Fundie Pastors Site

[DonnaSmith]

I can barely contain my rage about what I've read on this site. It's a group of particularly fundie pastors from a particularly fundi strain of Lutheranism.

The post I'll link to is about marriage, but they have lots of posts about all sorts of crazy shit. In the marriage post be sure to see comment number 13- where their former leader brags about telling women to stay with husbands who "beat the tar" out of them. These men are horrible and I can't imagine what life must be like for the women in their lives.

steadfastlutherans.org/?p=26492

[StacyW]

It looks like they are having a highly academic discussion, and then that other guy comes in with his story about keeping wives with their abusive husbands, and nobody responds to him, except for one person who says that he's disgusting.

[JesusFightClub]

It looks like they are having a highly academic discussion, and then that other guy comes in with his story about keeping wives with their abusive husbands, and nobody responds to him, except for one person who says that he's disgusting.

QFT.

I do want to say, however, that is a very bad course (what he did). I know the massed ranks of FJ know this, but here is why:

First of all they throw things.

Secondly they hit you.

Thirdly, if you are very unlucky (and this is not predictable) they kill you.

[RosyDaisy]

Horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. It's downright evil!

[Soldier of the One]

JFC, is that Lenin in your avatar? :lol:

I've seen a website from the Missouri Council (is that correct? Christians help me out here!) which is a very conservative stream of Lutheranism. Biblical inerrancy, Sola Scriptura, female submission etc.

The father of 'A Pastor's Girl's Ponderings' who is - obviously - a pastor is affiliated with that denomination. Pastorsgirlsponderings.com is not necessarily a fundie website but she (used to, not so much now) reference her Christianity in conjunction with her father's profession and link to the Missouri Council. Only normal if you're blogging about your life (and it is a lovely blog) but still striking.

I might be wrong though. It was, however, the first time that I learnt about 'fundie' Lutherans.

[PennySycamore]

Synod is the word used: Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It is frequently abbreviated LCMS.

[nokidsmom]

Grew up Lutheran (ELCA) as did husband who was LCMS or "Missouri", as we call it. Missouri churches are more conservative compared to the ELCA but it does vary by individual churches in the synod as it does in the ELCA. Some are more conservative than others; it often comes down to the pastor in charge. For example, I went to my friends LCMS church and could not take communion because I was not LCMS. But I go to my uncle's LCMS church and the pastor is all "y'all come on down!" for communion. My ELCA cousin, who was being abused by her ex-husband, underwent counseling by her pastor and when she decided to divorce the abusive hubby, she was told she was wrong. So there is some variance.

There's also the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, or WELS, and they are considered the most conservative of all the official Lutheran synods. I am sure there are some independent churches that are not part of any synod and therefore can go more fundie.

[JesusFightClub]

JFC, is that Lenin in your avatar? :lol:

I've seen a website from the Missouri Council (is that correct? Christians help me out here!) which is a very conservative stream of Lutheranism. Biblical inerrancy, Sola Scriptura, female submission etc.

The father of 'A Pastor's Girl's Ponderings' who is - obviously - a pastor is affiliated with that denomination. Pastorsgirlsponderings.com is not necessarily a fundie website but she (used to, not so much now) reference her Christianity in conjunction with her father's profession and link to the Missouri Council. Only normal if you're blogging about your life (and it is a lovely blog) but still striking.

I might be wrong though. It was, however, the first time that I learnt about 'fundie' Lutherans.

That's Dzerzhinsky, SOTO ;)

Yeah, I was bemused too. Lutherans? I thought of them as really strict Biblical adherents but not automatically conservative fundies. How strange!

[NurseNell]

Synod is the word used: Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It is frequently abbreviated LCMS.

I don't consider the Missouri Synod to be fundie, not even close. Even the more conservative Wisconsin Synod isn't fundie in my book.

I went to a Missouri Synod pastor once for some concerns I had that I didn't want to discuss with my Catholic priest pastor. The man was very nice, worked with me over several weeks, and never once suggested I attend his church or said anything even remotely against the Catholic church.

The WI Synod pastor here is married to a Catholic. Unusual but not not totally unheard of.

[Soldier of the One]

Synod. There you go, I knew I got it wrong! :)

Thing is, I have a hard time separating the rhetoric from what actually happens in communities (which I don't see). The rhetoric I found pretty conservative/fundie especially regarding gender roles and that's what piques my interests. Am happy to admit if I am wrong :)

[Queen Of Hearts]

I can barely contain my rage about what I've read on this site. It's a group of particularly fundie pastors from a particularly fundi strain of Lutheranism.

The post I'll link to is about marriage, but they have lots of posts about all sorts of crazy shit. In the marriage post be sure to see comment number 13- where their former leader brags about telling women to stay with husbands who "beat the tar" out of them. These men are horrible and I can't imagine what life must be like for the women in their lives.

steadfastlutherans.org/?p=26492

Comment #13 has to be a troll.

[JesusFightClub]

I just noticed something weird. "A Pastor's Girl's Ponderings"? Er.....defining yourself by your dad's occupation seems a bit strange.

