December 2025

Dear Friends –

My theological degrees (M. Div. and D. Min.) are from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California.  After I graduated from Fuller in 1972 I served my internship under Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota at the same church as where I had worked as youth director during my third year in seminary.  Halfway through my internship year I went back to Luther for an interview with the faculty.  I was not prepared.  Attending a non-Lutheran seminary, I had not studied Lutheran theology and church history as I should have so I was required to spend a year at Luther as a graduate student taking Lutheran courses before I would be certified and approved for ordination.  I felt totally put upon by the requirement.  But as it turned out before the end of that additional year the congregation where I would end up serving my entire forty years of ministry, who knew me from my days in youth ministry, and where I met my wife was ready to call an associate pastor.  They would not have been ready before my additional year at Luther.  I have no idea where I would have been called and how my life would have gone if I had not been required to attend seminary one more year.  “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8: 28) 

I remember wondering, when I found out that I would be required to attend one more year of seminary, how am I going to be able to pay for that?  But then I received an unexpected blessing.  The congregation where I had worked as youth director and served my internship gathered donations that more than covered the expenses for my unanticipated, final year of study. 

Knowing what it means to receive financial assistance from God’s loving and caring people, I am especially thankful that Lutheran CORE has the resources to be able to provide financial support for seven students attending the North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS).  One of them, Luke Ratke, writes –

“Thank you so much for your generous gift of financial support. . . .I am in my last year of study at the seminary and I plan to graduate at the end of the spring 2026 semester.  After I graduate I plan to begin a year-long internship at a North American Lutheran Church congregation.  I look forward to learning as much as I can during that year about how to do pastoral ministry work well. . . .May God bless your ministry work and all that you do for the sake of the Gospel!”

I am in the process of teaching a Sunday morning adult class on the life of Moses at the ELCA congregation where my wife and I are members.  Exodus 16:13 tells us that as the Israelites were on their way to Mt. Sinai, the evening before God first provided manna, “quails came up and covered the camp.”  I have read that this area of the Sinai Peninsula is along the route of a major bird migratory path.  Often birds would stop to rest after flying north over the Gulf of Suez.  And where they stopped to rest is where the Israelites were camped.  Long before the Israelites passed that way, God provided a way by which they would have food.  God knew where the finances would come from long before I knew that I would be required to attend an additional year of seminary.  And long before these seven students responded to God’s call to ministry, God knew that your generosity would help provide the resources for them to attend seminary.  “My God will fully provide for every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 19)

During the upcoming year we will continue to monitor and keep you informed about what the ELCA is doing leading up to its 2028 Churchwide Assembly in terms of eliminating any place for traditional views as it reconsiders the 2009 human sexuality social statement as well as in terms of continuing to make DEIA, dismantling racism, and critical race theory the central value and operating system of the ELCA.  In addition, we will continue to provide resources such as worship aids, prayers, daily devotions, weekly lectionary-based Bible studies and children’s messages, video book reviews, and support and assistance for congregations in transition.

For example, the ELCA news release dated October 9, 2025 concerning the October 2-3 meeting of the ELCA Church Council stated that the Council received an update from its Executive Committee regarding “a timeline of the ‘immediate action on dismantling racism’ acted on during the spring 2025 meeting to develop mutual accountability measures and compliance incentives across all expressions of the ELCA.”  There are powerful people who want to remake the ELCA and make DEIA and dismantling racism mandatory throughout the ELCA, including for congregations.  They made significant progress at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly, but they did not fully succeed.  They will not stop.  They will try again in 2028.  If there are not enough constitutional changes ready to go by the end of 2027 they will call for a reconstituting assembly.  Notice the wording in the news release.  “Immediate action” – for these people nothing else is of such supreme importance.  “Dismantling racism” – not just not being racist, but dismantling systems that privilege some and allow those some to oppress others (Marxism).  “Mutual accountability measures and compliance incentives across all expressions of the ELCA.”  “All expressions” includes congregations.  All still within the ELCA should wonder how these “mutual accountability measures and compliance incentives” will play out in their synod. 

Thank you for your prayers and your faithful, generous financial support.  Please find below a link to a form which you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you.  You can also use that form to send a year-end gift that will enable us to continue to do our work.  We would also like to hear from you regarding a time when God provided for you maybe even long before you knew that you would have a need.   

Thanking God for His goodness,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

A FAITH FOR THE STORMS

During my lifetime I have witnessed several high-profile assassinations.  I was in high school when President John F. Kennedy was shot.  I was in college when Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were killed.  I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard about each of these tragedies.  But the one that has affected me the most and has given me the greatest feeling of loss is the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

I am confused and puzzled by some of the things that I have heard people say that Charlie Kirk said.  But still I see him as a man who deeply loved the Lord Jesus, who wanted everyone to know and love Jesus, who had boundless energy and an incredible gift for reaching young people, and who was able to present and defend traditional values and views in a way that made them credible and viable.  And the way that his wife, Erika Kirk, in front of the whole world forgave the man who had killed her husband – because that is what Jesus did – was absolutely astounding.  With her at the helm I am hopeful for the future of that organization.

