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ELCA Mega Church Pastor Mike Housholder Attacks Fundamentalists in Sermon

10/5/2020

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a dying, pro-abortion, pro-gay, pro-transgender, anti-Israel, sanctuary denomination, that teaches universalism (all people go to heaven), that often refers to God as "she" and refrains from using male words for Him, dismisses many Biblical accounts, does not evangelize but advocates for the most liberal social causes.

Mike Housholder is an ELCA pastor at the ELCA's largest church, Lutheran Church of Hope (West Des Moines, Iowa). Rev. Housholder and Lutheran Church of Hope embrace their affiliation with the ELCA. They even hosted their ELCA synod's assembly 2 months ago. I have not come across one public statement by Pastor Housholder or his mega church, in the last 10 years where he speaks a word of correction, pleads with or calls for repentance of the ELCA for its wickedness. That should tell you a lot.

Earlier this year, in a sermon, Pastor Mike Housholder lifted up an ELCA leader, who was instrumental in bringing approval of same-sex marriage to the ELCA, yet spoke condemnation of people Housholder labeled as "self-righteous fundamentalist(s)."

Cambridge Dictionary defines "fundamentalist" as "someone who believes in traditional forms of a religion, or believes that what is written in a holy book, such as the Christian Bible, is completely true."

Just before addressing the "fundamentalist(s)", Housholder shared a very peculiar story in his sermon, where he relayed an account of his observing an atheist's warmhearted comments in reaction to seeing the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Then bizarrely, Rev. Housholder puts on a grotesque face and mockingly shares how a Christian may "badly" witness to the said atheist (see video below at the 13:30 minute mark). I believe this is an interesting precursor to what followed next, with Pastor Mike Housholder's comments about fundamentalists.

Read the rest of this important article here...

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Heretical Pastor Rises in ELCA Leadership

8/29/2020

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ELCA pastor Lura N. Groen has been highlighted on Exposing the ELCA many times. She is one of the most radical and heretical ELCA pastors I have come across. (See here and below for a number of things she has been saying. Some of it is blasphemous and vile.)

With that said, Pastor Lura N. Groen has been endorsed and placed into postions of influence and leadership by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Last year, Rev. Groen was "elected to the Discipline Committee" at the 2019 Delaware-Maryland Synod (See page 2 here).

Delaware-Maryland Synod (ELCA) Bishop Bill Gohl is very familiar with Rev. Groen saying, "Pastor Lura Groen, with whom I belong to a weekly pericope Bible study group and who I know to be a (hard) truth-teller..." (See here).

Rev. Groen was a guest speaker, teaching a class at an ELCA seminary.

She was even on a panel discussion with the ELCA's Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as you can see in the picture above.

Below are some writings and social media content from Rev. Groen. Sorry for the shocking and odious content. How can the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leadership allow someone, who speaks and believes as this pastor does, to rise in their leadership ranks? How can they allow Rev. Groen and many ELCA pastors like her, to mock the One True God?

The ELCA is culpable and responsible for this. They allow it and give it a platform in their midst.

The true God of Scripture is not the God the ELCA serves. The Holy Spirit does not dwell in it.

Continuing from Rev. Lura N. Groen's article posted above "I Hope You Have Only Good Sex" (see the complete article here), she writes, "This is, for me, an open expression of a deeply faith based sexual ethic. My Christian way of saying the same thing is to hope that each of you has sex in way, and only in a way, that is set free to love God, self, and neighbor. And that every time you have sex you respect the image of God in yourself and in your partner(s). That you treat yourself and every other body involved as holy, a temple, beloved by God, created beautifully, fearsomely and awesomely made."

Some of Rev. Groen's comments get even worse:

Jesus was Queer, anti-establishment, pro-heaux, and rejected heteronormative relationship models. https://t.co/L3er24ndL3
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 30, 2020

Did it work? pic.twitter.com/D6jLnR5Aku
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 28, 2020

God is fat. And She twerks marvelously.

And you know what? You don’t fucking know if She has diabetes. And it’s none of your fucking business. She’s glorious either way.
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) January 9, 2020

In the next post Rev. Lura Groen shared an article titled "What Promiscuity Taught Me About God's Love." The article was from QueerTheology.com.

I honestly believe it’s our shame that has perverted our sexuality. Shame that had been too often taught by the church.

