The one constant is, I have always been and will always be a Lutheran. Faith was created in me by the Holy Spirit when I was only a 2 month old infant and my parents had me baptized at Lookout Lutheran Church in Gilmanton, Wisconsin. Throughout my life I have been sustained by the means of grace -- namely Word and Sacrament. That's one of the treasures of being a Lutheran.
In 2000 I found it necessary to make the biggest church change in my life -- I left the church that I grew up in and that my family attends. It was an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) church and I made the synod jump to the LCMS(Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) that was across town. Not a great way to win a popularity contest with your family -- but that was not what the change was all about. It was an opportunity for me to more fully explore what being Lutheran means. What I discovered in that process was that there are some fundamental differences between the ELCA and the LCMS. And those differences mattered to me.
When we made the jump across synods we also made a leap into a new worship style. We attended a large LCMS church which uses a praise and worship style for worship. The words to the music and anything that needed to be said as a congregation is projected on large screens. The service begins with a medley of songs (praise songs as well as hymns). The music is led by a worship team which might be a few people or many. There might be only a pianist or a large group of musicians. The traditional liturgy is not used, however aspects of it are included. Like many Lutheran churches, communion is not given weekly, but twice a month. The messages are usually a series on a topic that covers multiple weeks. The church calendar is not evident in terms of colors and I don't think the lectionary is used to determine readings and prayers.
Now it's 2008 and I've found it is necessary to make another change. Our 7 years in that particular church were filled with blessings and many friends. We have been feeling a desire to return to a smaller Lutheran church with liturgy and weekly communion. I feel that I've returned home in some regards as we are transferring back to a traditional Lutheran church. But in the last 7 years I have fully embraced the LCMS and I now understand liturgy in all its richness.
The comfort I take in all this over the years is that:
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Peter 24-25
