I left the ELCA after 33 years. Their position on the lack of inerrancy of the Bible, Gay marriages, Gay pastors, Abortion and Universalism caused me to leave. I am a member of an LCMS Church and love it. I pray the ELCA will repent from their distortion of God’s word.
That’s why I stopped going to church completely for a long time. It just broke my heart. I felt truly abandoned by the church I was baptized in. I miss it though. I miss the sung liturgy. I’m so glad I know it. I can still sing it word for word. Sad 😞
@@ellen823ful left Elca after70 years when their pastor said Mohammed’s allah was the same as God, please try the LCMS if you need the sung liturgy but also true preaching of Gospel , adherence to the Word and sacraments . Used to be a feminist but male LCMS pastors ARE faithful loving shepherds recognizing their lady members gifts and they know the difference between God and Mohammed’s allah
Me, too. The ELCA is no longer a church. It is an arm of the radical leftists in the Democratic Party. I truly loved my parish. I could not remain there in good conscience.
I was a member of the ELCA for 47 years. The day the liberal female preacher railed against ‘Christian Nationalists’, I found that my heart longed for God’s word. I found the Wisconsin Lutheran Church and now my faith is stronger than ever.
Pastor Bryan, I see your compassion in this message and your labor of love, the Lord Jesus reward your efforts in bring many sons and daughters out of false teachings to the true way of life and immortality in Jesus name.
I commend this pastor. Apparently Pr Wolfmueller left the ELCA as I. Many faithful pastors remained so please, please do not think my following comments are directed at those faithful ELCA Lutheran pastors who remain to tend God’s people. I want to make that clear at the start. One can make enemies in speaking out as Pr Wolfmueller has. Some colleagues will think one a traitor to ordination vows, whether one speaks out and /or leaves the church. This is sad. But the ELCA is so politically charged there is little room for theological discourse, were that to be allowed at synod assemblies or elsewhere. Sadly, those who bring up any Biblical teachings on the floor of Synod are sometimes greeted with scorn and heckling. It’s a tough sell in these god-less times. When I left, things hadn’t come to a full head as yet, at least in my synod. It wasn’t the fullness of time for the parish as our people first needed to see where the synod would lead at that point. I thought it best to leave the parish after educating those wonderful folks in the Word and Holy Sacraments, Confessional statements, and Bible, thus allowing them to make their own decisions w/o my prejudice entering into it. In an odd way it was like a parent letting go. They were spiritual adults. I knew the ELCA would go left, but never dreamed that it would be as radical a turn as it was. The ELCA ,from its inception, incorporated cultural norms which is always highly dangerous for the church body. At its worse, cultural norms are anti-gospel and is antithetical to all that is true, right, and pure. Why? Because popular culture always has a dark side which is the playground of the devil. It’s been a tough road personally. But when I was chastised by colleagues and friends by using “antiquated” teachings no longer suitable in “today’s church” I knew the church I loved was dead. She had left her first love, Jesus Christ our Lord, and has satisfied her own depraved wants and needs by accepting the most immoral and shockingly perverse behavior society offers and baptizing it as good, right, and true. The devil loves that church trickery because he first developed it. Look at radical, leftist culture and ELCA and the two mirror one another so closely as to be one. But I still grieve. That’s what happens when you love something with all that you are. So kudos to this pastor! Keep fighting the good fight. Your brother and sisters in the faith support you and our Lord God awaits to give you the Crown of glory that he gives all who persevere in the One ,True Faith.
How many ELCA or NALC pastors have been indicted for interfering with US elections? Oops, that is a LCMS pastor involved in politics to intimidate volunteer election workers and now under legal indictment, yet supported by LCMS leaders,a bit ironic huh?
@@mpkropf5062 yet, LCMS us (by far) a minority in the Lutheran church. Perhaps it should spin off given it disagrees with about 77 million other Lutherans?
Very kind and true video, sir. I’m Catholic, but so glad you made this video. May God bless you and draw the ELCA and LCMS ever nearer to His holiness, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
@@mpkropf5062 Yes, I realize that. The LCMS is much closer to the Catholic Church in most ways. But, I pray that God guides both of them closer to Him. The ELCA just has a farther distance to go
I'm glad that folks like Pastor Wolfmueller are talking directly to our brothers and sisters who are most closely related to our own church body, so that we may keep striving for unity in the Gospel instead of division according to the whims of the world. It's encouraging to see hope for the Gospel win out over indifference to the lies embraced by our sister church body.
I never felt closer to Christ than when I walked into an ELCA Lutheran Church. I never felt more welcomed, befriended, and loved either. It's small, over 125 years old, and the liturgy is traditional. Our pastor is a woman who preaches the Gospel with wisdom, joy, and frankness. There are no politics in this church, only the Word of God and the love we share for the Lord. All are welcome to hear the Word of God and find Christ in their hearts.
@@couriersix7326 What you take from the Word is strictly your own. Just as the Baptist or the Orthodox takes their own from the Word. What the Lord intends from the Word is not yours, but His. I’d reckon based on what I take from the Word that you’d make better use of your time to look at the log in your eye than to judge whether this woman you don’t know is a Godly woman. She is more pure of heart and Godly of a woman than many men who presume themselves Godly above her or who proclaim that their subjective convictions about the Word and the Lord’s true intentions are the same. You have fingers God gave you that can just as easily learn to make better use of your time, like getting that log out of your eye. And for a mind so eager to leave their judgment online, you’d really make better use of that mind with introspection and a focus on your community than to use it for disparaging another community or person online. The latter is a path that leads nowhere sincere and changes no hearts.
Someone said to me one time, "You can't put God in a box." I responded with, "But God has put us in a box, the box of His Word." Woe to us if we should wander outside of those fences. Thx for your letter, P. Rose
My husband and I left the ELCA 14 years ago. It took us three years to leave. That time in our lives was full of spiritual sadness towards the ELCA and our church family. But when we did leave and returned to the LCMS , my tears turned from sadness to joy! I was home and worshiping with like Christians. Jesus is not a historical figure any more . Sunday school classes teach the bible stories. Communion is Christ's body and blood. In Christ , Bec
Thank you for this video. I was raised , confirmed and married in an ELCA church but we left years ago. The problem is the seminaries of this denomination. The fruit of their decisions is an exodus of members.
While it's always a little dangerous to bring up quotes from church fathers as a Lutheran, the ELCA's reticence to preach the full Law and Gospel reminds me of my favorite quote: "Nothing conquers except the truth, and the victory of truth is love." --St. Augustine Lying to your neighbor is not loving them; the truth, though it may in the moment sting, carries with it salvation from the sting of death itself; and consequently to deny your neighbor the truth of the Law and Gospel is neither loving nor Christian.
There is nothing dangerous at all about quoting church fathers as a Lutheran. It's often thought that Rome or the Eastern Orthodox have some sort of “corner” on the great church Fathers. But Lutherans have never believed this to be true. The Lutheran reformers drew upon the writings of the early church fathers to understand what the Christians of old believed and how they understood scripture, and to see how Rome had strayed from the catholic faith in certain areas. That is why every document in our confessions is supported by quotes of the early church fathers. We acknowledge the church fathers as an important authority, but not the ultimate authority, that would be the Bible alone. The Lutheran Church did not start in the 1500s, but is the continuation of the one catholic (universal) Church, including everyone who taught and believed the one catholic faith.
Very evangelical of you Pr. Wolfmueller. 30 years ago when I left the newly formed ELCA and became a confessional Lutheran in WELS, it was reported back to me that it was said, "There is no hope for people like him." (I contended in many discussions with my then pastor and the area bishop on weighty matters and Biblical inerrancy to no avail). God bless you pastor Dan from Timothy Lutheran church. I consider it a blessing to be mocked for my trust in the word of God, which is true, cannot lie and is unchanging. I hope it works true faith in you. Amen.
