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St. Paul's is a "confessional," "sacramental," and "evangelical" church. Check out what each of these terms means.
As a confessional church, we boldly and brazenly confess our Lord and His Word through clear statements of faith. This includes the Christian creeds and the Lutheran Confessions. Most church bodies have confessional documents, but we choose to celebrate them for their clarity and faithful consistency to the Scripture. Our confessional statements are collected in the Book of Concord which you can read and study online. While not the Scripture or divinely inspired like the Scripture, the Book of Concord is true to the Scripture and you're welcome to test this.
St. Paul's is a Sacramental congregation. This means that we hold to the Christian sacraments at taught by our Lord in the Holy Scripture. We believe there are two formal sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and these sacraments deliver what God says they deliver. We don't judge the veracity of the sacraments with human reason or skepticism. Scripture says that baptism saves, so we confess that baptism saves. Scripture says that forgiveness of sins is offered in the true body and blood of Jesus given in the Lord's Supper, so we confess the same. This is what it means to be sacramental.
The Lutheran church used to be called the "Evangelical Catholic" church but the name "Lutheran" seemed to stick, so we're still using it today. What makes us evangelical? Simply that we don't keep the good gifts of God, His gift of salvation and eternal life, His gift of forgiveness and peace, to ourselves. But we go into the world with this Gospel as God draws sinners to repentance and faith. We believe the Word of God is so living and active that it does what it says.
Our liturgy and worship style is historic, with many parts dating back to even the 2nd century. No, we don't look like a typical church where the musicians are front and center, where everyone wears jeans and tie-dye, and the "experience" supersedes the content. We are orthodox, traditional, liturgical, and believe in reverence, sacredness, and respect as we come into our Lord's presence. You may say we're "old school," and that's just fine. You may think we're sort of Roman Catholic, but not really. At St. Paul's you will find a place to come, not to be entertained or to have your ears tickled with all our therapeutic preaching and fun music, but a place to be silent, to pray, to meditate, to listen, and to respond with thankful hearts for all the wonderful things our Lord God does for us! We are a church, not for the "have it your way" Christian, but for anyone who seriously seeks to be in the Lord's presence, to grow in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another.
A great video developed by YouTube personality "Reformed Zoomer" about why Lutheranism is different than every other church body -- because we mean it when we say we preach the Gospel!
St. Paul's, along with all congregations of the LCMS, follows a quazi-congregationalist structure. What does this mean?
198 Congregations, 19 Preschools, 8 Parochial Schools (K-12)
District President
Office Manager/Treasurer
Administrative Assistant
Check out the Faq's and see if answers are there. Otherwise, feel free to contact us using the form below.
As a congregation of the LCMS, St. Paul's Lutheran Church rejects any sort of higher criticism or "liberation" theology which is par and parcel to the ELCA, LCMC, and NALC. We employ the historic and proper method of biblical interpretation, grammatical historical, which keeps us from allowing culture or trends to determine biblical interpretation. Further, we reject "Gospel Reductionism," a way most liberal churches teach the Scripture, where, if a passage isn't affirming, loving, positive, or Jesusy, it is outright rejected or changed. We don't mess around with the Word of God!
The first time you attend the service, you may find it hard to follow, particularly if you come from a non-liturgical or "contemporary" worship background. But we have ushers to help you, and we also post our liturgy and hymns on our screens. Further, we continue to use our hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, if you do better with the hymnal. But after a couple of weeks, you'll be singing and chanting the liturgy with everyone else and finding great joy and comfort in the fact that what you are singing, chanting, and speaking has been sung, chanted, and said among millions of Christians spanning centuries. WOW!
ABSOLUTELY! Kids are not only welcome but strongly encouraged to take part in the weekly service. This way they learn the hymns and liturgy early on and it can go with them for their whole lives.
While the service is reverent and transcendent in nature, you are fine wearing casual attire. Women may wear head coverings or hats if they wish. The important thing is that you do not dress in such a way as to draw attention away from Christ and His Word and to yourself. Dress as you will, but keep modesty and respectfulness in mind. In our house of worship, Christ Jesus is the center of our attention.
Today, many churches have abandoned the ancient and biblical practice of Closed Communion. They say it's unloving, judgmental, and uninviting. They also believe that, since faith is between the individual and Jesus, that no pastor or church has the right to say "no" to anyone when it comes to matters of faith and practice.
But, Jesus practiced Closed Communion and He taught His disciples to do the same. Only 12 (likely 11) people communed on that night when He was betrayed, in spite of the fact that many hundreds of people followed Him and helped Him with day-to-day needs.
Further, St. Paul the Apostle makes clear in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 that how we practice the Lord's Supper is a reflection of, not our individualism, but our being part of a body of believers, that we are to all believe and understand (discern) together the bread and wine correctly as the body and blood of our Lord, and that partaking of the Lord's Supper for wrong reasons is dangerous for both the individual and the fellowship/communion of believers.
The Lord's Supper is a serious matter and we take it seriously. Therefore, we believe the practice established long ago by the faithful orthodox churches called Closed Communion still holds great value today. It protects the fellowship and the individual from judgment, and since the pastor is the called and ordained servant of Christ within the congregation, it falls on him to determine who can and cannot commune.
In our congregation, the simple litmus test is this:
1) Has the individual been taught in accordance with our congregations confession and teaching and confessed before the congregation that he or she believes what has been taught?
2) Is the individual contrite; does he or she repent of sins committed and trust in the mercy and grace of God in Christ who forgives sins?
While the pastor cannot see into the heart of any person, these two things the Pastor can know for sure.
While it is our practice to only commune those who are members of our congregation or in fellowship with the LCMS, exceptions can be made in rare instances. First, speak with your own pastor about it, then speak with our pastor. Please understand, however, that if he says no, it is no reflection on your faith or confession. It isn't personal. We simply ask that you respect our practices as you enter into this house of worship, just as we would respect your if we went into your house.
No. Same-sex marriages and other LGBT concerns stand in contradiction to the clear teaching of God in Scripture, that He created male and female to be bound in marriage, to raise children, and to work and protect the land and community into which they live. Same-sex relationships of any kind distort God's purpose for all human sexuality and we are not obliged to honor or perform any such rites or ceremonies which celebrate these relationships.
It is important to understand that as Christians, we are to love God first with all our heart and mind and strength, and then, with that love, go and love our neighbor. This means we obey God rather than men in all matters of faith and life, even if obeying Him means we be rejected by the culture around us.