I was a Lutheran pastor in Tennessee for five years where Lutherans make up less than one percent of the population. Talk about being different!

Lutherans are few and far between in Tennessee. Many folks simply don’t know what Lutherans believe or practice. Some people think Lutherans are Roman Catholics without a pope. Others think Lutherans are just another Protestant church made up mainly of people with German backgrounds. As a pastor, I wondered how we, as Lutherans, could make ourselves better known? More importantly, how could we get the good news of Christ out to people in need?

Some Lutheran congregations decided the most effective way to do this was to be like other Christian denominations. There is an old saying that goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” These churches a

How did I answer? When I was in high school, I invited a Roman Catholic buddy to come to church with me. He was amazed at how familiar the service was. Another time a friend in the Foursquare Gospel church came to the divine service at my invitation. He couldn’t believe God’s word was the focus of the service.

Lutherans also carefully distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. Anything that says humans must do something to gain God’s favor—for example, making a choice or decision to give your heart to Jesus—confuses the Law of God and makes His salvation dependent on something you do. In contrast, we Lutherans are truly protestant; that is, we testify to the primacy of the Gospel.

dapted that saying to, “When in Tennessee, do as the Tennesseans do.” Pastors preached and congregations worshipped like the churches of other denominations. Since Nashville is the Contemporary Christian Music capital of the world, that form of music was often used in services.

So Lutherans are the same, only different, just as Jesus was the same as other men, only different. I guess Arby’s got it right. Different is good. We Luthera

Some topics in this essay:
Foursquare Gospel, Jesus Christ, , Lutherans Protestant, Gospel Lutherans, Martin Luther, Christian Music, Law God, Roman Catholic�after, Law Gospel, lutherans believe, jesus christ,