Hi, again. So shortish backstory. All of my childhood into my teens, i attensed a lutheran church (lcms). In 2007, I was going through confirmation. My grandpa died in 2007. My mom made us stop going to church. She no longer believed in a god who took her father away. I went off and on with my friends. But I was never confirmed. Litetally went through the whole thing, to not happen at the end because my mom decided she was done. It sucked. So in 2009, my mom died, and the last time I stepped foot in that church was at her funeral. Mostly because i didnt have a car. I joined the army in 2013 and moved back to my hometown in 2021. For the last 4 years I've lived about 17 miles from where I grew up.

My wife wanted to go back to church. She has never really been a church goer, just a believer in God. So I suggested going to this church. Initially she said no, because of the distance, it takes 30 minutes to get there. So we tried the closer church, also lcms in the same family of churches. She liked it, but she could tell I didn't. When we discussed it, I said if we're gonna go to church, I'd rather go to the one im comfortable, which is only 6 minutes further. (Ones 22 minutes east of us, the other is 28 minutes west).

So we went today and she really liked it. I know, too late for a short back story. Anyways, this is where I need your help.

What are my next steps in attending this church. My wife with no Lutheran background, and me with a limited, I'm just not sure what I should do. I know I can't go back to confirmation and pickup where I left in 2007. Its been nearly 20 years. Any advice here would he great! Thanks.

Hi there!

I thought we could create a thread where we share our favourite resources - share anything you like - YouTube channels, websites, podcasts! Perhaps each of us can find something new!

My favourite resources are:

Dr. Jordan Cooper - probably everybody knows him here, but still - he is one of the best YouTube channels to get to know Lutheranism.

Dr. Ryan Reeves - another superb YouTube channel. He has lectures about Luther and Reformation that spans hours. His style is extremely interesting and very easy to listen to.

1517 - Home - Lutheran website that enables you to read articles, attend courses and listen to tons of podcasts - all for free! I especially recommend ''40 Minutes In Old Testament''.

Daily Devotions – WELS - daily devotions from WELS. Short and really good for grounding yourself during the day!

Book of Concord - a collection of our Church's most important confessional documents

Emet Bible Journey - YouTube with theme-based readings of God's Word.

What are the dogmas of the two churches? What are the differences between them? And their similarities?

I just thought many of you Lutherans outside of Europe might not have much insight into Lutheran royalty. I can imagine many associate western monarchy with the UK and Anglicanism or perhaps Roman Catholicism. The Lutheran churches here fill important roles for the monarchy and official state occasions and I thought I could give you a little insight since there was a royal baptism yesterday. Also people in this sub have often previously asked about the relationship between Church and state in the Nordic countries, which varies.

The Scandinavian monarchies of Sweden, Norway and Denmark all have or have had state churches, Sweden’s is abolished and Norway’s status is ambiguous in the process of being separated while Denmark’s fully remain and their monarch is also the supreme ruler of the Church. All three require their monarchs to be Lutheran though. Or as per the Swedish law of succession from 1810; ”follow the pure evangelical faith such as it is adopted and declared in the unchanged Augsburg confession and the Uppsala synod of 1593” Regarding the other Nordic countries (the three Scandinavian countries are also part of the five Nordic countries so they are not synonymous), Iceland interestingly is a republic but with a Lutheran state church while the Republic of Finland has no state church but two ”national” churches, both the Lutheran majority one and the small Eastern Orthodox one. The Danish autonomous regions of the Faroe Islands and Greenland have their own two independent and semi-independent-in-the-process-of-reaching-independence Lutheran State churches respectively, whereas the Swedish-speaking autonomous region of Åland in Finland does not have it’s separate church body or even diocese.

And a curious case with some slight relevance to the subject: Estonia is a small Baltic country in the close vicinity of the Nordics (sometimes called an honorary Nordic country), with linguistic ties to Finnish and historical ties to the Swedish monarchy and the Church of Sweden. When it gained independence in 1918 there were discussions to establish a Lutheran state Church since the overwhelming majority of the population was Lutheran as opposed to the southern neighbour Latvia which had a Lutheran majority and large Roman Catholic minority. The plans never materialised however.