The death of Charlie Kirk is certainly not the only example of a tragic killing that is a reflection of the political extremism, violent rhetoric, and high levels of hatred that are tearing our nation apart.  Every single one of them should cause us to ask, “How did it get this way and what can be done about it?”  We are living in the worst of storms – social, political, inter-personal, moral, and spiritual storms.  What can help us as God’s people face, endure, and maybe even help calm the storms?  What can give us A FAITH FOR THE STORMS?

We live in Arizona northeast of Phoenix.  Up until a few years ago the area where my wife and I live was open desert.  New homes are being built further and further out into the desert.  Most of the time Arizona is sunny.  But we do have storms.  During the summer monsoon season we have thunderstorms that equal anything I ever experienced in Minnesota.  And we can have very heavy rainfall.  We can have rainfall that makes roads impassable.  While walking our dog I was looking at the way in which the land was graded, desert washes were preserved, and the area was prepared before homes were built.  There are major washes between rows of houses that allow for the flow of very heavy rain without endangering the homes.  Storms will come.  Very intense storms will come.  How can a community be planned so that it is prepared for the storms?  How can we live our lives so that we are ready for the storms?  What can give us A FAITH FOR THE STORMS?

To answer that question I would like to look at the account of two storms in the Gospel of Mark – in chapter 4, where Jesus stills a storm – and chapter 6 – where Jesus walks on water. 

The first thing I notice in both stories is that a storm came into the lives of the disciples even when thy were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do.
Mark 4: 35 – “When evening had come, Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’”
Mark 6: 45 – “Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.”

Obeying Jesus and doing exactly what God tells us to do is not going to protect us from all storms.  And just because a severe storm is happening to us does not mean that we are living outside the will of God.    

 Mark 4: 35-41 – Jesus Stills a Storm

 Verse 37 – “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.” 

You might ask the question, Several of the disciples were seasoned fishermen.  How could seasoned fishermen have gotten caught off guard by a storm?  As I understand it, storms that come from the west – from off the Mediterranean Sea – are rainstorms that are accompanied by clouds.  You can see these storms coming.  But storms that come from the east – from off the desert – are windstorms.  There are no clouds that warn you they are coming.  And those winds are only intensified as they rush down the canyons surrounding the Sea of Galilee to a water surface that is several hundred feet below sea level.  I am reminded of what Luke said in Acts 2:2 in his description of Pentecost.  “Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind.”  The disciples who had been fishermen before they became followers of Jesus certainly knew what it was like to experience a sound like a rush of a violent wind.    

Verse 38 – “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”  When you are going through the storms in your life, have you ever wondered if Jesus is asleep?  Have you ever wondered whether Jesus cares that you were perishing? 

Jesus does care, and Jesus can do something about the storm.  Verse 39 – “He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Be silent! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.”

I believe that this was more than just a weather event.  I believe that this was a spiritual event.  This was Satan trying to stop Jesus from advancing into the Gentile world.  And I believe that the political violence, hateful rhetoric, and extreme divisiveness that are disrupting our country and tearing it apart are not just human dynamics.  They are spiritual dynamics.  The Bible tells us that the Thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10: 10).   

 Mark 6:45-51 – Jesus Walks on Water

 And then two chapters later Mark gives us another account of how our relationship with Jesus can give us A FAITH FOR THE STORMS.   Here also a storm came into the lives of the disciples even when they were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do.  Verses 45-46 – which come right after the feeding of the five thousand – “Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.”  There are three things that I would want to say from this account.

 First, Jesus prays for us during the storms.

Whatever storm you are going through right now, Jesus is praying for you just as He was praying for the disciples.  Therefore, Hebrews 4: 16 tells us that we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness,” knowing that there we will “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Jesus intercedes for us in our time of need.  We receive His mercy and grace and help in time of need.   

 Second, Jesus comes to us during the storms.

 Verses 47-48 – “When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.  When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning.” 

The same Jesus who saw that His disciples were straining at the oars against an adverse wind also sees you in all of your struggles.  But notice something.  Sometimes God does not intervene right away.  When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, but Jesus did not come to them until early in the morning.  Sometimes Jesus will not respond and come right away.  But He will always come – never too early and never too late – but just at the right time. 

And then –

Third, Jesus comes to us victorious over our greatest fears.

Verse 48 – “He came towards them, walking on the sea.”  He came to them, walking on top of the very thing that terrified the disciples the most.

Whatever it is that frightens you the most, Jesus is literally on top of.

