You may perfectly articulate the doctrine of justification by faith, and yet have no faith at all, which may explain a large part of why our Synod congregations are dying.
Jon’s comment is completely correct and speaks for a massive cohort, which feels that way even if they’re unwilling to say it. It is extremely damning that he can say such and that I with my few short years in the LCMS can agree with his statement:
“The greatest must be wholehearted servants of the lowest—usually the youth and newest members(not just the elderly). That spirit is completely absent in every Lutheran church I’ve ever attended.”
I’ve been a communing member for about 3 years, in that time I’ve probably visited 30+ churches and that is almost universally the attitude, “what can you do for me and my goals”
In order to make headway resolving this challenge, it would be helpful to know what you believe it would look like for the greatest to be wholehearted servants of the lowest. Some concrete starting points would be useful.
I think the specifics change depending on district and congregation but the first big things that ever single congregation needs to do is 1st off, allow young people to have a voice without rushing them into a service position and 2nd off, just recognizing that the younger generation different personal priorities that should be accommodated for rather than what I’ve encountered which is a stubborn selfishness and refusal to even work with the younger generation.
And I should also add, I think the issue here is completely in mindsets and bureaucracy, two of very intangible things, mindset wise, there’s just a huge generational disconnect in values, goals, work and even culture and bureaucratically the system is designed to just run the same congregation the same way forever. Which if we’re speaking intragenerationally is a horrible way of running things because then the power structure becomes a well oiled machine with ossified concerns, which is really what I think the issue Ad Crucem is getting at here. The LCMS at an institutional level is really great at directing a lot of effort into things that practically effect small percentages of its membership and which produce negligible effects on lived faith (and not merely intellectualized or turned into an abstract stat/program)
As an example for what I mentioned in the first paragraph there’s one large congregation I visited that was very well off, and though their school was loosing enrollment and virtually the entire gen Z demographic was absent the elderly in the congregation had leveraged their voting majoring to allocate the wealth of the congregation in setting up a retirement home for themselves on the property. Keep in mind this is a church that a little over a decade ago was reputed for having multiple 500-700 person services full of people in the missing demographics and now can barely do two 100-200 person services. A congregation like this should not be focused on pie in the sky lutheran retirement homes but should be instead sincerely asking itself where its membership went, and the truth is most of the youth just got booted out into the world to deal with everything on their own, rather than receiving any sort of guidance let alone benefits of the kind that many (I say wrongfully) use the church for. If there is no true community and what does exist is an institution that is dead set on its own mindset and benefiting itself then why stick around?
It looks like you want young people to “have a voice” but not be rushed into service/leadership positions. For what kinds of things do you think they should “have a voice” when they are new? It seems to me that this could be a recipe for increased conflict, if those who are not yet willing to be of service are insisting that things be done their way. Also, what specific personal priorities do young people need accommodation for that older people don’t have? Your words seem divisive rather than trying to find common ground and work together in the manner you say you desire. It’s almost as if you are speaking of a social organization or club, with different factions vying for control, instead of the Body of Christ, where members share a common belief. Are there congregations who act in this manner? Absolutely, and I agree it’s terrible. However, to state that the younger generation has radically different values, goals and cultures when we are all supposed to share a common confession is odd. You’ve still not given actual specifics about what you want changed. What specific guidance and benefits do you think the church should be giving younger people?
Not to start off confrontationally, but who is saying that having a voice is the same as "insisting that things be done their way"?
