God bless you for leading that class! And God bless your congregation's members for refusing just to go along with the ELCA mis-leaders like sheep!!
I know about the attempt to delay the decision, and about the planned "Soulforce" stormtroop action at next week's convention to counteract that move. Either way, orthodox beleivers in the ELCA don't win! Even with a delay, the gay cabal will continue to eat away at the ELCA, leaving it in a weakened, and less than orthodox state. Only either takeover by the orthodox laity, or our leaving for orthodox church bodies, can help!
We need A LOT MORE than a Freep!! Orthodox believers in the ELCA need to get together as Christians and help each other deal with this bad situation.
Missouri Synod here. C'mon over. As far as I know, both in doctrine and in practice, nothing's changed in at least fifty years. Sola scriptura still means sola scriptura. The Bible is God's Word, and if that offends some, we won't be mad if they don't show up.
That is what I have observed as well. The gay advocates just do not give up. If they lose in one venue they just move to another. They have been very successful at making their presence know and approved of at national youth gatherings. That started right after I left youth ministry in the eighties, but the stories my replacement told me about ELCA youth events made my hair curl. He told me if they could not "get in the door, they would go in a window!" This year at the ELCA National Youth Gathering, the attendees voted to be accepting of gay and lesbian youth. I would like for them to define their terms. It sounds like that could mean a lot of different things. Needless to say, my kids do not go to events sponsored by the ELCA, only those sponsored and led my church and leaders I know and trust. I homeschool too.
Are you familiar with the Word Alone Network? It is a group of conservative ELCAers trying to keep the denomination scriptural. It started with the passing of Called to Common Mission, which is the agreement we have with the ECUSA that many folks object to. Now they are focusing on the sexuality study. It is pretty active in the midwest and perhaps the northeast, but I don't hear anything from members down here in the south.
I hate to be negative, but I was nearly the youngest person(at 45) in my class about the homosexual issue. I think the pro-gay folks have an advantage in that the culture is conditioning the younger people to not be concerned about this issue. All they have to do is wait for the old fogeys to die off.