So, are you concerned for our nation?
Are you troubled by all the political extremism, violent rhetoric, and high levels of hatred?
Does it ever feel to you like Jesus is asleep?
To put it on a personal level, do you ever wonder if He cares about what is happening to you?
Do you ever wonder if He sees your struggles?
Do you ever ask why He does not respond any sooner?

Just look out on the waters.
He is walking on the waves.
He is literally on top of what frightens, threatens, intimidates, unsettles, and upsets you the most.

In the strong Name of Jesus,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

September 2025

“O Jerusalem, I have posted guardians on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually.”  (Isaiah 62: 6)

Dear Friends:

I am very grateful for all the people who are praying regularly for Lutheran CORE and for our work of alerting people to what is happening in the ELCA.  You are like the guardians in Isaiah 62: 6, who pray continually.

I am also very grateful for all the words of encouragement, support, and appreciation which I have received in response to my recent Review and Analysis of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  As I said, it was bad, but it could have been worse.  And I believe the 2028 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be worse.

Here are some of the responses I have received, which I experienced as uplifting and sustaining.

• “Thanks for the Summary and Analysis of the CWA.  It was great, and yet troubling.”
• “Thank you for sharing your detailed review and firsthand account of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  I truly valued your insights, especially since my experience attending online was no    substitute for being present in the room.  Your reflections captured dimensions and moods that simply don’t come through the virtual platform.”
• “Thank you for your articulate, insightful & spot-on eyewitness account of CWA ’25.”  
• “Thank you for the long and interesting report from the ELCA national gathering.  You went so we didn’t have to.”

Those who are determined to make dismantling racism and promoting DEIA as the heart of who the ELCA is and what the ELCA does have yet to fully accomplish their goals, but they are well on their way.  They have made major strides forward.  During the assembly we saw clearly that there are powerful and powerfully positioned people who will not stop until ELCA governance and structure are changed so that their agenda can be made mandatory at all levels of the ELCA.  And those who are determined to eliminate bound conscience will be working tirelessly through the task force that is reconsidering the 2009 human sexuality social statement.  They are determined that the newly revised social statement will have no room for traditional views and those who hold them.  As I mentioned in my article, I believe we saw a preview of what is to come in the vote that was taken towards the end of the 2025 assembly to eliminate the words “between a man and a woman” in the social statement’s description of the church’s historical view of marriage.  The argument was that the words “between a man and a woman” are hurtful and harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.  Therefore, they must be removed.  If the ELCA will not even tolerate an accurate description of the historical view of marriage because some people experience that description as harmful and hurtful, how do we think that bound conscience has any chance to survive?  The major question is, Why will it take a full three years for the task force to eliminate bound conscience?   

And we have yet to see how all this will be impacted by the election of a new Presiding Bishop and Secretary. 

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement, which give us strength and spiritual protection as we continue our work.  And thank you for your faithful and generous financial support so that we can continue to provide the following –   

• Resources on our website, including daily devotions, worship aids, lectionary-based Bible studies and children’s messages, and videos on books and topics of interest and importance 
• Financial support for several seminarians  
• Sponsorship of the local and cross-country, intergenerational, multi-denominational mission trips organized and held by River’s Edge Ministries in Mt. Airy, Maryland 
• Support and guidance for congregations that are between pastors or will soon be losing their pastor, as well as for smaller and/or more remote congregations that are facing the real possibility that there might not be a seminary-trained pastor available for them 

Please find below a Printable Response Form or other links which you can use to give a gift towards our operating expenses.  Please also let us know how we can be praying for you.  Your prayers are especially important for us during the next three years as we continue to monitor and alert you to the relentless efforts being made to take the ELCA further and further away from the historic Christian faith.        

As a guardian with you on the wall,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741

IT WAS BAD, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE:

REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF THE 2025 ELCA CHURCHWIDE ASSEMBLY

by Dennis D. Nelson

That is how I would sum up the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  It was bad, but it could have been worse.  (2028 will probably be worse.)  For the most part, the voting members did not force the issues beyond what was being recommended, as had been feared, and on one important matter even showed some restraint.  I live in the Phoenix area, so I was able to attend most of the assembly in person as a visitor.  Being there in person you can get the “feel of the room” and also observe the makeup of the group.

1. INITIAL OBSERVATION

The first thing I noticed was how many young people and people of color there were.  I do not have the actual statistics, but a couple people at the microphone said that there were 137 people – or 17% of the voting members – who were under the age of thirty at the time of election.  The ELCA has certainly succeeded in creating the assembly makeup that they have wanted, even if some of the votes did not go as far as they would have desired.

