Lutheran Services in Iowa's "Gay on the Hill"
The above picture is a still from a recent TV news report on KCAU in Sioux City reporting on “Lutheran Day on the Hill” at the Iowa State Capitol. Sadly, this is what many people think “Lutheran” means.
The good news is that this is not an RSO of the LCMS. And, admit it, that was the first thing that popped into your mind regarding Lutheran Services in Iowa, wasn’t it? Yes, that sense of dread, and the quickly-offered ex corde prayer: “Please, God, let this not be one of ours.” Well, Deo gratias, this has nothing to do with the LCMS or any other Lutheran church body that actually believes Scripture. The bad news is that you have been supporting this organization and its work anyway. How? Your taxes. Your church is not involved in it, but your country is paying for it. More accurately, those deductions from your paycheck are bankrolling it.
And we’re not talking about a little grant here or there to upgrade security or help rebuild a roof after a storm. We are talking about millions of dollars in tax money to run this organization. LSI isn’t a little milk-and-cookie outfit that supplies VBS materials to churches. It boasts “more than 500 employees and an operating budget of $32 million.” That would be pretty impressive for a charity, being able to get that much in donations from Sunday Schools, Ladies’ Aids, money collected at Mission Festivals, and donations by churches and institutions within denominations. But it’s not. It’s not a charity. It’s not being paid for by Lutherans or by churches. It is deceptively named to make you think that’s the case. It’s just not. It is so dependent upon federal money that its entire “refugee settlement program” has been shut down, and 28 employees have been laid off - as a result of DOGE scrutiny of such programs.
In other words, this entire department was run by your tax dollars. This is not a charity, it is a grift that essentially redistributes and launders tax money - so that we can pay for that messaging about Luther and Lutherans above to appear on television.
It’s bad enough that the name of our tradition and confession: “Lutheran” is run through the mud because of the ELCA’s subversion and perversion by Satan (the ELCA is a “ministry partner” with LSI), but now we’re expected to pay for it as well. Or at least we have been. Maybe that’s coming to an end. But according to this news report, their spigot to $1.5 million of our money was cut off, 28 workers had to be laid off, and they are hopping mad. Now they want state tax money to pay their salaries. How about they stop stealing from all taxpayers? If their causes are so important to them, why can’t they fund them with voluntary donations from their own people? Why do I have to pay for it?
Until recently, didn’t we all used to think that these organizations were charities that ran on donations? Now we all know better.
This is also further confirmation that we need to be vigilant not to be yoked to the Satanic ELCA. You can see the handiwork of the devil, as Luther’s courageous statement, “Here I stand,” is being mal-employed in the subversion of sexuality - as if Dr. Luther would ever advocate sodomy, same-sex “marriage,” “transgenderism,” and other perversions of the 6th Commandment. It is especially ironic, as “Here I stand” was spoken in the context of not accepting the word of church officials as infallible, but rather standing on the Scriptures alone. The ELCA’s church officials promote perverted sexuality, which is opposed to the clear testimony of the Word of God: the two sexes, holy marriage, and sexuality itself. The ELCA is a woke you-know-what-show. It is neither Evangelical nor Lutheran. It is not a church. That’s why we’re not in fellowship with them. That’s why we stopped even sending representatives to their churchwide assemblies. And that’s a good start.
Why are there still lingering joint ELCA-LCMS partnerships and projects? Why are there also LCMS members who don’t see anything wrong with being associated with the ELCA, with partnering with them, supporting their organizations (like LSI), or even with some of their theological positions? Why are there joint educational associations that link both the LCMS and the ELCA? It’s my understanding that our RSOs are subject to periodic and regular reviews. If this is the case, we need to know if there are remaining joint ELCA-LCMS projects among them, and if our affiliated RSOs are similarly bilking the taxpayers.
And while our elected and appointed leaders have the responsibility of oversight, we cannot depend on them to do what needs to be done. Part of it is the institutional “rules” and political reality that they have to live by, and part of it is normal human inertia and the institutional impetus not to “rock the boat.” With very few recent notable exceptions, no member of synod is removed (unless he goes bankrupt or has an extra-marital affair). Rather, the maintenance of our orthodoxy is going to lie with the cultural paradigm of the LCMS. Pastors and laity alike have the power to make “moderates” embarrassed to be a part of our church body, and to give them incentive to “self-deport.” The activists, the big-fish-in-the-small-pond self-described agents of change need to be so ashamed to be part of our bible-thumping, anti-feminist, heteronormative knuckle-dragging synod that they just can’t bear to stay. There is no reason any pastor or rostered worker who uses words like “the LGBTQ+ community” or “gender-affirming care” should feel welcome in the LCMS. Anyone who treats an “ordained” woman as if she were a pastor shouldn’t just be treated as “one of the guys.” He’s not. He’s part of the problem. Have we not still not learned the lessons of Seminex? There have been a few recent defections, and they are classic examples of “addition by subtraction.” And while tumors make the body bigger and more inclusive, cutting them out is the “best practice.”
Those who would be more at home in the ELCA - whether lay or clergy - ought to go to the ELCgAy. Our confessions of the faith are not compatible.
Since, along with Luther’s, our good name is being besmirched and misrepresented, we need to be alert and attentive to reclaim it, to confess with clarity, to stand with Dr. Luther in saying “Here we stand,” in, with, and under the Holy Scriptures. We need to be especially watchful of - and push back against - the encroaching woke worldview, and to be mindful, intentional, and unyielding regarding any kind of partnership - real or perceived; implied or inferred; in thought, word, or deed - with the ELCA.
What has Christ to do with goddess worship?