Response to

The Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church: Myths and Facts

Nov 23, 2024

By Bishop Michael Rinehart

Note from the Director:  I was absolutely amazed to read the response from an ELCA synodical bishop to what he calls myths and untruths that are circulating regarding the work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.  I am equally amazed over how totally non-communicative the ELCA is about that work.  Here is my response to Bishop Rinehart’s comments.  My responses are in all bold and are preceded by my name, NELSON.   

NELSON: The website for the Lutheran Congregations Support Network did not go public until Tuesday, November 26.  Will his responses become even stronger if and when he becomes aware of that website?

To be honest, I hesitated to write this. I hate giving any airtime to fake news, but the misinformation I’ve seen touted about the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC) is so bizarre, it requires addressing. People have asked me, “Where can I go to find the truth?” This article will hopefully answer that question.

At the last Churchwide Assembly in Columbus Ohio, a memorial was brought by several synods to take a look at the structure of the ELCA. Our current operating system was built in 1988 when the ELCA was formed. It was a bit of a hybrid of the polities of the LCA, the ALC, and the AELC, with a smidgeon of 1980’s corporate culture thrown in to boot. Many, including me, feel our structures were built for a former reality, one that no longer exists. Personally, I feel it was built to maintain what existed, rather than adapt to the mission context. Others suggested we should examine our governing documents for any systemic racism that might be built in. I voted for the motion, and the CRLC was created.

NELSON:  The sentence “Others suggested we should examine our governing documents for any systemic racism that might be built in” minimizes the prominence given to dismantling racism in the motion to form the CRLC.  First, “being particularly attentive to our shared commitment to dismantle racism” is the only specific instruction given to the CRLC.  Second, the phrase “dismantle racism” is not ideologically neutral and without context.  Rather it reveals a whole Marxist way of viewing reality.  Third, Bishop Rinehart’s comment does not acknowledge the fact that 7 out of 35 – or a full 20% of the membership of the CRLC – is made up of DEIA officers and/or leaders at their place of employment and/or influence. 

Committees do excellent work, but they rarely bring about the kind of institutional reform I think we need. Once they started the listening process, they got an earful of ideas. Their work then became how to just decide what to do and make it manageable. The language of the motion was their guide. The CRLC shall:

…reconsider the statements of purpose for each of the expressions of this church, the principles of its organizational structure, and all matters pertaining thereunto, being particularly attentive to our shared commitment to dismantle racism, and will present its findings and recommendations to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly in preparation for a possible reconstituting convention to be called under the rules for a special meeting of the Churchwide Assembly.” [CA22.01.06]

So the motion was to review the purposes of the three expressions of the church: congregations, synods and the Churchwide Organization, looking closely at its organizational principles and being attentive to our shared commitment to dismantle racism. The group will prepare a report for the 2025 assembly.

Suggestions completely unrelated to the original motion were put forward. Then afterward, rumors about the nefarious things the CRLC was doing began to float around the Internet.
If you’d like to know what’s going on, here’s a summary of topics and conversations, as well as a schedule of meetings.

Imagine my surprise when I saw detractors of the ELCA reporting that the CRLC was planning to take over the ELCA, take possession of all church properties, grounds, and finances, remove bound conscience, demand a double supermajority (??) for disaffiliation or even make disaffiliation illegal, and more.

NELSON: No ELCA leader who knows and understands people should be surprised that people will become very concerned and fearful of what may be coming when there is so little communication regarding the work of the CRLC and what the ELCA Church Council will be doing with the recommendations from the DEIA audit which the ELCA had done of its governing documents.   

Most people are smart enough to easily recognize this as propaganda from outside the ELCA designed to stir up suspicion, fear, and anger. I don’t like to respond to rumors, but I’ve also found, in the absence of credible information, people can take advantage of the ill-informed.

So I took this opportunity to make contact with some folks who are on the CRLC and get the low down. I learned that the CRLC doesn’t have authority to change polity.

Myth: The CRLC is going to remove Bound conscience.
Fact: The CRLC has not discussed bound conscience at all. It’s outside of their scope. There are conversations about updating the outdated language of our human sexuality statement, which was adopted before the marriage equality act passed. Congregations and clergy cannot be forced to marry or to not marry anyone.

NELSON: That is true that discussing bound conscience is outside the scope of the CRLC.  There is another task force that has the responsibility to review the 2009 human sexuality social statement and reconsider the provision for bound conscience.  So far there has been no report from that task force, even though the 2025 Churchwide Assembly is less than eight months away. 

Myth: Instead of a 2/3 vote, the ELCA is going to require a double supermajority (whatever that is) to disaffiliate.
Fact: No it isn’t. Discussing or amending the process of disaffiliation is not a part of the CRLC’s work at all. There are no conversations about this on the CRLC or anywhere in the ELCA that I’ve heard.