2. ABUSE OF POWER

There is over-the-top euphoria over the election of the new presiding bishop.  Lutheran CORE experienced the worst kind of bullying and abuse of power behavior from him, as we described in our Summer 2023 and October 2023 Letters from the Director.  For several years Lutheran CORE had held a Spanish language and bi-lingual ministry Encuentro at an ELCA church in northwest Chicago.  The event was organized and led by an ELCA pastor who was also doing supply preaching at the congregation with the full knowledge of the previous synodical bishop.  After Yehiel Curry was elected bishop of the Metro Chicago Synod he threatened that pastor with removal from the ELCA clergy roster (even though he was rostered in another synod) if he did not immediately cease providing pulpit supply.  Bishop Curry then brought in an entourage to take over and close the congregation (citing S.13.24 in the model constitution for synods).  In shutting down the congregation he showed no respect, regard, consideration, or appreciation for the current congregational leaders and the decades of faithful ministry that had taken place at that location (including the decades of faithful ministry by the father of the current congregational leaders).  He evicted the sons of the former pastor from the parsonage with thirty days’ notice, even though these brothers were maintaining the property and providing leadership for the congregation.  After evicting the current leaders and forcing out the confessional supply preacher, he brought in two pastors from Peru, who introduced shaman-blessed, ayahuasca-induced seances.  I read an article written by one of these Peruvian pastors.  Her argument was that since the Conquistadores were so culturally insensitive when they conquered the Indigenous people, it is appropriate to honor and include Indigenous culture with shamans and ayahuasca (a hallucinogenic plant from the Amazon basin).  I cannot imagine the Old Testaments prophets saying that since Joshua and company were so culturally insensitive about the way they came in and conquered the land of Canaan, it would be appropriate to have an altar to Baal in the Temple in Jerusalem.

I sent the article that I had written about Bishop Curry’s style and behavior to Bishop Eaton, Imran Siddiqui (vice president of the ELCA), and the person who was chairperson of the conference of bishops at the time.  I never heard from any of them.  ELCA leaders do not want to hear anything other than the official and preferred narrative.  They will completely ignore a very valid and serious complaint about bullying and abuse of power on the part of a synodical bishop.   

 The ELCA values speaking truth to power.  I was speaking truth about the abuse of power by the person who will soon hold the most powerful position in the ELCA.  At the assembly we also heard about the ELCA’s Truth and Healing Movement as well as the truth-seeking and truth-telling initiatives revolving around Indian boarding schools.  But here we see top ELCA leaders ignoring the truth about the behavior of a fellow leader. 

3. OBSESSED WITH DEIA

We have shared how the Lutheran Congregational Support Network has responded to ELCA synodical bishops who say, “Don’t worry; what you fear will never happen; the ELCA will always respect the integrity of congregations; the Lutheran Congregational Support Network is spreading lies and misinformation.”  The words and behavior of one of the co-chairs of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church totally invalidated that argument.   

On a positive note, the “Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Congregations” that are listed in the DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) audit which the ELCA Church Council had done of its governing documents (DEIA_Report_Part_2.pdf  ) are not yet mandatory, but it was obvious that certain powerful people and forces will not stop until they are.  The wording of Memorial B14 – “Consideration of Recommendation 1 of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church” – was not as strong as the wording of Recommendation 1 as it came from the Commission.  You can find the Commission’s original wording in my article regarding Recommendations 1 and 7 in the May 2025 issue of our newsletter.   But still the Memorial, which was approved 646-144, called for the church “to acknowledge the importance of accountability in addressing racism within all structures of the ELCA, to affirm the work of the Strategy Toward Authentic Diversity Advisory Team . . . and to direct the Church Council to add a timeline to its actions taken and to provide progress updates to this church with a final report by fall 2027, including possible constitutional changes.”

Carla Christopher, co-chair of the Commission, first celebrated the fact that within the two synods where she works LGBTQ sensitivity and cultural competency training are mandatory.  Then she said that most recommendations of the DEIA audit are not possible with the ELCA’s current polity, so we need to preserve the possibility of a re-constituting convention.  Vice president Imran Siddiqui in his response to the report of the Commission said that “DEIA work has to be a part of everything we do.”  Later in the assembly one of the nominees for presiding bishop said that DEI means “of God” so DEIA must be of God.  When the top three nominees for presiding bishop were asked to respond to certain questions, one of the questions they were given was how they would implement DEIA.  And the Church Council has already cemented DEIA language and values into the governing documents of the ELCA through Continuing Resolutions which they have passed and which do not require approval by the Churchwide Assembly.  But I was most alarmed later on during the gathering when Carla Christopher, co-chair of the Commission, exploded at the microphone because of the resistance to the constitutional amendment recommended by the Commission which would fast-track the approval process for amendments that come from the floor.  Here is a recording of her stating emphatically, “We are giving the Council less than three years to make substantive changes to dismantle racism or we are going to need to rewrite the entire constitution at a special meeting.”   Here is a recording.   The process is already well underway to eventually make DEIA mandatory for congregations.  Powerful people in powerful positions will not stop until it has happened.

