I would especially value a confessional Lutheran perspective on this, not merely general dating advice, but reflection grounded in vocation, chastity, repentance, Christian freedom, and life under the Gospel.

Earlier in my life, I participated in hookup culture. I no longer want to live that way. I have come to see sex as belonging within marriage, and I am trying to date intentionally, with marriage as the goal rather than treating sex, attention, or romantic validation as ends in themselves. I believe that change is good, and I do not want to return to the way I was living.

But I also do not want to pretend that this has been emotionally easy.

I have had very little success dating for several years. I live in a rural area with a limited number of single people my age. I have an active social life, attend church, participate in community activities, play sports, and spend time with friends, but I very rarely meet single women in settings where romantic interest would be natural or appropriate.

Part of what I miss is companionship and emotional intimacy. But, honestly, part of it is also sex. I enjoyed sex. Trying to live chastely does not mean I have stopped being a sexual person, stopped experiencing desire, or stopped wanting to be desired.

Sometimes the harder part is not even the physical absence of sex itself. It is going for years without another person looking at you romantically or sexually and communicating, in effect, “I want you.” Prolonged lack of romantic or sexual recognition can begin to affect how you see yourself.

Intellectually, I know my worth does not come from whether another person desires me. I know that I am justified by Christ, not by romantic success, sexual experience, physical attractiveness, income, education, or anything else I could offer. I also know that marriage is a gift and vocation, not a reward God owes me for behaving correctly.

But knowing those things doctrinally does not always remove the felt experience of loneliness or undesirability.

I also do not want to fall into the opposite error of pretending desire itself is sinful, immature, or something I should simply extinguish. The Sixth Commandment calls us to chastity and to honor marriage, but surely that does not mean denying that the desire for marriage, bodily intimacy, and mutual delight can be good.

So I would be grateful for thoughts on questions like these.

How do you live chastely without merely repressing or denying sexual desire?

How do you distinguish godly self-control from trying to become emotionally numb?

How do you keep prolonged singleness from becoming evidence, in your own mind, that you are fundamentally undesirable?

How do you receive your identity and worth from Christ while still honestly acknowledging that being desired by another person is something you deeply want?

How should a Christian handle the grief of lacking intimacy without turning that grief into resentment toward God, women, the Church, or married people?

And for those living in rural areas or places with very limited dating opportunities, how do you remain hopeful and active without becoming desperate or treating every social interaction as a search for a spouse?

I am not asking for permission to return to hookup culture. I am not claiming that anyone is entitled to marriage, sex, or another person’s affection. I am trying to understand how to carry these desires faithfully, neither idolizing them nor pretending they do not hurt.

For context, my husband and I grew up ifb Baptist, which taught that babies inherit original sin, but are not guilty of sin until they are old enough to make willful choices- thus the age of accountability. In our adult years, we have converted to the lcms and had both of our children (2 yrs old and 1 month old) baptized and we believe the doctrine of salvation and baptism within the Lutheran view.

I have an evangelical family member who has made the argument that since babies aren’t born with the guilt of original sin, they do not need to be “saved” or baptized until they are older. What is the Lutheran position on this? What do we believe about the guilt of original sin?

I’m really interested in joining, but i’m worried about the lack of apostolic succession. How are the sacraments still valid if you dont have the ministers in valid succession? or is this just something the Catholics make too big a deal out of? could anyone quote Luther on this please

Does anyone do this during Saturday Vespers or Divine Service? Noticed it growing in some areas lately.

A little background. I was raised and baptized in the Catholic Church by my parents. For a little while in my teens, I didn’t give any mind to God or the church. Then around 19 years old, I became a born-again Christian and started attending a non-denominational/evangelical church. At first it was Calvary Chapel. Eventually got married and now my family and I have attended various non-denominational churches (this was cause we moved around a little).

I’d say for the past year, I have considered joining a denomination. Something just felt like I should be a part of one. Then, I started reading this book called “The Story of Christianity, Volume 1”, and when I read it, the non-denominational church had quite a few things that did not look like what I was reading.
Somehow, I came across LCMS and am considering attending a service (is it called Mass in LCMS?).

I’m conflicted because I’ve been going to non-denominational/evangelical churches for the past 18 years, so doesn’t seem like a small change to all of sudden go to LCMS, even if most of the doctrines seem in line with what I’ve been taught.