NELSON: I also am not aware of any movement to require a double supermajority to disaffiliate.  I also do not know what a double supermajority is.  Instead what the ELCA requires is two separate, supermajority votes with a certain amount of time in between.  It is a cheap shot to mock those who have mistakenly said “double supermajority.”  With the lack of information regarding the discussions and actions of the CRLC – and with another church body (the United Methodist Church) making it more difficult for congregations to leave – it is natural that people will fear that amending the process of disaffiliation will be a part of the report and recommendations from the CRLC. 

Myth: The ELCA is going to make it illegal to disaffiliate. If you don’t disaffiliate before 2025 you will not be able to.
Fact: This is completely false. This is obviously made up by someone who wants to encourage congregations to come over to their denomination.

NELSON: Again, because of the lack of information it is easy to understand that many people will be fearful that the changes recommended by the CRLC will make it impossible to disaffiliate – or impossible for a congregation to keep its property if it disaffiliates.  

Myth: In order to dismantle racism, colonialism, and patriarchy, the whole ELCA structure is going to be dismantled. The “new CRLC committee” is going to be in charge of the ELCA.
Fact: No it isn’t. The CRLC has no legislative authority. The CRLC has discussed issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and how some aspects of the structures of the church have caused pain.

NELSON: True, the CRLC has no legislative authority.  It is the Churchwide Assembly that has legislative authority.  The “new CRLC committee” is not going to be in charge of the ELCA.  But they will be making recommendations to the ELCA Church Council, who will be making recommendations to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly.  And with all the talk about racism being systemic, the need to dismantle racism, the ELCA’s being the whitest denomination in the United States, and white people’s inability to not be racist, it is not too far down the road to say that the ELCA needs to be dismantled.   

Myth: Every ELCA church will need to go through a financial audit. One post claimed there would be fines if a church has not spent money on social justice committees “at the government level.”
Fact: Someone made this up. The fact is, every congregation does an annual internal audit, and it should for its own safety. Synods have an annual external audit.

NELSON: With all the “Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Congregations” which are a part of the DEIA audit which the ELCA had done of its governing documents, and with neither the CRLC nor the ELCA Church Council so far saying anything publicly about what will be done with that audit, it is natural for congregations to fear what they may be expected or even required to do and what will happen to them if they do not. 

Myth: The ELCA is going to take possession of all church properties.
Fact: Nope. There is no discussion about or desire to acquire church properties. (And since each ELCA congregation is a separate 501.c(3) it would be nearly impossible.) The idea that some entity (synod, churchwide, etc.) wants to steal your property or close your church is a bizarre, old trope.

NELSON: A synod’s taking over a congregation and its property and closing the congregation is not “a bizarre, old trope.”  Rather it is something synods are doing as they make use of S13.24 in the model constitution for synods. 

Myth: If your congregation does not give a certain amount to LGBTQIA causes or social justice committees “at the government level,” you will be reprimanded and ordered to pay a certain amount to the ELCA structure.
Fact: I truly don’t know where people get this stuff. This has no basis in reality.

NELSON: See comments above re the lack of communication from the CRLC and the ELCA Church Council regarding the work of the CRLC, the recommendations that will be coming from the CRLC, and what the ELCA Church Council will do with the recommendations from the DEIA audit.  Also Bishop Rinehart ignores the fact that people will understandably be concerned in light of the fact that 7 out of 35 – or a full 20% of the makeup of the CRLC – are LGBTQ.  And this does not take into account the additional number that are activists on LGBTQ issues.    

I get to wondering who is making up this stuff and why? (I have some suspicions.) Who stands to benefit? Consider this: Suppose you are part of a small splinter denomination that broke off for this or that reason. When you broke off, you imagined an avalanche of congregations would follow you, but it didn’t come to pass. Now you’re a small struggling denomination, with congregations that are not growing. You have no seminaries, no colleges, no camps, and are no longer part of the Lutheran World Federation. The only way you grow is by poaching congregations from other denominations by stirring up division. How do you do that? You make up stuff and play to their fear. “The bishop is going to close your congregation.” “The synod is going to steal your property.” “The denomination is going to take control of your finances.”

There are lots of other rumors floating around, but I hate to give them the light of day. If you have questions or concerns, give me a call. I’m happy to look into things and find out what’s what. I try to follow my parents’ advice: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.”

A Churchwide Assembly will be held again in the summer of 2025 as it is every three years. Any recommendations from the CRLC that require a constitutional amendment will be published in advance. Constitutional amendments can be proposed but not ratified until the following assembly.

At the end of the day, people will believe what they want, for whatever conscious or unconscious reasons they have. I am reminded of a Luther quote, which may be apocryphal:

You cannot keep birds from flying over your head,
but you can keep them from building nests in your hair.
– Martin Luther

NELSON: I would hope that all this will show ELCA leaders that they need to do a far, far better job at communicating what will be coming to and what will be voted on at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly because of the work of the CRLC and the DEIA audit.  The lack of communication and transparency has been astounding. 

