There are faithful Biblically conservative Lutherans left as in the LCMS. The ELCA went down the broad road of apostasy years ago. I wish they would stop calling themselves Lutheran. They are not.
Leni
Problem is, and I say this as an individual that was Lutheran, you need a microscope to see the Biblically faithful Lutherans. The denomination has been hijacked and isn't coming back, sad to say. My crystal ball is out of order but the ELCA is determined to take the "M" and "W" synods with them on the trip down to the pit.
They will be successful in my view because the opposition is unwilling to condem and make a loud and public distinction. This is exactly what happened 100 years ago in the Liberal/fundamentalists controversy, the fundamentalists hoped that using the Bible and reason would solve the problem but no one ever backslides into fundamentalism. Not interested in fundamentalism? Keep in mind that what we consider fundamentalists today are what would have been a normal Christian 150 years go.
In evangelicalism today, regardless of the name of the sign on the front lawn of the church, there are two problems that work together bringing this on. First is the person(s) in the pulpit are Bible illiterate and second, the people in the pews are Bible illiterate. MOST in both parties are happy to be in this enlightened state. Church members don't want to abandon the building they spent a lifetime building, pastors don't want to retire without having a pension, seminaries don't want to lose their endowments or have a public spat over doctrine.
40 years ago Francis Schaeffer wrote "The Great Evangelical Disaster" giving precise detail as to what will happen. He got it exactly right. If the Bishops/policy makers in your synod have any control over the seminaries, pastors pensions and local church owned real estate, the denomination is doomed. Consider making plans now, it will be ugly. I don't mean to offend anyone, just being honest.
If misery loves company, the Southern Baptist Convention is in the process right now of falling into the pit. The United Methodist Church has already stepped off the ledge. Watch, read and learn.
But there is a solution to keeping the denomination intact. It involves personal sacrifice and hard work. 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. Martin Luther and the very small number of early Lutherans paid a huge price for their belief in the actual words of the Bible. Modern Lutherans will have to do the same or bail out. The question is not is fatboy a mean person but are there any Lutherans willing to say "Here I Stand" loud and firmly enough so that the whole world can hear it?