Welcome
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We are unapologetically traditional in our Sunday services and conservative in our beliefs.
- 1) The Bible is a manmade document.
- 2) The Bible contains legends, myths, stories, and fables which have no historical or factual basis.
- 3) The accounts concerning God’s people are based on tradition rather than history.
- 4) The teaching of “verbal inspiration” is not credible, namely, that the Bible is inspired word for word; every word of Scripture being inspired in the sense that the prophets and apostles recorded exactly what God wanted recorded. A more reasonable teaching is what we may refer to as “limited inspiration”. We may believe, for example, that Scripture is absolutely true only on matters pertaining to man’s salvation. On other matters, we must conclude from the evidence that Scripture contains many errors and contradictions, and that there are more or less diverse, if not contradictory theologies in the Bible.
We at The Lutheran Church of the Triune God believe in the inspired, inerrant
Word of God and hold to the original teachings and confessions of the Lutheran Church.
Many will refer to us as "conservative" Lutherans. Insofar as we confess the teachings of Martin Luther and are not willing to alter our confession, this is true. With this in mind, another word which may be deserving of more attention is the term "confessional" Lutheran. That certainly is what we are here at Triune God. St. Paul declares in Romans chapter one: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." Neither are we embarrassed to confess the gospel according to the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions. Our congregation is not as typical as you may once have considered it to be, especially in light of the many social trends we are witnessing today both inside and outside of the church. As a fellowship of believers united in Christ's teachings, we resist such trends. We recognize many of today's contemporary services and worship forms as detrimental to the worship our Savior has given His Church.
An Interview with Pastor Preus
1. Do you hold contemporary services?
Our services are most certainly contemporary. Of course, different people understand the word “contemporary” in different ways. For many the word “contemporary” - as it pertains to Sunday worship - has to do with what our culture would consider popular and often entertaining. Church services copy or mimic various trends of the current culture. For example, music and worship forms take on a sound which many would identify as having a “pop”, “rock” or “country-western” mode. If such trends represented the extent of today’s modifications in worship, it might not create tremendous concern for us. What is especially troubling in a large instance of cases, however, are the words and lyrics of today’s contemporary music which has the tendency to take the worshiper’s focus off the message and on the “performer”. Much attention, furthermore, is offered to one’s feelings rather than the Gospel of Christ and the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior.
At the same time, I do believe our services are contemporary if we give a more appropriate meaning to the word “contemporary”. Speaking honestly, nothing is more contemporary than the issues facing the typical church goer who lives in a fallen world and who himself was conceived and born in sin. Speaking of the common need of today’s people, contemporary is our yearning for the forgiveness of sins which can come to us only from our Lord Jesus who’s both God and man. As it is, many believe songs are sung for the sake of spiritual self-expression. Such songs, however, become little more than an exercise in spiritual self-promotion. Scriptures, on the other hand, teach us that the purpose of song in the church is to edify the body of Christ; the congregation as a whole (see 1 Cor. 14:6-19). Congregational singing can and ought to be God’s instrument to communicate the Gospel; singing his grace, in a matter of speaking, into our heart. We don’t just sing the song. It sings itself in us filling us with joy and wonder and reference. The song of grace moves us to song so that we together express our thanksgiving and praise.
It is perceived by a few that the exclusive use of hymnals serves as a barrier to prospective worshipers and church growth. Could it be they have an aversion to being bold in their confession of faith? We are not afraid to sing hymns in addition to songs. A hymn, as one Lutheran musician has put it, is “a song confession of the faith”. Music is appreciated in the proper sense when we see it as a primary teacher of the church, not when we recognize it merely as a chance for a personal experience between the worshiper and God.
2. Why should I be interested in a traditional service if I’ve never been exposed to one in the past?
Because it’s both predictable and spiritually beneficial. You know what’s being offered and given in the service, and as a believer you receive it to your spiritual welfare. Unfortunately, many will avoid a traditional service in our day either because they have a bias against the unfamiliar, or because they’ve never learned what constitutes Lutheran worship. The popular view of worship is to think of it as our action or response. Worship has become a human activity based on what we understand God to be. A Lutheran understanding of worship is just the opposite. It begins with God and is based on the gifts Jesus Christ has earned for every sinner and which are received by faith in our Savior. The introduction to Lutheran Worship puts it this way:
Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it says. Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise. . . . Saying back to Him what He has said to us, we repeat what is most true and sure. Most true and sure is his name, which He put on us with the water of our Baptism. . . . The rhythm of our worship is from Him to us, and then from us back to Him. He gives his gifts, and together we receive and extol them. We build one another up as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Our Lord gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink. Finally his blessing moves us out into our calling, where his gifts have their fruition. How best to do this we may learn from his Word and from the way his Word has prompted his worship through the centuries.