 

December 2024

Dear Friends in Christ –

Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1: 31, 33).  This was in fulfillment of the promise God made to David through the prophet Nathan – “Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7: 16).

This fall I have been teaching a Sunday morning adult Bible class at the ELCA congregation where my wife and I are members on the life of David.  I have entitled the series, “A Man After God’s Own Heart,” which is the way that Samuel described the next king after Saul had been rejected because of his disobedience.

I have shared with those attending that I believe that the two best days of David’s life were (1) when he was anointed to be the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16: 13) and (2) when the prophet Nathan told him that his throne would be established forever.  I also asked them what have been the best days of their lives. 

I am sure that from the time when he was anointed, David looked at himself and his life in a completely different way.  As we read the accounts of his being chased by a severely threatened and fiercely jealous King Saul, there were extremely difficult situations that David handled differently and better because he was completely secure in who he was as the one who had been chosen by God.  In the cave at En-Gedi (1 Samuel 24) and in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26) David would not allow his men to kill the king – even though they had the opportunity to do so – because Saul was “the Lord’s anointed.”  Knowing that he would be the next king, David was willing to let things work out in God’s way and according to God’s timing.

And think of what it must have meant to David – on the darkest days of his life – to remember that God had said that through his descendant (whom we know is Jesus) his house, kingdom, and throne would be established forever.  It would not end with him – or after one or two more generations.

I have now been serving as executive director of Lutheran CORE for nearly ten years.  Previously I had served as pastor of an ELCA congregation in southern California for forty years.  I feel that my work with Lutheran CORE is the culmination and high point of my entire professional ministry career.  I believe that all that I have done, learned, and been through as a pastor was preparing me for what I am doing now. 

The board of Lutheran CORE and I are fully committed to keeping you informed about the structural and governance changes that are likely to come from the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.  The Commission continues to hold its cards close to its chest.  I interpret their behavior as their not wanting us to know what they will be recommending until close enough to the time of the August 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that there will not be adequate opportunity to make people aware and give people a chance to process the potentially drastic changes.  The board of Lutheran CORE and I are also fully committed to alerting you to the all-encompassing redefinition of mission and ministry that will most certainly result from the DEIA audit which the ELCA had done of its governing documents.  We are deeply concerned about how many of these so-called “Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Congregations” will become expectations or even requirements and what will be done to congregations that are not DEIA compliant.  Third, we will let you know whether the provision for bound conscience is at risk when there finally is some official word from the task force that is reviewing and reconsidering the 2009 human sexuality social statement.

The board of Lutheran CORE and I feel that we have been called by God to do this work of alerting you to what is coming and helping you prepare and be ready to respond. 

We are encouraged and inspired by the way in which being anointed by God was a great source of definition of calling and strength for David.  We also think of what it must have meant for him to know that the kingdom would last beyond him.  His efforts would not be in vain. 

Many people have asked me, “How do you keep going?  Do you ever become frustrated, discouraged, or feel overwhelmed?”  I always reply No.  I work with no delusion that our efforts will get the ELCA to change.  Rather I work with the hope that more ELCA pastors, congregations, and leaders will become aware of the seriousness of what is coming and will be equipped with knowledge and tools to make good decisions and take action.  I cannot imagine that God will bless what the ELCA is doing and that what the ELCA is doing will end well. 

In Matthew 16: 18 Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”  In 1 Corinthians 15: 58 the apostle Paul wrote, “Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Thank you for your prayers and your faithful, generous financial support.  Please find below a link to print 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, including the above as well as providing resources such as worship aids, prayers, daily devotions, weekly lectionary-based Bible studies and children’s messages, video book reviews, webinars, and support and assistance for congregations in transition.  Direct links for online payments are also found below.

In the Name of Christ, in Whom we are chosen and through Whom we have a secure future. 

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

The purpose of this communication is to inform you about a movement called the Lutheran Congregations Support Network.  Their goal is to develop a means to inform ELCA congregations of coming constitutional changes in the ELCA and to help congregations be prepared and know how they can respond.

The Network will not deal with theological or culture war issues.  Instead they will deal with constitution issues – what property rights and protections congregations have in the current ELCA constitution and how those rights and protections could be at risk in a new, revised constitution. 

A November 20 news release regarding the November 14-17 meeting of the ELCA Church Council reported the following as among the key actions taken by the Council –

• Approved amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” that were drafted in response to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Audit. The audit report was presented to the council at its fall 2023 meeting.
• Recommended to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly certain amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” that were brought to the council by the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.

As has been typical, the ELCA is not communicating what those amendments entail, nor do they tell us how much advance notice they will give us prior to the July 28-August 2 Churchwide Assembly which will consider these recommendations.

As part of their goal and purpose of helping congregations protect their property and keep from being taken over, the Network is putting together a list of contract law attorneys that will help congregations think and act strategically. 

