I love my new lutheran church!

[grayheavens1]

After going to so many churches and not finding the right one for me --- God lead me to St. Johns Lutheran Church and it is amazing! The people have the fruits of the spirit, the pastor is great, teaching is good and the responsive worship is just dazzling. They also had a choir sing a song and it was Heavenly!! I can't wait to go back and talk to fellow lutherans.

 

[LilLamb219]

After going to so many churches and not finding the right one for me --- God lead me to St. Johns Lutheran Church and it is amazing! The people have the fruits of the spirit, the pastor is great, teaching is good and the responsive worship is just dazzling. They also had a choir sing a song and it was Heavenly!! I can't wait to go back and talk to fellow lutherans.

Sounds awesome! Do you sing? Are you going to join the choir?

 

[JenLousie]

Hey, that's awesome!! I'm so glad you've found a place to start calling "home." I'm a college student and understand you when you say not finding your church. For me, my church is the one back home, so I don't really feel connected to the one I attend while at school. Whenever I visit my home church, though, I'm always filled with great joy by the love of its members, their missions, their messages, the personal music, all of it! I hope you find this joy within through your new church too

 

[grayheavens1]

I feel like God finally answered all my prayers. I've been looking for the right church home since I moved to Anderson from Indianapolis. The story this morning was very funny. I had decided to visit a local Nazarene church, so I walked in, not one person said hi, not one person acknowledged me and mind you it was my first time. But when I left pretty angry with how I was treated I saw little St. Johns Lutheran (ELCS) church and I was curious as to when the service started. It was just about to start! I felt like a celebrity with how they welcomed me. They also are praying for my mother who just got total knee replacements. I need as many prayers for her as possible. I'm almost 100% sure this is the church for me.

 

[JenLousie]

That really is an interesting story! What timing! I'm glad you got a welcome that made you feel like part of a family. I feel led to tell you some good ways to solidify your certainty (besides continual prayer about it) is to research more about the church on their website, find out more about the ELCA and see if it aligns with what God's Word says, and keep attending the services for and see if it keeps feeling "right". Another good way to get to know the members would be to attend any "outside" or additional events they have going on throughout the week besides the Sunday Service. Just some ideas based on past experience

I will keep your mother in my thoughts and prayers as well. How long ago were her knee replacements?

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

My kids attend an LCMS school. The pastor, his wife, and teachers are outstanding. Pastor Bob is just about the most JOYFUL, happy guy I've ever seen. God's shining in him. I trust the LCMS....if it were ELCA...well...never mind I'm too traditional for 'em....

 

[Tigger45]

Hey, that's awesome!! I'm so glad you've found a place to start calling "home." I'm a college student and understand you when you say not finding your church. For me, my church is the one back home, so I don't really feel connected to the one I attend while at school. Whenever I visit my home church, though, I'm always filled with great joy by the love of its members, their missions, their messages, the personal music, all of it! I hope you find this joy within through your new church too

After going to so many churches and not finding the right one for me --- God lead me to St. Johns Lutheran Church and it is amazing! The people have the fruits of the spirit, the pastor is great, teaching is good and the responsive worship is just dazzling. They also had a choir sing a song and it was Heavenly!! I can't wait to go back and talk to fellow lutherans.

Hey that's great! Keep us updated

 

[SalusaSecundus]

After going to so many churches and not finding the right one for me --- God lead me to St. Johns Lutheran Church and it is amazing! The people have the fruits of the spirit, the pastor is great, teaching is good and the responsive worship is just dazzling. They also had a choir sing a song and it was Heavenly!! I can't wait to go back and talk to fellow lutherans.

I am totally happy at my Lutheran church too. I am happy I made the switch.

 

[Viren]

I've been going to the same Lutheran church my entire life. I like how there is a nice mix of old, middle age and young people. A lot of the focus is on the kids too with the children's sermon.

 

[grayheavens1]

That really is an interesting story! What timing! I'm glad you got a welcome that made you feel like part of a family. I feel led to tell you some good ways to solidify your certainty (besides continual prayer about it) is to research more about the church on their website, find out more about the ELCA and see if it aligns with what God's Word says, and keep attending the services for and see if it keeps feeling "right". Another good way to get to know the members would be to attend any "outside" or additional events they have going on throughout the week besides the Sunday Service. Just some ideas based on past experience

I will keep your mother in my thoughts and prayers as well. How long ago were her knee replacements?

Her knee surgery was last Thursday. I'm going wednesday to the bible study and luncheon.

 

[CaliforniaJosiah]

After going to so many churches and not finding the right one for me --- God lead me to St. Johns Lutheran Church and it is amazing! The people have the fruits of the spirit, the pastor is great, teaching is good and the responsive worship is just dazzling. They also had a choir sing a song and it was Heavenly!! I can't wait to go back and talk to fellow lutherans.

.

 

[grayheavens1]

The church is an ELCA, which I'm not sure if I mentioned. I prefer their beliefs when it comes to the more liberal nature of the church government BUT the only thing I don't approve of is the ordination of homosexuals, but to me, it's not as big a deal as the LCMS view on ordination of women and the closed communion beliefs.

 

[LizaMarie]

I'm glad you found a great church! Lutherans are very friendly people!

 

[WirSindBettler]

I'm glad you found a great church! Lutherans are very friendly people!

That they are! You might have some issues if you're not from a Germanic background, not due to race or anything (most Lutherans are completely tolerant on that side), but simply because of some of the more Germanic cultural aspects.