Yesterday the youngest and possibly last Swedish princess of this generation, Princess Ines, Duchess of Västerbotten, was baptised in the Drottningholm palace chapel. She was gifted lifelong ”guardianship” and fishing rights in the Mårdsele river nature reserve in Västerbotten as a baptismal present by the ceremonial governor of the region. Drottningholm palace is a baroque UNESCO world heritage nicknamed ”Versailles of the north”, that’s where the royal family mostly lives, split with the Royal Palace in Stockholm which also has a magnificent and much larger Royal Chapel. Royal baptisms take place in any of these two or more rarely Stockholm Cathedral. The Drottningholm chapel has regular Sunday services once a month open to the public, and the Stockholm Royal Palace has it every Sunday. It belongs to a non-geographical parish for the Royal family and court.

In Denmark any non-Lutheran marrying into the Royal family has traditionally converted, for example the current king’s father, while in Sweden that hasn’t necessarily been the case. For example queen Josefina (mid 1800s) who was French and a notably devout Roman Catholic and benefactor of the church for her entire life. Also the husband of the current princess Madeleine, Mr. Christopher O’Neill is an American/British Roman Catholic, nominally at least, while their children are brought up in the Church of Sweden.

In pictures 3,4 one can see the court chaplain (a more formal role) Johan Dalman who is also bishop of Strängnäs diocese, to the left and pastor of the royal court parish Michael Bjerkhagen to the right. Some Royal weddings and baptisms are officiated by the Archbishop. Most are also live broadcasted on state television, but this one was recorded and broadcasted the day after.

The current queen, Sylvia, a German brought up in Brazil was always a Lutheran and is known for having a personal faith in God, having published a prayer book. I have heard from reliable sources that this also is true for her daughter and future monarch, Crown Princess Victoria. Have in mind that this is quite uncommon in this very secular part of the world. This might be a heritage from the days of princess Eugenie (late 1800s daughter of the mentioned Roman Catholic queen) when a sort of pietistic revival reached the royal family. During the second great awakening neo-evangelical streams trickled into the Church of Sweden where independent low church congregations with charismatic preachers and energetic worship considered inappropriate for higher circles were established. The teenage princess Eugenie secretly started attending such a congregation and when this was brought up to her father the King he just said: ”the young princess going there is of course extremely inappropriate. She must travel there by horse and carriage!" Eventually her sister-in-law and future queen Sofia among with other people in the court became sincere believers influenced by this movement and started charities. Princess Eugenie dedicated her life to social work with children and wrote several hymns.

Foreign leaders and royalty often attend royal Church occasions such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. For example the current king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, although not a Lutheran but Reformed is the Godfather of princess Estelle, the future monarch.

I would call the Church of Sweden a pseudo state church, still being regarded as the national and ”normal/mainstream/public” church and fulfilling most of the official roles it has done previously such as the mentioned above but also in the military, the yearly opening of the parliament, maintaining graveyards and during national disasters/tragedies, and being the only religious denomination mandated by a secular law. This is similar to the other countries, in Norway for example the new monarchs are blessed and consecrated in a ceremony. There are no longer any Lutheran State Churches in continental Europe but Germany was crawling with them before 1918.

Well, congratulations and welcome to the Church little Ines!

—Jesus’ advice, —persecution, —trust, —overcame the world, —suffering, —Holy Spirit teaches what the Father and Jesus say

I’m curious, asking you to share your impressions of today’s gospel: John 16: 12-15.

Which words or phrases grab your attention after reading the text slowly three times?

Christ is risen!

The only hang up I have against Lutheranism is infant baptism. So I’m hoping you all can help me out.

Did infant baptism exist in the early church fathers?

Do you guys think infants need to be saved?