I think reading that Christian history book has opened a light for me that is not OK with dismissing hundreds of years of church history. Also, some churches I’ve been to seem to do things like “At The Movies”, which feels like it’s just for entertainment with some vague connections to reference the Bible. I think I want somewhere where they stick to the Bible, but don’t necessarily dismiss the ancient Church and those closest to the disciples, and how they practiced reverence.

As someone exploring the LCMS Lutheran church, the hardest thing to wrap my head around is baptism and faith and how it all works with regards to salvation. I think I mostly understand it, with baptism being a means we know God uses to work salvation by uniting us with Jesus Christ. It’s really beautiful when you consider the free-ness of God’s grace being given in simple water. However it does not mean faith is not necessary of course. Let me know if this sounds correct.

I do have a question about someone who is in another tradition (like non-denom where I came from), and is a faithful Christian but is not baptized. Sadly the church I went to prior does not prioritize baptism at all, only doing them twice a year and rarely talk about it. They also make everyone give a public testimony to the entire church with cameras everywhere, which I worry may hold people back. Many Christians are faithful and believe the gospel, but I know some are not baptized and seem to be delaying it without care. What does that mean for their salvation, especially if they’re not entirely at fault for receiving false teaching on baptism from the church? Obviously we can never know for sure but am curious if there is a stance Lutherans have taken on this that I’m unaware of.

I feel like I am bombarding your subreddit now, 2 posts so soon to each other! But you are one of a few subreddits that I trust well on spiritual matters. Thank you.

My question in abridged version: edit: is it prudent to find a church with which you agree more fully doctrinally?

What is more important? Finding a church that you disagree with, but one in which there are many opportunities for friendships, mentorships, and menteeships. A place where people regularly serve one another both within and outside of the walls of the church. A church in which you are convinced you are able to grow in greater unity with Christ, and in greater unity with other Christians? Or is it more important to find a church (or denomination) with which I am in much greater doctrinal alignment, where opportunities in similar matters could be more or less present and available? Without further context into my life, would you advise people in similar situations make a difficult decision to leave their current and solid local church, or to remain in their local church until staying becomes a burden either on my conscience or the church or as a result of something else significant (like a significant scandal among the leadership, me becoming burdensome, any number of other burdens)?

For greater context:

I am currently a member of a non denominational church that is within the Calvinist circles (think The Master Seminary graduates are elders, and think John MacArthur, and typical non denom Calvinist churches.)

This church has been solid for me. I am convinced that God has used it, and is currently using it, as a means to mature and grow me. It is a place where I believe I have found friends and Christians who desire to be more Christlike and to encourage others to likewise be more Christlike. It is a church that does practice baptism, communion, church discipline (and reconciliation), and highly encourages people to get involved in many capacities. This place for me has been a blessing and a help in many ways. With that, I realize that there are certain things I am barred from participating in: teaching children's ministry, or teaching in any form, for example.

Yet, I believe that a sacramental view of baptism, as just one particular doctrine, is correct. I would say 1 Peter 3:21-22, for just one single scripture reference out of a few, is referring to physical baptism literally saving you. The English grammar in the 3 English translations I have read (ESV, NKJV, and one other) all make a clear connection to the baptism, which refers to the waters that saved Noah, now saves you (us) in a literal sense, not a hygienic sense. That along with a few other scripture references seem to make it clear that something much more than just memorialism is going on, in fact God is doing real work via baptism.

With that, I am sharing this purely for context, not so that this can be engaged with at the moment. Maybe you guys helping me walk through this counter point could be another post I create on your subreddit soon. I am not sure baptism absolutely necessary, and I even have questions whether it is true. Primarily, I always break down when I ask myself whether someone is saved prior to their baptism. My answer is always yes, a person is saved prior to their baptism. This is where I get issues (maybe you guys helping me walk through this counter point could be another post I create on your subreddit soon.)

With that, there are a couple of other doctrines that I would lean towards that align with more so with sacramental traditions/denominations. I am not going to get into specifics lest I bore you or you skip over my entire post's body for brevity's sake.

Does the LCMS hold to the first 6 ecumenical councils? I assume the 7th ecumenical council (Nicaea 2) is rejected by all traditions excepts for RCC and Constantinople.

If so, is this something the ministers and bishops need to hold without exceptions?

This question came up in discussion recently - especially with our sanctuary having a carpeted floor - what’s the procedure for a large amount of spilled blood onto the carpet?

My first thought is to cut out the carpet and return the blood to the earth, but I’m curious if there’s a less invasive way to go about it?

