I discerned (that is one thing Lutherans do, right—discern?) that if you hold the elca up to today’s culture, you cannot see the one behind the other. Their outlines essentially coincide.
I also discerned that I could make a bigger difference, and live a happier life outside the elca. Since then, one of my avocations has been to stand on the outside and quietly call for others to come out.
Some have.
I still call.
I left an ELCA church within days of reading elca.org and figuring out that what was being preached in our church, was not the same as the association backing up that church, the ELCA. I was disturbed by the “dialogue” they were having about gay unions at that time, looked at the website and discovered the ELCA is not pro-life. Talked to the pastor, emailed the website, confirmed what I thought they both said, left the church. If a church is not pro-life, I can’t be part of it. It was astounding to hear my pastor say that abortion was a choice and we should not judge other people’s choice to have an abortion. It sickens me to this day. None of that was said in church. I had to investigate it on my own. The old people in that church, who don’t go on the internet, have no idea their offerings go partly to an organization that is liberal. I was there 2 years before I knew about the statements of policy on elca.org.