Trying to control the gender and sexuality God has given people twists it into terrible things.
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) April 29, 2020

I don’t know who needs to hear this* but:

Feeling your anger can be fucking revolutionary.
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 26, 2019

Sometimes I say fuck, but usually only when I’m talking about holiness, so now you’re prepared.
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 22, 2019

Unpopular opinion: Divorce can be a really good thing, and more people should probably get them. https://t.co/PHyEVaPGNd
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) July 16, 2019

Now I’m Queer. Not just LGBT, as in let’s expand heteronormative relationship structures to same sex people, but Queer, as in, fuck heteronormative relationship structures, because they’re based in capitalism and white supremacy.
— Lura Groen (@lura_groen) May 1, 2020

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Reverend Bolz-Weber leaves her ELCA Lutheran congregation in hands of homosexual pastor "married" to a drag queen

8/17/2018

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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.)

Reverend Bolz-Weber leaves her ELCA Lutheran congregation in hands of homosexual pastor "married" to a drag queen

You can't make this stuff up. Last month Bolz-Weber promoted "the beauty of queerness" to 31,000 teenagers at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Teen Gathering, and now this. I"m not sure how much lower the ELCA can sink. How God must grieve.

If you are still a member of the ELCA I ask you to ask yourself "If this doesn't get me to leave the ELCA, what will?" May the Lord lead you to join a denomination which doesn't promote immorality (and which also doesn't pay for abortion with offering dollars).

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock

http://pulpitandpen.org/2018/08/16/nadia-bolz-weber-steps-down-from-pastorate-is-replaced-by-gay-man-married-to-drag-queen/

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The ELCA's Only Position on Homosexuality

11/28/2016

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ELCA schools love to shout their support for homosexuality. And notice that none declare they are proponents of traditional marriage and hold to Scripture's view that homosexuality is a sin.

If the only position you hear from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and all the subsidiaries is in favor of homosexuality and gay marriage one has to come to the conclusion that that is what they stand for. They are not neutral on the subject and those members that disagree with homosexuality are not represented in the leadership.

From the ELCA's Trinity Lutheran Seminary:

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Pacific Lutheran University's Abominable Play

2/29/2016

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Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) colleges are not Christian.

Case in point, Pacific Lutheran University, an ELCA college, hosted a production of “The Vagina Monologues,” a vulgar play that focus' on the subjects of sex, menstruation and female genitalia. Pacific Lutheran University students expanded on the play writing some of their own monologues and the PLU creative director for the production explains why saying, “We wanted to get more trans women, more queer women, more women of color to talk about their experiences." (see here)

The article also says that the play is a "familiar Pacific Lutheran University tradition" and a comment here says, "I go to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and we have had it every year for at least ten years or so. It always draws a huge crowd."

Is this a Christ honoring play? Only someone who has a false understanding of Jesus would say "yes."

The late Bishop John D’Arcy wrote this regarding the play:"The Vagina Monologues is offensive to women; it is antithetical to Catholic teaching on the beautiful gift of human sexuality and also to the teachings of the Church on the human body relative to its purpose and to its status as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The human body and the human person, in the tradition of the Church, must never be seen as an object.
This play violates the truth about women; the truth about sexuality; the truth about male and female, and the truth about the human body." (see here)

Gustavus Adolphus College is another ELCA school that has subjected their students to a production of "The Vagina Monologues." (see here)

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People Change

10/20/2015

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People change. Over the last 14 years support for same-sex marriage in America has increased by 20%. (see here) When I went to Wartburg Theological Seminary (ELCA) there were a few Bible-believing, orthodox/conservative students that I could look to for support. Today I came across one of those students (now an ELCA pastor) pictured on the ReconcilingWorks website along with an article saying that his church is now a Reconciling in Christ congregation.

"ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation" is an organization that "advocates for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church and congregations." (see here) And his church has now become a congregation that "welcome and affirm people of...every sexual orientation and gender identity" (see here)

Americans view on gay marriage changed, for the most part, because of the decline in Biblical belief and the normalization of homosexuality brought into our homes through the entertainment we watch.

If you are not reading your Bible and you study or sit under the leadership of liberal teachers, pastors and bishops who support homosexuality (and other liberal theological positions) you are in danger of compromising your Biblical beliefs and conforming to their position.