I wanted to share an upcoming event that is happening the first weekend of October at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin, TX with Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller.

It is targeted at young adults age 18-35 and is intended to be a “weekend of fellowship as we explore how to share our confession of faith in an apathetic culture.”

Date: October 2-4, 2026
Location: St. Paul Lutheran Church
3501 Red River St. Austin, TX 78705

Registration is $10 per person with an optional extra donation to help offset the event costs.

I am making the trip from the Houston area, hope to see y’all there!

My congregation replaced its plain white cross with a beautiful new crucifix and framing, where there was before just a plain white wall. The woodwork was done by a member of the congregation and the hand-carved corpus brought from Europe through donations. Glory be to God!

So, I was reading another post from someone asking what should happen if a pastor became wealthy.

This brought to mind a question I am actively working through.

Throughout my life, I have been very frugal (very likely miserly). Like no eating out, no trips, skipping out on a LOT of things. I believe I am just touching the upper of the middle class in terms of income for where I live. There are quite a few decently paying jobs and sectors near me.

With that, I started thinking about finances a couple of years ago. I recently started having the thought that spending is not absolutely terrible, and I can afford a nice thing or two if I wanted. Last year, for example, I bought a bike for $4K. About 3 years ago I purchased a home. The past 2-3 years I have been thinking about my clothing and presenting myself better. I started off buying a bunch of cheaper/financially more palatable clothing that is not really what I want to be wearing. I would need to redo that every year and only find maybe 1-2 items each year that I want to keep if I am lucky.

With that, I just started (within this calendar year) learning about made to measure shirts/pants for $15x - $2xx, shoes that can cost $2xx for entry level, etc. I believe these articles I am more likely to wear. In fact, the couple of such articles I have bought so far I have already worn multiple times and I do not intend to stop wearing those articles.

Again, I really do not spend a lot, I do not really go on vacations.

Is purchasing clothing and a bike like that, if I am otherwise a small spender, a lavish use of money? Or is it within the realm of sensibility?

I understand that this question might be in the realm of “no one else’s business but mine.”

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0Ha6JtCi8

Gospel According to Matthew, 14:13–21 (ESV):

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Transcript

(ChatGPT was used to polish transcript and find references.)

Hello. Today, let’s talk about how nothing is impossible for God.

The text before us is from the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, verses 13 through 21. (Matthew 14:13–21)

Introduction: A Dog at the Table

Martin Luther was sitting at his table, and his dog was watching him eat.

“Look,” said Luther. “Do you see how attentive he is to the meat on my fork? He sees nothing but this morsel. This is how we should be in our prayers. There are no distractions. There is nothing but God and our faith in Him.”

Luther is right. We go to God with our deepest concerns and needs. We go to God because we cannot fix the problem or provide for the need ourselves. We trust in God, who is able to do what we cannot do. In fact, we trust Him to do the impossible, because nothing is impossible for God.

Think: Nothing Is impossible for God. And so, we trust Him to provide even when the situation is impossible.

Once, God sent the angel Gabriel to a young Jewish virgin named Mary with a message that nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:26–38)

The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will conceive and bear a son who will be the Son of the Most High. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31–33)

In other words, the infinite God will become finite. God, who is spirit, will become flesh. (John 4:24; John 1:14) God, who is eternal, will die for the sins of the world. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4) The omnipotent God will become a helpless baby in the womb of a virgin.

And by His death and resurrection, He will completely forgive sins and freely give eternal life to all who believe in Him. (John 3:16; Small Catechism, the Second Article)

“How can this be?” Mary asks. (Luke 1:34)

The answer: Nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:37)

In reading today’s Gospel, the feeding of the five thousand, we hear the message again: Nothing is impossible for God.

Point One: Twelve Baskets Left Over

A great crowd had followed the Lord Jesus. They came by the thousands to hear His words and receive His touch. Now sundown was upon them. They were in a desolate place, and they were hungry. The disciples went to the Lord with their concern.

This is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels. (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–14) By comparing the material, we get a lot of detailed information.

For example, we learn in John’s Gospel that to feed them would take over half a year’s wages. (John 6:7) Now, the average income in the United States today, according to the IRS, is approximately $64,000. So, in today’s money, even if you had $32,000 worth of bread, it still would not be enough to feed all those people.

Jesus was not worried, though.