When someone is new they should be invited to be at the table and to have an opinion at that table, they should not be calling the shots or making the decisions, but the vote of someone who was catechized just last week is the same as someone who's been a lifelong Lutheran. Of course, nobody who's new should be directing programs or anything like that, that's actually what I want to prevent from happening and why I mentioned "without being rushed into service positions", the thing is that a lot of people in the LCMS are treated as a second class and until the culture and mentality which shuts out development of spiritual life (and even in some sense regular life too) for many people is reversed and repented of, we are going to continue having these issues. The reason why I speak about the LCMS as though it is a club is because the LCMS currently is operating like a social organization and a club, with different factions vying for control, I am against that, but in order to get rid of it we have alleviate ourselves of the mental burdens which are continuing to turn the Body of Christ into a politicized, secularized and toxic affair. As the Body of Christ we know that Christ loves and cares for all persons, however while the old get visited, the young and lonely are ostracized, in fact unmarried people in general are largely turned away from the community because singleness is looked at as a black mark on your reputation. I even know of young couples who've not been accepted into the larger life of the congregations until they had children, and in speaking with the multiple sets of couples, it's because others looked down on them for not already being established with homes and children, something that they were actually looking for advice on and fellowship regarding. I can elaborate on many other examples too, but for all of them what can be universally said is that the LCMS has a nasty habit of turning people away or silently leaving them where they are. This is what I mean by the necessity of accommodating new members and youth, people should not be looked down on, ever, nor should their concerns be totally brushed aside "until they've proven themselves" nor should we treat their way of life as inherently wrong simply because they live in different circumstances. These are problems that the LCMS objectively has. Young people are desperate for family, community and (I know this is forbidden to talk about in any manner other than descriptive anecdotes in the LCMS because we fear all piety is really just making a new law) extremely desire to know HOW TO LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFE. New Members and Young People have been thoroughly catechized by the world and we are literally refusing to give them the gospel and properly catechize them because it just doesn't suit LCMS cultural complexes.
For your comment on different values, I don't mean that as in we have a different confession, we share the same mores, or moral values but the way in which we weigh the decisions that we make is completely different simply because the generations have grown up in very different circumstances, to emphasize the point I just ended on, people in the younger generations grew up in horrible environments, whether that be broken homes, financial troubles, mental illness, sexual exploitation(through LGBT stuff), internet social life, drug addiction, violence etc etc. it's the same problems yes, but they exist on a whole other magnitude, and paint the world of the youth far differently than they painted the world of our elders in the 60s. Right now it is the youth who are being tried in the fire on these subjects, not the retirees and it is the youth who want to attempt to find solutions to these problems yet are told that they must adhere to the abstract determination of the elder rather than a scriptural solution informed by their experience, it's also of note that due to digitization the youth simply have completely different cognitive functions and mental profiles than preceding generations. That is what is meant by saying "we have different values". I don't want to get technical when it comes to philosophy of ethics, but the youth simply have a phronesis/practical wisdom which has developed differently.
As for your question on what I would recommend again, it's highly situational depending on district and congregation, everywhere I have been has similar core problems but almost every congregation has them differently and on top of that these problems are highly cultural. The failure to acknowledge the complexity of these issues is one of the LCMS's biggest failings, repentance and sanctification of the church is not something you can just do by signing a piece of paper with an abstraction on it and suddenly the solution has been enacted, with an issue like this it is a serious problem that has to be addressed at all levels which ultimately begins with in the pulpit preaching, and teaching both in and out of the pulpit on what the family is and by extension what the church and community are but if you want an actionable change then I can tell you forwardly, we need youth engagement boards that function at the district level.
These boards need to be able to highlight churches that have focuses on the younger demographic and need to be able to provide community programs for them and christian education resources that go beyond mere appearances.
If not for podcasts such as Gottesdienst, Issues, Etc., World Wide Wolfmueller, and On the Line, I would have left the LCMS years ago. Since the theological alternatives are either “woke” or pop-Evangelical, I remain stuck in this toxic environment called the LCMS.
As a visitor to an LCMS congregation, the members will “size you up” to see if you will “fit in” and whether or not you will be “liked.” To quote Rev. Fisk in a 2025 podcast : “If you don’t fit in, shame on you!” It is a country club for people “with the right last names.”
The Boomers in the congregation are thinking: “If we only set up small groups studying pop-Evangelical curricula and bring in a schlock praise band, then the ‘young people’ will come.” Imagine a group of people setting up a flea market, and one of the organizers wants to have a classic rock garage band perform in the hope that it will attract a younger crowd. The market remains a place run by Boomers, for Boomers.
Do I believe the LCMS will exist in 30 years? Nope. The culture is too toxic. Please prove me wrong.
I think that may characterize some congregations no doubt but many are welcoming. I did ask a friend to visit my church as a secret shopper — young guy, long hair, wanted to see what he could share with me. For the most part I think he was welcomed.
Let's start by knocking off the generation bashing. I'm told that Gen Z hates the Millennials and everybody loves to kick the Boomers. Let's stop that out of the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ, young and old.
As the body of Christ we gather in an ancient Liturgy, sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs both old and new, and rejoice in our unity in the one Body of Christ. We would do well to honor our elders, apprentice our youth into responsible adulthood, and encourage one another in Christ to live lives worthy of our baptismal calling.