Here is a link to the website of the Network. 

lutherancongregationalsupportnetwork.org

This website will activate on Tuesday, November 26 and will contain links to three videos –

• interviews with pastors and congregations that have experienced ELCA tactics
• a description of the process by which a congregation can lose autonomy and come under institutional oversight
• publicly available information about the 2025 Churchwide Assembly.

May the Lord give you courage and wisdom as you consider this information.  Please help us get the word out to others.

Blessings in Christ,
Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lutherancongregationalsupportnetwork

Youtube:    https://www.youtube.com/@LCSN-us

Instagram: lcsn.social 

Email update signup:  https://mailchi.mp/f24b14632a56/subscribe-to-lcsn

September 2024

ASTOUNDED BUT NOT SURPRISED

Dear Friends in the Savior-King –

I found myself fluctuating between being astounded and not surprised when a friend of Lutheran CORE told me of her synodical bishop’s presentation to her ELCA congregation. When asked about the ELCA’s recent DEIA (Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Accessibility) audit and how it might impact the future of congregations and the report and recommendations from the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, the synodical bishop said that he did not know about the DEIA audit until recently. When the friend of Lutheran CORE challenged him on his statement inasmuch as the audit was the result of official church action, cost who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars, was presented to the ELCA Church Council in November 2023, has been reviewed by the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, and is available to everyone online, she was cutoff. I really question the honesty and integrity of any ELCA synodical bishop who claims that he or she had not been aware of the audit until recently.

Another friend of Lutheran CORE told me that his synodical bishop tried to minimize the audit by saying that in his synod the recommendations from the audit will never become requirements. Why should we believe that?

In the September issue of our newsletter, CORE Voice, I have written regarding the work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. Again, I am astounded (but not surprised) that while the ELCA Churchwide Assembly that called for the formation of the Commission was held in August 2022, it was not until July 2023 that the Commission held their first meeting, and now more than half of the time has passed between their first meeting and the time when they need to present their report and recommendations first to the Conference of Bishops and then to the Church Council. At the beginning of the process a lot of people used grand and glorious language to describe what they hoped would come forth out of the Commission, but the written summaries of their meetings only speak in generalities and are completely non-informative. In my article I suggested two possible reasons. First, they are just spinning their wheels; they are not getting anything done; they do not know how to make grand and glorious ideas into reality. Or second, they are purposefully not telling us what they are doing. They do not want to create chaos and turmoil until the end. Again, how can you trust the honesty and integrity – and/or the competence – of a Commission that functions like that?

I was astounded but not surprised when I watched the livestreams and recordings of the evening sessions for the ELCA’s Youth Gathering this past July. As expected, the young people attending were totally indoctrinated in the LGBTQ+ agenda, transgender and non-binary ideology, and the virtue of being social justice warriors. The only time when Jesus was mentioned in the Video Summary of the gathering was when the bishop of the host synod said that Jesus calls us to challenge systems of oppression. Certainly, the Old Testament prophets like Amos and Micah call us to “do justice,” but does the ELCA really believe that the main message and mission of Jesus and the Church is to challenge systems of oppression? What was equally astounding (but not surprising) was how quickly the recordings of the evening sessions were taken down from the internet. The only conclusion that I can come to is that the ELCA does not want us to know what was “pumped into the minds” of the young people.

As we have promised, we will continue to keep you informed about whether traditional views and those who hold them will continue to have a place of respect in the ELCA’s revised human sexuality social statement, as well as about the work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church and the place of DEIA ideology in the Renewed Church.

But as we do all that we will continue to provide resources and support for confessional Lutherans who hold to the authority and reliability of the Bible. We will continue to offer on our website worship resources such as prayers and hymn suggestions, daily devotions, weekly lectionary-based Bible studies and children’s messages, and video reviews of books and on topics of interest and importance. In addition we will continue to support the local and cross country mission trips of River’s Edge Ministries in Mt. Airy, Maryland, and the NEXUS program of Grand View University. We will continue to have a support group for seminarians and young people considering going to seminary, and we will continue to offer our Congregations in Transition and Congregational Lay Leadership Initiative ministries for churches that are between pastors that are still hoping to call a pastor as well as churches that are realizing that there will possibly or even probably not be a seminary-trained, ordained pastor for them to call.

A new ministry, which was described in our September newsletter, is our series of webinars for pastors and lay leaders and members of congregations. The first one is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 and is entitled “Planning as a Paradigm Shift.” Future webinars are being planned and will provide inspiration, encouragement, and practical ideas for leadership and ministry.

Thank you for your prayers and your faithful and generous financial support, which enable us to continue to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. Please find below a link to a form which you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you” (Philippians 1: 3-4). That is how we feel about you.

