*Lutherans are serious about sin: In our liturgy many of our churches proclaim, "We confess that we are in bondage to sin, and we cannot free ourselves." Lutherans admit that on our own we cannot escape the power of sin and do good works - from helping a neighbor to accepting Christ as savior. We do not have a free will - it is bound to sin. This explains a lot about human endeavor and our human experience. The Good News is that God comes down the ladder, freeing us from trying to get up it.

*Lutheranism embraces the common stuff of everyday life: Martin Luther valued daily life and the vocation of common people (once saying that it is more blessed to change a baby's diaper than to be a priest). In the tangible things of daily life, Lutherans find God. Our spiritual life and encounter with God is daily - daily we die to sin and daily we rise with Christ. Church is not a Sunday recharging of the batteries that gets us through the week, because in the week itself we Lutherans acknowledge the blessedness of "ordinary" work that might not otherwise seem spiritual or important in the eyes of our world.

*Lutheran preaching is about God: Preachers in our churches are called to proclaim the acts and comfort of God. Sermons, while addressing our human condition, Lutheran preachers proclaim God's grace, love, compassion, presence

*Lutheranism has such potential: For me, Lutheranism is less about traditional forms of worship or polity (though I greatly appreciate those things) and more about a theology and appreciation of the grace of God that speaks to humanity in many different ways. As such, I think Lutheranism has the potential to be the church in many different ways, proclaiming the Gospel/Good News and administering the Means of Grace - Baptism, Holy Communion, God's Word - in creative and comforting ways at the dawn of the 21st century.

*Lutheranism embraces the common stuff of everyday life: Martin Luther valued daily life and the vocation of common people (once saying that it is more blessed to change a baby's diaper than to be a priest). In the tangible things of daily life, Lutherans find God. Our spiritual life and encounter with God is daily - daily we die to sin and daily we rise with Christ. Church is not a Sunday recharging of the batteries that gets us through the week, because in the week itself we Lutherans acknowledge the blessedness of "ordinary" work that might not otherwise seem spiritual or important in the eyes of our world.