Nashville's 1st queer female Lutheran pastor tells LGBTQ faithful, 'God has not let go of you'

The Rev. Dawn Bennett, an ordained pastor who graduated from the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Bennett, 54, serves a majority-LGBTQ congregation at The Table, a "faith collective" in Nashville, Tennessee. She said she prefers "faith collective" to "church," because "church," to some people, is synonymous with exclusion

Bennett was ordained last year, making history as Nashville's first queer female Evangelical Lutheran pastor. At her ordination, she wore high-top rainbow Converses. There was a gospel choir, along with nuns dressed in drag.

thank you for the prayers I will pray for you as well. I have a grandfather and a son who went through seminary, son is currently a pastor at a large LCMS church and school. Concordia seminary did a good job preparing them. I’m sorry you had to abandon the Lutheran church - if you ever feel then need I’m sure you would be welcomed back. The important thing is to find a Biblically grounded place to worship while we await Cbrists return. I do not think It will be long

Once again I agree with you. You are so blessed to have family in the Gospel Ministry. I pray our Lord’s love and protection on you. The pressure on believing pastors these days seems to be almost off the charts.

My experience in the local ELCA church had the effect of drawing me closer to our Lord and Savior and a complete reliance and trust in the Bible. All I really care about is Christ and Him crucified. I know many people and I’m sure you do also who can recite verse after verse, passage after passage...but they don’t really believe it.

God’s grace...is amazing!

It is interesting how the first (Lutherans), second (Anglicans and Presbyterians) and third(Methodists) generations of “Protestant” groups are decaying and disintegrating and apostasising.

It seems that any non orthodoxy group can last for at max 300 years before they get destroyed.

This tells me that they are not from God.

In contrast the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, the Coptic, Assyrian etc churches in orthodoxy have withstood centuries of persecution and still are there, thanks to the grace of God.

You write: First is the person(s) in the pulpit are Bible illiterate and second, the people in the pews are Bible illiterate.
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This is so true!!! I was almost completely ignorant of scripture.

Then you also say: If Lutherans want to see Lutheranism survive, they will have to place their full faith in the Holy Writ, depend on it completely and acknowledge that Jesus said that if they hate me (which they do) then they will hate those that follow me.
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My observation was that they *do* put their faith in the Holy Writ but they put their *trust* in the minister and the denominational doctrine. Their decisions/behavior result from their *trust* not their faith. If they put their *trust* and their *faith* in the scriptures, they will become the church of the New Testament.

If a Lutheran (or any other denomination) puts their *trust* in the scriptures and then *acts* upon that trust, they will no longer be Lutherans, they will be Christians, just like in the first century.

If they put their *trust* and *faith* in the scriptures, they will become the church of the New Testament; the one Jesus built upon the rock and the one He will invite into heaven.

I learned, from scripture, that baptism was immersion, not sprinkling or pouring. I learned that baptism was for adults, no babies. I also learned that each church/congregation in the New Testament was totally independent of control by a hierarchy — it was governed by local elders. I was compelled to find a church like that.

A bit of repetition — my apologies.

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