Why Lutheran? What do Lutherans believe?

First and foremost we are Christians -- followers of Jesus. We also happen to be connected to a tribe of the faithful called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest group of Lutherans in North America. We are thankful for the theological, historical, questioning, reforming, teaching and supportive network our tribe provides.

The Lutheran expression of the Christian faith is rooted in the teachings of a German theologian named Martin Luther, who in October of 1517, as a professor and campus pastor, posted 95 Theses (topics for theological debate) on the door of Wittenberg University in Germany. He proposed this academic debate to challenge the Roman Catholic church of his time into reforming its preaching and practice to better conform the Bible. Instead, this Reformation led to a split in the church.

Coming from these roots, Lutherans have always had a deep commitment to education at all levels. 2007 marked 100 years of Lutheran Campus Ministry in the USA. Like Martin Luther, we are still reforming the Church, which is the body of Christ -- continually exploring what scripture means for us in our context -- in our time and place.

We believe that God loves YOU for who you are because of who God is. This is part of a concept we call grace. It means our salvation rests solely in Jesus, who walked among us and lived out God's love. Martin Luther's emphasis on grace, not our own works, was the keystone of the 16th century Reformation, based on a related key Bible verse: Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." This emphasis on grace still distinguishes Lutherans from many other Christians. It can be a tricky concept to grasp, so we'll describe it a few ways:

• Grace is God loving us and forgiving us when who are broken, suffering, or undeserving.
• Grace is the blessing of humanity because of God's virtue -- it's nothing we deserve or could ever earn.
• We are saved by the grace of God alone -- not by anything we do.
• There is nothing you can do to make God love you more.
• There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.
• God meets us where we are, and God calls us to new life.

Lutherans also have a distinct view of life as a vocation or "calling". As members of the ELCA, we believe that we all have a calling — a vocation — to follow Christ’s example, living a life of meaning and purpose. God may be calling you to be an engineer, an artist, a doctor, a missionary, a janitor, or a lawyer -- and none of these is a more "important" calling than the others. What is important is to follow your calling, and to work every day — in what we say and do — to share God’s boundless love with the world.

Our faith is an active faith. We believe that God's work is accomplished using our hands -- that when we open ourselves to being used by God, great things can happen. We believe that when we pray, we are also committing ourselves to act in accordance with our prayers. We joyfully act to improve the world, seeing it is the right thing for a community who loves God and follows Jesus to do.

As Lutherans, we believe scripture and sacraments are central, people have failed on their own but are redeemed by God, and that we are called out to live this faith in this life, not just as preparation for the next. Lutherans believe doubt and questions are normal and valuable, often enriching our faith and leading us to spiritual growth. Tough questions are nothing to fear because we believe God is there in the midst of the questions, accompanying us on our journey. We remain faithful not through our perfection in daily life, but through our trust in God's presence and in God's care ... even at those times when we doubt.

We hope Lutheran Campus Ministry provides you with a place to a search for truth that is exciting and intellectually stimulating. You may be challenged in what you believe, and we wish to struggle with your questions with you.

Belonging to a broader faith community, we partner with local congregations, other campus groups, and anyone else who helps us do God's work in the world, such as feeding and housing people who know hunger or homelessness.

Lutherans know that people can faithfully and prayerfully come to different conclusions about controversial issues, yet the ELCA has taken a stand on a number of social issues, such as abortion, education, the environment, health care, AIDS, homelessness, immigration, and others.

We embrace diversity and live life with joy, having fun with the precious gift of life that God has given us. We believe laughter is a gift from God and seek to dwell in that holy hilarity. We believe we have been saved by grace through faith, and that even that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). We're into sharing God's love with anyone and everyone. If we ever fall short in showing this, please forgive our human mistakes, and remember that God loves YOU for who you are because of who God is.