Thank you, Pr. Wolfmueller, for this heartfelt plea. Here's hoping members of ELCA congregations will take this in the compassionate spirit in which it was offered and also take you up on your challenge.
Well said Pastor. I grew up ELCA, left before being comfirmed, and ended up a Unitarian, then Atheist, and now a LCMS member for 17 years. Quite a jounrey it has been so far. Truth is so very difficult to articulate. Your video was well done, and I pray that ELCA finds a path back to confessional doctrine Chrisr be with you Pastor.
As an ELCA Lutheran, I am appalled by your condemnation of the ELCA's declarations. It is the LCMS that must repent! For example since men and women are imperfect, the Bible cannot be inerrant because men wrote down the Bible. Next Paul reflected the condescending attitude toward women at the time.
My wonderful sister and hubby attend an ELCA church. I hope and pray their pastors the kind you are referring to that rightly handles God's word. I think most laypeople wouldn't understand all this. They sure need our prayers and love. It breaks my heart.
I have been listening to tons and tons of podcasts et cetera over the last nearly 2 years, my job is awesome that way, and I have not, in that time, found anymore with more wisdom, knowledge, and compassion than Bryan Wolfmueller. Bryan, you have and are a gift from God, may he continue to bless you as you have blessed me and so many others.
I'm a little late to this conversation, but I'm curious what you would do with people who suffer from Disorders of Sexual Development like AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome)? That is when the adrenal gland in an XY embryo is sending out male androgens and testosterone to tell the embryo to develop into a male, but the signals are not received properly, and the embryo develops with a mix of male and female genitalia. In some cases, the person can look completely female, with a vagina and breasts, but no uterus or ovaries. Is that person a female because they look female on the outside, or are they male because they have the XY chromosomes?
As a woman 74 years in the WELS I am so very glad for the confessional Lutheran faith that has stayed so Strong. You offered copies of the Catechism for those requesting them. May I best bold Astoria suggest that of who say we are Lutheran get out our catechism for the dust shelf put them next to our Bibles and review all that we claim to believe. It is God's holy word that will make us strong in Him.
Great video Pastor! My question is this. Can there be good churches associated with not so good denominations? I was raised Southern Baptist but have recently found the Lutheran views to be more to my liking. I’ve recently joined an ELCA denomination church in my small little town. I know there are issues associated with the ELCA that leave blemishes on the Lutheran title, however I have not experienced these issues in my church. Male pastors (both junior and senior ) the messages are scriptural, politics are rarely discussed but most people accept that differences in politics do not change the love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Nothing screams “look how radical and progressive we are” in fact most of the congregation is fairly old. I do not have a LCMS near me and I want to find the right church for me and my family. Is it possible that a church can be under the umbrella of ELCA but not really take part in their tomfoolery? I love the church and the family and i find it hard to leave because people say how wrong the ELCA is but the wrongdoings do not seem to be present in my church. Thanks!
There are still faithful churches in the ELCA trapped in the church. That being said, to be in the ELCA means that you commune with the ELCA which is a very horrifying thing to tell you the truth, there is a church in San Francisco which is the seat of a bishop that practices witchcraft. If I were you I would look for WELS, LCMC, ELDONA, or an NALC church nearby if possible since you said there is no LCMS churches. That being said if there are none I would engage and challenge your pastor on his theological beliefs to make sure you are not being led by a false teacher. If it is a remnant (which does exist within the ELCA) that’s better than nothing.
I grew up Pentecostal and stopped attending church several years ago, just not really able to find a place I felt at home. A few months ago I decided to try a local ELCA church and I really like it. I didn’t know there were different synods at that time. I liked the people and traditional service. They are very involved with community outreach. They were very warm and kind to me when I first attended. At this point in my life, I feel like it’s where I should be. It is very close to my home. I’m not going to worry about the stances on certain issues unless I start hearing things being taught from the pulpit that are troubling. We say the Creed and ask for forgiveness for our sins. I think if you like your church and they love you and your family, you should keep going.
Awesome. Thanks Bryan for delivering such a well thought out, measured & loving response. And this video has been screen-recorded. (In case UA-cam labels it “hate speech”). 🙄
Can you imagine if Luther had UA-cam to share his theological disputes? I really don’t think he would have been this nice. 😂 Also, if this video doesn’t reach them you could always try nailing a transcript of it to some church doors? But really, this is an important, well-articulated video. I hope the invitation to open a dialogue is received and accepted. Thank you for all you do in the church, pastor!
Pastor Wolfmueller, in light of what just took place at the UMC General Conference or whatever they called that hoopla recently in Charlotte, NC, can you please do a “Dear UMC” video similar to this one? Would be educational for many as was this Dear ELCA outstanding piece of four years ago. TY!!!
They are. LMSC is on their radar because most just can't envision not being Lutheran. Its going to be quieter than the waves of departures from recent past, can't speculate on the numbers but the ones who are will cripple some churches at the local level. Leadership should be very, very concerned but I assure you, they are not.
15 yrs here. Left heartbroken but knew I did my best to try to inform and educate people so they could stand firm in the Truth of our Lord Jesus Christ in the future. Have the battle scars to prove it. It was so painful to go.
“But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””
Thank you Pastor for a very interesting discussion. We are Catholic but we can perfectly understand how someone can be Lutheran and in the LCMS. Of course, we do have a different understanding of ecclesiology and other issues regarding justification and works, but can perfectly respect Lutheranism. Some of our closest friends are ELCA , and we love them dearly. In fact, the wife of the couple is a retired ELCA pastor. We don't very much speak about religion other than to say Grace together when we share a meal and they have attended church with us when they were visiting us. However, The voice of God is supposed to be the voice of the people, not the other way around. Vox Dei, Vox populi not vox populi, vox Dei. I do worry about the relative laxity on moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion in the ELCA. Now of course, you probably worry more about me as a Catholic but this is still on my mind. Anyway thank you for the video. You have a new subscriber. God Bless.
LOL As a member of a WELS congregation, any WELS pastor would speak to the exclusivity of the Bible, rather than to any inclusivity for any religion or behavior. Not all things can be simultaneously true, but rather that the Bible speaks to an exclusive truth.
I love the ELCA and have for over 60 years. They are welcoming, know the love of God, and have served my family well my entire life, even though the LCMS does not accept me as a Lutheran. They let me know when I visited their church and was told I could not Commune there after being a Lutheran for 35 years.
The issue as always it seems, is the hermeneutic through and with which one presumes and then approaches the concept of humanity and it's relation to our Creator. That approach brings certain paradigms to the interpretation and understanding of scripture and hence, to one's understanding of doctrine and how it forms and shapes their place in the world.
It should be clear, God hates sin. What is sin? Disobedience to God. Does your personal opinion have any affect on the foregoing? NO!!! Any "Christian" who doesn't understand that is no Christian at all and in need of repentance.
Great video, Pastor! As of a few minutes ago, the LCMS locator site is no longer allowing to sort by distance from a given zip code. The worker search lets you zoom down geographically to the state level only. Kind of tough to find an ordained minister close by using the worker search. The church search at least allows you to search "n miles from a zip code", and most churches have an ordained minister. The church listing will have links to pastors that have their contact information. Unfortunately, you can no longer sort the results by distance from your zip code. Still, better than nothing.
The link above goes directly to the worker search, if you click back to the main "locator" area you can search by church which has the option to do zip code + miles.
Go to Google maps and type in "LCMS." If a church in your area says LCMS on its website, the location of that church on your map will pop up, as well as a link to the website and phone number.
