Thrivent and LCMS

[Tangible]

What exactly is the relationship between LCMS and Thrivent?

 

[QuiltAngel]

https://www.thrivent.com/aboutus/whoweare/history.html

See where in 1966:
Aid Association for Lutherans expands service to members of all Lutheran congregations.

What are you asking?

 

[Tangible]

Well, Thrivent seems to come up at odd times, like when we had our kids baptized and they sent over these nice memorial medallions ...

I know they're a non-profit financial services company for Lutherans, but I don't really know anything about their corporate policies and such, and a quick check of their website didn't really reveal very much.

It just seems really weird to me to have a Fortune 500 company closely associated with my church.

How Lutheran do you have to be to participate? Is it a self-identification kind of thing, or do you have to provide documentation of membership in a Lutheran denom? Is just any old Lutheran church OK or only specific ones?

Do they support anything that I might have a problem with - gay rights, abortion, cable TV, free-trade lutefisk, etc.? How involved in politics are they, and what kind of politics ... ?

Stuff like that.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Depends on how you look at it. Thrivent openly supports (matching donations, etc) churches who affirm "gay pride" - like this one:

St. Francis Lutheran Church San Francisco

but I'm not sure that they even have an official position on the matter.

 

[QuiltAngel]

I am not sure if they check your church membership, but you are to be a member of a Lutheran Church. Life insurance is their main product. They also use their profits for matching funds for churches and people who need additional help. One of the main ways is for people with very expensive medical problems or to help when a disaster has occurred. Does money get sent to groups that we may not agree with? I am sure that is the case. I see that as one of the problems of having membership amongst all the Lutherans.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I am not sure if they check your church membership, but you are to be a member of a Lutheran Church. Life insurance is their main product. They also use their profits for matching funds for churches and people who need additional help. One of the main ways is for people with very expensive medical problems or to help when a disaster has occurred. Does money get sent to groups that we may not agree with? I am sure that is the case. I see that as one of the problems of having membership amongst all the Lutherans.

...and with the fellowship between the Anglicans an ELCA, it now includes Anglicans too.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

It's been a hard habit to break congregations of when they've been receiving matching funds from Thrivent, but we've slowly been trying to phase Thrivent out of the picture, mainly because of their support of congregations who actively reject scripture. The problem is that they claim to be for Lutherans, but in the end we have to ask ourselves, which Lutherans?

 

[DaRev]

It's been a hard habit to break congregations of when they've been receiving matching funds from Thrivent, but we've slowly been trying to phase Thrivent out of the picture, mainly because of their support of congregations who actively reject scripture. The problem is that they claim to be for Lutherans, but in the end we have to ask ourselves, which Lutherans?

Sadly, the word "Lutheran" doesn't mean much anymore. I get really tired of defending myself to people who have no clue. The LCMS is considering changing their name. I kinda wish they would remove the word 'Lutheran' and replace it with 'Evangelical Catholic' or something that reflects what we hold, teach and confess.
A couple of the proposed suggestions is Lutheran Church-USA or Lutheran Church in North America. Of course, they tried this once before and it went nowhere. I suspect the same will occur this time as well.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Sadly, the word "Lutheran" doesn't mean much anymore. I get really tired of defending myself to people who have no clue. The LCMS is considering changing their name. I kinda wish they would remove the word 'Lutheran' and replace it with 'Evangelical Catholic' or something that reflects what we hold, teach and confess.
A couple of the proposed suggestions is Lutheran Church-USA or Lutheran Church in North America. Of course, they tried this once before and it went nowhere. I suspect the same will occur this time as well.

Those two sound a bit close to the old LCA, dontcha think?

Gosh, sure makes me wish that the WELS and LCMS could come together. I keep praying, who knows.

 

[filosofer]

Ultimately, Thrivent is a company that has no formal church association. AAL had been loosely attached with LCMS and Lutheran Brotherhood loosely with LCA/ALC/ELCA. Because it donates money to the church does not make it a church institution.

If you got a medallion for confirmation that is presented by the local chapter of Thrivent. But that local chapter is not an official part of the local congregation nor the denomination.

 

[Tangible]

If you got a medallion for confirmation that is presented by the local chapter of Thrivent. But that local chapter is not an official part of the local congregation nor the denomination.

Still, it's that unofficial connection that concerns me a little.

Why would this corporation be any more interested in our confirmations and baptisms than Wal-Mart or Anheuser-Busch? Just because they market themselves exclusively to "Lutherans" I guess.

If that's the case, I kinda resent them using our holy occasions for marketing opportunities, not to mention using my church elder as their door-to-door salesman.

I've heard that LCMS owns stock in Anheuser-Busch, which I don't have a problem with as long as it's a wise investment, but I wouldn't want to see communion glasses with "Shed for you" on one side and "This Bud's for you" on the other.

 

[BigNorsk]

Thrivent is a fraternal benefit society. As such, it must define a group that it serves. It defines the group as Lutherans. It really isn't too tight in that definition, it doesn't need to be.

Much of it all ends up being because of the way the government defines things.

Credit Unions are the same way. They have a defined group they serve but often aren't too intense about checking into you when you come in.

You might see a clue in names. For instance "community" would likely mean the credit union is defined by a geographic boundary, maybe people within say 30 miles. You might see the name of a large employer, and then the credit union is for the employees and/or families of the employees.

And so Thrivent is for Lutherans, Catholic Aid is for Catholic, Sons of Norway is for Norwegians.

None of them are too intense about those who belong. And indeed sell some products that they must provide anyone who so desires, such as mutual funds. (The fraternal benefits definition contradicts the nondiscrimination laws in that area and the nondiscrimination wins-don't ask me why, it likely has to do with when written or case law)

Thrivent has no direct relationship with LCMS or any other synod. The thing is they have overlapping membership, and so you often see fraternal benefits such as matching funds used in LCMS congregations that have local Thrivent members. If there was no one in a LCMS congregation who was a member of Thrivent (has an insurance policy) there would be no matching funds used in that congregation, because Thrivent has no relationship to a Lutheran congregation, only to Lutherans.

Clear as mud? Welcome to corporate and tax laws 101, today we will remove the mind God gave you and insert a lawyer's mind in it's place. This will allow you to think in unique and different ways which will allow you to confuse and amaze your friends and eventually your clients.....

Marv

 

[Tangible]

Welcome to corporate and tax laws 101, today we will remove the mind God gave you and insert a lawyer's mind in it's place. This will allow you to think in unique and different ways which will allow you to confuse and amaze your friends and eventually your clients.....

AHHHH! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! GET THEE BEHIND ME SOLICITOR!!

 

[Tangible]

GivingPlus

Lutherans for Life is not allowed to receive funding from the Thrivent GivingPlus program.

"the organization declines grants and gifts to projects that support positions not generally agreed upon in society at large."

 

[wildboar]

Sadly, the word "Lutheran" doesn't mean much anymore. I get really tired of defending myself to people who have no clue. The LCMS is considering changing their name. I kinda wish they would remove the word 'Lutheran' and replace it with 'Evangelical Catholic' or something that reflects what we hold, teach and confess.
A couple of the proposed suggestions is Lutheran Church-USA or Lutheran Church in North America. Of course, they tried this once before and it went nowhere. I suspect the same will occur this time as well.

Lutheran Church-USA or Lutheran Church in North America probably wouldn't really clear up any misunderstandings that may occur when people read about decisions of the ELCA. They would make the denomination sound a bit more national although for some reason Lutheran Church USA sounds like some sort of strange amusement park to me. I would be happier if we could replace "Christian" with "catholic" in the Creed. Maybe we could instead start a campaign to get the mainline churches to completely merge and become the United Church of Episcopal Evangelical Gnostic Christian Unitarians or something.

 

[Tangible]

Western Evangelical Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confessions WECUAC "We-Quack"
The new symbol could be a big white duck bearing a cross.

 

[DaRev]

Lutheran Church-USA or Lutheran Church in North America probably wouldn't really clear up any misunderstandings that may occur when people read about decisions of the ELCA. They would make the denomination sound a bit more national although for some reason Lutheran Church USA sounds like some sort of strange amusement park to me. I would be happier if we could replace "Christian" with "catholic" in the Creed. Maybe we could instead start a campaign to get the mainline churches to completely merge and become the United Church of Episcopal Evangelical Gnostic Christian Unitarians or something.

You mean like RomanMethoBaptiCostaPresbyLutheran?

 

[DaRev]

Western Evangelical Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confessions WECUAC "We-Quack"
The new symbol could be a big white duck bearing a cross.

 

[Tangible]

Western Evangelical Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confessions WECUAC "We-Quack"
The new symbol could be a big white duck bearing a cross.

Then we could ditch Thrivent and hop into bed with AFLAC! 2X brand recognition! The Ablaze! folks would love it.

 

[94Preacher]

An easier and more satisfying option would be to go around to all the ELCA churches and take "Lutheran" off their signs.