I completely understand and agree with the LCMS stance on homosexuality. But I constantly wondering where does the church expect gay people to worship.

We know that every person in the pew on a Sunday is a sinner. We know that many (most?, some?) in the pews are actively engaged in sinning knowingly. That they can be involved in habitual sin whether alcoholism, compulsive deceit, or infidelity etc. Yet they are in the pew worshipping. Does their attendance show that the church is condoning or supporting their sin? It's often said we do not want to be supportive or condoning of homosexuality. How do we welcome people into our churches yet not show support of the sin and yet exclude others?

I've attended many Lutheran Churches in my life, but never one that offered a contemporary service or called its worship contemporary. In my mind, when I hear contemporary worship I think of baptist style worship where the pastor doesn't wear vestments and more modern songs are sung, and the liturgy isn't really used. But that doesn't seem to be the case in a lot of LCMS churches I've seen online that offer a contemporary service. So what is usually meant by contemporary that distinguishes it from a traditional service?

Have you ever had any heated conversations with their family or friends when you try to talk about Lutheran doctrine?

I was baptized and confirmed into the LCMS last year after having been mostly agnostic for most of my life. The church I grew up in labeled itself as “non-denominational” after it broke up with the Assembly of God (Pentecostal) church. But I left church altogether when I was a teenager because I just couldn’t reconcile myself with what I saw at church and what I was taught to think about the Bible. I admit it was mostly a me problem.

Fast forward twenty years, one wife and two kids later and I finally had a great conviction to get my family into church and to follow God again. I spent quite a long time looking into church history and the theological positions of different traditions in trying to figure out the best church to raise my family in.

I had no idea how different all these traditions were when you really look into how they interpret scripture, so I began to feel that it was even more important to find what seemed like the truth. I also started to discover how some of the things I was taught as a kid were just completely wrong and I felt cheated because many of them were some of the things that drove me away.

With a near brush with the Roman church I finally found out about the Lutherans and all of a sudden all of the pieces started falling together, and the Bible and the Gospel started to make sense in a way that I never understood before.

Naturally this made me excited to learn more and more, and of course when you find something good you want to share!

So one day when my brother and his family (who regularly attend a Calvary Chapel) were visiting me from their home 12hrs away I asked if they wanted to come to church with my family on Sunday. Seems like a natural thing to do with your brother who is also a Protestant, and I was excited to show him my new church.

“Do you have open communion?” He asked. Of course I said no, and tried to explain why, but he wasn’t even willing to listen to what I had to say.

Since then I’ve on perhaps two or three occasions tried sending him a video or a podcast dealing with the Lutheran view on the Lords Supper or Baptism. Regarding the supper maybe nine months ago he said “Sounds like some pagan cannibalism rituals” uhhh, okay? Dang. Then he continued to lambast me with Bible verses about not questioning your fellow Christian or something.

Then yesterday I thought maybe I’d try again so I sent him a Wolfmueller video on Baptism. It was much the same response as the last time. He said that “Christians don’t need to argue about dinner etiquette while dining at the same table” Citing Romans and Corinthians in his defense.

So I pushed him on it a bit asking “Hey man, why do you get so defensive when I bring this up? Just trying to show you something that means a lot to me”

Then he laid into me about Lutherans and Catholics damning everyone to Hell who doesn’t join their church and do their perfect song and dance rituals trying to please God.

I tried telling him that’s not at all how we view the sacraments, but idk if he even believes me at this point. And he closed the conversation by saying again that Christians shouldn’t argue.

So I guess I won’t bring it up again. But it just feels pretty crappy.

Wondering if anyone else has dealt with something like this and how you handled it?