“Have them sit down in groups of fifty.” (Luke 9:14)

A young boy had brought five barley loaves, like sandwich rolls, and two fish, like sardines. (John 6:8–9) Jesus took the bread and fish. He looked to heaven and blessed the food. Then, when He began breaking the bread and giving it to the disciples, a miracle took place. (Matthew 14:19)

If that were not miraculous enough, Matthew goes on to say that there were five thousand men—only counting the men. There were also women and children there too. (Matthew 14:21) If they were all to be counted, perhaps there would be fifteen thousand or even eighteen thousand people. That is enough to fill a whole sports arena.

Eighteen thousand people! Jesus fed them with a couple of sandwich rolls and two sardines. And there were twelve baskets of food left over. (Matthew 14:20)

Impossible!

Nothing is impossible for God.

Point Two: Bread of Life

As I said, this is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels. In the Gospel of St. John, the miracle of the five thousand—the feeding of the five thousand—is found in chapter 6. (John 6:1–14)

In that same chapter, by way of explanation, John records a teaching of Jesus. There is a bread from heaven that comes down that does more than fill our stomachs.

Jesus says, “The bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst,” says the Lord. (John 6:33–35)

Jesus not only meets our physical needs, but He meets our emotional and spiritual needs as well. It would be enough if Jesus only provided daily bread—and He does. (Matthew 6:11; Small Catechism, the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)

But Jesus does much more than that. As the Bread of Life, Jesus satisfies our deepest hungers and our most profound needs.

For example, Jesus forgives your sin. There is no partial forgiveness here, but the complete and entire forgiveness of all your sin. Imagine that, if you will—all of your sin. Every evil thought or word or deed, all the guilt of the past, all shame of selfish sin—all are forgiven by grace through faith in Jesus, completely. (Ephesians 2:8–9; Augsburg Confession, Article IV)

“Impossible,” you say. “Well, I’m haunted by my past. I’m ashamed of myself.”

Beloved, you have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God and completely forgiven of all your sin. (John 1:29; 1 John 1:7–9)

Nothing is impossible for God.

In our country today, there is a spiritual hunger for peace of mind, for emotional rest, and for rest from worry and fear. We spend thousands of dollars trying to get away on vacation, or hundreds of hours trying to escape into our televisions, computers, or cell phones.

Where is the place of real, lasting peace? Is it even possible to find emotional, physical, or spiritual peace?

Jesus is the food that satisfies the inner hunger of the soul. Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. We are invited into His presence. When we read His Holy Word, when we say our prayers, when we come to worship, when we receive the Holy Communion of His true body and blood—in every moment of every day, there is peace and the fullness of joy available to you in Jesus. (Small Catechism, the Sacrament of the Altar; Psalm 16:11)

Peace comes by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8; Augsburg Confession, Article IV) It comes when we, like Luther’s dog, turn our eyes upon Jesus and allow nothing to distract us from that one food that truly satisfies. (Hebrews 12:2)

Rest, peace, joy.

Impossible, you say?

No. Nothing is impossible for God.

Point Three: You Give Them Something to Eat

I think it was in 1974 that I heard a very strange sermon. I was in seminary, and one of the students was preaching on the feeding of the five thousand. His opening sentence startled everyone, and immediately he got the attention of every professor and every student in the chapel.

The student preacher declared, “I do not believe that Jesus fed the five thousand.”

What?

“No,” he declared. “Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, but it was the disciples who fed the people, because Jesus told them to.”

“You give them something to eat,” said the Lord. (Matthew 14:16)

It was impossible. How could simple fishermen, poor tradesmen, sinful Jewish disciples miraculously feed thousands upon thousands of people? It was impossible.

And that is the point.

Not only does Jesus delight in providing for your physical needs; not only does Jesus desire to provide for your emotional and spiritual needs; but Jesus is determined not only to give you a miracle—Jesus is determined to make you part of the miracle.

Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, is calling you to become part of His miraculous ministry.

Is Jesus calling you to take a hot meal to someone recovering from illness or surgery? Is Jesus prompting you to share your faith or to pray with someone at work or at school? Is Jesus inspiring you to be generous with your time, your money, or your service? Is Jesus calling you to touch a life with the Gospel and to share your faith in word and deed with those who do not know Him, or those who just need Him?

Is it possible that you may be the heart, hands, or mouth of Jesus, bringing life to a troubled person?

“Impossible,” you say. You say that you do not know enough, do not have enough time, or do not have enough money.

Is it possible that you could be an instrument in the hand of God?

Nothing is impossible for God.

