A couple of years ago, we joined ALCF. Over the past few months, my wife and I had noticed a focus on tithing which was bothersome. With the focus on tithing had come a de-emphasis of sin and Savior. We were both concerned about this, but moving away from ALCF would move us away from many of our friends. After another disappointing service, I decided I had to find a church that was going to teach about our sin and our only hope, Jesus Christ.
My favorite radio show, Issues, Etc., has a list of sponsoring congregations. We had been to Our Savior and didn’t have the best experience, so I decided to visit another sponsoring congregation, Shepherd of the Valley (SOTV). One Sunday morning, Mari and I went to scout things out. The service used the liturgy which, while unsurprising, was a big change. It’s been a while since I’ve regularly attended a church that used the liturgy, but what stood out to me was that I’d get sin and Savior even without the sermon. The pastor introduced himself and so did other congregants which really made me feel comfortable.
The following Sunday, the whole family went. This was a big change for Emi, because her “Sunday School” was mostly playing and watching Veggie Tales. Erin liked the service and the pastor but had some concerns. Her first concern was leaving our friends and the sense of community at ALCF. SOTV is a much smaller congregation than ALCF so there aren’t all the Mother’s TIme-out, Couple’s Night-out, etc. Her second concern was something that is both an issue and a non-issue and that is race. We have very different perspectives on this issue because of where we grew up (me in San Francisco,as mixed race as you can get, and her in Moraga, vast majority white). SOTV, like the other Lutheran congregations I’ve seen, has very few minorities and her concern was that the girls might grow up feeling inferior (her experience). I think the girls will learn that, through the work of Jesus Christ, God sees them the same as everyone else in the congregation and that this will help them in the Left-hand Kingdom where they will be minorities not only because they are Japanese-American, but also because they are Christians.
Finally, last Sunday we went to service and then to Bible study after. Pastor Weller lead a discussion about how Scientology and Unitarian Universalism are not Biblical. Erin said she learned more about her faith in that one Bible study than she had at ALCF. She also said she gained some understanding into how I think. I’ve never really consciously thought about how my faith affects my life, but discussing this with her has opened my eyes.
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I can definitely relate to the difficulty of leaving a congregation. It became necessary for my husband and me two and a half years ago, after our (female) co-pastor gave a sermon selecting several biblical statements and claiming they were “wrong.” I’d been a member for over 14 years, my husband for 7, and we’d met and gotten married there, our daughter was born and baptized while we were there, and we had many friends and activities there. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I kept remembering the Scripture that says, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” and substituted “congregation” for “father or mother”. Like you, we found a good LCMS church and have thrived on its solid biblical preaching ever since. You can and will make new friends and even keep some of the old ones, but there is just no substitute for a pastor and congregation that are firmly grounded in the Gospel.
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