Last week at Matins we had a group of young men come who said they are meeting together to encourage each other in the practice of spiritual disciplines in order to better live out faithful lives in their vocations.
The rigidity of the LCMS destroyed my family - never a kind word, never any joy or happiness. At holiday family gatherings I fled as soon as possible to enjoy the holidays with the families of my non-LCMS friends. The LCMS just doesn't get it.
I’ve been a regular attendee at seven different LCMS churches in four very different states over the last 20 years. And I wouldn’t characterize any of them in the ways described in this article. Certainly, every congregation has challenges, some significant. However, there seems to be quite a bit of exaggeration going on here.
Thought provoking article. MLJ is awesome. There has been, in some churches, the idea that children should be seen and not heard. Indeed you may also see spending on what the adults want but little on those things that would serve the youth. My congregation has been blessed to add 10 new members since December 2025. Plus an infant born in the congregation early 2025. The adults added are all great people, but the youngest is late 30s / early 40s. So we certainly feel the pain of a lack of young people (though a few 20s and 30s were added into the family in recent years). How do we work our way out? Or maybe we need to pray our way out?
Blame the boomer generation. 1 or 2 kids max, very little sense of duty, entitled, unsympathetic, zero ability to censor or live a pious life. How many times do we have to hear boomers say "its always been that way" or "i just want it to be the church I grew up in"?We cant escape them running all things democratic into the ground because they have the numbers. That being said, there are some non-boomer centric church plants in the English district that are success stories and might just make it.
I read your comment and am convinced that you are missing the point entirely. If the elders (boomers) collectively, and generally were able to shepherd the youth, then they would have done so. They have not and therefore cannot be looked to for such a thing. The idea is to discuss the topic at hand not sweep it under the "love is love" rug.
Many of us have done so, and have devoted our working lives and vocations to this end. Sweeping generalizations and generation-blaming are just lazy thinking and blame-shifting. It's the way of old Adam and Eve. Take responsibility yourself and stop blaming others. It's weak and sinful.
1. Your straw man is the weak argument and a sign of your emotional entanglement with it. 2. Generalizations are a legitimate tool and not inherently sinful. 3. Attempting to understand a problem and its roots is not a sign laziness on my part. 4. Your attempt to silence the argument by invoking "its sinful" is sad and indicative of the overall problem of why young people cant stand boomer churches.
Generalizations about generations and their faults are legitimate discussions points. Just as you might point out a fault of neighbor to help him or the situation, sometimes it is necessary to discuss the faults of generations. The reflexive NAXALT response of the Boomer generation is part of the problem of not being able to recognize some of the problems and address them with solutions. And look at your other comments. Below you state, "A grievous problem with an aging congregation". Is that not also just a generalization of a body of people, who sound like they are also probably Boomers? It's fine to make the argument that the generalization applies such that there is an overarching problem that needs to be recognized and resolved with an appropriate solution, such as changing how the congregation operates.
You know best. When you grow up, it'll look different and the kids will complain about you and your generation too.
I'll take back what I said about "generalizations." The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, did say "All Cretans are liars." So it's fair to say that all Millennials are whiners and all GenZers are lazy and entitled, and all Boomers [fill in the blank with your favorite gripe.]
Why not just analyze the problem in terms of polity, structure, practice, doctrine, whatever, and make some constructive steps toward fixing it? Does everything have to framed as a generational divide? The devil loves division, whether in terms of politics, musical style, age group, Scythian, Barbarian, slave, free. Harping on generational tendencies simply exacerbates division. Party spirit and division are works of the flesh not of the spirit.
All of this will go away once genuine persecution begins. This kind of generational analysis is a luxury item for first-world cruise ship Christianity.
I am 34. Raised LCMS and never felt like anything was grossly lacking until I met some friends who were Catholic and was impressed by the way their lives simply expressed and modeled devotion. I felt envious! Why did my faith life feel so shallow by comparison? Why was I uncomfortable making the sign of the cross? Why was reverent family prayer and catechesis abnormal? I went through a brief crisis of identity and was watching orthodox and Catholic content. Thank God I found Wolfmueller and OTL. I finally felt some reassurance that the Lutheran church (and “culture”) that I wished for was not entirely theoretical. Only through online resources, self study, and taking the lead on family devotions and catechesis have I started to feel like I am catching up.
