Studying other denominations

eddif

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I disagree that denominations want their members to believe what their founder believed in. There are things that Luther wrote that Lutherans don't believe in because we are not a follower of Luther, but a follower of Christ. Luther had some great insight to God's grace which is what the Church needed back in his day.

I did say (tend towardand not dogmatically require. I also said fathers (which kind of goes through / over time).
When we are seeking after peace, Christ is the center of peace. I agree. Christ is not divided. I went to nursing homes for about 10 years for devotions, and I did not mention where I went to church (unless asked, and then mentioned I did not have a membership in that church - to allow peace).
Presently I am trying to develop a unity with Jewish believers. I will gladly receive comments on the best way to do this.

Mississippi redneck
eddif
 

Faith

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Presbyterians have official confessions of faith. For the PCUSA you should look at the Confession of 1967 and probably the Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith. The web site would be Presbyterian Mission Agency | Mission & Ministry. (There's a pcusa.org, but it has become almost useless. Not sure why they moved the content to a different website.) Conservative Presbyterians use the Westminster Confession, and mostly they're pretty serious about it. Note that there are denominations called "Reformed" that are similar to Presbyterians, with beliefs probably somewhere between the PCUSA and conservative Presbyterian groups.

Methodists believe mostly the same thing the PCUSA does, but don't have a collection of confessional statements. Their web site has statements on specific issues. Note that there are conservative Wesleyan denominations, if you're trying to avoid mainline denominations.

Also consider Lutherans and Anglicans, if you're interested in more liturgical denominations. Again, their mainstream denominations are similar to the PCUSA. But they also have conservative offshoots. The LCMS follows the Book of Concord, and has good information on their web site. I'm not sure of the conservative Episcopal.
What do people mean when they say “more liturgical denominations?” When I think of liturgical, I think of my old denomination, Catholicism. With the robes, bells and smells. Where the priest says this, and we have a response, in unison. Where the service follows a repetitive pattern.

My Lutheran church ( LCMS) isn’t like that at all. I know it’s unusual and that most LCMS are like that, but mine is similar to a ND we have down the road. With the lively contemporary music performed by a praise band and is less formal.
 
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Faith

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Well, I also took this quiz and it made me out to be LCMS too, which is definitely not accurate.

There are only a certain number of questions that the creator of any of these polls is allowed to ask, and in this case far too many of the allotted slots were devoted to asking questions about believing (or not) in God and the Bible. Those questions don't separate the conservative Protestant denominations very effectively.
I just took it twice and the first time Lutheran was 90%. Second time it was 100%
 

Albion

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I just took it twice and the first time Lutheran was 90%. Second time it was 100%
It sounds like the creator of this quiz associates basic Christian and Protestant beliefs with Confessional Lutheranism specifically.

With this kind of quiz, there is no 'right or wrong' in the questions and answers, but there is when it comes to the final step in which the creator of the quiz tries to match up the answers that were given with particular denominations.
 
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Castle Church

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What do people mean when they say “more liturgical denominations?” When I think of liturgical, I think of my old denomination, Catholicism. With the robes, bells and smells. Where the priest says this, and we have a response, in unison. Where the service follows a repetitive pattern.

My Lutheran church ( LCMS) isn’t like that at all. I know it’s unusual and that most LCMS are like that, but mine is similar to a ND we have down the road. With the lively contemporary music performed by a praise band and is less formal.
In general, a church that follows a Liturgy such as the Divine Service, Novus Ordo Mass, Tridentine Mass, liturgy of St John Chrysostom, etc. Lutherans (for the most part) follow the Divine Service, as you note your church is a bit of an anomaly in this case. Most Lutheran and Anglican churches follow the liturgical pattern, even if the service is more contemporary or "low". Here is the LCMS article on that: Parts of the Liturgy - The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
So, most LCMS churches would follow the liturgy outlined, even if they make it contemporary. Some don't however and "go their own way" in terms of the service.
 

Faith

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We do pray, but we have big screens on the walls with the prayers to be read rather than following along in a book.
We don’t say the same prayers every week either.
We have a “message” instead of a sermon and they have a theme they follow for several weeks.
 
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Castle Church

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We do pray, but we have big screens on the walls with the prayers to be read rather than following along in a book.
We don’t say the same prayers every week either.
We have a “message” instead of a sermon and they have a theme they follow for several weeks.
None of that is necessarily contrary to a liturgical service. The Lutheran Divine Service has several different settings and each setting has different options for prayers to be said. One could go quite some time without repeating if one so chose. As for screens, many churches that have traditional services still use those, especially in this Covid world.
 

Josiah

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Lutherans and worship....


It states in our Confessions that "it is not necessary for all to worship in the same way."

Nonetheless, 500 years ago, Lutheran worship continued in the Roman Catholic style with some very important differences: The language changed from ecclesiastical Latin to that of the people, the sermon was greatly lengthened and improved, and the role of the worshipers was greatly increased (involved rather than simply observers). But it remained very liturgical, the ancient sequence of things retained, and each Sunday there was confession/absolution, the Readings and Nicene Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Sacrament. And the Church Year and festivals retained. From our Catholic roots, Lutheran worship is rich.


Today, Lutherans tend to remain liturgical... and diverse. If there are 3 Lutheran churches in a community, they may have quite different worship styles... indeed, EACH of them might have 2 quite difference worship services. But the Church Year and Festivals are retained.... there is Confession/Absolution, the Lectionary, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, a significant sermon, and the Eucharist (probably weekly) - with lots of lay involvement and singing. Catholic worship has evolved considerably over the last 5 centuries and often is very much like Lutheran worship, especially the more traditional Lutheran styles.




An example of Lutheran Traditional Worship. This from St. John's Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Orange, CA. One of the larger and older congregations in California. It's well over one hour, but scroll through to get a sense of it. MOST Lutheran "traditional" worship is not THIS traditional but it gives a sense of the style.



An example of Lutheran Contemporary Worship of the very same church, the same Sunday. Again, MOST Lutheran "Contemporary" worship is not THIS contemporary but it gives you a sense of the style.







.
 
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