During her report Bishop Eaton spoke of the need to keep the ministry of Word and Sacrament central within the life of the church.  My heart was warmed as I heard her say that the proclamation of the Gospel through the Word and the administration of the sacraments are “the only thing given only to the church,” adding that she was concerned that “the church is not always clear on that.”  After stating that “our communities are filled with justice-loving and compassionate atheists,” she asked, “What makes us different?”  All of which sounds very good, and I have read her saying these things before, but they do not reflect ELCA reality.  For the ELCA DEIA is the new gospel – even though DEIA is not Gospel.  Instead DEIA is a law that always demands more and will never be satisfied.  It took a motion from the floor – which was approved 678-120 – to add a question for the final two nominees for presiding bishop regarding their faith in Jesus and to share a Scripture passage or story which shapes and sustains them.  

4. A GLIMMER OF HOPE

I experienced a glimmer of hope when an amendment was presented, discussed, and even by a very narrow margin approved that removed language from the proposed amendment to Churchwide Constitution 22.11.b.  As we discussed in our April 2025 Letter from the Director this amendment, if approved, would have provided a fast-track approval process for constitutional amendments that come from the floor.  The amendment to the amendment was to remove language that added the phrase “or a subsequent two-thirds vote of the members of the Church Council taken within 12 months of adoption by the Churchwide Assembly.”  I was encouraged to hear even some synodical bishops speak in favor of the amendment to the amendment because of the amount of suspicion and distrust already present within their synods regarding the ELCA.  This was the discussion when, as I previously mentioned, one of the co-chairs of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church exploded at the microphone, claiming that those who were in favor of the amendment to the amendment were silencing and disregarding marginalized people.  (Her comments made me wonder what kind of amendments she wanted and planned to have come from the floor.) 

But my glimmer of hope faded when later during the assembly a voting member proposed new language, which would provide for a provisional ratification of an amendment from the floor by a vote of the church council within twelve months and then a later ratification of the amendment by the next Churchwide Assembly.  After much discussion about whether the new language was appropriate and how it would be executed, the assembly voted 517-247 to refer the motion to the Office of the Secretary for further study.  This action raises the question of how newly elected Secretary Lucille “CeCee” Mills will interpret the constitution.  The ELCA’s summary of Day Five quotes Secretary-elect Mills as describing the church’s constitution as “something that magnifies all of the things that we understand ourselves to be as Lutherans in the ELCA. . . . Making something a document that is living beyond the people who are writing it in the moment is really important.”  Over the next few years we will find out what a “living” interpretation of the constitution means.   

5. MORE THAN MERELY “EDITORIAL CHANGES”

There were many who feared that the 2025 assembly would not be satisfied with the two-step approach that was given to the Human Sexuality Social Statement Reconsiderations Task Force.  The concern was that the 2025 assembly might force a vote on the whole issue of bound conscience.  That kind of premature action did not happen.  The vote on bound conscience, which is the provision which gives a place of dignity and respect also to traditional views and those who hold them, is scheduled to take place in 2028.  As we described in an article in the January 2025 issue of our newsletter, the task force was claiming that they were merely recommending “editorial changes.”  “Substantive changes” – such as what to do about bound conscience – will not be considered until 2028.   But I would not call the 2025 changes, which amount to no less than a full embrace of every form of gender identity and every sexual orientation – merely “editorial changes.”

The assembly stayed within the boundaries of the first step in the process except for one motion that came from the floor.  That motion was to remove the phrase “between a man and a woman” from the language “The Christian tradition has historically defined marriage to be a covenant between a man and a woman, as reflected in the language of Genesis.”  The rationale for the amendment was that the current wording is harmful to LGBTQ people and does not correspond to their lived experience.  The claim was that merely reminding people that marriage between one man and one woman has been the historic teaching of the church was traumatic and upsetting.  The maker of the motion argued that rather than waiting three more years when bound conscience will be considered, something could be done now to make the social statement less harmful.  The amendment to the amendment was adopted 552-211, and the revised social statement was approved 742-46.  We saw three things happening here.  First, the re-writing of history to eliminate what some people find hurtful or harmful.  Second, the defining of truth as something that conforms to some people’s liking and lived experience.  And third, a preview of what is to come in the 2028 reconsideration of bound conscience. 

A member of the task force who was one of those who made the presentation spoke of the desire that there be “a place for each of us in this church.”  He also said, “We understand that we may not have your trust, but we hope moving forward we can earn it.”  Depending upon what happens to bound conscience in 2028, we will know whether the ELCA can be trusted.       

