and LCMS devoting themselves to the preservation of Lutheran confessionalism and Christian orthodoxy.
    7
  • Bernardo Cueto I agree with your post, but what do you mean by “praying for an early death”?
    • Scott Kruz Nothing makes sense. The arms of Jesus are far superior to the tentacles of the collectivist-left religion.
  • Jeffrey Basch how about restoring the TLH hymnal and the historical lectionary?
    2
  • Lee Liermann So Pastor's can attend a conference to learn from someone with which we are not in fellowship and from someone whom we would not recognize as a Pastor but the poor layman shouldn't even pray say at the dinner table with a family member who might be LCMSee More
    7
  • Cathy Kivela I had read some ‘end of the ages’ type books and was pretty much told by a pastor to steer clear of anything not coming from Wels....he also said most lay people cannot discern the biblical truth from fiction....needless to say, I was not happy with him.
  • Jeffery Clark Not just attend!

    Rev. Dr. John Parlow, St. Mark Lutheran Church, De Pere
    See More
    1
    • Joe Jewell Plus:

      Rev. Dr. Bruce Becker, Time of Grace Ministry
    • Scott Kruz Wow! These men will be continue to be quite successful as they continue to align themselves with this organization and its goals. It's really amazing to watch, isn't it?
      1
  • Joe Jewell And lest we leave the LCMS out of it, they got the *president* of Concordia Seminary to speak at this thing?!
    2
  • Zachary Semmann Even from a practical perspective, why would we want to discuss anything with a church body that is hemorrhaging members? ELCA churches, whether they change or not, close practically every day.
    2
  • Thomas Alan He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
    Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
    1
  • Justin Heise I know more than one admin has already replied to this post, but isn't this an opportunity to bash? "Bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, prejudicial statement with no intent to constructively contribute to a discussion on the merits and faults of something or someone in an intelligible (or articulate) way." 

    That's all this post is. Shouldn't the admins remove this? No one is discussing whether this is good or bad, what is good or bad, etc. Everyone is just bashing those who have organized this or who might attend. Why isn't this being removed?
    3
    • Scott Kruz Justin, not bashing at all.
    • Scott Kruz But I do get your point. Imagine if you agreed with this apostasy and all you wanted was to denigrate those who were making obvious what was happening by bringing it into the light? You would, of course, make baseless accusations of "bashing".
    • Justin Heise It's exactly bashing, that's why I quoted the rules in the sidebar. You made a prejudicial statement with no intent to contribute to a discussion. You just wanted to point out how wrong these people are. 

      A discussion would point out the positives or 
      See More
    • Scott Kruz They are welcome to delete the post. This whole world is going to hell anyway, so why bother exposing what is happening as church bodies fornicate with each other at ecumenical conferences that serve to promote the views of an apostate ministeirum?
    • Scott Kruz Oh, and please have someone execute me for the sin of "bashing". I can't exist in a non-sensical world run by pro-collectivist thugs.



No! - Useless, Useless, and Useless.


The Actual ELCA Report

”ELCA Churchwide Assembly rejects statement that Jesus is the only way of salvation
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at its recent Churchwide Assembly adopted an inter-faith policy that asserts there are “limits of our knowing” the way to God the Father. One voting member challenged the apparent universalist language and called on his fellow Lutherans to affirm Jesus' statement of John 14:6 that He is the only way of salvation.
Here is the report of what happened from the Institute on Religion and Democracy:
As a large group of ecumenical and inter-religious guests stood on the assembly stage, Chair of the ad hoc inter-religious task force committee, Bishop Patricia J. Lull of the Saint Paul Area Synod, presented a hearing report to the assembly. She acknowledged a proposed recommendation called a section of the policy statement “inconsistent with Scripture.”
The amendment was submitted by voting member Zachary Johnson of the ELCA’s Northwestern Minnesota Synod. Johnson proposed lines 630-655, titled “Limits on our knowing,” from the policy statement be struck from the declaration. Those lines read:
"The Lutheran tradition offers other reasons for caution about our claims to know. Luther said that no human could know another person’s relationship with God. What that person says or does gives us clues, but, ultimately, we cannot see into someone else’s heart (Luther, Bondage of the Will). Similarly, Luther insisted that we cannot know the inner workings of God. God has revealed God’s attitude toward us, overall purpose, and character, but the inner workings of God remain hidden. Hence, we must be careful about claiming to know God’s judgments regarding another religion or the individual human beings who practice it.
And:
There is another reason for caution. As mentioned above, the Lutheran tradition has understood the word “faith” to mean trust rather than affirming beliefs. Hence, we also must be careful not to judge our neighbors only on the basis of their religious beliefs, as they may or may not tell us much about how our neighbors relate to God. There is no substitute for exploring together what matters most to others and to us. The full story of the relationship between our neighbor and God is beyond our knowledge, and even our calling. In the context of inter-religious relations, we do not need answers to these questions in order to treat one another with love and respect, find ways to cooperate for the sake of the larger community, practice hospitality, or witness to the good news of God’s love, forgiveness, and new life in Christ. All we know, and all we need to know, is that our neighbors are made in God’s image and that we are called to love and serve them."
Johnson’s challenge recalled Jesus’ words in John chapter 14 verse 6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“We have a clear statement from Jesus, who is fully God and fully man,” Johnson’s proposed amendment read. “We do therefore have a basis to know God’s views on religions that do not require faith in Jesus Christ as God’s son.”
According to Lull, the concerns raised by Johnson were discussed by the ad hoc committee. The committee ultimately declined to forward the amendment to the assembly because, as Lull explained, the policy’s text “undergirds a posture of curiosity and humility” as the ELCA seeks to “learn from and engage” their inter-religious neighbors.
Undeterred, Johnson then made a motion to amend from the floor. “I am here to speak truth to power, even if it is an inconvenient truth,” Johnson said during his address of the motion. “I would urge this assembly to repudiate and repent of any false teachings.”
Pastor Jennifer Chrien (Southwest California Synod) spoke against the amendment, saying, “Frankly I am embarrassed that we are having this conversation right now in front of all of our inter-faith guests.”
She continued, “Our God is big enough for our family to include all of these interfaith siblings. Our God is big enough to admit that we do not know everything there is to know.”
Johnson’s motion to amend was overwhelmingly defeated. The policy statement was adopted with 97.48% voting in favor.
Video of Thursday evening’s plenary is available below. The controversy begins at about 1:19:20.
My comment: If the ELCA is no longer willing to say that Jesus is the only way of salvation, especially in front of invited guests from non-Christian religions who need Christ's saving Gospel, the ELCA is no longer a Lutheran denomination. The Lutheran Church has always taught that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), by Christ alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).”