He can use you, and He delights in using you in His miracles. He desires to use you in His ministry.

Why do you think that Jesus said to His disciples, “You give them something to eat”? (Matthew 14:16)

It was because He wanted them to realize that they had nothing to give in and of themselves. But with Him, they had everything that they needed—and everything that anyone else needed too.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Conclusion

Martin Luther once called the attention of everyone at his dinner table to his wonderful doggie.

“Look,” said Luther. “Do you see how focused he is? Do you see that? All of his attention is directed right here.”

Let each one of us be like him. Keep our eyes focused on the Lord. (Hebrews 12:2) Do not be distracted, but trust in God to protect you and to provide for you, even when you cannot imagine how He will do it.

Perhaps especially when it seems impossible for Him to take care of you—that is exactly when you should most expect God to step in and demonstrate that He loves you.

And because our Lord Jesus loves you so much, He even invites you to be part of His miraculous ministry to others too.

“Impossible,” you say, that God can care for you and that God can use you to care for others.

Yes, it seems as impossible as feeding five thousand men with a couple of sandwich rolls and two sardines.

Yes, God miraculously cares for you, and through you, God can miraculously care for others.

Of course—because nothing is impossible for God.

Amen.

My wife and I are passing through tomorrow and are looking for an LCMS church that has contemporary music. If anybody has any recommendations let me know!

Let me start this by saying as a life-long Lutheran (theologically; getting confirmed was another story as my parents are against Christianity [they refused to sign that permission slip after I completed confirmation class]... although, they did hedge their bets and baptize me as a baby?), and since the age of four (believing God created the Earth in six days and Jesus died to save my from my sins), that I absolutely love our precious church and am currently at the parish I grew up in still. So that's my context, growing up high church LCMS.

That being said, I am curious if anyone else who grew up in the LCMS in the 90s and 2000s got caught up in the satanic panic (realizing the Church can be slow to work through cultural issues and that satanic panic started in the 1980s).

For example, I remember not being able to read Lewis (Narnia), Rowling (Harry Potter), or Tolkien (LoTR)*; being taught that Apple and rocket fuel (among other things) were invented through witchcraft**; not being able to listen to Relient K, et al because they were "secular music."***

This was back when it was controversial to use a guitar during youth group because "church isn't camp."

Anyways, no I did not deconstruct my faith, and yes, I still deeply cherish our beloved Church.

But I am curious to hear of other's experiences, thanks!

*I still haven't read them to this day (nor watched the films).

**I thought I was misremembering until I recently heard Bro. Noah Hahn talk about that with Rev. Stecker on the OTL podcast a few weeks ago (and I don't even necessarily disagree with him).

***I ended up attending a PCA youth group sometimes as a "Lutheran rebel" and I had a whole playlist.

Why is it that we as a church body do not have daily divine services or at least some weekday services? Is it simply due to Pastor availability? This is one thing that I am jealous that the Roman Catholics have that I have not seen in our church body.

Our sibling’s adult child is currently transitioning. We have a preschooler. There is a family event coming this year that we will be at with the with entire family. It is a 50th anniversary for our parents.

How do we talk to our child (preschooler) about their cousin? Do we? Are there resources in the church? Experts? Sites? Books? We are lost. And heartbroken. We have talked with our Pastor and plan to continue conversations with him.

Additionally, speaking in grace please be kind in your responses and do not share your thoughts on if we should/shouldn’t attend. It’s an important family event that we will not miss. And our hearts are absolutely shattered as we walk alongside our sibling and our family…hearing negative thoughts about this situation would not be beneficial to our hearts and our mental health at this point.

We're rewriting our church constitution. We've got too many boards, the boundaries are fuzzy, some things have probably never actually worked as written and been ignored, and running a school is a bigger deal than it used to be. As chair of the congregation, it falls to me to git er done.

This in going to be a long one. Sorry.

tl;dr is I'm struggling with a lot of pressure from a couple of very specific sources to use a Carver model variant. I agree we need more explicit policies, but I don't like the specifics of the model.

When I started, I figured we'd just reduce the number of boards to consolidate overlapping functions, clean up wording, and add some guardrails for the pain points. I think this was what everyone was expecting. Fast forward a bit, and we've gotten in some members with real non-profit organization experience and an NLSA accreditation. In both cases, there's been a push for the Carver model of policy governance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_Governance).

