Bye Bye ELCA

Bye Bye ELCA. A reworking of the classic "American Pie" to reflect the sad new reality in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The lyrics:
A long, long time ago,
I can still remember how the ELCA made my smile.
And I thought; well, now this'll do,
A church united, good and true,
And maybe we'll be faithful for a while.

But Minneapolis made me shudder,
With every word the bishop uttered,
Bad news from the floor vote,
We couldn't find one more vote.

I can't remember what I said
As the storm was raging overhead,
But something touched me deep inside
The day our confession died.

So bye, bye, to the ELCA.
I wrote a letter to the bishop saying I just can't stay.
For this good ol' boy there's got to be a better way,
Singin' "This'll be the day that I'm gone,
This'll be the day that I'm gone."

Well, have you read the Book of Faith,
And do you believe in the One who saith,
"Make disciples of all men"?
And do you believe the Apostle Paul
Who says it all comes from the fall,
Trying to justify ourselves again and again?




Well, I know that he's in love with him,
But God's Word can't change just on a whim,
You can't take up your cross,
If you never count the cost.

I was a pastor preaching in a rural church,
Always taught the Bible was the place to search,
But I knew I was left in the lurch,
The day our confession died.

I started singing, "Bye, bye, to the ELCA."
I wrote a letter to the bishop saying I just can't stay.
For this good ol' boy there's got to be a better way,
Singin' "This'll be the day that I'm gone,
This'll be the day that I'm gone."

Well, there we were, all in one place,
This generation drunk on grace,
With no place left for God's good Law.
When the joker sang for th' assembled crowd,
And told us all about a conscience bound,
Following a tradition he just found.

And while we all were lookin' down,
The joker stole the thorns from the crown,
The crowd thought it was fun,
To be antinomian!

And as I read the celebration rite,
Heard them preaching this new Gospel-lite,
I saw Satan laughing with delight,
The day our confession died.

He was singing, "Bye, bye, to the ELCA."
I wrote a letter to the bishop saying I just can't stay.
For this good ol' boy there's got to be a better way,
Singin' "This'll be the day that I'm gone,
This'll be the day that I'm gone."

I met a girl who sang the blues,
And I asked her for some happy news.
Erma smiled and turned away.
I went down there to Higgins Road,
To see how soon it would implode,
But the man said, "Nothin' to see here, just go away."

And in the church the people cried,
Old Adam just refused to die,
But the Word was seldom spoken,
Law and Gospel had been broken.

Yet the persons of the Trinity,
The Father, Son, and Spirit, three,
They still shall reign for eternity
E'en though our confession died.

I hear them singing, "Bye, bye, to the ELCA,
Write a letter to your bishop, boy, and just get away.
For this good ol' boy there's gonna be a better day:
This'll be the day that you're gone,
This'll be the day that you're gone."

So, I'm singing, "Bye, bye, to the ELCA."
I wrote a letter to the bishop saying I just can't stay.
For this good ol' boy there's gonna be a better day,
Singing, "This'll be the day that I'm gone!"

Marshall Hahn (with apologies to Don McLean)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• christianity
• acoustic guitar
• inspirational
• guitar
• live music
• preaching
• religion
• gospel
• worship
• religious music
• ELCA
• Lutheran
• parody

[jimshields64]

the lyrics are sophomoric and petulant...why would anyone want to share that

[MrErdner]

@jimshields64 Perhaps because the lyrics are true. Perhaps because the leadership of the ELCA is dragging it to places where no denomination should be dragged. There are plenty of well written, carefully thought out explanations of how the ELCA turned its collective back on both scripture and the confessions. If this song convinces a few people to use their search engines to find more information about how the ELCA is turning its back on both Law and Gospel, it has done what needs done.

[jimshields64]

why would anyone want to share this?

[MrErdner]

@jimshields64 Because of the lyrics.

[MrErdner]

If anyone wants to share this on Facebook or on a blog, that's fine with me.

[MrErdner]

Maybe I should have worn my CORE button!

[womanwonder10]

@MrErdner I think your work here is poignant and honest. I do feel for your hurting. It really touched my heart. BTW, you would by more than welcome at our LCMS church! Hope you'll consider that. Also, you have a very nice voice!!

[princeeugen]

Thanks for the video. I can't sing that well, but wrote the same letter to the bishop. Now am LCMS, should have made the switch much earlier.

[Simplicimus1945]

The ELCA: not Christian, and not Lutheran. Glad to see more and more people are seeing the whore of the ELCA for what she is.

[BandAfight]

oh please.............go on and rant with your anti gay bigotry and good ridance...you are a MINORITY in Worldwide Lutheranism.....get a clue

[SavinoandAndrew]

This is a nice video. Nice! It's a nice guitar cover. :)