1) What do Lutherans Believe?

2) Are there different groups of Lutherans?

3) What authority does the Bible have in your church?

4) What about women?  Does your church ordain women?

5) Do you do weddings and baptisms of non-members?

What do Lutherans Believe?

Members of the Lutheran Church will tell you that they simply teach what the Bible teaches, what true Christians of every age have believed. But then, they know that most other churches make similar claims. So what is special about our teaching? The heart of Lutheran belief is the joy that comes from knowing that God gave Himself, His love, His life in the death and rising of His Son, Jesus Christ. We may feel we don't deserve it; we may feel we haven't earned it. But that doesn't make it any less true.  

Lutherans believe that Jesus is just as much alive today as he was that first Easter day. For that reason we like to study His teachings as recorded in the Bible; we like to study His works and His way, to follow His example. We like to learn what His dying and rising means for our daily life. [Top]

Are there different groups of Lutherans?

Yes! We are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. There are over 5.2 million of us in over 11,000 congregations, making us the fifth largest Christian Church body in the United States. Messiah is but one of 220 congregations in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod which is one of 65 synods spread out over the United States and Puerto Rico.

The ELCA is known for our excellent social ministry organizations that serve hundreds of thousands of people. We support 29 nationally acclaimed colleges and universities and eight seminaries that prepare our leaders for ministry. We invest time and money in immigration and refugee placement services and disaster relief work. Our international projects of care, service, witness and justice are done in partnership with 114 churches of the Lutheran World Federation and with our U.S. partner, Lutheran World Relief.  

Other groups include the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Synod.  These are separate denominations and are not connected with the ELCA.  It would be well for you to link to their national webpages for more information.  [Top]

What authority does the Bible have in your church?

Lutherans accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (i.e. the Bible) as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. We know that it was composed by individuals over an almost 2500 year period of history. With that many people involved, parts of it are bound to reflect the culture and times in which each book in the Bible was written. Yes, that’s right. The Bible is not just one book but a collection of books. However, even though we no longer live in the culture of the Bible’s writers, nevertheless, we believe the Bible is the one document in the world that best describes the timeless character of God, His plan for the world, and the gift to us that is His son Jesus. As Martin Luther once said, “the Bible is the cradle in which the Christ Child is laid.” [Top]

What about women? Does your church ordain women?

Yes, we do! Even though the Bible speaks about “women keeping silent in church,” etc. we believe that while that may have been appropriate in the day it was written, it is no longer appropriate today. We separate pious opinion from revealed truth in the Bible. Women assume an equal position in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We have been ordaining women for over 25 years.   Messiah also hosts a unit of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. They are an auxiliary of the church and meet as individual Circles. They have their own officers and ministry. [Top]

Do you do weddings and baptisms for non-members?

The Pastors will do weddings for non-members subject to time and availability. There is a charge, however. You may call the office for a wedding policy sheet that explains all the details.  

With regard to non-member infant baptisms, the pastors prefer not to officiate at infant baptisms of non-members. The reason is that not only does Baptism establish a relationship between a person and God, it also establishes a relationship between that person and a community. Indeed, when a person is baptized at Messiah, they become members of the church. But if the parents of that infant have no intention of becoming an integral part of that community, then the church community has no way of following through on its commitment to the newly baptized child.  In addition, Lutherans do not believe in the superstition that an unbaptized child lies outside the love of Jesus.

Pastor Stan's advice is for that family to find a church home and then have their child baptized in that church. The bottom line is, if they are going to become Jesus’ followers, it is more likely to happen if the entire family is actively involved in some other congregation where they feel more at home, than if they are even only occasional participants of Messiah.  [Top]