I grew up WELS but today, I find there are parts of each synod or denomination that I agree with. There were things that I was taught that I don't agree with. My point is that I like the pastor's insight.
Thank you for this video! Having left the ELCA church just a couple months ago, I’m in agreement with tour thoughts. I attended a “reconciled in Christ” meeting regarding inclusion for LGBTQ persons. They presented a short video with “priests” of every sexual preference, except heterosexual. There recite Paul,”All have fallen short of the law” as their basis for inclusivity and they dread the word...... judgement! ELCA has been compromised and infiltrated unfortunately. Thanks again for your words of truth
Perhaps they should dread the word judgment. Of course, eternal judgment is God's alone. In the meantime, we are called to discern false teachings... Faithful pastors like Bryan Wolfmueller help point us in the right direction. Thank you, pastor, and God bless...
Plumber Bear I'm with you. The clergy drove me NUTS with this stuff. In the Lutheran tradition, I would go to them and ask, "What is the scriptural basis for these things you are claiming ?". I would either get silence or a long winded no answer answer which would contradict itself !!!
I am a member in an ELCA affiliated church. I am disturbed about the places that this church is going more and more. Most recently, I am disturbed by the effect of "woke" theology presented, as you have stated here. My church has been raising funds for our youth to attend the upcoming youth event in New Orleans in July. Looking at videos from the 2018 event, I see what our church has paraded out, including a child who has "transitioned" to another gender identity (with the help of his proud mother). Then this is celebrated as "brave." (As an aside, I have a nephew who "transitioned" to a female identity, including the drugs and surgery to suit that end.) I have talked with some of the parents of the sons and daughters being sent to the 2024 event about this disturbing trend. Even more disturbing, I find that the speakers for this upcoming event can be found nowhere. One of the parents shared that they had even considered leaving this church to go to the LCMS. The thing that stopped them was the "exclusion" of the eucharist. I am the mother of a son who left the Lutheran church to become a traditional, faithful Roman Catholic. He the only one of my three children who even attends church services, much less practice their faith. He isn't all in with their "progressive" pope, having preferred Pope Benedict. but he loves God and does serve his neighbors outwardly and faithfully. I have been watching and listening to LCMS podcasters and UA-cam videos lately, and find them to make more sense to my understanding of God through the scriptures and the common sense that he gifted me. I am tempted to do as you said and talk with an LCMS pastor, but my husband and I, having been members of this ELCA congregation for over 40 years, are hesitant to leave our "church family. (It was LCA affiliated when we joined. Also, my formative years were spent in an ALC Lutheran church.) I am not asking for advice. I only want to thank you for helping me to understand confessional Lutheranism. I will continue to listen and learn from you and others. God knows my heart, and maybe someday he will lead me to a church that treasures both God's law and the Gospel.
Everything you say here could be said to my former denomination: the PCUSA. The evangelicals have mostly exited over the past five or so years (or five decades if we consider the formation of the PCA and EPC in the 70's and 80's respectively), so all that remains is a coalition of moderates and liberals. But the liberals clearly have the upper hand and are obviously more active and engaged in the denomination than the moderates. They set the tone and the agenda at each general assembly, not to mention the presbyteries and seminaries. And each general assembly gets more and more social justice driven, including the wide plethora of "identity" issues. The most recent GA was almost nothing but social justice, defined with leftist categories of course. The evangelical voice has been extinguished.
Out of respect for the people who responded to my original post, I want to give everyone an update. I spoke on the phone to the pastor of a Missouri Synod Church in my area late last week, we set up a time to have coffee for this coming Thursday. It was a brief conversation but the tone was very positive I felt. Additionally my parents were also leaving ELCA attended services at a Missouri Synod Church near their residence earlier today and were made to feel very welcome. That's been a BIG relief to us !!!!! Our interactionswith Missouri Synod in the mid 90's were maybe not nearly as positive. So we just weren't sure what kind of reaction we would get. I'm relieved to say that my real-life interactions with MSLC, have been as welcoming and positive as the the interactions I've had with with your members through the internets.
Can anyone explain to me why the Lutheran churches can't seem to reverse the decline of their denominations? The ELCA is literally hemorrhaging as are all progressive denominations but whilst breakaway conservative Anglican denominations, independent Baptist groups, the PCA, Church of Christ, and free Methodists are all flourishing, the Missouri and Wisconsin synods are declining albeit at a much slower pace than the ELCA. What ails Lutheranism in North America?
The speaker is not exegeting scripture. He is making isogetical implications about the first commandment outside of its historical and theological setting.
I struggled but have separated from the ELCA. They are a liberal socialist organization not a religious organization. Religion is about saving souls not supporting agendas. I'm heading to the Missouri Synod.
I’m in the elca and planning on becoming orthodox now, one of the speakers at the elca youth gathering was trans and said God made her trans but God makes no mistakes, you were to be a man. They support gay pride yet God says it is sin. It is sad the elca has changed so drastically
This is why Christianity is so divided, people question God’s law just because people don’t feel comfortable with it. I’m not trying to make it sound harsh, but we should follow God’s law as Christians, because it’s the right thing to do, even though we might not fully understand it.
I was baptized and confirmed in the ALC. I also joined the LCMS in my 20s and early 30s because that was nearest congregation to me. The politics made no difference to me because I liked the people and the minister of the LCMS congregation I belonged to at the time. In time, I reverted to the ELCA because of the same reason. I am not aligned with most of the LCMS thinking. Nor will I always agree with my fellow ELCA brethren. Thus, I have the best of both worlds. I know enough that I don't know enough but strong in my faith based on my early teaching of my mother, SS teachers, and many wonderful ministers of the Word in both the old ALC, the LCMS, and the ELCA. Bonhoeffer was pointing the way to a denomination-less theology based on God's grace and love. That is the most critical area for me. Ministers have their own individual spin of the Word. I will go my own way with God and work within the system of the ELCA since I think no one should be denied the last meal at the Lord's table simply because of a set of lables as ELCA , LCMS, or any other label.
You are the only commenter in here to be reasonable. I don't like the way some congregations in ELCA are currently run, but I Don't want to join the Misery synod either. Or any other wacko group of haters or repressors.
A follow up on joining a new church would be great (I'll check your other videos). I was raised in the ELCA and can't in good conscience support it anymore or raise a family within it as I had planned :/
check out www.lcms.org for a church near your home. But you should expect to take an adult instruction class (length of class varies), not because we consider you dumb or deficient in any way, but it serves as a great way to get to know your pastor, ask questions of him, and well simply everyone of us should consider ourselves catechumens in need of learning.
@@rev.steveandrews2227 Oh I have one locally I'll be attending as soon as I can and a few others within reasonable distance I will check. Just what to expect from the introduction process both from a technical aspect of getting in the closed communion, but I think more importantly what it is like joining a new church from a social change perspective. Getting used to new people, how to tell a good church from a bad church etc. I think what I want to emphasize with the ELCA is that in their embrace of social progressivism they are disenfranchisizing and harming their own congregations significantly. I don't imagine they actually care about that but I consider it a significant slap in the face to disrupt our lives and plans in this way. Do you have any thoughts on what to look for in a church or references I could lookup? I do have a few LCMS churches (and a WELS though I wasn't leaning that way) to choose from luckily :) Thank you Reverend.
