I am leaving a PCA church initially because i really feel neglected. I have lost 2 wives in my life. My last one in 2021. I am still devistated but nobody ever says anything about it to me. I am a serious home theology student and have been going thnrough the Book of Concord since February,2024. I have found an LCMS church down the street that i am walking into with a Bible in one hand and the Book of Concord in the other. For me, and many, are not so much looking for a show but am looking for a church that is rooted in tradition and want desperately to learn, not just the small catechism but want to dig deep into the confessions. I hope the Holy Spirit is guiding my new church to teach the deeper things of God for us that yearn for it. I also hope that the Spirit is guiding them to help heal my bleeding heart. Thanks Brothers. Always enjoy your content. 🙏
Thank you for your comment, this is very uplifting to me and humbling. As another aspiring Lutheran, I pray you have a blessed and prosperous journey into conservative, confessional Lutheranism.
Pastor Tim, I am really glad you asked about discipleship. That is so important. Actually it's almost more important than getting people there because it's easy to get someone there with things like MMA fights in the parking lot. 😂 but then what? Where's the follow up? People need to learn how to live in the world as a Christian in a culture that does not like Christians. This is one area (well there are a lot of areas) where the LCMS is lacking. Actually, the church in general is lacking. Not just the LCS. I take that back. The church does not know how to disciple people. They know how to get people in sometimes, but they don't know how to help them continue to live as a follower of Jesus. So thank you for that and for this great conversation.
It is great to hear from Greg. I was there and helped him build his first church and a store. And was there doing baptisms at the lake. Greg, you’re definitely outside the box. God’s blessings on your ministry.
This is a valid question! I would say this would be better answered by these gentlemen and their pastoral experience/office. I’ll say this much. Our world lacks truth and distinction. We can not speak of binary gender or call ourselves something distinct unless it has a universal root. Denominations bring order. They bring clarity. Just as the biblical writers identified themselves as Jew or Gentile, so too should we de mark our identities. I am a man and a father and a Lutheran (soon). I’m not just a person or human. I am referred to as Mr or Sir, not Mrs or Mam. Christianity is not excluded from this. Just like a man pledges allegiance to their country or state, so too do we pledge allegiance to our denominations. We see the world through our denominations just like we see the world through our upbringing in a particular country or state. I can understand a person better if they say they are PCA or evangelical or Pentecostal. All Christians with VASTLY different views. A United Church of Christ member tend to falter on even BEING a Christian. This is important. There are NO true non-denominational churches. Those tend to be associated with Pentecostal or Baptist organizations most of the time. You can always trace them to a source. Ready to Harvest (denomination researcher) has a great video on his channel on this and the falsehood of ‘non-denominational’ titles.
The LCMS church I attended required that you confess Luther's Catechism as the absolute truth concerning what the Bible teaches. It is as not about Christ but about Luther's Catechism.
The Small Catechism is a mirror of the Scriptures and I would presume any confessional church (Presbyterian, conservative Baptist, etc) would ask of their members to believe their doctrine as the proper interpretation of scripture. What seems to be the problem with professing the SC as proper interpretation? And I understand, it can get very ‘Luther said this…’ and ‘Luther this…”, but I don’t mind it because Lutherans are upfront. Other churches will direct you towards interpretation and study of the scriptures, but do not reference where it comes from which means a congregant can’t trace it to a source. I’ve had to trace things taught to me at Assemblies of God and charismatic churches, only to find shocking and disturbing origins. Lutherans point you straight to the source, who I do believe, that the Holy Spirit worked through to adjust the orthodox Church, establish sound doctrine with his cohort, and develop amazing catechistic practices/traditions that stand the test of time (I.e. the SC and LC). The Book of Concord is an absolute masterpiece and the best kept secret in all of Christendom.
@@IvanGonzalez-mp4xh No it is not. The pastor having the keys to heaven while the lay people do not is not in scripture. My comment was for this pod cast that said they preach Jesus. I was pointing out LCMS also preaches Luther.