Blessings in Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

Summer 2024

Dear Friends –

In the March 2024 issue of our newsletter, CORE Voice, I wrote about the DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility) audit which the ELCA had commissioned a law firm to do of its governing documents. I listed several examples of the audit’s Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Congregations. There are also Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Synods and Churchwide. I asked the question, What will be the consequences for congregations if and when these recommendations become requirements? If congregations that are DEIA-compliant are rewarded with such things as having extra voting members at synod assemblies and greater access to grants and other financial resources, how will congregations that are not DEIA-compliant be punished? For example, will they not be given any names of possible candidates for call if the congregation is looking for a pastor?

Since then several friends of Lutheran CORE have shared with me how their synodical bishops are trying to “calm them down.” Bishops have said, “You do not need to worry. These recommendations will never become requirements.” One bishop even said, “We in the ELCA do not do things that way.”

Therefore I read with great interest – but no surprise – a posting on the Facebook page for the ELCA Youth Gathering this summer which said, “Reminder! All Adult Leaders attending the #elcayg2024 are required to complete two trainings on gLearn: ‘Anti-Racism’ and ‘Leading Well.’. . . Please note that adult leaders will not receive a wristband or access to any venues if these courses are not complete upon check-in.”

So much for “DEIA compliance recommendations will never become requirements.” But did anyone ever believe that anyway?

We of Lutheran CORE are committed to keeping you informed of ways in which the ELCA will continue to rush headlong to the extreme far left. In addition to monitoring ways in which the ELCA will enforce DEIA compliance, we will alert you to the following –

• The content delivered by the keynote speakers at the Youth Gathering in July. The last time – in 2018 – keynote speakers included a transgender activist and her pre-adolescent, transgender child and the ELCA’s first “Public Theologian,” who led 31,000 young people in a chant rejecting traditional views as a lie from Satan.
• The work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, which, as we have written, are developing a plan for a church based not upon Scripture but upon critical race theory and DEIA ideology.
• The work of the Task Force that is reviewing the 2009 human sexuality social statement, including a possible reconsideration of the four positions of bound conscience. I have written about how I have had two zoom conversations with two Churchwide staff members who will be working with the task force. They asked me what hopes I have for the process. I told them that I have no hopes for the process. Instead I am certain that sooner or later – under relentless pressure from powerful and preferred voices – the ELCA will eliminate the provision for bound conscience. In doing so the ELCA will be saying that there is no longer a place of dignity and respect for traditional views and those who hold them. The ELCA will also be showing that it cannot be trusted.

I am often asked, “How do you have the strength and stamina to be able to continue this work?” I answer, I feel a calling from God, I find a great sense of personal fulfillment, and I receive so many expressions of support and appreciation. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, your fervent prayers, and your faithful and generous financial support that enable us to continue to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.

In addition to the above, we will continue to provide the following –

• Resources on our website, including daily devotions, worship aids, Bible studies, and videos on books and topics of interest and importance. A new resource on our website are weekly, lectionary based children’s messages.
• Support to orthodox seminarians, young adults planning on attending seminary, and the NEXUS program of Grand View University – a week of Bible study, theological reflection, fellowship, and vocational discernment for high schoolers.
• Sponsorship of local and cross-country, intergenerational and 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 link to a form which 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 do what the apostle Paul urged his young friend Timothy to do. “Fight the good fight of the faith” and “Guard what has been entrusted to you” (1 Timothy 6: 12, 20).

Seeking to be faithful,

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

How DEIA, Anti-Racism and CRT Are Becoming the New Gospel in the ELCA

Any meaningful discussion of these modern-day heresies absolutely must begin and end with scripture.  DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and now Accessibility – other letters are soon to come, I’m sure, as other intersectional groups demand recognition and victimhood status), Anti-Racism (which seems to actually be sort of reverse racism), and CRT (Critical Race Theory), which defines everything and everyone through the lens of racism. They ultimately divide the world into victims and victimizers, and if you’re deemed a victimizer, you must be destroyed at any cost. 

Although these ideologies are often dressed up in biblical/religious terms to sound Christian enough to mislead people, they actually are in direct opposition to scriptural admonitions, and in fact seek by their very nature to undermine the authority of Scripture and replace the Good News of the Gospel of God’s love poured out for us through Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, with something truly vile and destructive. In order for these progressive idolatries (more on that term later) to be accomplished, people have to be convinced that the Bible is wrong and not to be trusted in matters of faith and life, that faith only matters if it is filtered through the DEIA, CRT and anti-racist ideologies – nothing else will be tolerated!