@@Kingcob7 In regards to closed communion, the appropriate step when you visit a congregation would be to speak with the pastor prior to the service. They will discuss with you what you believe the Lord's Supper is, and let you know if you can receive the Lord's Supper that day, or if there's a way to do so in the near future (such as going through a new member class). If you don't understand the idea of closed communion, let me know, and I'd be happy to discuss it. If my family and I were looking for a new congregation, here's the things we'd do: 1) see what LCMS churches are around us (you've already done); 2) check out their websites: you can gain a lot there from service times and types, to seeing what kind of things they're about, I'd want the website to admit they're LCMS (not all do), and be willing to share what they believe, teach, and confess. 3) visit in person. Key thing here: did the pastor share Law and Gospel? That is, in the service, did I recognize and repent of my sin and hear the good news that I'm forgiven? Were my young children welcome to be in the service with me, so they too can hear God's love for them and begin to learn how to have this as a regular part of their life? Is the pastor's sermon preached on God's Word? Was I able to attend Bible study? Did we talk about God's Word in Bible study (seems like a no-brainer, but not all do!)? This is my short list of musts. A Church that stands (or falls) on the truth of God's Word. If these things are there, it's a good place to be. You'll regularly hear God's Word for you (and your family) of forgiveness, life, and salvation. My hope is, that would be true of each of the congregations you've mentioned are an option. You mentioned people/social things. There's value there, certainly, but look at it this way: every one of our families is broken and messed up with drama we'd rather avoid. In finding a new church to call home, you're also looking at your brothers and sisters in Christ, a family. They won't be perfect anywhere you go. You're looking for a place to call home, where you will then learn to walk together as you receive God's gifts in His house and then share those things with your community around you.
@@Kingcob7 It seems like their congregants had no real say in what leadership does. These resolutions to recently be passed, I feel most congregants did not support. At any rate, I SHOCKED at the news coming out of this assembly. Wasn't an easy decision but I'm gone.
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other god BEFORE ME. That is not the same thing as "I am the ONLY god." Your letter to the ELCA reflects intellectual arrogance, not "certainty." You may have left the ELCA 20 or so years ago, but I left the LCMS 50 years ago because what I found there was a narrow-minded intolerance and an unacceptable literalness that even as a 13-year old I knew was wrong. I will be seeking ordination in Word and Service in the ELCA, and perhaps when I do, I will start creating video letters to the LCMS that punctures what is, in reality, a fundamentalism that is ahistorical.
Do you think there are other gods? There is always Isaiah 45:5, "I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God." Send me the links to those videos.
@@PastorBryanWolfmueller I think there is one God, and the Judeo-Christian version is one image of that God. Joseph Campbell described anthropologist Adolph Bastian's differentiation between "elementary ideas" and "folk ideas": "these common themes that come out of the collective unconscious he calls elementary ideas. But they always come to expression in specific social environments and it’s historically and geographically differentiated. He called those differentiations Volkergedanken, or ethnic or folk ideas…. In India, in art criticism, these same two aspects of images are recognized. The folk aspect, which simply has to do with people and things in stories and time and space is called desi, which means local, popular. On the other hand the elementary ideas, when the diety is represented, is called marga, the path…. So the desi, the folk, guide you into life, and the marga, the elementary, guides you to your own inward life....The elementary ideas do not change. Where do they come from? They come from the soul. The origin is the soul of man. Marga. The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (Edited with an introduction by Phil Cousineau), pp 45-46 I choose to follow Jesus because I find that image of God promotes a way of living that contributes positively to creating the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, which I believe is my task. Similarly, if someone else finds similar power in Allah, or the Hindu gods, I have no issue with them: they all lead to the same God.
I left ELCA after they got inappropriately political antithetical to the Bible. Lukewarm statements about abortion etc. Only the Catholic Church is openly speaking about Right to Life and ProLife work.
Raul Griego exactly. And crazies like the Episcopal church are "blessing" abortion mills. Ultimately I left the Lutheran church because of that issue they were silent about. Coming into Catholicism now and I can't find a parish without some ProLife ministry.
I love LCMS. I love the theology. But the people aren't welcoming at all to me. They are cold even. There are donuts after. The lady who passes them out...I say what a great service, right? I get daggers. I say thank you, she doesn't look up at all. They are all Trump supporters also. I can't see how we would support anyone who would be so vulgar as to say he'd grab a woman by the... well, you know. The ELCA is doing this because Lutheranism is not going to survive at the current numbers. They are reaching out to keep things alive. Their bishop is a face. But dang it, they are nice when you go there. Not love bombing but cordial at least.
This pastor is kind, intelligent, and knowledgable. But the disdain, disrespect, and hate of regular LCMS members toward the ELCA is disappointing and shocking.
I think the framing of this question about the church and LGBTQ people as a question of law versus tolerance is misplaced. What is appropriate, as I believe the ELCA has shown in this regard is indeed a humbled response to the modern understanding about the nature of human sexuality. We know today that there are people, such as myself, who feel a strong sexual and emotional attraction towards people of their own sex, men towards men, and women towards women, and, except for bisexuals of course, not to the opposite sex. That is to say gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. We also have slowly learned over the past century that such people are neither by nature criminals, nor mentally ill. Instead they are people with a natural inclination (perhaps God given inclination) towards a life that is fundamentally incompatible with heterosexual marriage, who exist within church communities and who need well thought out, scientifically rigorous, and indeed sensitive answers to the questions that they have in navigating faith and questions of sexuality. The ELCA is providing exactly these sort of answers.
I left the ELCA after 33 years. Their position on the lack of inerrancy of the Bible, Gay marriages, Gay pastors, Abortion and Universalism caused me to leave. I am a member of an LCMS Church and love it. I pray the ELCA will repent from their distortion of God’s word.
I've been worshipping in the LCMS for eight years now!
That’s why I stopped going to church completely for a long time. It just broke my heart. I felt truly abandoned by the church I was baptized in. I miss it though. I miss the sung liturgy. I’m so glad I know it. I can still sing it word for word. Sad 😞
@@ellen823ful left Elca after70 years when their pastor said Mohammed’s allah was the same as God, please try the LCMS if you need the sung liturgy but also true preaching of Gospel , adherence to the Word and sacraments . Used to be a feminist but male LCMS pastors ARE faithful loving shepherds recognizing their lady members gifts and they know the difference between God and Mohammed’s allah
I have left the ELCA. I’ll never go back
Me, too. The ELCA is no longer a church. It is an arm of the radical leftists in the Democratic Party. I truly loved my parish. I could not remain there in good conscience.
Same here. My late mother would be hugely disappointed in what her much-beloved church has become.
As a fellow ex member of the ELCA, I still pray for the healing to be able to speak the truth in love like you did.
"God's Law is not hate speech . . . " Wonderful statement!
It certainly is.
Some of it clearly is Hateful
No it's not, but the church quite often has been very hateful.
@@wayhollobj36"Without an hate for which threatens our love, our love is an empty catchphrase"
This video helped be decide which Church was right for me.
I love the surety and simplicity of LCMS.
Simple minds do love those things.
Having left the ELCA three years ago, you've articulated my criticism better than I ever could. God bless
I was a member of the ELCA for 47 years. The day the liberal female preacher railed against ‘Christian Nationalists’, I found that my heart longed for God’s word. I found the Wisconsin Lutheran Church and now my faith is stronger than ever.
Pastor Bryan, I see your compassion in this message and your labor of love, the Lord Jesus reward your efforts in bring many sons and daughters out of false teachings to the true way of life and immortality in Jesus name.
My heart aches as I see the ELCA moving away from the Bible and into politics.
I commend this pastor. Apparently Pr Wolfmueller left the ELCA as I. Many faithful pastors remained so please, please do not think my following comments are directed at those faithful ELCA Lutheran pastors who remain to tend God’s people. I want to make that clear at the start.
One can make enemies in speaking out as Pr Wolfmueller has. Some colleagues will think one a traitor to ordination vows, whether one speaks out and /or leaves the church. This is sad. But the ELCA is so politically charged there is little room for theological discourse, were that to be allowed at synod assemblies or elsewhere. Sadly, those who bring up any Biblical teachings on the floor of Synod are sometimes greeted with scorn and heckling. It’s a tough sell in these god-less times.
