What We Believe

We believe in one God who we encounter in three persons:

The Father, Almighty, Ancient of Days, is the transcendent God in whom all things have their being. God is beyond our understanding—an incomprehensible, profound Love.

The Christ, Jesus, Anointed One, is the immanent God who walks beside us in our very human lives. God allows us to know him in terms we can understand, and experience a sacrificial love for us.

The Spirit, the Rushing Wind, the Advocate, is the indwelling God we find inspiring our daily lives. God comforts us when we are afflicted, and stirs us out of our comfort zones when we are complacent.

Yet despite these three, fully independent and separate persons, there is only One God. The dance of Trinity, three-in-one and one-in-three, invites us to participate.

The Bible is our holy book, the only authoritative guide to faith and source of theology.

We understand that the Bible is an ancient text, a product of its time, and often difficult to understand. It was written by human beings over the course of 1,500 years, and reflects their diverse experiences of God.

It also was inspired by the Holy Spirit, who worked with the human authors of scripture to imbue the Bible with holy truth. The Bible, then, contains everything necessary for faith, and is trustworthy. It is the only normative source of faith.

The Bible is not perfect. It cannot be, for only God is perfect, and the Bible is not God. So we trust that the Holy Spirit continues to inspires us as we read it, so that we might come closer to the truth each day.

Its authority comes from the Word of God that it contains—not words on the page, but rather, the Word Made Flesh, who is Jesus Christ.

The Lutheran Church recognizes two sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.

In Baptism, we are joined to Jesus Christ in a way that cannot be broken. His death becomes our death, as we drown under the waters. His resurrection becomes our resurrection as we are born from the waters anew. In this, we are more than simply cleansed from sin; the sinful part of ourselves is destroyed. We become holy—or rather, receive a share of Jesus's holiness.

This Baptism is a gift from God. It is not a work that we do, and so does not require commitment on the part of the person being baptized. God is always the actor, and we simply receive God's grace.

Holy Communion is the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection for us. In the bread and cup, we encounter Jesus's presence again in our midst. We are made one with God, and we are made one with each other, becoming the Body of Christ in the world.

Our church practices open communion, meaning that you do not need to be a member to receive communion here. We believe that we do not need to be in perfect agreement to share this meal; rather, this meal is how God builds accord among us.

Lutherans understand grace to be the center of everything that we do. The word "grace" simply means the free gift of God, given not for any other reason than because God wishes to. We are saved, justified, made holy, reconciled with God, and on and on, not because we have somehow earned God's favor. Rather, God has chosen to do these things for us simply because it pleases God to do so—particularly in light of what Jesus has already done for us.

In everything in our faith, God is the actor.

This includes faith. Our own faith, belief, and trust in God is not a work we have done, but is a gift God has given us. That faith is how we know the many gifts God has given us. Without it, we would still have God's gifts; we simply would not be aware of it. It is faith that helps us receive the grace of God, and celebrate all that God has done.

Some Christians are big on spreading the gospel to others. Our practice and faith life is a bit more subtle. Since salvation comes, not through some acceptance of Jesus into your heart, but by God's own gift, we don't feel the need to go out and "save souls." God has already done so in Jesus.

But that doesn't mean we don't want to talk about our faith. It's a big part of our lives! It brings us great joy, and makes our lives better. Living with the Spirit-given knowledge of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ has changed our lives. That's worth sharing with others.

We respect other people's faith. We also celebrate our own. So while we might be a little slow to tell you about why our faith matters, don't be afraid to ask. We don't want to offend. But we do want to delight in all that God is doing in and through us and the world around us.

Jesus was 100% human, just as he was 100% divine. Everything that people experience, Jesus did too. Grief, joy, despair, exhaustion, illness, hope. All of human life is holy, because God lived it all.

That doesn't mean that everything we do is good. Sin—everything that separates us from God—plagues our lives. We harm others, they harm us, and we harm ourselves. God is constantly at work, healing those wounds and restoring our relationships. At the end, it is us as the really imperfect human beings God is in love with.

People disagree. There are many aspects of human life about which we are not of one accord. Racism, human sexuality, genetics, abortion, and more are all moral issues that trouble humanity. Our Church—both nationally and locally—has a wide diversity of beliefs on these questions. We have covenanted to continue to live together in disagreement, welcoming all who come our way, trusting that the Holy Spirit will bring us to a fuller understanding each day. Our denomination has social statements to help guide our conversations, which can be found at the ELCA website.

Some Lutheran Churches behave in a hierarchical manner, with the pastor(s) operating like a spiritual CEO, guiding the congregation's life. Others have congregationalist structure, leaving pastoral leaders out of the decision making process completely. According to our faith, either option, or anything in between, is appropriate for the Body of Christ, if it works!

We do, however, believe strongly in the Priesthood of All Believers. This theological idea, derived from the New Testament book of 1 Peter (among others), proclaims that all God's people have a part to play in the story of salvation. Each person in the congregation has unique gifts that contribute to our mutual proclamation of the gospel. If any one of these gifts is left out, we are diminished.

Our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has three different "official" types of professional ministry leaders, all of which usually require advanced education and degrees. Deacons have specialized ministries of service. Pastors administer the sacraments. Bishops oversee many congregations and foster resources and cooperation. All three are responsible for the proclamation of the Word.

Yet none of these are qualitatively different from the rest of the church's members. Ordination to one of these types of ministry doesn't set us above the whole people of God, but sets us aside for a particular job. We recognize that, whatever title we carry, we are saints and sinners, exactly like every other disciple of Jesus.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is committed to dialogue and cooperation with a wide variety of ecumenical (non-Lutheran but Christian) and interfaith (non-Christian) partners.

Among our Christian companions in ministry, we have official Full Communion relationships with the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Reformed Church in America, and the Moravian Church. With each of these groups, we recognize many differences, but also hear a common witness to the gospel in both Word and Sacrament. Because of this, we can share clergy and cooperate in our missions evangelism and service in the world.

We have also committed to continued conversation with many other Christian denominations, and they with us, seeking unity amidst our diversity. Official bilateral conversation continues with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the AME-Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Mennonite Church (USA), the Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. This last dialogue has resulted in a declaration of agreement on the doctrine of justification—the doctrine that, in the 16th century, lead most strongly toward our initial separation in the Reformation.

The ELCA has also pursued rich conversations with Judaism and Islam over the decades. We know that, though there are many things that divide us, we can work together for the betterment of humanity, move beyond tolerance to mutual understanding, and find ways to heal the cruelties and harm committed upon one another over the centuries.