The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was formed in 1988 as the largest Lutheran denomination in the US and one of our nation's mainline denominations. It suffered a split, similar to the UMC, in response to the theological drift that they experienced before the Methodists.

In this conversation, Rev. Wheeler details how it is that he experienced the time of theological corruption and decay, as well as what lessons he learned as he finds himself outside of the conflict today. Methodists would do well to learn lessons from other traditions, as we can often be too close to our own circumstances to see them for what they are.

Articles

"ELCA Hits Bottom" by Robert Benne - https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/10/elca-hits-bottom

"Always Declining: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Stillborn Quarter Century of Existence" - https://juicyecumenism.com/2013/08/14/always-declining-the-evangelical-lutheran-church-in-americas-stillborn-quarter-century-of-existence/

"'Seven Sisters' of Mainline Protestantism Still Bleed Members" - https://juicyecumenism.com/2019/09/25/mainline-protestantism-decline-continues/

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com

Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Side Stories: Cheese Money

Last Podcast On The Left

Do You See What You Have Done?

The AI-powered Podcast Player