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| Matthew Becker left the LCMS for ELCA, which was easy because his school Valpo also left Missouri for ELCA. |
Robert Lee Benson (Robert_lee_benson)
The Article referenced above "A Call for Discussion" from The Daystar Journal says, in part, "Some of the reasons given why young people are forsaking the church of their parents are the insistence of the Synod on a six-day creation and the denial of the ordination of women."
How interesting!
The ELCA, which REJECTS a six-day creation and APPROVES the ordination of women (almost half of all ELCA seminary students are women) has lost 1.4 million of its membership since the ELCA was created in 1988, which thoroughly refutes the above statement by all the signatures to the "A Call for Discussion" article. How can it be that the ELCA has lost 1.4 million members since 1988 but rejects a six-day creation and approves the ordination of women? Should they not have grown from these progressive religious enticements?
Frankly, Dr.Becker has 'expelled' himself from what the LCMS 'believes, teaches, and confesses.' This is underscored by his swift move to the ELCA, which is in full 'altar and communion' fellowship with six other protestant denominations with a 'wild' diversity of doctrine.
These six denominations include:
1. The Moravian Church in America
2. The Reformed Church in America
3. The United Church of Christ
4. The Episcopal Church
5. The Presbyterian Church (USA)
6. The United Methodist Church
GJ - But your pastors and congregations are members of the Willow Creek Association! And your leaders are all trained at Fuller Seminary and its inbred clones.
None of them believe the Bible is the inerrant and unchanging Word of God; they believe in the ordination of gay and lesbian men and women to the office of the holy ministry; all of them believe in same-sex marriage; and, of course, we have not mentioned the position on the Sacraments; and, of course, we have not mentioned justification by faith.
From the official statement (internet) of the ELCA: "ELCA clergy tend not to subscribe to a doctrine of Biblical inerrancy, but see validity in various scholarly methods of analysis to help in understanding the Bible. This is in concord with most moderate Protestant bodies and in contrast to the LCMS and WELS, which practice the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation."
Obviously, it was not just an "ecclesiastical technicality" that led the Dr.Becker to join the seven denominations listed above.
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GJ - I never saw an excommunication drive for the UOJ fanatics who repudiate Luther, Chemnitz, Melanchthon, Gerhard, and the Book of Concord on Justification by Faith.
Nor did they raise their confused voices against the Roman Catholic dogma which they enabled when Paul McCain linked his plagiarized papism on their precious discussion site.
Every day they reveal how little they know about Lutheran doctrine, how little they discern the spirits.
Nothing was ever done about the memberships in the Willow Creek Association - also enjoying immunity in the WELS for the same treason. But oh how they howl about ELCA's unionism.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 21, 2009 Contact: Joel Hochmuth Director of Communications Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod joel.hochmuth@wels.net
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| http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-wels-news-light-sentence-for-joel.html |
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.”
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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.
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Hochmuth was not excommunicated, but Rick Techlin and the Krohns were.
SP Schroeder:
Christians are not immune to Satan’s temptations. David, Paul, and Peter all knew from personal experience that believers can and do commit terrible and unspeakable sin. But they also knew and experienced the restoring power of God’s grace. Joel Hochmuth knows this as well. Joel is receiving pastoral care from his pastors and others. We are confident that the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word has brought him to recognize and repent of his sin, and we also know that he has sought and received the comfort of forgiveness in the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior. Please pray that Joel will continue to be assured of forgiveness at the foot of the cross and that God’s grace will restore him, renew him, and strengthen his faith.
Serving in Christ, Rev. Mark Schroeder, WELS President