Lutherans have influenced my faith. I served in children’s ministry and then as Director of Education at King of Glory Lutheran Church (KoG) in Dallas, Texas. KoG is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
According to the KoG website, “Lutherans understand that God comes to us through the Means of Grace, the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Through them, God helps us understand and receive the benefits of a relationship with Him.”
It is estimated that there are over seven million Lutherans in the United States including about four and a half million in the ELCA.
So What?
The greatest contribution the Lutheran tradition has made to my faith is the importance of Baptism for individual believers as well as local congregations.
- In most traditions, the sacrament (or ordinance) of Baptism occurs in the context of congregational worship. Through baptism the individual is united with this local community of faith and with the universal body of Christ. What implications does this new beginning in the midst of community have for Christian growth/formation?
- For those who are Lutheran or a part of other traditions that baptize infants, how does your congregation fulfill its promise to help nurture the newly baptized in the faith? How does your congregation’s confirmation program help young adults affirm their baptism?
- For those who are a part of a tradition that practice believers baptism, how does your congregation prepare baptismal candidates? What intentional spiritual formation opportunities precede baptism? follow baptism?