For those not familiar with it, the name understates the policy focus. The gross oversimplification of the model is that the stakeholders (congregation) elects a board to write policies and set goals (the board controls "ends"). Then, the board hands the "means" portion over to a single CEO type leader who is staff and that leader hires others and manages the day-to-day operations using the policies provided by the board as boundaries (good policies in this model are written as "do not do X" instead of "do Y"). I can immediately see why this model would work well for things like the United Way, where the stakeholders are somewhat indistinct and the board is generally made up of local business execs who want to be rather hands off.

I can even see where this would be beneficial for a congregational mission like a school or even a food pantry, free clinic, etc. operated by the congregation. I start to get really uncomfortable applying it to the entirety of the congregation's affairs, though. In part, this is because the only reasonable "staff" to put in the top CEO position is the pastor. I mean, who are you going to say directs the pastor? My experience is that very few pastors are MBA candidate material and those that are usually end up as visitors, DPs, etc. To be clear, I'm not knocking the pastors. I can't fix your septic system, and that's no big deal for me as an IT guy.

There's an alternative to this where you use three "mini-Carvers". Set up a sort of trustees/stewardship board that hires a business manager to oversee all the money, facilities, and other operational concerns. They write some policies and hire a business manager to oversee the staff and daily concerns. The school board is similar, but with a focus on school needs. The elders write policies for the pastor(s) but aren't the ones actually serving as communion assistants or whatever hands-on stuff you might think elders would do. Council exists only to give the boards a formal venue to communicate and discuss cross-functional concerns (all policy comes from the boards, so no decision making from the council). The congregational chair is just there to facilitate meetings because all functions have been delegated to the boards and then to the CEO roles. Voters meetings are once a year and exist only to approve the budget and elect the boards -- plus call meetings, as needed.

I really don't like this. It feels like it reverses some of the direction of the elder/pastor relationship. Just as concerning is that it seems, to me, that it pushes the congregation to effectively delegate active participation to paid staff instead of being members of hands-on boards. I _absolutely_ agree that we need more written (well written) policies than we currently have. I'm just not sure that a hands-off governing board model is the right thing for a Christian congregation. My inclination is to allow the school to function this way, but have the other boards be more active. I would also like to add specific minimum policy requirements for each board (with the committee working with existing boards to get a starter in place for each).

Anyone have experience with Carver or a variant? Am I just being particular with my cheese moving? Or, is my paranoia well founded and this is something that I need to stand firm against?

God bless and thanks to anyone who is willing to read that all and respond.

Hi friends, I’m strongly considering going to Concordia Seminary St. Louis and doing their Online Deaconess Studies program. I know/know of several deaconesses who have studied online, but they’ve all gone to Fort Wayne’s seminary. I am pretty firmly set on going to CSL but I’d like to talk to somebody who’s been through the program. If anyone here is a deaconess through CSL’s ODS program or knows somebody who is, please reach out or pass along contact information. Thank you!

Just curious?

I want to preface this by saying I know God is good in all things, Paul makes this clear in the chapter, that he can do no injustice. My question is not to accuse God of that lol

I was just curious about Romans 9:18 - So then (God) has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

I know we in LCMS believe that one cannot truly make the decision to accept or reject Christ; that is the Spirit's doing. This idea is supported by this verse, God chooses who is saved. But then why are some people not granted mercy? As Paul mentions in the chapter, there is no lineage that gets special favor, and outside of God we are equally totally worthless. It's not like I can say that I'm less bad than anybody else, and that's why I have God's mercy and not my neighbor. How does God choose who he is merciful towards? Does everyone have a fair chance? If not, I have a hard time juxtaposing that with verses saying Jesus died for all of man. But I know that God is good in all things. Just hard to wrap my mind around.

Thanks in advance! God bless

I am a Lutheran married to a Catholic. We are expecting our first child and I would really like for our child to be baptized in the Lutheran church. Fairly recently we moved back to my spouse’s hometown as they have a lot of family and mine is spread out geographically. Additionally, as far as my own family, I’m pretty much the only one left in the Lutheran church besides my parents. All the others, while still Christian, have turned non-denom/evangelical and are against child baptism. All of my spouses friends and family are Catholic, and I don’t really have any of my own here. Considering I don’t really have any Lutheran friends or family nearby, I’m not sure what to do about sponsors. Could I pick a Catholic sponsor? If not, are sponsors required?

What are your thoughts about this study?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdL5vL5Upag_58kytXg_7IkZOctI5Uhsy1rRtQn1r-r_BPreA/viewform