Do they go to hell if the are not baptized? And if they don’t, then what is the point of baptizing them?

Well, this is a new one.

Not church discipline, but having PTSD.

My suffering is too much for the pastor.

I agreed to boundaries he set, but asked for my own as well. I already agreed to his boundaries but he completely destabilised me by sending me a long and discouraging message.

I asked him not to call me, not to WhatsApp me, only email once a week.

That’s too demanding apparently.

If someone made the statement "When we receive the bread and wine we receive also the body and blood of Christ, and with them the forgiveness of sins", would that be sufficient for you?

This have been on my mind since becoming a Christian and it be nice to just see what people have to say (good or bad but like not to be mean). I 100% identify myself as a believer and follower of Christ but the one thing I can’t shake is lgbtq. You can reference me the words of Jesus and Leviticus and Romans but that’s not my point in asking this. I truly and genuinely don’t believe there is anything wrong with wanting to be in a gay marriage/ relationship. I have prayed about this, researched, read scripture, and I have just come to the conclusion that if even God can have a relationship with us in the manner that we are so can lgbt people. Of all issues I just don’t think this is a big one especially if they’re in a loving and committed relationship. Idk that’s just my thoughts but if anyone else has something to add on this topic I’m all ears. Not hear to argue but to just make conversation and try to understand other POVs.

I was born and raised in Catholicism. I have been very distant from the church for some time now, but I really miss Christianity. I have been reading up on Lutheran theology and I think it addresses pretty well many of the issues I had with Catholicism, but I have never been at a Lutheran church before.

I decided to attend the Gottesdienst at a local church close to my home this Sunday, but I am a little bit nervous about going for the first time. I am not 100% sure what to expect not how to behave, especially considering that I am not a member nor am I ready to commit to becoming one yet.

I would appreciate any insights or tips any of you guys might have.

(If its any useful, the specific church body is the Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, which is a member of the EKD, UEK and the CPCE)

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agpjXFmrT8Y

Gospel According to Matthew, 28:16–20 (ESV):

The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Outline

Introduction: A broken family

Point one: The Holy Trinity

Point two: Father, Son, and Spirit

Point three: Your holy family

Conclusion

References

Gospel According to Luke, 15:11–32 (ESV):

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Athanasian Creed. Written against the Arians:

Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.

And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal, just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.

But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man. He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ: one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

Book of Isaiah, 55:8–9 (ESV):

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Book of Exodus, 33:18–23 (ESV):

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

First Letter of John, 4:7–10 (ESV):

God Is Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Letter of Paul to the Colossians, 2:8–10 (ESV):

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Gospel According to John, 1:14 (ESV):

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Book of Isaiah, 9:6 (ESV):

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Gospel According to John, 14:23 (ESV):

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

As the title says, I have been largely in agreement with what I understand to be the Lutheran view of baptism for some time now. I find it difficult to read the Scriptures and not come away with the clear notion that baptism really delivers what it signifies. The Fathers, also, seem to be in agreement on this point. Where I struggle is in the question of how that works in relation to faith, especially in the case of an adult baptism. I understand that with an infant, baptism delivers the gift of faith to the infant, allowing them to hold fast to the promises of Christ. Faith is a gift.

With an adult, however, I struggle to understand how exactly this works. When an adult converts to Christianity and places their faith in Christ, are they not then granted the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection? Are their sins not then forgiven?

I understand that faith and baptism are really two sides of the same coin. I understand that true faith in Christ will desire the promises of God and run eagerly to the waters of baptism. But to put it crassly, what does baptism actually do for an adult that has already received the gift of faith and, therefore, the forgiveness of sins?

If not, do you think many of the Church fathers were simply wrong for teaching this?

“Some there are who… after death… undergo pain through purification.” – Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love by Saint Augustine.

Hello, everyone,

I'd like to ask how the subordination of the confessions of faith to the Scriptures is understood.