The assembly approved (748-15) “The Common Statement on the Filioque,” an agreement between the Lutheran World Federation and the Eastern Orthodox Church.  The term “filioque” has to do with the phrase in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”  This agreement does not call for the removal of the “filioque.”  Instead it created a common understanding between Lutheran and Orthodox church bodies, allowing both versions to be recited. 

Much has been written and said about this decision’s showing that the ELCA cares more about church unity than doctrine.  But what I would like to focus on is Bishop Eaton’s comment that if Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians can overcome a thousand-year division over this much greater issue, then we certainly should be able to overcome division over much lesser issues today.  Either Bishop Eaton is trying to minimize it or she does not understand what the full impact will be if the ELCA makes DEIA mandatory for congregations and/or eliminates the provision for bound conscience.

6. UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

There was a very interesting amendment to bylaw 5.01.E19 that was approved by a vote of 530-236 to increase the percentage goal of youth and young adult voting membership of the Churchwide Assembly, Church Council, and churchwide boards and committees from 10% to 20%.  I have already mentioned the large number of youth and young adults who were voting members of the 2025 assembly.  This representation was to be on top of constitutional amendment 12.41.11.e, which states that in addition to their regular number of voting members for the Churchwide Assembly, synods may elect one additional voting member who is a member of a historically underrepresented group and one additional voting member who is a person of color and/or a person whose primary language is other than English.  Though the amendment was being recommended by the Church Council, the assembly voted 492-279 to refer it back to the Legal and Constitutional Review Committee of the Church Council.

As I mentioned in my article in the May 2025 issue of our newsletter, a Continuing Resolution passed by the Church Council defines historically underrepresented groups as including persons of color, persons whose primary language is other than English, persons of diverse gender identities, persons of diverse sexual orientations, persons experiencing poverty, persons of lower income, persons living with disabilities, and persons who are not natural-born United States citizens.  If the Legal and Constitutional Review Committee ends up recommending and a future Churchwide Assembly ends up approving this amendment, a large number of the positions in churchwide assemblies, the church council, and churchwide boards and committees will be given to youth, young adults, and members of historically underrepresented groups.  Since a large percentage of the members of the majority of ELCA congregations are old white people, who will then be the underrepresented group? 

The Churchwide Assembly extended much acknowledgement and consideration to Indigenous people.  There was the required opening land acknowledgement, an evening Powwow, a Day of Remembrance for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, and much discussion and repentance over the ELCA’s complicity in the abuses caused by Indian Boarding Schools.  But there is one major way in which the ELCA rejects a basic value of Indigenous people – the respecting and valuing of the wisdom of tribal elders.

7. ENDLESS CONFESSION

I stayed Friday afternoon for the Service of Confession and Repentance for Sexism and Patriarchy.  It seemed strange that I was being called on to repent of Sexism and Patriarchy in the midst of the following realities.  The two top elected leadership positions in the ELCA at the time were being held by women.  The Conference of Bishops is pretty equally divided between men and women.  A majority of ELCA seminary presidents are women.  A majority of the members of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church are women.  A majority of leaders of Lutheran churches in other countries who greeted the assembly were women.  And I did not keep a running tally, but it seemed that the majority of people who went to one of the microphones to speak were women.

As I said before, DEIA is the new gospel of the ELCA – even though DEIA is not Gospel.  Instead it is a law that always demands more and will never be satisfied.  You can never grovel, repent, apologize, and change your ways enough.      

There was also a very interesting phrase in one of the petitions during the service.  God was addressed as “Holy midwife.”  Now I am not surprised that the designers of the service would want to include every possible feminine image for God, but “Holy midwife”?   Think about it.  A midwife does not procreate.  A midwife does not bring about new life.  A midwife merely helps deliver new life that has been created by others.  The image of God as “Holy midwife” diminishes God from being “the one through whom all things were made.”

8. THE RISKS OF BEING WOKE

And now I would like to conclude by sharing two things that say a lot about the risks of being Woke.

First, Tuesday was the day that everyone was to wear red in solidarity with Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.  When the ELCA treasurer came to the podium to give her report, she was wearing red.  She said that it was not good for a treasurer to wear red, so she ducked behind the podium and came back up wearing green.  Everyone – or at least almost everyone – chuckled. 

As the last item of the day, one person went to the microphone and shared how triggered and offended she was by someone’s making light of such a serious and sacred thing as a Day of Remembrance for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.  What a downer way to end the day.  But it did show that Woke will always find something to be triggered and offended about and by.

Second, on Friday afternoon someone made a substitute motion to amend the language of bylaw 7.31.02.a.8, striking the proposed phrase and replacing it with words including “giving special honor to members of historically underrepresented groups.”  Several people of color went to the microphone to say that they are looking for justice and equality, not special honor.  When the maker of the motion was asked where the language of “special honor” came from, she replied from Paul in 1 Corinthians 12.  Bishop Eaton asked her, “Have you read that passage?”  That question alone should have been cause for alarm.  The substitute motion was defeated (703-52).