3. Some churches refer to worship as the “Divine Service”. What is the “Divine Service”?
The Divine Service is seen in the gathering of Christians on a Sunday morning. In the Divine Service, God serves us by giving us his Word and sacraments. He serves us through Holy Baptism, through the teaching and preaching of the Gospel, through the Sacrament of the Altar and through the words of Absolution. In each case He gives us the forgiveness of sins, faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, strength for Christian living and eternal salvation. It is only after we receive the gifts God offers us that we respond in our sacrifices; namely, with thanksgiving and praise. Although worship is typically defined as a man centered activity, the Divine Service is God giving to us and our responding to Him.
4. What do you mean when you say you’re conservative in your beliefs?
We are conservative on matters which pertain to the Christian faith. Our beliefs do not change. Nor do we determine our beliefs by giving credence to the higher critical method of interpreting Scripture. Higher criticism is a method of approaching Scripture and gaining understanding from it which is based on the assumption that Scripture must be read like other ancient literature. It assumes that external (historical) and archeological evidence ought to be used to test whether or not the Bible in its entirety is true. One deciphers the truthfulness and relevance of Scripture, it is believed, when human beings put human tools to use. It is believed, in other words, that we cannot rely on Scripture itself to obtain a valid account of God’s truth.
Listed below are some primary conclusions of those who rely on the higher critical method.
5. What is a “Confessional Lutheran”?
A Confessional Lutheran is one who adheres to the Lutheran Confessions as found in the Book of Concord. The Book of Concord consists of the writings of early Lutherans who were combating the existing false beliefs and practices of the church. Today it is popular in many circles today to say “we hold fast to no book but the Bible”. Such a confession can have an appeal to many. However, it also leaves us with a question. How do you defend the Bible against the vast number of modern sects and cults who use the Bible to support their false teachings? You really can’t. How reassuring, on the other hand, knowing that the Bible, according to its own Word is both inerrant and clear (2 Timothy 3:15-17). What this means for believers is we can understand and be sure about the chief teachings of the Christian faith, and we can confess the same teachings in the church and before the world. How do we confess these teachings? We do so not by simply quoting Bible verses. Evil and unregenerate people will use the very same passages to promote the exact opposite of what we believe. No. We confess the true teachings of Christ by explaining the truths recorded in Scripture. The words of Scripture are clear and when we express its truths in words that have the same meaning, others can know not only that we’re on the side of the Bible. They can know why those in error are in error.
A Confessional Lutheran is not ashamed of the Gospel. Rather, we are bold in confessing what we know Christ would have us believe despite how unpopular the same beliefs may be among others. We believe, teach and confess, for example, that God is Triune; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons in one God which means one divine being or essence. We also believe, teach and confess that though every human being is both conceived and born in sin and therefore has no powers to make himself right with God, Jesus Christ, nevertheless, true God and true man died for the sins of the world and rose again from the dead to prove that we sinners are redeemed. We believe, teach and confess that faith in Jesus Christ is the gift of God to man through which he is declared righteous before God and forgiven all his sins. And we believe, teach and confess that the sacraments of the Church include Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is a means by which the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in both infants and adults. Through Baptism He gives believers forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. The Lord’s Supper is a means through which Christ gives to the communicant his true body and blood given and shed on the cross. Through this sacrament He gives forgiveness and strengthens the faith of the communicant.
Those who are confirmed in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod make a vow on the day of their confirmation. Before God and the congregation of which they are presently becoming a communicant member, they are asked: “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” And immediately they answer the question, confessing their faith publicly and before the congregation: “I do so intend with the help of God.” For the Confessional Lutheran, this means they accept the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions not insofar as they agree with Holy Scriptures but because they agree with Scriptures.
6. Are there other churches like yours? How will you differ from many other congregations who are known as Lutheran?
There are many congregations like ours which are unapologetically traditional in their Sunday services and conservative or confessional in their beliefs. To determine whether a congregation is truly Lutheran in the traditional sense of the word, you may visit their website or visit them on Sunday morning for the Divine Service. You, more than likely, will learn in a relatively short time whether they hold traditional services and how they understand the word “contemporary” with reference to contemporary services. Confessional Lutheran congregations will differ from other congregations professing to be Lutheran in various ways. In addition to holding the Divine Service in a very high regard, we strive every week to preach Christ-centered sermons and lead Bible Classes which emphasize Christ and the doctrines of the Lutheran confessions. For more information on our beliefs, click here.
Sources for Article Appearing Above
Books
Lutheran Worship History and Practice, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 1993.
Articles
The Function of Hymnody in its Cultural Context, Dr. JW. Kleinig, Luther Seminary, Adelaide, 1998.
Documents
The American Lutheran Church and The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod; A Statement of Doctrinal Differences, October 1980