As background and foundation for this article, I ask that the following biblical references be kept in mind and heart. The biblical language is clear and must not be allowed to be subverted by the typical “theological word salad,” manipulative gaslighting tactics and fear mongering (“If you don’t agree with us, you’re a racist, homophobic, transphobic, or whatever ad hominem attack they can think of to cower people into silence) so often used by activists and race-baiters to stifle debate and confuse those who are not well-grounded in scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

Scripture for Consideration

Galatians 3:23-29, especially verse 28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (NRSV)

Colossians 3:5-11, especially vs. 11: “In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!” (NRSV)

1 Corinthians 12:12-13: “¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (NRSV)

Rom 8:1-8, especially 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (NRSV)

The DEIA, Anti-Racism and CRT Replacement Gospel

One of the great gifts that Christianity has given to the world has been the cure for the destructive problem of “tribalism.” For the purposes of this article, I would define tribalism as the pitting of one tribe, nation, group or even gender and intersectional identity against another. When Christianity began to spread, something amazing happened: tribalism no longer defined the lives of people of faith, and that change affected their communities.  A new possibility for communal living began to emerge because people believed in, as THE defining characteristic of their lives, salvation and forgiveness through faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for them.  As people came to faith, the tribalism that had separated them and pitted them against one another began to fade away. The rebirth that comes through baptism and faith was incompatible with the old waring cycles of death and destruction, and light began to shine in the darkness as the Kingdom of God began to emerge. Although we begin to see changes coming in cultures and even governments because of the presence of those changed by faith, darkness, however, will always be a part of this broken and sinful world.

Despite all the happy rhetoric surrounding them, DEIA, CRT, anti-racism, and the victim-victimizer way of categorizing people actually turn people against one another, bringing back the tribalism that fell to the power of forgiveness, becoming ultimately profoundly racist and demonic.

Why? Because it skips the whole life-changing-relationship with Jesus part that CAUSED the changes and tries to go right to the end result. But since scripture and true faith are bypassed, the end result actually becomes the activists’ Utopian fantasy of a perfect world. This is where my use of the term idolatry comes in. They worship this vision and will destroy anything in the way of accomplishing it. Their goal, sadly, is a reflection of their own brokenness(as all idols are), and therefore HAS to accommodate virtually every kind of behavior forbidden by scripture (just keep adding more letters to the abbreviations!). God and scripture are, other than the occasional out-of-context reference to give some illusion of legitimacy, taken out of the equation completely. The resulting idolatry is then inside-out and backwards (I think the technical term is “bass-ackwards”) from what scripture invites us to experience. 

The Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church

Imagine the horror and embarrassment of ELCA leadership when it was discovered that after 35 years of mandated 10% quotas of people of color and people whose primary language is other than English, the ELCA actually became on average MORE Caucasian, with some figures being quoted as high as 97%!

Imagine the thought processes at work: “What can we do now? How can we FORCE the ELCA to become the church that we want it to be. The ‘racist’ ELCA must be destroyed and rebuilt in our image (but see Genesis 1:21 to see whose image is important!). We’ll call it ‘decolonization’ or ‘deconstruction,’ but we’ve got to completely destroy it. But how can we make the churches go along with all of this? I know! We’ll use guilt to do it! That worked before, right? We’ll throw enough Bible-sounding word salad at them to confuse them, but we’ve got to convince the 97% that THEY are the problem, condemned by God, that they are evil, racist, misogynistic, sexist, and that they are victimizers! THIS is the new gospel. ‘No condemnation in Christ Jesus’? Hah! We’ll HEAP condemnation on them! We’ll minimize Jesus’ death on the cross and salvation through faith in him. We’ll undermine people’s confidence in scripture, the confessions and the creeds, and we’ll guilt them into submission. Then they will actually help us destroy the church! Brilliant! And we’ll promise them a million new members who look just like us! All they have to do is shut up and get out of the way.”

In order to accomplish this on any level, ALL of the institutions of the church must be changed so that DEIA is the unquestioned operating procedure (done!), and they have to infuse DEIA into all of the constitutional documents of Churchwide, synods, and especially churches. Already on the ELCA website is the result of their DEIA audit and recommended changes to all of our constitutions. Being pushed by the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, this represents the reworking of the framework of the ELCA, from top to bottom. Once the DEIA is fully unleashed, nothing can stop it, and I don’t think most of the leadership in the ELCA fully understands what hell they’re about to experience themselves. DEIA demands complete obedience with no tolerance for conservative or dissenting voices. Even bishops will be forced to conform. 

The one thing still standing in the way of full domination for DEIA is Bound Conscience. These positions, put in place apparently to gaslight people who disagreed with changes made in 2009, are what gives legal cover to those who would disagree with DEIA, CRT and anti-racism. Oddly, from a conservative and biblical point of view, these clauses are deeply flawed. We would say with Luther, that our consciences are bound to the Word of God. Oddly, that part is never mentioned in the Bound Conscience clauses.

However, when Bound Conscience goes (and it is being actively “reconsidered” now), nothing is left to protect conservative pastors and churches who still dare to disagree, and we will be subject to legal action, discipline and punishment for being racist or any of the usual phobics, and whatever other attacks that would be launched. That, I believe, will happen as soon as DEIA is fully implemented in our constitutional documents. DEIA leaves no room for disagreement. The change will be breathtakingly swift. The United Methodists are now discovering, with the departure of huge numbers of conservative pastors and churches, what happens when the conservative brakes are released. Even progressives there are showing some concern at how quickly their founding documents and positions are being abandoned – with not much of substance being put in their place.

