The Bigger They Are

The bigger they are the harder they fall. When facing an opponent that is physically imposing, these words are often uttered. Perhaps young David thought this before standing before Goliath. His trust and faith that God would protect him allowed David to step out and face a giant of a man that seemed invulnerable, especially to the rest of the Israelite army. With a stone and a sling, David felled the giant of a man, something that the entire Israelite army could not accomplish. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is the largest Lutheran body in the United States, with over 4 million members, and not unlike Goliath, they are the big bully on the block. Rules have been changed making it more problematic for those that have no place in a church that has rejected the very tenets of their faith. Bishops push their way into the pulpits of congregations before they can even consider investigating their relationship with the ELCA.

Confessional Lutherans that look to break fellowship with this misguided denomination are subjected to all sorts of persecution. Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 1 John 2:9-11, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” Apparently, the “new things” that God is telling the leaders of the ELCA includes disregarding these verses of Scripture, too.

Invoking their “bound conscience” the leaders of the ELCA, so enamored with the world, have enlisted additional secular weapons in their quest to maintain control over member’s properties and finances. They have decided to use the judicial system and have begun filing lawsuits against those congregations that dare to break fellowship or seek dual affiliation with other synods. These firm believers in separation of church and state only believe when it is to their advantage. Those that worship in ELCA congregations mean little to those greedy leaders of this church that disregards our Lord’s teachings. The assets of those congregations mean everything to them. Without the resources accumulated by those congregations, the bureaucracy of the ELCA suffers. It takes a lot of money to grease the skids of the powerful lobbying machine that is the ELCA. Drumming up support for the “Dream Act”, justice for Palestine, denouncing Israel, eco-faith, genetics, and human sexuality, to name a few, takes a lot of cash. One way to recoup monies lost from congregations leaving and redirecting benevolence was slashing the budget for missionaries, that are to preach the word to the world and make disciples of all nations, in order to use that money to support their ambitious social justice agenda. Anyone else see a problem with this line of reasoning for an organization that proclaims that they are God’s church?

Those that uphold the authority of Scripture and desire to break fellowship with the ELCA do so with great trepidation and sadness. Those that have been given no choice but to leave and join a synod true to the Lord, pray that those trapped within the ELCA have their hearts and minds opened to the fact that ELCA doctrine drives them away from our Lord. There is only a righteous anger toward the leadership of the ELCA that consistently preaches a false gospel to their members. Yet, the leaders of the ELCA attack and debase those that reach out to lead them back to the Lord. How dare us! We are called to not only make disciples, but to rescue those who have fallen from the Lord’s path. By showing their true colors, the leaders of the ELCA do nothing but vindicate those who have discerned that the Lord is leading them away from the apostasy that permeates the ELCA. While the organization of the ELCA dwarfs the reforming Lutheran Synods, we have faith that our Lord will protect and lead us. Even though we are equipped with just a stone and a sling, we trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So we cast our small stones, exposing the heresies promoted by the ELCA, and we will continue to make dents in the Giant that defies our Lord and leads His people astray. Continue to proclaim the Truth and pray that those who remain within the ELCA awake and discover that they are being fed a false gospel and turn back to the Lord.