Posted on 08/01/2024 1:00:03 AM PDT by Morgana
The world’s largest Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) church has officially left the denomination. On July 13, The Synod Council of the Southeastern Iowa Synod voted to remove the Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, from its membership rolls.
On paper, the Synod is dropping them over a disagreement with their pastoral staff. The multisite mega-church, under the leadership of Rev. Mike Housholder, has seven pastors on staff “who are not on the roster of the ELCA or any of its full communion partners, which conflicts with the ELCA constitution.” Yet in a letter sent to the church family, LCOH has a different take, insisting these pastors are badly needed and are more than qualified, refusing the purge them for the sake of remaining.
The candidacy and call process for pastors, a point of tension between Hope and the ELCA for years, has reached a tipping point. The ELCA has a pastor shortage. As a result, on occasion and out of necessity, Hope’s search for new pastors to serve our rapidly growing congregation has included some who were ordained in non-ELCA denominations. All of these pastors earned a Master of Divinity or higher degree, fulfilled other traditional requirements for Lutheran ordination, and expressed interest in becoming ELCA pastors. However, due to resistance from ELCA synod candidacy committees and the high cost of up to two extra years of required (and often redundant) post-M.Div. classes, they opted out.
We doubt that’s the real reason, however. Because the church is so large, it can provide full-time employment, a living wage, benefits, actual children running around, and a congregation whose median age isn’t 73, something smaller churches rarely have or can do. This makes jobs from Hope Lutheran highly coveted in ELCA circles.
Instead, while this church is in no way conservative, with even their parting remarks wishing a blessing on the ELCA, this congregation is technically non-affirming and will not perform ‘same-sex ‘weddings,’ putting them at direct odds with the rest of the LGBTQ-obsessed demoniacs.
Two years ago, the ELCA passed a resolution pledging to reexamine a 2009 decision that allowed both conservative and liberal views on homosexuality to be held by pastors, setting up the circumstances that will make it impossible for any remnant conservative pastors to remain.
Whereas at present, each church is free to operate according to its conscience, revising the statement would take away this freedom and make it so that only pro-sodomy pastors would be allowed to lead.
Hope Lutheran likely wanted out, and the pastoral issues were all a smokescreen and convenient excuse to bolt.
Sorry, reading comprehension at a low right now, so: Do I understand correctly that the LARGER organization is against "same-sex 'weddings,'" and the like, and is expelling the SMALLER organization that has been taken over by demoniacs?
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
I’m half asleep right now so I’m going to re-read it in the morning but it looks that way.
Anyone else reading this?
I would like to understand it better.
I asked Dad once what a Lutheran was. He said that they are Catholics that can read.
No.The ELCA supports same sex marriage. They are as messed up as is possible. There are two other Lutheran synods in the U.S. though, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Synod, they are both conservative to the bone.
Hope Lutheran should have left that den ofsnakes years earlier.
The ELCA essentially went woke a few years ago, and as a result, several Lutheran churches left. There are a few other organizations that follow the Lutheran flavor in a more traditional sense.
ELCA tried to hold financial sway over the churches within its organization to prevent them from leaving. Many were able to leave anyway, while some were not.
No, I think the individual church is “non-affirming” (doesn’t promote gay marriage), and the larger denomination wants to require blessing sodomy.
Your response: No.
So it is rather that the LARGER organization is FOR "same-sex 'weddings,'" and the like, and is expelling the SMALLER organization that is AGAINST this perversion?
Please help me understand!
Regards,
My take-away:
1. The world’s largest Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) church = an individual congregation named "the Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines."
2. That individual church (in West Des Moines) voluntarily left "the denomination."
Question #1: What in the heck is "the denomination?!" Is it some confession limited to southeastern Iowa, with - e.g. - no authority or jurisdiction in northeastern Iowa?!
Question #2: What the departure voluntary (= "officially left"), or was the individual congregation in West Des Moines expelled?
Regards,
This is my church.
So glad we are now free of the ELCA!
LOL
I agree with your take-aways. The Southeastern Iowa synod would appear to be a regional subsidiary of the larger, national ELCA denomination, comparably to a diocese of the Catholic Church (SEE NOTE!). “Voluntary” sounds like a subjective term here. It seems the church was warned it was not in compliance with mandatory norms and was threatened with expulsion, to which the individual church said, “fine, we don’t want to stay anyway,” and so made no effort to resist the expulsion.
Lutheran Church of Hope stood up for Biblical principals. We have supported pro life Christian based pregnancy centers , we have stood firm on traditional marriage .
The ELCA didn’t like that.
The ELCA has destroyed other churches with similar beliefs who tried to leave.
Hope was able to get out intact fortunately .
Rats. I forgot the note.
A diocese in the Catholic Church in theory consists of only one bishop, although it’s a common practice to have “auxiliary bishops” who function as assistant bishops but who officially have some tiny or historically extinct diocese that they are actually the bishop of. This way they can serve the functions reserved to bishops but help in dioceses too large for one bishop.
The use of the word, “synod” here implies multiple bishops in this Southeastern Iowa subsidiary of the ELCA. A synod is a conference of multiple bishops.
Sh*t, that’s offensive. Your Dad must’ve been just about the world’s biggest f**king a$$hole.
I was a Lutheran once. Then I began to read a lot. Now I’m Catholic.
Yes, I think you are right. The leadership (or headquarters) affirms same sex marriage, while this particular church does not. The church in West Des Moines (Iowa?) is holding fast so there is a divorce.
The next issue is how to manage the optics. For example, “I dumped you” and “No, I dumped you” etc. The real reasons for the divorce are buried under technical sounding issues pertaining to staffing so this will look like an amicable divorce.
Am I getting it right?
“Because the church is so large, it can provide full-time employment, a living wage, benefits, actual children running around, and a congregation whose median age isn’t 73, something smaller churches rarely have or can do.”
If you are Christian, why go to church? There are many answers I’m sure, but I will advance one. A couple has children and they want their children to learn proper morality and beliefs. They think regular church attendance will be beneficial for their children.
If the parents have traditional views of morality and discover that the local church is teaching something different, they may (should) conclude that attendance will harm, not help, their children.
I note that this particular church, Hope Lutheran, advances traditional morality AND has a younger congregation. That makes sense to me.
I think the liberal (left-wing, socialist affirming, sodomist) churches will founder because they will not be able to attract young families. Unfortunately, the rot is at the top and in most cases the leadership has title to church buildings, retirement funds etc.
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