Different is Good "or so said the restaurant chain, Arby's, a few years back. But is different always good? While all of us are unique people, it can be painful to be too different. People who are different don't quite fit in with the in crowd. In many cases, they're made fun of or left out. To be different can be very difficult.
I was a Lutheran pastor in Tennessee for five years where Lutherans make up less than one percent of the population. Talk about being different!.
Lutherans are few and far between in Tennessee. Many folks simply don't know what Lutherans believe or practice. Some people think Lutherans are Roman Catholics without a pope. Others think Lutherans are just another Protestant church made up mainly of people with German backgrounds. As a pastor, I wondered how we, as Lutherans, could make ourselves better known? More importantly, how could we get the good news of Christ out to people in need?.
Some Lutheran congregations decided the most effective way to do this was to be like other Christian denominations. There is an old saying that goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."" These churches adapted that saying to, "When in Tennessee, do as the Tennesseans do."" Pastors preached and congregations worshipped like the churches of other denominations. Since Nashville is the Contemporary Christian Music capital of the world, that form of music was often used in services.
The result was that people were confused about what Lutheranism teaches and does. Are Lutherans the same as the Baptists, Methodists, or Pentecostals? Or are Lutherans different somehow? Over and over again people asked me these questions.
How did I answer? When I was in high school, I invited a Roman Catholic buddy to come to church with me. He was amazed at how familiar the service was. Another time a friend in the Foursquare Gospel church came to the divine service at my invitation. He couldn't believe God's word was the focus of the service.