When I left, things hadn’t come to a full head as yet, at least in my synod. It wasn’t the fullness of time for the parish as our people first needed to see where the synod would lead at that point. I thought it best to leave the parish after educating those wonderful folks in the Word and Holy Sacraments, Confessional statements, and Bible, thus allowing them to make their own decisions w/o my prejudice entering into it. In an odd way it was like a parent letting go. They were spiritual adults.
I knew the ELCA would go left, but never dreamed that it would be as radical a turn as it was. The ELCA ,from its inception,
incorporated cultural norms which is always highly dangerous for the church body. At its worse, cultural norms are anti-gospel and is antithetical to all that is true, right, and pure. Why? Because popular culture always has a dark side which is the playground of the devil.
It’s been a tough road personally. But when I was chastised by colleagues and friends by using “antiquated” teachings no longer suitable in “today’s church” I knew the church I loved was dead. She had left her first love, Jesus Christ our Lord, and has satisfied her own depraved wants and needs by accepting the most immoral and shockingly perverse behavior society offers and baptizing it as good, right, and true. The devil loves that church trickery because he first developed it. Look at radical, leftist culture and ELCA and the two mirror one another so closely as to be one.
But I still grieve. That’s what happens when you love something with all that you are.
So kudos to this pastor! Keep fighting the good fight. Your brother and sisters in the faith support you and our Lord God awaits to give you the Crown of glory that he gives all who persevere in the One ,True Faith.
The eclc has jumped on the united Nations climate train the safe and orderly migration compact.
How many ELCA or NALC pastors have been indicted for interfering with US elections? Oops, that is a LCMS pastor involved in politics to intimidate volunteer election workers and now under legal indictment, yet supported by LCMS leaders,a bit ironic huh?
@@mpkropf5062 yet, LCMS us (by far) a minority in the Lutheran church. Perhaps it should spin off given it disagrees with about 77 million other Lutherans?
Very kind and true video, sir. I’m Catholic, but so glad you made this video. May God bless you and draw the ELCA and LCMS ever nearer to His holiness, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
@@mpkropf5062 Yes, I realize that. The LCMS is much closer to the Catholic Church in most ways. But, I pray that God guides both of them closer to Him. The ELCA just has a farther distance to go
Very compassionate of you to address this church body instead of just ignoring them. Peace
I'm glad that folks like Pastor Wolfmueller are talking directly to our brothers and sisters who are most closely related to our own church body, so that we may keep striving for unity in the Gospel instead of division according to the whims of the world. It's encouraging to see hope for the Gospel win out over indifference to the lies embraced by our sister church body.
I did not leave the ELCA, it left me.
I never felt closer to Christ than when I walked into an ELCA Lutheran Church. I never felt more welcomed, befriended, and loved either. It's small, over 125 years old, and the liturgy is traditional. Our pastor is a woman who preaches the Gospel with wisdom, joy, and frankness. There are no politics in this church, only the Word of God and the love we share for the Lord. All are welcome to hear the Word of God and find Christ in their hearts.
A woman who blatantly breaks God's rules for who can be pastor of His church is no Godly woman.
@@couriersix7326 What you take from the Word is strictly your own. Just as the Baptist or the Orthodox takes their own from the Word. What the Lord intends from the Word is not yours, but His. I’d reckon based on what I take from the Word that you’d make better use of your time to look at the log in your eye than to judge whether this woman you don’t know is a Godly woman. She is more pure of heart and Godly of a woman than many men who presume themselves Godly above her or who proclaim that their subjective convictions about the Word and the Lord’s true intentions are the same. You have fingers God gave you that can just as easily learn to make better use of your time, like getting that log out of your eye. And for a mind so eager to leave their judgment online, you’d really make better use of that mind with introspection and a focus on your community than to use it for disparaging another community or person online. The latter is a path that leads nowhere sincere and changes no hearts.
God bless you Pastor Brian M.
Someone said to me one time, "You can't put God in a box." I responded with, "But God has put us in a box, the box of His Word." Woe to us if we should wander outside of those fences. Thx for your letter, P. Rose
My husband and I left the ELCA 14 years ago. It took us three years to leave. That time in our lives was full of spiritual sadness towards the ELCA and our church family. But when we did leave and returned to the LCMS , my tears turned from sadness to joy! I was home and worshiping with like Christians. Jesus is not a historical figure any more . Sunday school classes teach the bible stories. Communion is Christ's body and blood. In Christ , Bec
"The Holy Spirit is no skeptic" - Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will
Thank you for this. I just gave a talk at an ELCA church. It is important to involve the whole Body of Christ over the issues at hand.
as always excellent and caring praise the LORD and the word he gave us
Thank you for this video. I was raised , confirmed and married in an ELCA church but we left years ago. The problem is the seminaries of this denomination. The fruit of their decisions is an exodus of members.
What are you a member of now?
While it's always a little dangerous to bring up quotes from church fathers as a Lutheran, the ELCA's reticence to preach the full Law and Gospel reminds me of my favorite quote:
"Nothing conquers except the truth, and the victory of truth is love." --St. Augustine
Lying to your neighbor is not loving them; the truth, though it may in the moment sting, carries with it salvation from the sting of death itself; and consequently to deny your neighbor the truth of the Law and Gospel is neither loving nor Christian.
There is nothing dangerous at all about quoting church fathers as a Lutheran. It's often thought that Rome or the Eastern Orthodox have some sort of “corner” on the great church Fathers. But Lutherans have never believed this to be true. The Lutheran reformers drew upon the writings of the early church fathers to understand what the Christians of old believed and how they understood scripture, and to see how Rome had strayed from the catholic faith in certain areas. That is why every document in our confessions is supported by quotes of the early church fathers. We acknowledge the church fathers as an important authority, but not the ultimate authority, that would be the Bible alone. The Lutheran Church did not start in the 1500s, but is the continuation of the one catholic (universal) Church, including everyone who taught and believed the one catholic faith.
WOW, Well said! It was very kindness and loving through Jesus Christ. Aman
A beautiful example of speaking the truth in love. This is loving, to speak the truth.
Very evangelical of you Pr. Wolfmueller. 30 years ago when I left the newly formed ELCA and became a confessional Lutheran in WELS, it was reported back to me that it was said, "There is no hope for people like him." (I contended in many discussions with my then pastor and the area bishop on weighty matters and Biblical inerrancy to no avail). God bless you pastor Dan from Timothy Lutheran church. I consider it a blessing to be mocked for my trust in the word of God, which is true, cannot lie and is unchanging. I hope it works true faith in you. Amen.
Back in the 80s when our church voted to join the ELCA, my mother said they were too liberal. Boy was she spot on!
Thank you, Pr. Wolfmueller, for this heartfelt plea. Here's hoping members of ELCA congregations will take this in the compassionate spirit in which it was offered and also take you up on your challenge.
Well said Pastor. I grew up ELCA, left before being comfirmed, and ended up a Unitarian, then Atheist, and now a LCMS member for 17 years. Quite a jounrey it has been so far.
Truth is so very difficult to articulate. Your video was well done, and I pray that ELCA finds a path back to confessional doctrine
Chrisr be with you Pastor.
As an ELCA Lutheran, I am appalled by your condemnation of the ELCA's declarations. It is the LCMS that must repent! For example since men and women are imperfect, the Bible cannot be inerrant because men wrote down the Bible. Next Paul reflected the condescending attitude toward women at the time.
So excellent in so many ways. Amen to those prayers. May many come to know the transcendent beauty of Jesus.
My wonderful sister and hubby attend an ELCA church. I hope and pray their pastors the kind you are referring to that rightly handles God's word. I think most laypeople wouldn't understand all this. They sure need our prayers and love. It breaks my heart.