Now we’ve got a handful of Memento groups going at our church. Men want to be pushed. They want to be given high expectations for how to run their lives and homes. They don’t want you to beat around the bush and give some half baked answer on birth control. They want sermons that make them want to do better.
The main thrust of this incoherent rant is this: If you want to stay LCMS for the doctrine but want to have a more robust culture of discipleship and sanctification you are going to have to start modeling the culture in your home and with other men in your parish.
We can blame boomers all we want, but let’s not use them as an excuse to not put the pedal down and take our own walks seriously.
I'm glad OTL and Memento has been such a blessing to you. I represent a younger cohort of pastors, along with the founders of OTL and Memento, and we are trying to help reverse the trends addressed in this article.
Re those who vocations require them to work on Sunday. In the world of the ancient church there was no "day off." The church's solution was to offer the Mass daily, early in the morning before sunrise. We need to move beyond one a week Christianity toward the daily Mass and daily prayer in those areas where people are unable to gather on Sunday morning.
The same hold true for catechesis, Bible study, devotion, etc. People are hungering for more than Lutheran Lite. We need to turn up the Law/Gospel burner to something more than a warm glow, where there is a genuine fear of the Lord, faith in Christ, and love for the brotherhood.
A grievous problem with aging congregation is the stubbornness to move beyond "how we've always done it here."
The analysis is really horrible and seems to have some different reasons. One is that congregations seem to be too harsh with their old order instead of helping with new worship times. There are also good new Christian hymns (Keith and Krystin Getty for example, WELS is using some). And: Sanctification is important, the preaching of Law and Gospel is important. I can only invite you: Back to Luther! His Small and Large Catechism are great devotional books, as are his "Freedom of a Christian" and his "Sermon on good works", his "Betbüchlein" and also the "Kinderlehrpredigten" of Nuremberg, Sermons on the main parts of the Catechism. Also the Catechism of Chytraeus, which is now available in English, is very helpful.
May be it would also be helpful to study, how the Walther League worked in its best times, when Walter A. Maier was Secretary in General.
I don't know what is at the heart of the matter, but in my experience, if the the father of the family does not attend church, and the mother is responsible for bringing the children to Sunday school, confirmation, and worship, the children are unlikely to be church goers once they graduate from high school. These weren't Boomer parents nor divorced couples, but intact families.
Now our local churches are filled with women--in the pews and on boards. How can we help but to slide into the feminization of faith and family, even though we know these signal the death of both?
I think that, as lifelong Lutherans, not necessarily Boomer Lutherans, our perspective about why we attend church may be odd to newcomers. We go to to receive the gifts of the Word and Sacraments, to confess and be absolved, and to take this renewing home and out onto the world. But I have little expectation that my church and the people who worship there are my social circle or the tether to the gifts I receive. Maybe they are supposed to be, but it has never crossed my mind that they should be.
How much of those tweets were 2 young men looking into the church - and seeing families. And realizing they don’t get that - they are on the out of “the good Christian life.”
I’m a convert to the LCMS I’ve been here for 15 years now - half of that playing the organ. I’m 32 - and there isn’t a single women near my age, anywhere I’ve been except for the few short years in college. I’m in a church currently with 8 single dudes between 22-32, we do weekly compline and Bible study services.
We (the single dudes) are facing a future of second class citizenship in the church. We are not bringing kids to the font, to fill the Sunday school and the catechism classes. The church is family - except we are not participating in the cycle of family. Yeh, we want to get married - but finding a remotely Christian interested women on the east coast has only happened for 1 of us.
I had hope when the Wolfmullers were doing the large single events - eg the cruise. Sadly they don’t seem to be planning another one. I’ll be goin to the 1 or 2 “3 hour single LCMS mixing events” this coming summer - but I don’t have much hope that will help me find a lady.
I know a couple of single, devout Lutheran ladies. They don’t believe in using dating apps, but there are very few opportunities to meet devout men either.
I’ve said before, the young men need to work on themselves - personal hygiene, learning to communicate. Many of our young men seem incapable of making conversation, so end up buried in their phones. Simple things like learning to ask polite questions / make small talk will go a long way.
I’m sorry - but the most frustrating parts of these conversations are: “those guys are just wired and lacking in social skills.” I assure you - that is not the case for me and most of the other guys at my church. There is a lack of Lutheran women - and a lack of ability to do cross-region mixing. Dating outside the congregation via “attending the larger conservative non-Lutheran church” is not possible when you are the organist, or host of other weekly committed roles.