A few minutes later a voting member went to the microphone and shared how livid and offended she was because of what 1 Corinthians 12: 24 actually says.  “God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member.”  The maker of the substitute motion was calling members of historically underrepresented groups inferior members.  The voting member said to the maker of the motion, “You have hurt me in a way you will not believe.”     

Two lessons for all who want to be Woke –

1. Be always ready to always be triggered and offended.
2. Be very careful in your quotation and interpretation of Scripture.

I said at the beginning that the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly was bad, but it could have been worse.  Will the 2028 Churchwide Assembly be worse?  It could be.  It will be worse if bound conscience is eliminated and constitutional amendments are approved so that DEIA becomes mandatory for congregations.  Will that happen?  There are powerful, preferred, and well-positioned people who are determined it will happen and will not stop until it happens.  We will continue to monitor.

Trusting in Jesus the Lord of the Church,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

* * * * * * *

VIDEO MINISTRIES

TOOLS FOR WORSHIP PLANNING – PART ONE

by Cathy Ammlung

Many thanks to NALC pastor Cathy Ammlung for this first in a series of videos intended to provide congregations – especially those with temporary and/or longer-term pastoral vacancies – with some tools for worship planning.  A link to Cathy’s video can be found HERE.  A link to our You Tube channel, which contains sixty reviews of books and videos on topics of interest and importance, can be found DEIA_Report_Part_2.pdf. 

 In this video, Cathy talks about why worship planning is important.  She describes the “flow” of the liturgy, how that actually helps create faithful worshippers, and how it creates a “reality check” for what you may be planning.  She discusses some alternatives when there’s not a Communion service.

Cathy then gives a brief preview of the other topics that will be covered in more detail in future videos: the church year; lectionaries and how to navigate them as you plan worship over a season; hymn selection and getting the most from the hymnals; and selecting, writing, and praying intercessory prayers.  An outline of these things can be sent to you as an email Word attachment.  You can contact her at [email protected].

Summer 2025

Dear Friends in Christ –

Luke 8: 26-39, the Gospel Reading for June 22, the Second Sunday after Pentecost, tells of Jesus’ delivering the Gerasene demoniac.  This story is in all three of the synoptic Gospels and it occurred right after Jesus’ calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, which I believe is significant.  This was the first time that Jesus during His public ministry ventured into Gentile territory (the presence of pigs confirms that).  Satan tried to stop Him with a storm.  When that did not work, Satan tried to stop Him with a demoniac.  What are some of the ways in which you see Satan trying to hinder, disrupt, stop, and destroy the work of God today?  

Near the beginning of the account it says, “As He (Jesus) stepped out on land.”  Near the end it says, “So He got into the boat.”  It only mentions Jesus as stepping out of and getting back into the boat.  The disciples must have been too spooked – by the storm, by being in Gentile territory, and by the demoniac – to be willing to get out of the boat.  When have you been so spooked that you did not want to do the equivalent of following Jesus out of the boat?  With all the things that are happening in our country, in our world, and even in some parts of the church today, it would be very easy to be totally spooked and just want to stay in the boat.   

Notice the way in which Luke describes the demonized man.  “For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.”  “Many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.”  Mark adds, “He was always howling and bruising himself with stones.” 

Satan hates us.  Satan’s greatest desire is to hurt the people of God and to hinder and destroy the work of God.   How do you see Satan doing that today?  As I look around I see many ways in which Satan is active overtime trying to destroy the work of the church today.   

With all the turmoil happening in our world, it would be very easy to be totally afraid.  But here we see that the forces of evil immediately recognize the far greater power of Jesus.  When the demonized man saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 

And then when Jesus asked the demon for its name, the demon replied, “Legion.”  The reason for that name is that many demons had entered him.  Jesus was establishing His authority over the demon by commanding the demon to tell Jesus his name.  Many who have a ministry of spiritual deliverance have said that demons have resisted telling their name.  A legion was the largest military unit in the Roman army and was composed of over 5,000 men.  By comparison, Mary Magdalene had only seven demons cast out of her (Luke 8:2).   

As I understand the Scriptures, God is omni-present, able to be everywhere all at the same time. Satan is a created being and therefore can only be in one place at a time.  Therefore, Satan has his various levels of followers – whom Paul describes as “rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6: 12).  These Satan assigns to specific people, places, and situations.  That is why the legion of demons begged Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss.  They would be in deep trouble with Satan if they were to abandon their post and return to hell.

Then we come to what has been for many people the most difficult part of the story.  Why would Jesus give the demons permission to enter a large herd of swine, which would lead to the death of the swine?  Why would Jesus allow the destruction of the property of others as well as the livelihood of the swineherds?  Many Bible scholars believe that these pigs were being raised to be sacrificed to idols.  So Jesus is showing that His power is not only far greater than the Legion of demons, it is also far greater than all pagan gods.   

