Give a Lutheran a Hand!
Many of the folks who come to White Horse Inn are on a journey of sorts. Some are happy in their present churches, but are digging more deeply into the rich resources of the Reformation as they serve their church, their family, and neighbors. Others of you have left the churches of your youth and feel like you are in the middle of a journey to…somewhere! And finally, some of you have found your way to a new home and church identity. If you are a “former evangelical” who has found their way into the Lutheran tradition, one of our friends would like to speak with you.
Pastor Matt Richard, a Lutheran minister, is working toward a doctor of ministry degree at Concordia Theological Seminary and is engaged in a research project that focuses on the journey of American evangelicals into Lutheranism. He’s looking for participants who would be willing to answer questions as part of his research. We can vouch for Matt. He and his wife spent some time with us earlier in the year during our Conference at Sea.
If you are interested in helping, please contact Matt today. If you’d like to read more about the project, you can check out his blog, PM Notes.


December 4th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Matt,
I’m still in an evangelical church, though for the past several years I have been fairly heavily influenced by reformed teaching, particularly Lutheran. A primary reason I’m not in a Lutheran church is there isn’t one near me. Well, there is an ELCA congregation, but that’s not my kind of Lutheran.
I don’t know if I’m in your target range for participants, but there you have it.
Regards,
Bruce Ezzell
December 4th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
didn’t the lutheran church ordain practicing homosexuals for the pulpit? If I’m mistaken, I apologize. Was there a split in the Episcopalian, Presbyterian? I do not see this in the “Book” that this is okay with God.
December 5th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
[...] am so very grateful that this research project has already been promoted on Steadfast Lutherans, The White Horse Inn, and KFUO Radio, I am still in need of research participants. Thank you for your interest [...]
December 5th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Way cool! I’m a Baptist minister but while currently unassigned my wife and I attend the local LCMS congregation. I agree with enough to be able to fellowship with them but not enough to “switch teams” (there’s no TULIPs in their garden and there’s that whole getting babies wet business)
December 5th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Interesting.
I know this kind of thing can take a long time to complete. I would like to see the end result of the study.
(Sorry, not Lutheran, except in the wider sense that any reformational protestant is.)
December 5th, 2012 at 10:29 pm
No denomination is without its problems on some level or other, but Lutheran teaching has not historically held to what modern liberalism believes and practices.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:17 am
Mary,
Yes, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) has approved a resolution to allow gays and lesbians in same-sex relationships to be ordained. However, my small denomination, as well as larger denominations like the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod admittedly reject the actions of the ELCA.
As far as completion time for the project? My hope is to be done about 1 year from now… December of 2013.
PAX
December 6th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Just like there are many different types of Baptists, there are several different types of Lutherans. ELCA is the most liberal , but there are other branches (LCMS, WELS, ELS and more) that are quite conservative.
I grew up in a non-denom church , but I became WELS when I got married. I did have a hard time at first, but as I took my church’s adult confirmand classes on “What we Believe”, and as I read more scripture for myself, I came to see how misguided I had been as a child. I felt like my eyes were opened to the true Word for the first time.
June 13th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
Pastor Matt,
I met you on Friday June 7th. after the 11 a.m. chapel service. I failed to tell you that I am a convert to Norwegian Lutheranism from Evangelicalism. It happened mainly from the theology I found in Lutheran Hymnody.
Hymns teach the theology. Particularly atonement hymns…
i.e. Glory Be to Jesus, and Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain.
The Lutheran Church truly knows its atonement theology. I
was in a Norwegian ELCA church in (Pontoppidan Lutheran) but
I am now in the AFLC. I am so glad you are doing research in this area….it is finally happening and God led you to do it!