Dear Mount Calvary Family,
What churches do you pass on your way to church? You probably pass churches with big buildings. Maybe you pass churches in strip malls. Most churches around here worship in English. Some do not. Then there is the question of what is on a church sign. Some churches have digital signs. A church’s sign will also signal what church body, the denomination, that particular church is a part of. You know the signs: First United Methodist Church, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, and Mount Calvary Lutheran Church. A casual drive around just about anywhere in America begs the question: why so many different churches? Also, if we say we are a part of the Lutheran Church, what does it even mean to be Lutheran? I am often asked, “what is a Lutheran? What makes the Lutheran church unique?” This is an attempt to answer those questions.
First, Jesus earnestly desires the physical unity of all His followers. Shortly before his arrest, Jesus prayed for a long time asking the Father’s blessing on the infant church. This is called the “High Priestly Prayer” and can be found in John chapters 14-17. Four whole chapters, talk about a long prayer! There Jesus ends the prayer with this petition, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” Ideally, there would just be one church body or denomination. Sadly, there are countless Christian groups today. This is the result of sincere doctrinal differences, and, tragically, unreconciled person conflict. Our own church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (which is an unhelpful name but that’s for another time), spends significant time talking with all kinds of churches trying to find more common ground. Please join me in praying for greater unity in the visible Christian church!
In some ways we as Lutherans are uniquely positioned to facilitate conversation towards this common ground. What does it mean to be Lutheran? It means to keep Jesus at the center. The one thing truly necessary for salvation is faith in the person of Jesus, the Son of God. This is what we emphasize as Lutherans in our teaching, worship, and life. I once knew of a basketball team that spent their entire practices working on the fundamentals. They practiced easy lay up shots, tough defense, and drills desired to teach players how to dribble. The team was pretty successful. In some ways, we Lutherans are the church equivalent of this team. Jesus is fundamental to Christianity. We keep it about Him. The life he lived. The things he taught. The rituals he left us, baptism and communion. We aren’t the most original bunch but we major in the fundamentals of the faith.
As Lutherans we put Jesus at the center of all we do and this also allows us to hold the center of Christianity. What do I mean by the center of Christianity? Some churches pride themselves on beautiful ceremonies and history, others crazy gifts of God like speaking in tongues, and others still by how much they know, or how much they do for the less fortunate among us. These are all good things to do and practice. Lutherans though are “all of the above Christians.” We can combine any of these things with our laser-like focus on Jesus. In this way, we hold together the varied and sometimes frayed interests of the Christian Church. For example, liturgy and ceremony isn’t the only thing we are about but it pairs well with the one who made the heavens and earth. Further, our Kunama friends eagerly expect the Holy Spirit to directly and miraculously intervene in their lives. This is great as long as it doesn’t cast a shadow on Jesus who sent us God’s Spirit. Lutherans hold the middle with Jesus at the center.
There has never been a Lutheran president. There aren’t too many Lutheran celebrities, influencers, and TikTock stars. You won’t find any world beating articles about Lutherans in fashionable publications. Nevertheless, stand proud Lutherans you have Jesus. The Christian church across all denominations is like a group of kids at school bringing gifts to show and tell. Some kids have exotic and fun things. Lutheran-Christians though bring pencils and an eraser. We specialize in the fundamentals about Jesus. In this way we are a blessing to the whole world and to the Baptists-Christians, Catholic-Christians etc. who share our faith in Jesus.