If that is the most difficult part of the story, we then come to the saddest part of the story.  When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told people about it.  Rather than being overjoyed that the demoniac had been delivered, the people were afraid.  And because they were afraid, they asked Jesus to leave.  They asked Jesus to leave, and He obliged them by leaving.  The tragedy is not only that Jesus left – as requested – but there is no record that He ever returned.  Sometimes it seems that some parts of the church have so elevated other values and agenda priorities that they basically have asked Jesus to leave.    

The story concludes by telling us that the man who had been delivered of demons begged Jesus that he might be with Him.  But Jesus said to him, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”  Naturally this person would want to follow Jesus because Jesus had liberated him.  But Jesus knew that he would be most effective in witnessing to people who had known him before he had been delivered.  I am very grateful for all the people who tell me that they are sharing our materials with others.  Who are the people who would be most apt to listen if they were to hear it from you?

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be coming up at the end of July.  We are deeply concerned about actions that will be taken, including further cementing DEIA values and Marxist critical race theory into the governing documents of the church, substituting a “gospel” of dismantling racism for the Gospel of forgiveness of sins through the cross, a fast-tracking of the approval process for amendments to constitutions, and a full embrace of the most extreme LGBTQ+ agenda.  Like with the townspeople in Luke 8, it feels like many in the ELCA are asking Jesus to leave. 

Thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement, and faithful financial support, all of which enable and strengthen us to continue to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Please find enclosed a form which you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses.  Your prayers are especially important as we face all the changes that we anticipate coming from the upcoming ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  Please let us know how we can be praying for you.     

In the all-powerful Name of Jesus,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741

Easter 2025

Dear Friends in our Risen Lord –

The Gospel reading for April 6, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, is a powerful example of overwhelming love and deepest gratitude that express themselves in extravagant giving. John 12 starts out, “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for Him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with Him.”

The previous chapter (John 11) tells the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. I believe that what is going on here in chapter 12 is that Lazarus and his sisters wanted to show their gratitude, so they invited Jesus and His disciples over for dinner. “Martha served.” If the account in Luke 10: 38-42 is any indication, when Martha served a dinner, she went all out. The meal and hospitality were over the top. There is a lady at the church where my wife and I are members who – whenever she is in charge of the food for an event – she goes all out. It is over the top. Whenever she – or the chef at a nearby Lutheran retreat center – are in charge of the soup for one of the Lenten soup suppers, you know that it is going to be very, very good.

What does Mary do? Verse 3 – “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” According to Judas in verse 5 this perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii (what the average person would earn in a full year). Jesus responds in verse 7, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

Mary just had to do something extravagant to show her love for Jesus – to express her deep gratitude to Jesus – for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. What is the most extravagant thing you have done because of your love for someone – because of your love for God?

The apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians –

8: 9 – “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.”

9: 6 – “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

9: 8 – “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

9: 11 – “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity.”

9: 15 – “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

You have shown your great love for God by your faithful and generous support of the work of the Lord, including the ministry of Lutheran CORE. Thank you for including Lutheran CORE in your giving. A major part of our work right now is evaluating and alerting you to what will be coming to and what will be acted on by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly this summer. Again this year we are supporting NEXUS, the ministry of Bible study, theological reflection, fellowship, and vocational discernment for high schoolers put on by Grand View University in Des Moines. We are again supporting the Cross Country Mission and City Mission work of River’s Edge Ministries in Mt. Airy, Maryland, which provide encouragement and practical assistance for rebuilding their lives for victims of natural disasters in various parts of our country, as well as outreach into inner city Baltimore. In the past we have provided financial assistance for four students at the North American Lutheran Seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. We have now doubled that number to eight.

And yet we know that the work of Lutheran CORE – as well as the work of our ministry partners – will be severely criticized by those who see us as a threat to their relentless efforts to remake the ELCA and redefine its mission. I have already shared how I was removed from the ELCA Clergy Facebook group because my work with Lutheran CORE was accused of being hostile and abusive. And ELCA leaders are obviously threatened by the work of the Lutheran Congregational Support Network as shown by the document the ELCA prepared in rebuttal. If you have not already done so, I urge you to sign up to be on the email mailing list of the Network. You will find a link to their website on the ELCA Focus page on our website. It contains written communications as well as videos that discuss the anticipated changes to the ELCA Constitutions that are most alarming. It does not surprise us that there will be powerful forces that oppose us, just as one of Jesus’ disciples severely criticized Mary for what she did for Jesus.

Please find below links you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses. Please also let us know how we can be praying for you. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, as we seek to live as the apostle Paul wrote – sowing bountifully, loving extravagantly, and thanking God for His indescribable gift.

In Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741