Especially some of the older Scandinavian Americans, they'll be cold as ice and hard as a rock on the outside if they don't really know you (though they'll smile and be friendly, they won't really open up to you) but extremely humble, warm, and kind on the inside.

Just personal and familial experience.

Most of my Lutheran family's from Norway (a bit from Sweden, and the rest Danish-German from Schleswig Holstein) so I have some first hand views.

 

[LizaMarie]

That they are! You might have some issues if you're not from a Germanic background, not due to race or anything (most Lutherans are completely tolerant on that side), but simply because of some of the more Germanic cultural aspects.

Especially some of the older Scandinavian Americans, they'll be cold as ice and hard as a rock on the outside if they don't really know you (though they'll smile and be friendly, they won't really open up to you) but extremely humble, warm, and kind on the inside.

Just personal and familial experience.

Most of my Lutheran family's from Norway (a bit from Sweden, and the rest Danish-German from Schleswig Holstein) so I have some first hand views.

Yes! When my Baptist hubby and I first married and moved to my hubbys smaller town area over 22 years ago We church shopped. I was ELCA and he was formerly Baptist. It had to be conservative, pro-life, hold the Scripture in high regard(no higher criticism). We drove by a WELS church that had a sign out front that said: "We preach Christ crucified". My husband said "Let's visit that church!" we had also visited lots of other churches in the area-not been too impressed.
The people were SOOO nice and friendly at that church. And the pastor paid us a visit soon after Bible in hand.
We decided to join the church. For me to join it would have been a shorter class explaining differences between Lutherans as I was a baptized and confirmed(LCMS) Lutheran but for hubby it was a 16 week course which we took together. Hubby had issues with infant Baptism, the real presence in the Eucharist, the pastor giving absolution, ect but the pastor showed him in the Bible that these issues were absolutely the closest to Scripture.
The Real Presence issue really got him. The people are just so friendly and nice there. Great people.

 

[CaliforniaJosiah]

Yes! When my Baptist hubby and I first married and moved to my hubbys smaller town area over 22 years ago We church shopped. I was ELCA and he was formerly Baptist. It had to be conservative, pro-life, hold the Scripture in high regard(no higher criticism). We drove by a WELS church that had a sign out front that said: "We preach Christ crucified". My husband said "Let's visit that church!" we had also visited lots of other churches in the area-not been too impressed.
The people were SOOO nice and friendly at that church. And the pastor paid us a visit soon after Bible in hand.
We decided to join the church. For me to join it would have been a shorter class explaining differences between Lutherans as I was a baptized and confirmed(LCMS) Lutheran but for hubby it was a 16 week course which we took together. Hubby had issues with infant Baptism, the real presence in the Eucharist, the pastor giving absolution, ect but the pastor showed him in the Bible that these issues were absolutely the closest to Scripture.
The Real Presence issue really got him. The people are just so friendly and nice there. Great people.

Praise God! And THANK YOU for sharing that powerful story!


I think congregations often put a lot of attention on facilities, programs, music, etc., etc., etc. - but I think the FAR bigger issue, more than all those things that so consume our time and energy, more than all of them COMBINED, is love. Love that is real and felt. You can't program that, you can't mask where it is missing. And this love needs to be embracing rather than exclusive (all consumed by the people of the church.... I've witnessed churches that love - themselves!).

My "conversion" was theological. Really, that was about 90% of the whole thing (because I loved by Catholic parish). I had some big issues (mostly ecclesiology and epistemology) and I was STRUGGLING to get a handle on theology. But looking back..... I ended up in a tiny LCMS parish where there were few my age, few singles, not much in terms of programs or activities that interested me. The pastor was a huge draw (because he was SO helpful, theologically) but I now realize what kept me coming back was love. These folks embraced me, cared about me, enfolded me. Warts and all. Did I notice the VERY "humble" facilities? Nope. Did I care? Nope. Did I notice the programs of the church? Don't think so.

Thanks for your powerful testimony AND reminder...


Pax


- Josiah

 

[LizaMarie]

Praise God! And THANK YOU for sharing that powerful story!


I think congregations often put a lot of attention on facilities, programs, music, etc., etc., etc. - but I think the FAR bigger issue, more than all those things that so consume our time and energy, more than all of them COMBINED, is love. Love that is real and felt. You can't program that, you can't mask where it is missing. And this love needs to be embracing rather than exclusive (all consumed by the people of the church.... I've witnessed churches that love - themselves!).




Pax


- Josiah

Yes, absolutely! That particular pastor is not there anymore but the succeeding pastors have also been great. The congregation has been like family to us. I belonged to a huge mega-church for awhile in another state before I got married and I loved it there but no one ever noticed if I didn't show up for a Sunday in fact I knew few people there, really.
This church we go to now does not have all the programs and facilities, either-though it does have an awesome pre-school that we sent our sons to when they were small and that we support still.

 

[grayheavens1]

I regret ever going to that church... the people are so nice and all but the beliefs were way too liberal. there is even a transsexual Lutheran pastor somewhere in the us and they do gay weddings, the pastor drinks beer, it's just ridiculous.

 

[SalusaSecundus]

I regret ever going to that church... the people are so nice and all but the beliefs were way too liberal. there is even a transsexual Lutheran pastor somewhere in the us and they do gay weddings, the pastor drinks beer, it's just ridiculous.

What's wrong with drinking beer?

 

[grayheavens1]

What's wrong with drinking beer?

Paul told timothy not to let pastors drink wine.