I have been listening to tons and tons of podcasts et cetera over the last nearly 2 years, my job is awesome that way, and I have not, in that time, found anymore with more wisdom, knowledge, and compassion than Bryan Wolfmueller. Bryan, you have and are a gift from God, may he continue to bless you as you have blessed me and so many others.
This is an earnest and compassionate appeal.
I'm a little late to this conversation, but I'm curious what you would do with people who suffer from Disorders of Sexual Development like AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome)? That is when the adrenal gland in an XY embryo is sending out male androgens and testosterone to tell the embryo to develop into a male, but the signals are not received properly, and the embryo develops with a mix of male and female genitalia. In some cases, the person can look completely female, with a vagina and breasts, but no uterus or ovaries. Is that person a female because they look female on the outside, or are they male because they have the XY chromosomes?
Say hello.
Very informative and faith strengthening. God bless you Pastor
As a woman 74 years in the WELS I am so very glad for the confessional Lutheran faith that has stayed so Strong. You offered copies of the Catechism for those requesting them. May I best bold Astoria suggest that of who say we are Lutheran get out our catechism for the dust shelf
put them next to our Bibles and review all that we claim to believe. It is God's holy word that will make us strong in Him.
God speaks through this one.
Good commentary. BTW-Compassion and tolerance aren’t the same thing, even though some cloud this distinction.
The Law is the truth just as The Gospel is the truth.
Keep on preaching and teaching brother!
I'm sure ELCA pastors, bishops appreciated this video......
I left the ELCA when the Bishop announced he was gay and had his boyfriend living with him. They adopted the 10 suggestions.
A great response Pastor. I hope you keep us updated if any reaches out to you.
Great video Pastor! My question is this. Can there be good churches associated with not so good denominations? I was raised Southern Baptist but have recently found the Lutheran views to be more to my liking. I’ve recently joined an ELCA denomination church in my small little town. I know there are issues associated with the ELCA that leave blemishes on the Lutheran title, however I have not experienced these issues in my church. Male pastors (both junior and senior ) the messages are scriptural, politics are rarely discussed but most people accept that differences in politics do not change the love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Nothing screams “look how radical and progressive we are” in fact most of the congregation is fairly old. I do not have a LCMS near me and I want to find the right church for me and my family. Is it possible that a church can be under the umbrella of ELCA but not really take part in their tomfoolery? I love the church and the family and i find it hard to leave because people say how wrong the ELCA is but the wrongdoings do not seem to be present in my church. Thanks!
There are still faithful churches in the ELCA trapped in the church. That being said, to be in the ELCA means that you commune with the ELCA which is a very horrifying thing to tell you the truth, there is a church in San Francisco which is the seat of a bishop that practices witchcraft. If I were you I would look for WELS, LCMC, ELDONA, or an NALC church nearby if possible since you said there is no LCMS churches. That being said if there are none I would engage and challenge your pastor on his theological beliefs to make sure you are not being led by a false teacher. If it is a remnant (which does exist within the ELCA) that’s better than nothing.
I grew up Pentecostal and stopped attending church several years ago, just not really able to find a place I felt at home. A few months ago I decided to try a local ELCA church and I really like it. I didn’t know there were different synods at that time. I liked the people and traditional service. They are very involved with community outreach. They were very warm and kind to me when I first attended. At this point in my life, I feel like it’s where I should be. It is very close to my home. I’m not going to worry about the stances on certain issues unless I start hearing things being taught from the pulpit that are troubling. We say the Creed and ask for forgiveness for our sins. I think if you like your church and they love you and your family, you should keep going.
Awesome. Thanks Bryan for delivering such a well thought out, measured & loving response. And this video has been screen-recorded. (In case UA-cam labels it “hate speech”). 🙄
Ah, wise move.
May I ask, how does one screen record?
Roxie Sheppard on iPhone it’s built in. 😃 just have to press the little red button.
Can you imagine if Luther had UA-cam to share his theological disputes? I really don’t think he would have been this nice. 😂 Also, if this video doesn’t reach them you could always try nailing a transcript of it to some church doors? But really, this is an important, well-articulated video. I hope the invitation to open a dialogue is received and accepted. Thank you for all you do in the church, pastor!
Pastor Wolfmueller, in light of what just took place at the UMC General Conference or whatever they called that hoopla recently in Charlotte, NC, can you please do a “Dear UMC” video similar to this one? Would be educational for many as was this Dear ELCA outstanding piece of four years ago. TY!!!
“You’ve made Christ a champion for tolerance instead of a savior of sinners”
Very thoughtful message. Truth delivered in love. If I ever returned to Lutheranism, I would join Missouri Synod because they hold to the truth
To where did you depart?
They won't. I left only 8 years ago and we said all of this, though you were more poetic, likely. ;)
But it is always worth saying.
They are. LMSC is on their radar because most just can't envision not being Lutheran.
Its going to be quieter than the waves of departures from recent past, can't speculate on the numbers but the ones who are will cripple some churches at the local level.
Leadership should be very, very concerned but I assure you, they are not.
15 yrs here. Left heartbroken but knew I did my best to try to inform and educate people so they could stand firm in the Truth of our Lord Jesus Christ in the future. Have the battle scars to prove it. It was so painful to go.
“But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””
Thank you Pastor for a very interesting discussion. We are Catholic but we can perfectly understand how someone can be Lutheran and in the LCMS. Of course, we do have a different understanding of ecclesiology and other issues regarding justification and works, but can perfectly respect Lutheranism. Some of our closest friends are ELCA , and we love them dearly. In fact, the wife of the couple is a retired ELCA pastor. We don't very much speak about religion other than to say Grace together when we share a meal and they have attended church with us when they were visiting us. However, The voice of God is supposed to be the voice of the people, not the other way around. Vox Dei, Vox populi not vox populi, vox Dei. I do worry about the relative laxity on moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion in the ELCA. Now of course, you probably worry more about me as a Catholic but this is still on my mind. Anyway thank you for the video. You have a new subscriber. God Bless.
Thank you for your message. If I may add any WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) pastor would be happy to speak with them as well.
LOL As a member of a WELS congregation, any WELS pastor would speak to the exclusivity of the Bible, rather than to any inclusivity for any religion or behavior. Not all things can be simultaneously true, but rather that the Bible speaks to an exclusive truth.
sweyn forkbeard That’s what Pr Wolfmueller said. :)
I was kinda expecting this to be petty but was pleasantly surprised by the truth gracefully given
I love the ELCA and have for over 60 years. They are welcoming, know the love of God, and have served my family well my entire life, even though the LCMS does not accept me as a Lutheran. They let me know when I visited their church and was told I could not Commune there after being a Lutheran for 35 years.
Psssst…the ELCA hasn’t been around for 60 years. Just saying. 🫣
Amen , Pastor Brian M
Why not put into practice the teachings of Christ in our own lives before we start condemning the way others live outside of the knowledge of Christ?
The issue as always it seems, is the hermeneutic through and with which one presumes and then approaches the concept of humanity and it's relation to our Creator. That approach brings certain paradigms to the interpretation and understanding of scripture and hence, to one's understanding of doctrine and how it forms and shapes their place in the world.
It should be clear, God hates sin. What is sin? Disobedience to God. Does your personal opinion have any affect on the foregoing? NO!!! Any "Christian" who doesn't understand that is no Christian at all and in need of repentance.
Thank you... I was thinking of writing them a letter.. though mine would be far less cordial.
Very eye opening. Thanks ..
It seems that liberal political views and Biblical truths are getting further and further apart.
wierd it took so long to realize this.