I expect these changes to begin to be implemented at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. Once DEIA changes are implemented, Bound Conscience will fall. Conservative pastors and churches will no longer be welcome in the ELCA, nor will we be safe.

April 2024

Dear Friends in the Risen Lord –

We – along with others who have contributed to the articles in our newsletter – have written extensively about ways in which a dangerous, secular, non-Biblical agenda continues to gain strength and momentum within a segment of the church.  We will continue to monitor and keep you informed about such thing as –

• The keynote speakers for the ELCA youth and young adult gathering this summer. We find it amazing that the time to register is nearly completed but the keynote speakers have not yet been announced.  We shudder to think of who they might be – how much worse it might be than at the last gathering in 2018 when 31,000 young people were led in rejecting traditional views as a lie and transgenderism and gender confusion were promoted and celebrated.
• The way in which the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church is informed, based upon, and motivated not by the Scriptures but by a secular philosophy that ultimately is destructive – critical race theory and DEIA ideology.
• Specific ways in which the DEIA agenda will impact congregations. It will get harder and harder for traditionally minded congregations to believe that this will not impact them as they read and reflect upon the recommendations (which could become requirements) for congregations in the report from the law firm that did a DEIA audit of the ELCA’s governing documents.
• Examples of when synods have used a provision in the ELCA model constitution for synods to move in on and take over congregations and grab their property.
• Ways in which the buildup has started to eliminate the provision for bound conscience in the ELCA’s human sexuality social statement, even though the ELCA says that the results of the work of the task force are not pre-determined.

In the midst of all this Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”  No matter how much an individual church body may stray from Biblical truth, and no matter what happens to individual congregations, Jesus will build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail.

I am deeply grateful for all of the messages I receive from people who tell me that they value and appreciate the work of Lutheran CORE and they support us in prayer.  It is your fervent prayers and faithful and generous financial support that enable us to continue to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  I have listed above some of the major ways in which we will continue to be a Voice for Biblical Truth in 2024.  We will also continue to provide such things as the following as a Network for Confessing Lutherans. 

• Resources on our website, including daily devotions, worship aids, Bible studies, and videos on books and topics of interest and importance.
• Support to orthodox seminarians, young adults planning on attending seminary, and the NEXUS program of Grand View University – a week of Bible study, theological reflection, fellowship, and vocational discernment for high schoolers.
• Sponsorship of local and cross-country, intergenerational and 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 link to a form which you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses as we work to be a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Please also let us know how we can be praying for you.  Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, as we thank Jesus that He is building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail.

In the love of the cross and the power of the empty tomb,

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

Editor’s note: Bob Rognlien is a Lutheran (LCMC) pastor, author, and discipleship expert. Per Pr. Rognlien, “…the window for organizing and inviting people to such an event is rapidly closing!” Also, the video review Pr. Rognlien recorded for Lutheran CORE on his book Recovering the Way can be watched here.

For over 30 years now pastor Bob Rognlien and his wife Pam have been leading people in historically-rooted, spiritually-focused pilgrimages, following the footsteps of Jesus and Paul. Now they are releasing a feature-length documentary film called “Following the Footsteps,” which journeys with a group of pilgrims who are walking in the footsteps of Jesus and captures the impact of encountering the “real” Jesus. This non-profit film is designed to give people a taste of who Jesus really is and what happens when you learn to live his Way, so that they will be drawn to know him more and follow him more closely. 

We want as many people as possible to experience this non-profit film in the hope they will want to draw closer to Jesus! Will you help us share this film with the people in your church and wider community? We are inviting Lutheran CORE congregations to host a free premiere screening of the film in their church or local theater on Palm Sunday weekend, March 22-24. Because we don’t expect you to promote something you haven’t seen, we are offering you the opportunity to preview the film over the next week. If you feel the Spirit nudging you, visit followingthefootsteps.org/hosting-signup to find out how to preview the film and read information on hosting a free screening.

KNOWING THE OUTCOME
GIVES COURAGE AND STRENGTH IN THE MEANTIME

Dear Friend in the Savior-King:

For me one of the most inspiring, encouraging, and strength-giving passages of Scripture is John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 7: 9-17, which was the First Reading for All Saints Sunday. There are five elements in John’s depiction of the Church as having survived – as having “come out of the great ordeal” (verse 14). In the words of the beloved hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” these elements give “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”

1. A gathered throng
John writes in verse 9, “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” They are “robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” We all are concerned about aging and diminishing congregations. We are all alarmed over the pastoral shortage crisis. But here John describes the church not just as having survived, but as celebrating.

2. An occupied throne
Verse 9 – That multi-racial, multi-ethnic church is “standing before the throne.” They have not been deserted. They are not spiritually orphaned. Rather the God who is with them at the end has also been with them all the way through.