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Dr. Martin Luther King and Same Sex Attraction

8/18/2015

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Here is how Dr. Martin Luther King answered this question -

"Question: ...I am a boy, but I feel about boys the way I ought to feel about girls. I don't want my parents to know about me. What can I do? Is there any place where I can go for help?

Answer: Your problem is not at all an uncommon one. However, it does require careful attention. The type of feeling that you have toward boys is probably not an innate tendency, but something that has been culturally acquired. Your reasons for adopting this habit have now been consciously suppressed or unconsciously repressed. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with this problem by getting back to some of the experiences and circumstances that lead to the habit. In order to do this I would suggest that you see a good psychiatrist who can assist you in bringing to the forefront of conscience all of those experiences and circumstances that lead to the habit. You are already on the right road toward a solution, since you honestly recognize the problem and have a desire to solve it."

(see here)

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Elca Celebrates Sin

7/14/2015

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Last month the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Here is how many leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America responded.

The ELCA's Bishop Robert Alan Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York says of the recent Supreme Court decision making gay marriage legal in the United States, "in the spirit of Jesus, we applaud the court’s decision. We will continue to embrace all of God’s children as they seek to have their loving relationships blessed by people of good faith." (readhere)

It's a new day.
Posted by Women of the ELCA on Friday, June 26, 2015

Love my people.
Posted by Nadia Bolz-Weber on Friday, June 26, 2015

Posted by Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago on Friday, June 26, 2015

Last Friday’s Supreme Court decision striking down bans against same-sex marriage “knocks the power out of long-standing...
Posted by Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA), ELCA on Monday, June 29, 2015

Below is a tweet from the ELCA Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations and assistant to the presiding bishop -

#gaymarriage is a thing of the past in the US. From now on only #marriage #SCOTUSMarriage
— Kathryn Lohre (@kathryn_lohre) June 26, 2015

This post on an ELCA Facebook group is from the former president of the ELCA's Wartburg Theological Seminary -

"Duane Larson
1 hr · Princeton, IA
So humbled and privileged that in just a few hours I will preach and preside at the wedding of (two men). A first for this congregation and this community. We expect a packed house. God's timing is superb!"

Rev. Strickland is the Director for Worship of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -

#lovewins #MarriageEquaility
— Rev Kevin Strickland (@PrKevinELCA) June 26, 2015

The ELCA's Bishop Guy Erwin of the Southwest California Synod retweeted this -

Retweet to spread the word. #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/JJ5iCP4ZWn
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 26, 2015

This ELCA Synod offers resources for churches concerning gay marriage from Reconciling Works (an LGBT advocacy organization) and from a transgender ELCA Pastor Megan Rohrer -

Resources to help start congregational conversations about the #MarriageEquality ruling: http://t.co/rZBbvDQDb1 pic.twitter.com/qxSkp4tJ5N
— SouthwesternTX Synod (@SWTSynod) July 9, 2015

The ELCA pastor that moderates a large ELCA Clergy Facebook page tweeted -

The roll of Christians now is not to defend gay marriage as "allowed", but to celebrate it as beautiful and right and joyous and faithful.
— Clint Schnekloth (@Schnekloth) June 27, 2015

A camp run by an ELCA church posted this -

#LoveWon to the LGBTQ community we won't stop advocating for you remember you are always welcome here #IamLutheran pic.twitter.com/DJLpzQXFPG
— Bay Lake Camp (@BayLakeCamp) June 26, 2015

Drove by a Lutheran church that has raised the rainbow flag. #lovewins
— Nina Chadha (@ninachad) June 28, 2015

In downtown St. Pete and I see a Lutheran church decorated with gay pride flags and signs welcoming same sex marriage #LoveWins
— Mollz Manier (@mollzmanier) June 27, 2015

Some ELCA Gay Pride Parade marchers -

16 Lutheran pastors who marched in #SeattlePride with #opendoorministries #iamlutheran pic.twitter.com/sGhirj91Bq
— Jenna Carodiskey (@gojirama) June 29, 2015

Ready to march in the #Pride parade! #PrideSTL #LoveWins #Lutheran pic.twitter.com/dhJXxtNzMb
— Bethel Church ELCA (@BethelSTL_Org) June 28, 2015