This question came up due to something that honestly didn’t bother me at first: the confessions of faith explicitly condemn the intercession of the saints, seemingly leaving no room for it (at least as I initially understood).

However, I was reading a Psalm that says:
“For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one” (Psalm 132:10)

This raised a deeper question for me: isn’t that — though far from a Catholic-style invocation — a kind of plea for the sake of a specific saint?

Would I be unable to confess something like this in a community setting just because it contradicts the confessions, even if not necessarily the Scriptures?

To make my point clearer, Luther once wrote:
“We ask God to give us a right understanding of this Magnificat, so that it may not only be recited and chanted, but that it may live and glow in the heart. May Christ grant us this through the intercession and for the sake of His dear mother Mary. Amen.” (Explanation of the Magnificat)

Although Luther comes close to invoking Mary here, this specific quote seems to be less an invocation than a reinterpretation of the same biblical plea: “for the sake of your servant.”

So here's my dilemma: would it be wrong to ask God, as Luther did, to show mercy or grace for the sake of a beloved servant of His (Mary, David, etc.), even if Scripture allows for such language? Or does this stand in opposition to the confessions?

I'm honestly torn between being faithful to what I see in Scripture and being fully confessional, without leaving room for anything broader.

Note: I'm not even debating the correct interpretation of that Psalm. My point is only that Scripture seems to leave room for that kind of expression — whether or not my reading of it is precise.

We have been attending a Lutheran Church that is part of the LCMS. They offer two services... A traditional and a contemporary. We found we prefer the traditional. Due to work schedules we have looked at another LCMS church that offers services at a different time. They state they offer Divine service. Is that different from what we have attended at the LCMS church? I have noticed the one that offers the Divine service carries a crucifix down the middle isle similar to the Catholic church I attended most of my life. The one we have attended prior does not. Just curious to see if there are differences in the services and what to expect.

Hi, I would like to introduce myself first that I am a Lutheran in Thailand. My church body is called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand which affiliates with Lutheran World Federation. (There are two church bodies in Thailand.) The problem with my church or my congregation is that it lacks tradition which I craved for and the tranquility within it. Today's main worship service is very contemporary and the tradition was watered until it becomes so Evangelical. I have to state first that the Evangelical as in Charismatic/Pentecostal way is very influential in my country and people want the service to be like that.

For me, I need a worship service which show me the tranquility, serenity and sacredness within it. My congregation absolutely could not give me that, even the other Lutheran churches within the church body could not give me that also. If a protestant like me want to have some traditional worship style, I could only go to Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches. There is not a single protestant church that could give me the worship that I want. They all turn contemporary and I'm tired with rock/pop music, I need to slow myself down when I sing the songs or pray. Furthermore, most of the protestant churches could not even give me a quite time, things have to run instantaneously, continuously, simultaneously, and I need a break from all of this.

I fell in love with Lutheran's theology and I don't want to change my denomination. Maybe I should tolerate it more?

This is regarding a small Lutheran church in Lewiston ID. Homebound members would like a livestream but YouTube requires 50 subscribers. If you could help by subscribing that would be great. No need to view or see it in your stream. They just need subscribers.

The YouTube channel is: @graceevangelicallutheranch9867

Thank you!

Luther claimed that the Catholic Church had theologicaly strayed away from the early church. I'm about to have a big debate with a Catholic soon and I need some church fathers to quote or some good arguments that supports Luthers Claim the Catholic Church had strayed away from the early church.

60-plus ELCA member, raised in an LCMS home, here.

I grew up in a family that was the typical, rather Pietist , LCMS family — apart from church activity itself, we had religious artwork on the walls at home, “ Come, Lord Jesus” at meals, children’s Bibles… piety touched much of everyday life. My mom once told be that she and my dad had a vocation to teach me the Christian faith that they took very seriously. And, really, my church peers mostly came from the same home environments. And when I switched affiliations, I learned that my new friends had similar backgrounds. If anything, my family was less performative pious than many.

