You might even answer reasonable questions:
What, exactly, does "Lutheran" mean? What distinction are the "Lutheran Church Missouri Synod", "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America", "Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod" and similarly named bodies making when they label themselves "Lutheran"?
I note, by contrast, than no body or organization calls itself "papist".
Your suggestion will be taken under consideration. Please don’t be offended if I reject it out-of-hand.
Luther originally set to reform the Catholic Church serving his 95 thesis on the door at the Church in Whittenburg. At that time the church was apostate among other things selling indulgences and claiming that this would purchase forgiveness of sin without repentance and subsequently salvation, at that time the pope excommunicated Luther, and at the diet of Worms Luther was given the opportunity to rescind his teachings, but stood on the Word of God and refused claiming the Word of God was inerrant and not subject to the papal interpretation. He further denied the diety of the pope. Upon excommunication, the Protestant movement was born with Lutherans becoming the first Protestant Christian church. Subsequent to this, Protestantism grew with Calvinism, Zwingli and other leaders of Protestant perspective from which are born Methodism and other denominations. All Protestants accept the low church perspective that priests and hierarchical men are not required to petition God and that our relationship is personal with God and not necessarily contingent on a relationship with a church body per se.
jJust as there are competing branches I. Catholicism ... Strict, reform, and other parts of the church, In the Lutheran church there are synods, some conservative (Wisconsin, Missouri, and LCMC Lutheran church in mission for Christ) and more liberal factions...namely the ELCA. Approximately four years ago at the biennial ELCA council a schism occurred when the very livable bishop of St. Paul rammed down the throat by a single vote a statement of bound conscious and human sexuality that essentially made blessing of gay marriage allowed. This also moved the standards and covenants of ministry to include monogamous homosexual clergy. Many, including myself, saw this as an apostasy and our individual congregations left the ELCA. This synod continues to be dwindling based on men not scripture...sort of what happened all the way back in 1517 Germany.
Whatever the perspective, we are Christian first accepting the perfection of salvation in Christ crucified the real presence of Christ at holy communion, and believe that we can only be saved by faith as presented in the Bible...the law telling us how we should love, and the gospel proclaiming the good news of salvation when we fail. We then practice our faith by the great commission of going and proclaiming the good news to all, baptizing in the name of the triune God.
and for my Lutheran friends they will understand this little joke...this is most certainly true :)