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Meeting barely a month after the Episcopal Church voted to end its ban on the consecration of openly homosexual bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] has taken similar steps. Meeting last week in Minneapolis, the Lutherans voted first to adopt a comprehensive statement on human sexuality that at least allows for the recognition and blessing of same-sex relationships in the church. Beyond this, it establishes a platform for the eventual acceptance and affirmation of same-sex marriage ceremonies. Then, acting just as the week came to an end, the denomination voted to eliminate...

Before I get to the song, let me post my responses first. Pick the one that fits best: A. Yes, I know I'm a sinner too. B. Yes, I want homosexuals to repent and be saved. C. Yes, I'm well aware of the problems in the Missouri Synod. D. Yes, I know there's a faithful remnant still in the ELCA. E. No, I don't buy the "We're grieving now, don't criticize us" line. F. No, satirical polemics is perfectly biblical and Lutheran--indeed, it is called for in cases like this. Now, to the song. . . . OH, BLEST THE...

ABBA-MAZING VIDEO! ... Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. (Jeremiah 23:19)

Last Friday, as members of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination were casting four historic votes recasting the role of homosexuals in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mop-up operation had begun a few blocks away. In a hospitality suite on the 12th floor of the Doubletree Hotel, Bill Sullivan's cell phone was ringing and ringing. Mr. Sullivan, a former ELCA pastor, is national coordinator for the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), a collection of 226 congregations founded in March 2001 with 25 charter member churches dissatisfied with the denomination's liberal drift. Now the trickle has turned into...

“God’s Good Order of--and in--Marriage” (Ephesians 5:22-33)You know, it’s really kind of stupid when we think we know better than our Creator. I mean, think about it: Doesn’t it make sense that the God who created us would know what is best for us? Yet somehow we think we’re smarter than he is. Pretty stupid, really. That’s the case with a lot of things in life, but especially do we direct our attention today to the matter of marriage. In the face of a world that has lost its mind and thrown marriage to the winds, and has even spread...

Here’s the church… Where’s the steeple?The inverted Cross atop Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis dangled from the steeple on Wednesday following a rare downtown twister as the ELCA Churchwide Assembly was in legislative session across the street at the Minneapolis Convention Center.Things that make you go, hmmm…Countless spiritual souls over the ages have commented on seeing God in all things. So, how about manifestations of physical evils found within nature, or, as the American justice system calls them: Acts of God… Perhaps a lesson from the fig tree — re-reading Mark 13: 5-6, 28-29 — occured Wednesday on 3rd...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have moved toward a more welcoming view of homosexuality. Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, approved a "social statement on human sexuality" that acknowledges differing views on homosexuality. It says the ELCA is strong enough to accommodate such differences. -snip- Wednesday's vote was a prelude to votes scheduled Friday on whether to let people in same-sex relationships serve as Lutheran ministers.

Click the music link and sing along! E.L.C.A.Tune: "Y.M.C.A.""Luth'ran" Doesn't mean quite the same As what you've been Taught to know by that name. We're removin' All the scandal and shame Of a church that stands for something. Luth'ran, No, you're not misinformed, Yes, it's true now, We commune the Reformed. No forced union Made us bow or conform, Just a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's fun to be in the E.L.C.A. It's fun to be in the E.L.C.A. We have women in black, Now there's no turning back To the hang-ups of dead white guys. It's fun to be...