The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is reputationally an orthodox Lutheran denomination, a conservative counterpart to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. However, what happens when the truth contradicts this reputation? That is what Ryan Turnipseed did and the denominational leaders retaliated against him.
A young adult taking an interest in the church, Ryan Turnipseed published a thread back in January regarding his findings with the LCMS’s new edition of Luther’s Larger Catechism which includes new annotations that drift in a liberal direction.
(Not in any particular order)
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) January 21, 2023
First we have the LCMS, speaking for conservative Lutherans, entirely denying self defense and bearing arms being moral. pic.twitter.com/VOmlqEA5nJ
Here we have the New Catechism affirming a reality behind transgenderism, saying that it is in fact real and as described by those pushing it.
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) January 21, 2023
This is a complete denial of God’s creation, but that shouldn’t be surprising. Also listed in this New Catechism is… pic.twitter.com/3ardGvnU3z
Further along the path of denying God’s creation, we have here another complete affirmation of the framework pushed by trans activists.
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) January 21, 2023
Furthermore, if this still is sinful, it’s a new special category of sin that apparently has nothing to do with what has been done or undone. pic.twitter.com/r3VsGLjyAg
Fitting the theme, we have utter and complete downplaying of the satanic forces and malicious collaborators behind both transgenderism and sodomy.
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) January 21, 2023
The New Catechism instead opts to treat them as emergent “burdens”.
Not sinful action committed by sinful people, but “burdens”. pic.twitter.com/rYD2DuxXJa
Also in the New Catechism, we have the classic “gentrification is bad because inequality”.
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) January 23, 2023
Such dishonesty is, frankly, a trap, because if such improvements weren’t being made, this article would instead be lambasting evil neglect and not gentrification. pic.twitter.com/7OgFFlQ4PV
Months later he was placed under church discipline in the LCMS because of the backlash that this thread caused.
Last Sunday, a few days after creating this thread, I was placed under the minor ban by email with no new information or explanation given to me. 2/5 of the charges are directly tied to the criticisms of the LCMS’s new catechism despite previous assurances. https://t.co/qqypXoaAzS pic.twitter.com/a8Agaz7st3
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) May 26, 2023
The final pronouncement of excommunication came at the beginning of a worship service this on May 12.
Ryan Turnipseed made the announcement public:
Today on May 15th, 2024, a close friend of mine sent me a public Facebook post and YouTube video from First Lutheran Church. As read out by Reverend Joseph Highley on the morning of May 12th, First Lutheran Church in Ponca City has declared me excommunicated.
If treated as valid, this would exclude me from every LCMS congregation. Reverend Highley and First Lutheran have done this despite resigning my membership with them on April 8th, having declared multiple times that the excommunication is a necessary punitive action.
The charges follow the same vague and politically contrived rationale that was made public last May. The first condemned me for not submitting to Reverend Highley’s and First Lutheran’s ‘God-established’ authority, also condemning me for having recorded and published everything.
The next two condemned me for having associated with men deemed too far to the right. The final two condemned me for my statements regarding the New Catechism. No charge quoted Scripture, and only one verse was ever referenced.
There are already dozens of pastors who refuse to recognize the validity of these charges and excommunication, and they are working to rectify this. They and I will still work to achieve peace, but Truth and right doctrine cannot be compromised in such pursuits.
For those in the LCMS, and for those in other churches, a question is left that must be answered: will such things be tolerated in the Church of God? I pray that it will not. Therefore, for the sake of peace and reconciliation, we will not publish all our details at this time.
— Ryan Turnipseed 🦬 (@TurnipMerchant) May 15, 2024
First Lutheran Church in Ponca City, Oklahoma has not responded to requests for comment as of the publish of this article.
2 Responses
I’m very much in the vain of Christian Pacifism takes mainly from Genesis 1 and 2 and I point to my fellow Christian Pacifists the same reason why I’m a Christian Pacifist (light version) is the same reason why I’m a Young Earth Creationist, and they tend to run to the hills when I say I’m a YEC because most of these Christian Pacifists are old earth creationists…
Ryan Turnipseed, we seem to be of one mine that the Church, those that follow the Triune God, is not exactly the same as the church, the LCMS formed and “run” by men. For me, the Church remains true to the scriptures and pure; while the church is flawed by men’s egos, personalities and short mindedness. I have walked away from leadership in a congregation that is proud of its hierarchy and consistently practices shunning by the “core group” (elites). Their Mission Statement declares that they are a “family of God”, yet they expect their minister to spend more time praying and attending Synod meetings than meeting with parishioners or visiting struggling families, shut-ins, nursing homes or those hospitalized. I find them overly focused on material matters and “how it looks”; to the detriment of actually providing a witness to each other or the community. More money is spent on missions abroad than in our own needful community. Carry on for all of us caught in the machinations of the human church. You have been added to and will remain in my prayers.