At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. The assembly received greetings from several ecumenical and interreligious guests prior to considering—and adopting—“A Declaration of Inter-religious Commitment.” Voting … A third of the … Most mainline churches’ language and cultural forms are inaccessible to most people in their neighborhoods. Membership Decline Predictions by the Office of Research and Evaluation for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Dr. Robert Benne, 12/4/19 0 By todd on December 4, 2019 … Elizabeth A. Eaton to a six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop. Board Nomination Form. According to the Bible, God created male and female. Comment by William Walker on August 11, 2019 at 11:31 am. So ELCA membership as of 2017 was 3.4 million. The teachings of Christ is no longer the foundation of the ELCA. We’re all supposed to discover our own meaning, purpose, identity, and community. All rights reserved. Comment by Judy Hughes on August 9, 2019 at 5:50 pm. Copyright ©2019-20 Luther Seminary. You’re the NRA’s chaplains. Unsubscribe anytime. Throughout these 150 years, the Mission Investment Fund and its predecessor organizations have championed the potential of congregations, ministries and members across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessor bodies. The rather shocking projection is as follows, and is based on the starting point of membership and worship statistics as of the end of 2017. The ELCA seems dedicated to adherence to Scripture as I know it and God as I experience him/her. To the extent to which we’ve tried to fix the church, we’ve failed. In the process, much of societal ills would be healed. We must pray for our children and support our families. Home to a diverse number of indigenous Americans,” said the Rev. People are turning elsewhere to find meaning, purpose, identity, and community. Our doors and hearts are open. I pray that if it’s God’s will, that he brings the powers that be back to ALL his Word and not just the parts they want to hear and throwing out, or pretending the rest does not exist. His most recent books are Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the Church in America (with Craig Van Gelder) and The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age. It is better to get clear on what God’s promises in Christ are for us and for our neighbors and find simple ways to make those promises come alive for ordinary people in ways they can understand and embody. Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word. Christian communities need to harness skills of agile leadership, stewardship, social entrepreneurism, and management. A Ministry of the ELCA Plan member rights under the plans are governed by the plan documents, which are the full, legal descriptions of the plans. I would not be surprised that the ELCA breaks tradition and endorses a liberal presidential candidate next year saying the welfare of the nation is at stake. In the wake of multiple mass shootings in the U.S., a memorial from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod encourages other synods and congregations to “dedicate a time of study and exhortation to action on the issue of gun violence and public policy on guns” and urges the Church Council to authorize the “development of a social message on gun violence and public policy that points to human suffering, grave injustice, pending danger, public health and social perplexity.”, Immigration is another prominent issue up for consideration by the Churchwide Assembly. The ELCA leaders are leading their flock over the cliff. My colleague Michael Binder and I have three ways of naming the root cause: In the modern West God isn’t necessary to live a good life. Marching on a government building. Reelected on the first ballot the Rev. Matthew 7 starts out pretty solid on that. The ELCA … Mainline decline has been a reality for over half a century, and the trends are well established. “They will go to leaders to hear what their itching ears want to hear “. So pathetic. UMC GC2012 in Tampa opened with an indigenous representative welcoming delegates and guests to his native homeland. The old line ELCA seminaries are captured by the spirit of the age and will not be around in any sense of being a seminary in a decade or less. Many families leave after 5 years over disagreements with those pastors and their views. Something deeper is at stake. The Disciples of Christ blew the rest of them out of the water, now being officially below 1.0M members. The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterians are now neck-and-neck for second and third place. People are leaving for non-denominational churches. Goodbye ELCA. However the powers in charge create a liberal doctrine that let’s people believe what they want rather than what Scripture says. They may be meaningful to legacy members but not transferable to newer generations or diverse neighbors. Clergy loves this stuff, congregations don’t. Evangelical Lutheran. The forces dismantling the established congregational and denominational system are much bigger. In Luther’s Works, Martin Luther refers to Sodom and Gomorrah as to what happens to people who fall from God’s word (Luther’s Works, Vol.3 251-252). Comment by Scott Willi on September 2, 2019 at 11:03 am. How can we state that we will disobey law. Give. Comment by Eternity Matters on August 7, 2019 at 5:40 pm. We honor the Affirmation of Baptism which proclaims and demands five promises of the Baptized and confirmed: 1) Gather in community; 2) Worship and receive the Lord’s Supper; 3) Proclaim Christ through word and deed; 4) Serve all people following the example of Jesus Christ; 5) Strive for justice and peace in all the earth. According to projections from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) Office of Research and Evaluation, the whole denomination will have fewer than 67,000 members in 2050, with fewer than 16,000 in worship on an average Sunday by 2041. Numerous progressive proposals, called memorials, will be presented to the ELCA’s primary decision-making body. Comment by Gordon on October 19, 2019 at 10:28 pm, My beloved ELCA has abandoned me. I’ve read some extraordinary things, but this one is incredible. 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