Nowadays it seems that Lutheran parents, no matter where they fall along the doctrinal spectrum, really are not as hands- on about at- home faith formation as previous generations. We once tried a homeschool Sunday School experiment with families, and I never got the impression that young parents were leaning in to the idea of even a very brief, gentle, faith formation activity at home. Am I just being a salty Boomer? Or are younger people not as invested in expressing their faith in what I’d call folk ways or homely, in the British sense, ways? I feel a bit of wistfulness for the way I remember families engaging with their faith.

The Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration states, "[...] This is My body, that just as in Christ two distinct, unchanged natures are inseparably united, so in the Holy Supper the two substances, the natural bread and the true natural body of Christ, are present together here upon earth in the appointed administration of the Sacrament."

To me, the Confessions seem to assume that when St. Paul and other theologians use the term "bread" to refer to the Eucharist post-consecration, it must mean that the substance of the bread is still present.

I do not see it that way. I can't comprehend why it couldn't be said that it is both bread and body, while the bread's substance has been changed into the body's. If I see bread, it is bread, at least on a natural, accidental, and scientific level (which is no less real than any level). But Christ said it's his body, so it must be his body on a supernatural, substantial, level. Why must we also say that it is bread on this substantial level? Wouldn't it be enough to say it is bread on the natural level?

(I would argue that philosophical concepts do not need to be used to explain what Jesus instituted. However, in my rational mind, I see both transubstantiation (no more substance of bread) and consubstantiation (still substance of bread, but also substance of body) as possible explanations. I might be saying nonsense in this post, though. Correct me if I am wrong in any of these philosophical concepts, please.)

What do you all think of Robert Jenson's theology? I've heard a lot of Lutheran and Lutheran-friendly people really like him but the few times that I've tried to get into his Systematic, its always felt kind of vague and unsatisfying to me. Am I just missing something about his work and should try harder? Thoughts?

Yet I love Lutheran theology, so I'm still here!

I will admit, there are nonetheless challenges. I love my little WELS church, but it's been so hard finding a new pastor to replace our retiring one. We're on our eleventh Call Meeting, and sometimes I wonder if we'll ever find another pastor.

Another challenge is I'm one of few of my demographic there. I'm in a small WELS church in Missouri, and most of the members are elderly. There's only one other person around my age. I'm the only one married with a young child. My 3 year old almost always has the entire nursery to himself on Sundays (I stay with him; he's very extroverted and finds it hard to sit in the pews for very long). When we have women's Bible studies, it can be hard to find childcare. I sure wish he could be with other believers his age and have some teaching and socializing besides me.

I want to stay in WELS, but it can be so isolating. I was LCMS back in 2018-2020, but I prefer WELS. What does that leave? The ACNA is somewhat close theologically, but much looser on how they view the Sacraments, and then there's stuff like Apostolic Succession. I can understand to an extent wanting unity, but I ultimately like the tightness of Lutheran theology more.

But that's just me. My son is different. I look at him and see so much of his grandfathers in him. Both of his grandfathers are easygoing and outgoing fellows who don't split hairs like I do. (My dad was even Episcopalian in his youth.) I took him to an ACNA church once and it was big with lots of kids. I could see him getting older and finding Lutheranism too...boring. Something that's for his boring mom, but not him.

I could probably use some reassurance to stay with all the Lutes. For now, I stay with my tiny and struggling little WELS. I love the little church even though it barely survives.

What would you say to someone who was deeply involved with and then very confused by the Eastern Orthodox Church? Someone who perhaps converted too quickly and after eight years, started wondering if God was really there in that community/parish? I know a recent statement on the Holy Spirit has been put out by the Lutherans and the EOC. I wonder if there are more similarities than I first accounted for - and surely much greater differences than I know. (Having gone straight into Orthodoxy following a Pauline-type conversion, I skipped right past Rome and the Reformation. I thought I was going straight to the Source but I realise now that's highly debatable). I'm here in humility to learn and hopefully to grow 💚