3. A slain lamb
Also in verse 9 – The church is “standing before the Lamb.” The contemporary Christian group Casting Crowns has a song entitled “Scars in Heaven.” It is about a loved one who has died after going through many painful experiences in life. Some of the words are as follows –
“I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased,
And knowing yours are healed is healing mine. . . .
The only scars in heaven are on the hands that hold you now.”
The church is standing before the Lamb, who bore all our pain, died for our sins, is with us through all our suffering, and who overcame what frightens and threatens us the most.

4. Worshipping angels
Verse 11 – “And all the angels stood around the throne . . . they fell on their faces . . . and worshiped God.” The angels have seen it all – the rebellion of Satan, the fall of the human race, the rejection of the prophets, the death of Jesus, the suffering of the church. They have seen it all, and now they see how it will end. So, in the words of verse 15, “They are before the throne of God and worship him day and night.”

5. Springs of living water
Verses 16-17 – “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” We all need relief from the things that strike us down. We all need the refreshment of living water and someone to wipe away our tears.

Yes, knowing how it will end – knowing the outcome – gives us strength and courage in the meantime.

But for me it is so sad when I see, hear, and read of so many pastors and congregations who do not give God’s people “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” Rather they merely lay on the people the heavy burdens of what they need to do – whether it be more and more deeds of compassion or relentless demands to become more involved in the latest issues of social justice activism.

Everything is at stake. We will continue to keep you posted on the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. As we have written in previous communications, because we know the makeup of the Commission, we can be certain of the outcome of their work – social justice activism as the prime purpose and mission of the church, LGBTQ+ ideology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion as the primary value system of the new church. On the day I am writing this letter I saw the first posting regarding follow up to another action taken by the ELCA’s 2022 Churchwide Assembly – reviewing the 2009 human sexuality social statement. The ELCA is now in the process of forming the task force that will reconsider the whole issue of bound conscience – which is ELCA language for eliminating the provision by which traditional views have a place of dignity and respect within the church. Again we will keep you posted on what will certainly lead to a massive breach of trust and the ELCA’s saying to those with traditional Biblical views, “You are not welcome here.” We will also keep you posted when the list of keynote speakers for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering becomes available.

During 2024 we will continue our work of providing such things as –

• Warnings regarding ways in which the historic Christian faith is being rejected by and within the Church
• Resources such as suggested prayers of the church, daily devotionals, and weekly lectionary based Bible studies
• A support group for young adults, including seminarians
• Support for the NEXUS program at Grand View University (Bible study, theological reflection, and vocational discernment for high schoolers); cross-generational, inter-denominational mission trips; and our Spanish-language/bi-lingual ministries Encuentro
• Video reviews of books of interest and importance and videos on topics related to Biblical studies, Lutheran theology, ministry, and the Christian life

Please select a button below to designate a year-end gift towards our regular operating expenses as we work to be a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. Please also let us know how we can be praying for you. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, especially at this critical time when everything is at stake.

In Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

Please join me in praying for Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA.  A recent news release from the ELCA reported that her request had been approved by the Church Council Executive Committee for a four to six month leave of absence effective November 17.  I strongly disagree with so many ways in which she is leading the ELCA, but I still recognize her as a sister in Christ and a very capable (though misguided and misguiding) leader in the church.

I wish the news release had said more and I am surprised that they did not say more.  But I can only imagine the kind of stress she has been under.  Any one of us would have become physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted because of all the issues in the ELCA. 

I also realize that hers is a situation that she helped create.  She feels the need to address multiple political and global issues rather than mind her own store.  For years – also before Elizabeth Eaton became presiding bishop – the ELCA has enabled, encouraged, and empowered disruptive forces that would be more than happy to tear the organization down.  The ELCA has been like parents who raised an out-of-control child who are now dealing with an out-of-control young adult who would be more than happy to destroy the family business and burn the house down.  And with the ELCA’s prime emphasis being dismantling systemic racism, which is not the main mission of the church, she is leading an organization that is seeking to solve enormous problems with merely human resources. 

I think of times in my own ministry when I ran into – or was run into by – a crisis.  Often the crisis happened because of the actions of others.  But I know that sometimes I contributed to the crisis – through such things as an unwise response or poor judgment.  Looking back I realize that often it was during those times of crisis that I learned and grew the most – that I realized that I needed to do things differently.

I think of what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 1: 17.  After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he “went away at once into Arabia.”  Because there are fewer distractions in the desert, the desert is a great place to face yourself and really think through what you have been doing.  I see Paul going out into the desert to try to figure out how he could have been so wrong about Jesus.

I pray for rest, renewal, and rejuvenation for Bishop Eaton.  But I also pray that she will think through and come to terms with why it was that leading the ELCA is so stressful and what she now needs to do differently. 

With pastoral concern,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE