Conversions to the Lutheran Church

[DanielRB]

Hi Everyone, :wave:

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in sharing their conversion story--that is, why they chose the Lutheran Church over other churches. What attracted you most about the Lutheran Church? What other churches, if any, did you consider (or actually) joined before becoming Lutheran?

I myself am not a Lutheran, but I am looking for a Church home. I'm fairly conservative, and I see great value in liturgical worship. Thus, my interest in the Lutheran Church (among others).

In Christ,

Daniel

[Leeann]

Hello Everyone,


Daniel, I have the complete opposite situation then you are asking about. I grew up in the Lutheran church, as did my husband. I still love and miss the Lutheran structure and their liturigal worship.

I currently belong to a Baptist church. I feel strongly that god has led us here. In our case it has little to do with denominational issues, but rather the body of christ, and by that I mean the church family, where we best feel god's presence.

Let god direct you in your search. Worship is your gift to god, and finding a format and belief system that "fits" may enhance your worship. Finding the right "church family" will not only enhance your worship, but your christian life. Your best fit may be a Luthern church, but if you feel got directing you another way, don't be afraid to follow him. I'm glad we did.

[LutherNut]

Hi Everyone, :wave:

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in sharing their conversion story--that is, why they chose the Lutheran Church over other churches. What attracted you most about the Lutheran Church? What other churches, if any, did you consider (or actually) joined before becoming Lutheran?

I myself am not a Lutheran, but I am looking for a Church home. I'm fairly conservative, and I see great value in liturgical worship. Thus, my interest in the Lutheran Church (among others).

In Christ,

Daniel

I was originally Roman Catholic, but I became rather dismayed with them over time. I bought a Bible and began to read it and really wanted to go to a church that could preach the word of God to me. I was also watching some evangelists on television and while they didn't do much for me theologically, I did begin to understand the Bible a bit more.

I actually began by reading encyclopedia articles on the different denominations. I was intrigued by the Lutherans and came to the conclusion that the Lutheran Church was the closest to the Church built and supported by the Apostles that exists today. (And I was right!)

I had originally intended to go "church hopping" to check out some other denominations and congregations. The first one I visited was the local LCMS congregation. (I knew a little about the ELCA and really had no interest in them.) That first visit, though, was it for me. I never felt more welcome anywhere. It was like the prodigal son come home. (In some ways it was because I had been away from the church for a few years.)

One of the best things the Holy Spirit has ever done for me was leading me to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

I would suggest that if you are looking for a conservative Lutheran church to either visit an LCMS or a WELS (Wisconsin Synod) congregation.

Hope this helps you out.:wave:


Jay:cool:

[catzinjammies]

I was born & raised in the Southern Baptist church. In our family (as is correct) my father was the driving force in our spiritual upbringing, and unfortunately my mother was not inclined to submit to pastoral authority and quit attending church when I was aprox. 6 years old. When I was 11 my father died, and my older sister no longer lived at home, so I stopped going to church. No surprise that I drifted off into all manner of self-destructive behaviors as a teenager/young adult, though I never stopped believing in God, I mostly ignored Him. Many years passed, I married a great guy (raised Catholic, left it & was drifting too) and became more "normal", though still no church. The death of a beloved and devout aunt finally jarred me to look for a church to attend. Well, a lot had changed in the 20+ years since last I had gone to church!!! The various churches I tried ranged from Baptists, Vineyard, Calvary Chapel, several groups I had never heard of, all trying to mix pop music into their experiences, and offering Chrstianity Lite. Months of this craziness left me wondering of there was a church anywhere that would preach law and Gospel in a reverant manner! I was literally scouring the yellow pages at this point when I noticed a Lutheran church listing nearby and figured I had little to lose. I walked into service one Sunday morning and new very shortly that this one could be "it". Christ centered worship that left the secular world outside where it belonged....what a marvel to be singing hymns written centuries ago with lyrics straight out of Scripture, and a liturgy to go with.

Irony: tonight is the 10 year anniversay of my confirmation into the Lutheran church, and here I have the opportunity to tell the story.
Joy: within 1 year of finding the Lutheran church my husband began classes at church to become a member too.

There is the nutshell version of my conversion!

Blessings, CIJ

[KEPLER]

Let god direct you in your search. Worship is your gift to god, and finding a format and belief system that "fits" may enhance your worship. Finding the right "church family" will not only enhance your worship, but your christian life. Your best fit may be a Luthern church, but if you feel got directing you another way, don't be afraid to follow him. I'm glad we did.

Daniel & Leeann,

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but I wanted to respond to this statement,especially the part in bold.

I left the Pentecostal tradition I was raised in precisely becaue I disagree with the statement above. Worship is (just like our life and our faith) God's gift to us. In worshipping God, we are merely returning to Him what hehas already given to us by His grace. C.S. Lewis made the famous analogy of a child buying a gift for his father with the very same money his father had given to the child. As Lewis said, the father is "sixpence none the richer" for the gift.

Lutheran theology set that relationship straight for me. In a SUnday morning service, I am doing nothing to make God better, or make God happy. God is doing something for me to make me better and to make me happy. And this is why Lutherans call the Sunday morning service (or Saturday nigth service: whatever) "Divine Service". It is THE Divine who is serving us: NOT vice versa!

Just my two cents.

Kepler

[SPALATIN]

While I grew up a Lutheran I was not properly catechized as one until I actually catechized myself to some point (with help from others on forums like this.) I spent 15 years within the churches of American Evangelicalism (Covenant, Baptist, ELCA) before realizing that something was missing from my worship experience. Like Kepler, I found that I don't go to church to please God or offer him anything. Nothing I have is worth anything to him. Instead the focus is now on what I receive from God by laying my sins at the cross each sunday in confession and hearing God's word and receiving his sacrament.

The Bible is the Word of God, but not the only word of God. In John we read that the word was in the Beginning, the word came down and dwelt among us. The word is the Alpha and Omega. The Word creates life in us that as long as we stay in him we will be with the word in the end.

By hearing the word we can be saved.

We have a good guide to the word in the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord.

[FriarTuck]

I was born and raised Lutheran, ELCA to be precise. I've looked into many other denominations to make sure that this is the right place for me. Since I believe in Infant Baptism I couldn't be Baptist, since I don't believe in that whole Rapture business I couldn't be evangelical, since I believe in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist that left me with about four churches. Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Since I don't believe in Papal primacy I couldn't be Catholic and the other two churches aren't anywhere near where I live so that leaves Lutheran and since I'm more liberal than conservative I'm ELCA. Peace and good luck in your search!

[Melethiel]

I like liturgy and pipe organs, and the first time I walked into my current church (ELCA btw, even though I don't like the ELCA as a whole), it felt right. It's a longer story than that, but that's basically it. I have insidious Eastern Orthodox leanings however. :P

[homewardbound]

My experience is quite similar to LutherNut's. I grew up Roman Catholic, but came to sharply disagree with some of their doctrine. I nosed around a few Baptist and Non-denominational churches before falling away and spending about 10 years in a spiritual wasteland.

By God's grace I was called to renew my relationship with him a few years ago, and my search for church began shortly thereafter. I spent some time going to a non-denom that my son belongs to, and also visited a local baptist church, but neither of them were right for me. I looked into Lutheran teachings (I'm conservative by nature, so LCMS and WELS were a logical fit), and was pleasantly surprised to find that they matched my own beliefs very closely. So I went to the small LCMS church in our community and was blown away by how welcoming they were. It was so different than other churches I had attended...no one feigned anything...it was totally honest.

Admittedly, I was concerned at first that the liturgical form of worship would be a turn-off because that was one of the things I disliked about the RC church. But the Lutheran liturgy is different than the RC mass, and I've found that I participate more in the Lutheran service than others I've attended. Doctrinally, I've found the Lutheran church to be 100% faithful in the essentials, and I particularly like their treatment of the Eucharist, which I believe to be truer to scripture than other denominations.

All in all I'm very blessed to have found the church I attend.