Napa Lutheran church is flying the rainbow flag for Pride! #LoveIsGreaterThan religious dogma pic.twitter.com/4Q0O295i0p
— Sophia Cole (@sofeacola) June 15, 2015

See you at the Pride Parade in Seattle. Immanuel Lutheran will be there!
— Immanuel Lutheran (@ImmanuelSeattle) June 26, 2015

From Gustavus Adolphus College -

Come see the Gustavus booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Loring Park, Minneapolis. The Gustavus booth will be...
Posted by Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday, June 26, 2015

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'The ELCA is a Political and Social Activist Group With a Specific Cultural Agenda'

3/10/2015

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Every once in awhile, in the comment section under an article or blog you come across a comment by someone that is so good you want to share it. That happened to me this week while I was reading a Michael Rinehart, Bishop of the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, blog. Bishop Rinehart is extremely liberal politically and theologically. Under a recent death penalty focused blog by Bishop Rinehart I found this gem:

Linda writes "...The fundamental issue is that the ELCA is a political and social activist group with a specific cultural agenda. The ELCA pastors are required to pledge loyalty to the organization itself as well as to the rightly preaching Gospel and rightly administering the sacraments. When they find those two at odds, there is tremendous pressure placed upon the pastor with a threat of taking him off the roster and never issuing another call. If a faithful Lutheran pastor disagrees with the Synod bishop, he runs the risk of being labelled schismatic and pulled from the clergy roster if he won’t toe the mark. The hierarchy manages that change and advocates for it, and waits for the orthodox to leave (without their buildings, and preferably quietly) or just to age out. The ELCA seminaries teach symbolic and allegorical reading of Scriptures, although they don’t call it that, and they have an agenda of radical feminism and full participation for homosexual practitioners to be pastors and administer and take part in the sacramental life of the church.

Surveys are undertaken of the congregations not to determine what the faithful need to be reminded of or grounded in, but to change church teaching based on what people are already doing and already believe in practice. We actually had a young 30-something woman who was a member of our former small ELCA church state that she believed we could get more members if we didn’t require our members to be baptized as our constitution provided. Indeed. Let’s be so inclusive that we are no longer the Lutheran or even a Christian church at all. Radical hospitality. My brother calls it the Burger King of churches: have it your way at ELCA.

At present the ELCA is having congregations read and participate about what they believe and practice regarding Holy Communion. I believe this will eventually result in a policy statement which captures what most people believe and are already doing, rather than the ELCA actually bothering to catechize the faithful with confessional Lutheran teachings and correct any errors in understanding and/or practice regarding the sacrament. They will not want to reinforcing Lutheran teaching that Holy Communion is a sacrament for the baptized who believe, and that even believers must be rightly disposed to participate or should refrain (or be denied the sacrament if the pastor has knowledge).

Now the saying goes that the ELCA practices radical hospitality – ALL means ALL regardless of their understanding of Holy Communion. No matter that Scripture teaches that when you eat and drink of the Body and Blood of Christ without being properly disposed that you are bringing judgment onto yourself. That’s just one example, albeit a pretty big one, I know.

ELCA.
Asking people what they already practice and believe to ok it is hardly Evangelical.
Not calling them to learn or abide by the confessions is hardly Lutheran.
Advocating worldly social and political agendas is not being Church.

About the only word of truth left in the ELCA, then, is the last one. America.

It is true that it’s located in the United States of America.

I am waiting for the call for the Gospel rightly preached to be deemed hate speech by the culture at large. It’s coming. ELCA will soon follow and the rightly preached Gospel, the fullness of the Word, will be silenced within the ELCA churches by discipline of individual members by the Synod (this used to be done at the congregational level. In 2013 the ELCA changed the constitution to provide that the Synod now undertakes that discipline. Apparently the congregations can no longer be trusted to administer such member discipline any longer. After all, they may not toe the party line at the congregational level. But the Synod surely will.

All the beautiful Lutheran language in the well-drafted and crafted ELCA constitution has been relegated to symbolic and/ or ceremonial status in the church. Many ELCA...are persons of good faith, but it’s just not the Lutheran or the Christian faith except in name and symbol and outward ceremony. The substance has been stripped. Nobody preaches about original sin or even sinning unless its about “sinful structures” that promote some -ism, take your pick. Like patriarchy in our culture. That is a sinful, oppressive thing that only radical feminism can make right. It’s all about inclusivity, moral relativism and the historical-critical method which sounds like a good contextual way to read the Bible and allow its truths to come through. Instead, it is the leadership’s way of teaching seminarians to dismantle Biblical truths one by one in study, all in favor of the wisdom of the age.

By the resounding failure of pastoral and theological leadership in the Human Sexuality study, I fully expect gender fluidity and gender bias studies to be commissioned within the ELCA. After much time and money expended by a future task force the ELCA will teach...that God did NOT make them male and female, and that the term eunuch in the Bible is a pejorative term that refers to and perpetuates fear of the stranger or 'other' from biblical times and perpetuates transphobia. If you disagree you will be called transphobic, even though the only thing you fear is that the Gospel is no longer rightly preached in your church.

I only wish that I were writing this tongue-in-cheek. It’s the reason we led our church out of the ELCA and joined the LCMC. Peace and blessings to you." (read here)

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Real Church Leadership

3/2/2013

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From Pope Benedict:

"The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society. 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."

"In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty. One must refrain from any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws and, as far as possible, from material cooperation on the level of their application."

"When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral. When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is already in force, the Catholic politician must oppose it in the ways that are possible for him and make his opposition known; it is his duty to witness to the truth."

http://secretinformationclub.com/pope-benedict-on-homosexual-marriage

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Who Decides Marriage

9/8/2012

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Who Decides Marriage from pastorstudy on GodTube.

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Petition for the Iowa Marriage Amendment

2/22/2012

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If you're an Iowan who supports traditional marriage please take some time to print and sign the “Petition for the Iowa Marriage Amendment.” The petition says, “We oppose the Iowa Supreme Court’s aggressive efforts to redefine marriage in Iowa.
We the People of Iowa call upon Iowa’s legislators to Let Us Vote on the Iowa Marriage Amendment to restore one man, one woman marriage, by passing it in the 2012 legislative session.” (They are no longer gathering signatures)

For more information about the Iowa Marriage Amendment and the petition see http://www.thefamilyleader.com/action-center/luv-iowa

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He Led the Recommendation to Reject God's Will

12/18/2010

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Rev. Peter Strommen played a major role in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America continuing on the path of rejection of God’s written word.

Rev. Strommen “served as chairman of the Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Studies on Sexuality, which made a recommendation on gay and lesbian clergy – a topic that has divided many among the church, nationally and locally.” (read here) These recommendations led to the ELCA Churchwide Council voting to ordain practicing homosexuals.

It seems the good pastor’s church is currently undergoing huge financial struggles (read here), in large part because of the Strommen led task force's wicked recommendations, no doubt.

I pray that Rev. Strommen would confess his sin and repent for his part in the ELCA thumbing it's nose at God and forcing evil on 4 million ELCA members.

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ELCA Synod Bishop Makes Admission

12/9/2010

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Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop Tom Aitken (Northeast Minnesota Synod) recently met with the members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crosby, MN, over the congregation's concern about the troubling teachings, beliefs and policies of the denomination.

The Brainerd Dispatch newspaper reports that during a question and answer session "one person asked for scriptural support for positive affirmation of same-sex relationships, to which Aitken simply replied, 'There are not any.'" (read here)

We all know that that is the correct answer, and this bishop admitted it.

We can rightfully say that the ELCA made a calculated decision to go against God with the denomination's 2009 decisions to "unsin" homosexual relations. If the ELCA can, with full knowledge, tell God He is wrong. . .why would any Christian congregation continue to be yoked together with them?

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ELCA Mega Church Pastor Mike Housholder Attacks Fundamentalists in Sermon

Heretical Pastor Rises in ELCA Leadership

Reverend Bolz-Weber leaves her ELCA Lutheran congregation in hands of homosexual pastor "married" to a drag queen

The ELCA's Only Position on Homosexuality

Pacific Lutheran University's Abominable Play

People Change

Dr. Martin Luther King and Same Sex Attraction

Elca Celebrates Sin

'The ELCA is a Political and Social Activist Group With a Specific Cultural Agenda'

Real Church Leadership

Who Decides Marriage

Petition for the Iowa Marriage Amendment

He Led the Recommendation to Reject God's Will

ELCA Synod Bishop Makes Admission

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