(I mean, my dad worked for the council. I don't write a blog called "A Local Council Official's Daughter's Thoughts".)

Her photos are really nice, mind.

[Soldier of the One]

JFC, it kind of makes sense. If you are a pastor's kid, you will often get cast in that role by outsiders. If one of your parents is a clergymember, it's pretty impacting for the entire family. I have a friend whose dad is a pastor. It was complicated for her growing up - lots and lots of expectations.

But if you were to start a blog that said 'A Local Council Official's Daughter's Thoughts' and preached the revolution, I'd be up for it!

[darareaksmey]

That's Dzerzhinsky, SOTO ;)

Yeah, I was bemused too. Lutherans? I thought of them as really strict Biblical adherents but not automatically conservative fundies. How strange!

No, a fairly good guideline, as other posters here have referred to, is what your synod is. ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is the most liberal of the Lutherans and actually quite liberal for any protestant denomination. I am one and I would not say we are strict Bible adherents, certainly not literalists. Then you have LCMS, the Missouri Synod group; and WELS, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, in order of less to more strict. Neither of those permits women pastors neither is gay-friendly. They also don't encourage communion with other Lutherans, let alone other protestants or Christians, though someone upthread had a different experience of that.

[salsa]

I just noticed something weird. "A Pastor's Girl's Ponderings"? Er.....defining yourself by your dad's occupation seems a bit strange.

(I mean, my dad worked for the council. I don't write a blog called "A Local Council Official's Daughter's Thoughts".)

Her photos are really nice, mind.

Having known a number of PK's (preacher's kids) through the years, having a parent as a preacher actually *does* define you in some way. You're the "preacher's kid," and you automatically have the attention of everyone in the church. It can be a good thing, as you'll have numerous people who love you and older folks who will enjoy doting on you and giving you candy. It can be a bad thing, as pk's have some stereotypes to live down (eg - the pastor's kids are the worst kids in the church). The preacher's kids are expected (by the church) to be at every church event and if they're away on a scout camp-out, for example, there will be tut-tutting about the preacher "allowing" his/her child to miss a church event. They're expected to accept parts in special services, sing in the choir, and play the piano when the pianist is out - whether they want to or not. .... ok, so now I'm off track. I was roommates with a woman who was a preacher's kid (and who became a preacher herself) and I have a couple friends who still identify as PK's even though they're grown up. ... it's not strange to identify as a pk

edited to add - sorry; I didn't see the first response to this post before I duplicated it.

[RachelB]

Having known a number of PK's (preacher's kids) through the years, having a parent as a preacher actually *does* define you in some way. You're the "preacher's kid," and you automatically have the attention of everyone in the church. It can be a good thing, as you'll have numerous people who love you and older folks who will enjoy doting on you and giving you candy. It can be a bad thing, as pk's have some stereotypes to live down (eg - the pastor's kids are the worst kids in the church). The preacher's kids are expected (by the church) to be at every church event and if they're away on a scout camp-out, for example, there will be tut-tutting about the preacher "allowing" his/her child to miss a church event. They're expected to accept parts in special services, sing in the choir, and play the piano when the pianist is out - whether they want to or not. .... ok, so now I'm off track. I was roommates with a woman who was a preacher's kid (and who became a preacher herself) and I have a couple friends who still identify as PK's even though they're grown up. ... it's not strange to identify as a pk

edited to add - sorry; I didn't see the first response to this post before I duplicated it.

Yup. My parents, both (now retired) preachers, met in seminary. There wasn't really any separation between home and church. I'm fairly earnest and people-pleasing by nature, and am still a practicing Christian, so it was easier on me than on some fellow PKs. But there were two things I found especially hard during adolescence:

I would have liked on occasion to get pastoral counseling about how to set healthy boundaries, or to disagree respectfully with my parents. Except-- whoops!-- my pastors were my parents.

Also, as you may have noticed, I have Opinions. A lot of people in the small church I attended from age 11-18 didn't believe that children and adolescents were capable of formulating opinions on their own. So if I had an opinion about anything remotely controversial (like "If we think communion is really important, it isn't fair to make it off-limits to people under the age of 14,"* or "Of course the predominantly gay and lesbian congregation that the youth group visited last week should be allowed to join the denomination-- are we going to start asking people what they do in bed before letting them become members?"), people thought that my parents were "planting" ideas in my head. I was seriously worried for a while that if I said what I thought often enough, my parents might lose their jobs.

*I angry-cried about the congregation's policy on communion throughout my confirmation, which was the first time I was "allowed" communion. I wanted to publicly refuse it, because it felt wrong to take it when it was denied to other people who wanted it. And it just made me madder to know that there were people sitting in the pews who thought I was crying because I was having a spiritual experience.

[JesusFightClub]

All these explanations are helping me get it and I thank you all.

The worst thing I can remember being asked as a kid is "Can yer faither gies a job?" [Can your father give me a job] and that's because the local council wasn't. um, highly ranked in public opinion. It was normally thought, and I believe this may not be incorrect, that you had to know someone who knew someone to get a place.

My dad was transferred from one council to another so he was fine. I'm not sure they were always so honest.