I thank God for such a faithful man who would call fellow Christians to repentance with compassion and humility
Great video, Pastor! As of a few minutes ago, the LCMS locator site is no longer allowing to sort by distance from a given zip code. The worker search lets you zoom down geographically to the state level only. Kind of tough to find an ordained minister close by using the worker search. The church search at least allows you to search "n miles from a zip code", and most churches have an ordained minister. The church listing will have links to pastors that have their contact information. Unfortunately, you can no longer sort the results by distance from your zip code. Still, better than nothing.
I was just able to search with zip code
The link above goes directly to the worker search, if you click back to the main "locator" area you can search by church which has the option to do zip code + miles.
Go to Google maps and type in "LCMS." If a church in your area says LCMS on its website, the location of that church on your map will pop up, as well as a link to the website and phone number.
What broke up the lutheran church?
ELCA needs to change completely by calling themselves Universalist Unitarian. Luther is very disappointed with them.
I grew up WELS but today, I find there are parts of each synod or denomination that I agree with. There were things that I was taught that I don't agree with. My point is that I like the pastor's insight.
Good video, Rev.
May the Lord stifle all false teaching. Amen.
I'm very thankful for the witness of my confessional Lutheran brothers and sisters. Thank you Pastor Wolfmueller.
Thank you for this video! Having left the ELCA church just a couple months ago, I’m in agreement with tour thoughts.
I attended a “reconciled in Christ” meeting regarding inclusion for LGBTQ persons. They presented a short video with “priests” of every sexual preference, except heterosexual. There recite Paul,”All have fallen short of the law” as their basis for inclusivity and they dread the word...... judgement!
ELCA has been compromised and infiltrated unfortunately.
Thanks again for your words of truth
Perhaps they should dread the word judgment. Of course, eternal judgment is God's alone. In the meantime, we are called to discern false teachings... Faithful pastors like Bryan Wolfmueller help point us in the right direction. Thank you, pastor, and God bless...
Plumber Bear I'm with you. The clergy drove me NUTS with this stuff.
In the Lutheran tradition, I would go to them and ask, "What is the scriptural basis for these things you are claiming ?".
I would either get silence or a long winded no answer answer which would contradict itself !!!
I am a member in an ELCA affiliated church. I am disturbed about the places that this church is going more and more. Most recently, I am disturbed by the effect of "woke" theology presented, as you have stated here. My church has been raising funds for our youth to attend the upcoming youth event in New Orleans in July. Looking at videos from the 2018 event, I see what our church has paraded out, including a child who has "transitioned" to another gender identity (with the help of his proud mother). Then this is celebrated as "brave." (As an aside, I have a nephew who "transitioned" to a female identity, including the drugs and surgery to suit that end.) I have talked with some of the parents of the sons and daughters being sent to the 2024 event about this disturbing trend. Even more disturbing, I find that the speakers for this upcoming event can be found nowhere. One of the parents shared that they had even considered leaving this church to go to the LCMS. The thing that stopped them was the "exclusion" of the eucharist. I am the mother of a son who left the Lutheran church to become a traditional, faithful Roman Catholic. He the only one of my three children who even attends church services, much less practice their faith. He isn't all in with their "progressive" pope, having preferred Pope Benedict. but he loves God and does serve his neighbors outwardly and faithfully. I have been watching and listening to LCMS podcasters and UA-cam videos lately, and find them to make more sense to my understanding of God through the scriptures and the common sense that he gifted me. I am tempted to do as you said and talk with an LCMS pastor, but my husband and I, having been members of this ELCA congregation for over 40 years, are hesitant to leave our "church family. (It was LCA affiliated when we joined. Also, my formative years were spent in an ALC Lutheran church.)
I am not asking for advice. I only want to thank you for helping me to understand confessional Lutheranism. I will continue to listen and learn from you and others. God knows my heart, and maybe someday he will lead me to a church that treasures both God's law and the Gospel.
The best explanation that I have ever heard!
The ELCA DOES NOT WORSHIP OTHER GODS
Everything you say here could be said to my former denomination: the PCUSA. The evangelicals have mostly exited over the past five or so years (or five decades if we consider the formation of the PCA and EPC in the 70's and 80's respectively), so all that remains is a coalition of moderates and liberals. But the liberals clearly have the upper hand and are obviously more active and engaged in the denomination than the moderates. They set the tone and the agenda at each general assembly, not to mention the presbyteries and seminaries. And each general assembly gets more and more social justice driven, including the wide plethora of "identity" issues. The most recent GA was almost nothing but social justice, defined with leftist categories of course. The evangelical voice has been extinguished.
“You’ve confused God’s Mercy with His permission. You’ve made Jesus the champion of tolerance”. Never a greater assessment of ELCA Policy.
Out of respect for the people who responded to my original post, I want to give everyone an update.
I spoke on the phone to the pastor of a Missouri Synod Church in my area late last week, we set up a time to have coffee for this coming Thursday. It was a brief conversation but the tone was very positive I felt.
Additionally my parents were also leaving ELCA attended services at a Missouri Synod Church near their residence earlier today and were made to feel very welcome.
That's been a BIG relief to us !!!!!
Our interactionswith Missouri Synod in the mid 90's were maybe not nearly as positive.
So we just weren't sure what kind of reaction we would get. I'm relieved to say that my real-life interactions with MSLC, have been as welcoming and positive as the the interactions I've had with with your members through the internets.
Can anyone explain to me why the Lutheran churches can't seem to reverse the decline of their denominations? The ELCA is literally hemorrhaging as are all progressive denominations but whilst breakaway conservative Anglican denominations, independent Baptist groups, the PCA, Church of Christ, and free Methodists are all flourishing, the Missouri and Wisconsin synods are declining albeit at a much slower pace than the ELCA. What ails Lutheranism in North America?
religious groups that are conservative and resistant to change, flourish and withstand the test of time.
it is because of that awful noise they do instead of good old hymns. and the Liturgy is missing.
The speaker is not exegeting scripture. He is making isogetical implications about the first commandment outside of its historical and theological setting.
I struggled but have separated from the ELCA. They are a liberal socialist organization not a religious organization. Religion is about saving souls not supporting agendas. I'm heading to the Missouri Synod.
I’m in the elca and planning on becoming orthodox now, one of the speakers at the elca youth gathering was trans and said God made her trans but God makes no mistakes, you were to be a man. They support gay pride yet God says it is sin. It is sad the elca has changed so drastically
This is why Christianity is so divided, people question God’s law just because people don’t feel comfortable with it. I’m not trying to make it sound harsh, but we should follow God’s law as Christians, because it’s the right thing to do, even though we might not fully understand it.
I love the Ecla i go there because they do know the love of God
Glad I left the ELCA for the Missouri Synod six years ago...
Great choice. Wish we had LCMS here in New Zealand
I left the ELCA and became Catholic - best thing ever
@@mpkropf5062 no church within 150 miles where we live LSCM -
I was baptized and confirmed in the ALC. I also joined the LCMS in my 20s and early 30s because that was nearest congregation to me. The politics made no difference to me because I liked the people and the minister of the LCMS congregation I belonged to at the time. In time, I reverted to the ELCA because of the same reason. I am not aligned with most of the LCMS thinking. Nor will I always agree with my fellow ELCA brethren. Thus, I have the best of both worlds. I know enough that I don't know enough but strong in my faith based on my early teaching of my mother, SS teachers, and many wonderful ministers of the Word in both the old ALC, the LCMS, and the ELCA. Bonhoeffer was pointing the way to a denomination-less theology based on God's grace and love. That is the most critical area for me. Ministers have their own individual spin of the Word. I will go my own way with God and work within the system of the ELCA since I think no one should be denied the last meal at the Lord's table simply because of a set of lables as ELCA , LCMS, or any other label.
