ELCA Lutherans Distribute LGBTQIA Handbooks

Stupidity just keeps running wild in the ELCA.  By their own projections they realize that in 20 years their membership will be down to nothing...and yet they believe the way to change that is to announce that they are more inclusive than they've ever been!

They don't realize that membership dwindles when you reject the word of God and just try to morph into a gathering of "nice people doing nice things".

Let me restate the obvious in case I have a new reader reading this;  Yes!  God loves everyone!  He wants that none should perish but that all would come to eternal life through the work of Jesus on the cross.  He loves us so much that He doesn't want to LEAVE US  to all the sinful desires we are born with, but wants to transform us by renewing our hearts and minds.  We need to be born again because our first birth was being born into sin.

If you are born with the desire to be an adulterer, then accept Christ, be obedient to His call and he will heal you.  Same thing if you are born with the desire to be a polygamist, or born with the desire to be gay or sleep with animals or children.

That's the point of the Gospel!  All have sinned!  None are good!  We are ALL BORN INTO SIN AND NEED A SAVIOR!

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which was recently criticized for addressing God as “Mother” instead of Father, has now published a handbook on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to “deepen and expand” its welcome of LGBT members.

Titled “Lutheran Introduction To Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Gender Expression,” the handbook is aimed at “dismantling barriers between people,” says ReconcilingWorks, a Lutheran ministry “affirming God’s love for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities,” which has drafted it.

“The perception that LGBTQIA+ people are exotic oddities does not serve that goal,” adds the ministry, which advocates for “the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of” LGBTQIA+ Lutherans “in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregations, and community.”

“Many LGBTQIA+ people have learned by experience that they are not truly welcome in church, even in churches that state, ‘All are welcome here!’ says ReconcilingWorks while introducing the handbook.

“A general statement of welcome is often heard as meaning ‘everybody but me,’ so it can take a special effort to communicate an authentic welcome to LGBTQIA+ people,” the ministry, which is featured on the ELCA website, seeks to explain in the handbook.

“The perception that LGBTQIA+ people are exotic oddities does not serve that goal,” adds the ministry, which advocates for “the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of” LGBTQIA+ Lutherans “in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregations, and community.”

“Many LGBTQIA+ people have learned by experience that they are not truly welcome in church, even in churches that state, ‘All are welcome here!’ says ReconcilingWorks while introducing the handbook.

“A general statement of welcome is often heard as meaning ‘everybody but me,’ so it can take a special effort to communicate an authentic welcome to LGBTQIA+ people,” the ministry, which is featured on the ELCA website, seeks to explain in the handbook.

“If you don’t know which identity terms, pronouns or titles to use, and find yourself getting ‘stuck’ on terms, re-center yourself on the fact you are talking about a person,” it suggests. “It is also ok to ask which pronouns one prefers, or just avoid using gendered terms. Remember, all you need to welcome someone is their name.”

It continues, “When getting to know someone or learning more about a people group, you are sure to have many questions. Before you inquire, ask yourself ‘Why am I asking?’ or ‘Will this question help build a relationship of mutual trust and respect?’ Does your question represent hospitable or lurid curiosity? Asking people about the details of their bodies not hospitable.”

The handbook defines gender identity as “a person’s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or another gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. Gender identity is different from the term ‘gender’, which is typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones.”

Gender expression, it says, is “the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, grooming, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions. These norms vary culturally.”

Sexual orientation, it adds, is “the term used to describe what gender(s) someone is physically and/or emotionally attracted to. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, and straight are all examples of sexual orientations. A person’s sexual orientation is distinct from a person’s gender identity and expression.”

Many pastors and members have left the denomination due to their objections to its theology.

“I spent many years as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until I led my congregation out for a more Biblical branch of Lutheranism,” Pastor Tom Brock, who co-hosts “The Pastor’s Study” radio program, recently wrote in an op-ed for The Christian Post.

“‘Liberal’ is no longer the word for the ELCA, it has become radical,” he wrote, citing an example. “Two summers ago, 31,000 ELCA teenagers attended the ELCA’s youth gathering. Popular ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Webber led the students to say after her ‘I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty.’ At the youth gathering an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl was put on stage to promote transgenderism.”

In April, ELCA garnered controversy for posting a prayer on their Twitter and Facebook accounts addressing God as “Mother.”

“Mother God, you have fed us with the nourishment of your spiritual food. Raise us up into salvation and rid us of our bitterness, so that we may share the sweetness of your holy word with all the world,” the ELCA tweeted on April 29.

Hans Fiene, a conservative pastor who oversees the popular Lutheran Satire YouTube channel, is one of those who took issue with the post. “Leave the ELCA,” he succinctly replied when retweeting the ELCA post.

Here;  https://www.christianpost.com/news/elca-distributes-lgbtqia-handbook-on-sexual-orientation-gender-identity-to-churches.html

Don't be surprised if the ELCA adds some more letters to their LGBTQIA hand book.  The next letters would be M, for Minor Attracted Persons, and then Z, for Zoophiles.

No we aren't kidding.  When you don't stand for anything you will ultimately stand for everything.

If you are going to be tolerant or everything then you can't be intolerant of anything.

God help us.

"Good will be called evil and evil will be called good"