TRUTH

First off, I owe you readers an apology. I said that my next post would be LUNATIC, LIAR, OR LORD. Obviously it isn't. This is because something important has come to my attention and I feel a need to talk about it.
At my church, and many other Lutheran churches like it, we are voting on whether to stay with the Lutheran organization called ELCA. It is kind of the head of the Lutheran church. We've been discussing whether to leave because they have decided to allow homosexual people to be pastors. They used a long phrase instead of the word homosexual, obviously to try and not make it seem like a bad thing. The meaning doesn't change though. They are still going to allow pastors who are blatantly sinning to be leaders of the church. They are following the dark side (or the scotch tape side, same thing).

Often, people searching for truth find God, because only He has the real thing. His word, the Bible, is the only truth there is. While there are some certain parts that can be interpreted differently, most of it is straight forwards: This is wrong, this is right. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees.

In the Bible, it is clearly stated in the Old Testament that homosexuality is wrong, no ifs, ands, or buts. The ELCA has said that "We should all love each other" and "Well, what they think is right is fine. We can each interpret the Bible differently. So if they think it is okay to be homosexual, then we shouldn't deny them that." While the loving each other part is true, the other part was left out. Part of loving one another is holding each other accountable for their sins. We should love those who are homosexual, but we shouldn't tell them that what they do is okay. What the ELCA is saying is called relativism. It means that each person has their own set of right and wrong standards. This is not what God wants us to do. He tells us to be "In the world, but not of it." The ELCA and those that agree with them are changing the truth. God did not intend for His truth to be changed. The ELCA has allowed itself to be corrupted by world views and beliefs about what truth is.

Because of this, our church is split. We had a 64.8% vote to leave the ELCA. That's 1.2% (15-20 people) away from being able to do so. While I was not able to vote and thus not in the room, it apparently was very emotional. People were handing in their church keys immediately, and for many, this is the last time the would be there. Our youth pastor has said that he will leave, though not right away. Without him, our youth program will fall apart and I doubt that it will ever be as good as it was. Also, our main pastor will probably leave at some point. Once those two are gone, so are we. I believe in following the Truth (capital T). Our church has left the Truth, so I think it is the right decision to leave the church. Our church will never be the same because many people who supported the church with donations, ministries, and service are leaving.

Before I finish (darn it, I wrote a long post! so much for my New Years Resolution), I want to say that I believe God is still working. In fact, he is probably working very hard. Throughout the Bible, God has shown that he uses bad situations for good, and that he has a plan for everything and everyone. Perhaps this will end up doing something good for the church. What that good thing is, I don't know. Only God does, which is why I trust him. Pray hard for the church, the ELCA, our pastors, and our family.

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE REAL TRUTH!!

Next Post (hopefully): LUNATIC, LIAR, OR LORD