You are the only commenter in here to be reasonable. I don't like the way some congregations in ELCA are currently run, but I Don't want to join the Misery synod either. Or any other wacko group of haters or repressors.
Some minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.
A follow up on joining a new church would be great (I'll check your other videos). I was raised in the ELCA and can't in good conscience support it anymore or raise a family within it as I had planned :/
check out www.lcms.org for a church near your home. But you should expect to take an adult instruction class (length of class varies), not because we consider you dumb or deficient in any way, but it serves as a great way to get to know your pastor, ask questions of him, and well simply everyone of us should consider ourselves catechumens in need of learning.
If you want to share what's available to you within a reasonable drive of your family, maybe we can help you here!
@@rev.steveandrews2227 Oh I have one locally I'll be attending as soon as I can and a few others within reasonable distance I will check. Just what to expect from the introduction process both from a technical aspect of getting in the closed communion, but I think more importantly what it is like joining a new church from a social change perspective. Getting used to new people, how to tell a good church from a bad church etc.
I think what I want to emphasize with the ELCA is that in their embrace of social progressivism they are disenfranchisizing and harming their own congregations significantly. I don't imagine they actually care about that but I consider it a significant slap in the face to disrupt our lives and plans in this way.
Do you have any thoughts on what to look for in a church or references I could lookup? I do have a few LCMS churches (and a WELS though I wasn't leaning that way) to choose from luckily :)
Thank you Reverend.
@@Kingcob7 In regards to closed communion, the appropriate step when you visit a congregation would be to speak with the pastor prior to the service. They will discuss with you what you believe the Lord's Supper is, and let you know if you can receive the Lord's Supper that day, or if there's a way to do so in the near future (such as going through a new member class). If you don't understand the idea of closed communion, let me know, and I'd be happy to discuss it.
If my family and I were looking for a new congregation, here's the things we'd do:
1) see what LCMS churches are around us (you've already done);
2) check out their websites: you can gain a lot there from service times and types, to seeing what kind of things they're about, I'd want the website to admit they're LCMS (not all do), and be willing to share what they believe, teach, and confess.
3) visit in person. Key thing here: did the pastor share Law and Gospel? That is, in the service, did I recognize and repent of my sin and hear the good news that I'm forgiven? Were my young children welcome to be in the service with me, so they too can hear God's love for them and begin to learn how to have this as a regular part of their life? Is the pastor's sermon preached on God's Word? Was I able to attend Bible study? Did we talk about God's Word in Bible study (seems like a no-brainer, but not all do!)?
This is my short list of musts. A Church that stands (or falls) on the truth of God's Word. If these things are there, it's a good place to be. You'll regularly hear God's Word for you (and your family) of forgiveness, life, and salvation. My hope is, that would be true of each of the congregations you've mentioned are an option.
You mentioned people/social things. There's value there, certainly, but look at it this way: every one of our families is broken and messed up with drama we'd rather avoid. In finding a new church to call home, you're also looking at your brothers and sisters in Christ, a family. They won't be perfect anywhere you go. You're looking for a place to call home, where you will then learn to walk together as you receive God's gifts in His house and then share those things with your community around you.
@@Kingcob7 It seems like their congregants had no real say in what leadership does. These resolutions to recently be passed, I feel most congregants did not support.
At any rate, I SHOCKED at the news coming out of this assembly. Wasn't an easy decision but I'm gone.
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other god BEFORE ME. That is not the same thing as "I am the ONLY god." Your letter to the ELCA reflects intellectual arrogance, not "certainty." You may have left the ELCA 20 or so years ago, but I left the LCMS 50 years ago because what I found there was a narrow-minded intolerance and an unacceptable literalness that even as a 13-year old I knew was wrong. I will be seeking ordination in Word and Service in the ELCA, and perhaps when I do, I will start creating video letters to the LCMS that punctures what is, in reality, a fundamentalism that is ahistorical.
Do you think there are other gods?
There is always Isaiah 45:5, "I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God."
Send me the links to those videos.
@@PastorBryanWolfmueller I think there is one God, and the Judeo-Christian version is one image of that God. Joseph Campbell described anthropologist Adolph Bastian's differentiation between "elementary ideas" and "folk ideas": "these common themes that come out of the collective unconscious he calls elementary ideas. But they always come to expression in specific social environments and it’s historically and geographically differentiated. He called those differentiations Volkergedanken, or ethnic or folk ideas…. In India, in art criticism, these same two aspects of images are recognized. The folk aspect, which simply has to do with people and things in stories and time and space is called desi, which means local, popular. On the other hand the elementary ideas, when the diety is represented, is called marga, the path…. So the desi, the folk, guide you into life, and the marga, the elementary, guides you to your own inward life....The elementary ideas do not change. Where do they come from? They come from the soul. The origin is the soul of man. Marga.
The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (Edited with an introduction by Phil Cousineau), pp 45-46
I choose to follow Jesus because I find that image of God promotes a way of living that contributes positively to creating the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, which I believe is my task. Similarly, if someone else finds similar power in Allah, or the Hindu gods, I have no issue with them: they all lead to the same God.
@@walt828 Great comedy - are you slated for the Tonight Show?
You’re very kind.
Well said !
You could have just summed up the whole video by saying, “dear ELCA. You suck.”
Excellent. Thank you so much
Pastor, you didn't put the link to LCMS churches in the description. Please put it up soon.
Beautiful!
Very well done Bryan.
May God bless His Word.
I left ELCA after they got inappropriately political antithetical to the Bible. Lukewarm statements about abortion etc. Only the Catholic Church is openly speaking about Right to Life and ProLife work.
Raul Griego exactly. And crazies like the Episcopal church are "blessing" abortion mills. Ultimately I left the Lutheran church because of that issue they were silent about. Coming into Catholicism now and I can't find a parish without some ProLife ministry.
The LCMS addresses these isses
@@laurentheheiress98 you were in a false Lutheran Church then. But leaving a heretic church is the Christian thing to do
WELS
If the ELCA does not leave the Lutheran church, I'm afraid I will have to.
I love LCMS. I love the theology. But the people aren't welcoming at all to me. They are cold even. There are donuts after. The lady who passes them out...I say what a great service, right? I get daggers. I say thank you, she doesn't look up at all. They are all Trump supporters also. I can't see how we would support anyone who would be so vulgar as to say he'd grab a woman by the... well, you know. The ELCA is doing this because Lutheranism is not going to survive at the current numbers. They are reaching out to keep things alive. Their bishop is a face. But dang it, they are nice when you go there. Not love bombing but cordial at least.
One word- AMEN.
A grand slam home run!!!
Thank you for carefully and correctly putting into words what we all sense and feel about the ELCA .
This pastor is kind, intelligent, and knowledgable. But the disdain, disrespect, and hate of regular LCMS members toward the ELCA is disappointing and shocking.
The problem is that so many equate Love with Tolerance…and Tolerance with Love. Confusion is a trick of Satan.
I think the framing of this question about the church and LGBTQ people as a question of law versus tolerance is misplaced. What is appropriate, as I believe the ELCA has shown in this regard is indeed a humbled response to the modern understanding about the nature of human sexuality. We know today that there are people, such as myself, who feel a strong sexual and emotional attraction towards people of their own sex, men towards men, and women towards women, and, except for bisexuals of course, not to the opposite sex. That is to say gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. We also have slowly learned over the past century that such people are neither by nature criminals, nor mentally ill. Instead they are people with a natural inclination (perhaps God given inclination) towards a life that is fundamentally incompatible with heterosexual marriage, who exist within church communities and who need well thought out, scientifically rigorous, and indeed sensitive answers to the questions that they have in navigating faith and questions of sexuality. The ELCA is providing exactly these sort of answers.