Wolfmuller’s created a space that was longer than 2-3 hours for Lutheran singles to meet. I’m sure it was a lot of work but several marriages have resulted from that event.
I’m less than excepted to drop $600 on flights, hotels for a 2 hour singles mixer. The chances of two people having a “instant connection” is pretty slim.
That has been my observation with the single young men at our church. I apologize if it’s not applicable in your case. Message Ad Crucem with your details and I’ll pass them along to the young ladies I know.
As one of the people who got married due to the cruise (ended up being first marriage and first baby) it was desperately needed and I wish they would do it again. We need those big events because we have the exact same problem of young men and really no young single women.
At my congregation we have the opposite-single ladies wondering where all of the good Lutheran men are. We plan to host a conference next January for LCMS young adults. Not a cruise, but a chance for you to enjoy confessional teaching, preaching, worship, and fellowship. Faith Lutheran Church, Dunedin, FL.
That is interesting. Everywhere we have travelled in the West and Midwest, the lament has been about the dearth of ladies. A great National Mission project would be to subsidize travel to these events to underwrite family formation. Getting to Florida from Cali or Oregon is not cheap!
Tampa International is 30min from the church. We are looking at housing options for those who may be on a budget. There are very few confessional conferences targeting 18-35 year olds in the Southeast. Many of our young folks routinely fly to Chicago, even Casper, WY, to enjoy such fellowship. We figured we would offer an alternative.
We are a small/mid-size congregation, but growing. Our demographic is trending younger. We do have some older single men. But of our young adults, aside from college students, they are single ladies.
These comments point out in several ways the impact of earthly concerns on spiritual matters. We ignore the Law at the expense of the Gospel.
https://sethlemke1.substack.com/p/3-practical-apologetics
Jon’s comment is completely correct and speaks for a massive cohort, which feels that way even if they’re unwilling to say it. It is extremely damning that he can say such and that I with my few short years in the LCMS can agree with his statement:
“The greatest must be wholehearted servants of the lowest—usually the youth and newest members(not just the elderly). That spirit is completely absent in every Lutheran church I’ve ever attended.”
I’ve been a communing member for about 3 years, in that time I’ve probably visited 30+ churches and that is almost universally the attitude, “what can you do for me and my goals”
In order to make headway resolving this challenge, it would be helpful to know what you believe it would look like for the greatest to be wholehearted servants of the lowest. Some concrete starting points would be useful.
I think the specifics change depending on district and congregation but the first big things that ever single congregation needs to do is 1st off, allow young people to have a voice without rushing them into a service position and 2nd off, just recognizing that the younger generation different personal priorities that should be accommodated for rather than what I’ve encountered which is a stubborn selfishness and refusal to even work with the younger generation.
And I should also add, I think the issue here is completely in mindsets and bureaucracy, two of very intangible things, mindset wise, there’s just a huge generational disconnect in values, goals, work and even culture and bureaucratically the system is designed to just run the same congregation the same way forever. Which if we’re speaking intragenerationally is a horrible way of running things because then the power structure becomes a well oiled machine with ossified concerns, which is really what I think the issue Ad Crucem is getting at here. The LCMS at an institutional level is really great at directing a lot of effort into things that practically effect small percentages of its membership and which produce negligible effects on lived faith (and not merely intellectualized or turned into an abstract stat/program)
As an example for what I mentioned in the first paragraph there’s one large congregation I visited that was very well off, and though their school was loosing enrollment and virtually the entire gen Z demographic was absent the elderly in the congregation had leveraged their voting majoring to allocate the wealth of the congregation in setting up a retirement home for themselves on the property. Keep in mind this is a church that a little over a decade ago was reputed for having multiple 500-700 person services full of people in the missing demographics and now can barely do two 100-200 person services. A congregation like this should not be focused on pie in the sky lutheran retirement homes but should be instead sincerely asking itself where its membership went, and the truth is most of the youth just got booted out into the world to deal with everything on their own, rather than receiving any sort of guidance let alone benefits of the kind that many (I say wrongfully) use the church for. If there is no true community and what does exist is an institution that is dead set on its own mindset and benefiting itself then why stick around?
It looks like you want young people to “have a voice” but not be rushed into service/leadership positions. For what kinds of things do you think they should “have a voice” when they are new? It seems to me that this could be a recipe for increased conflict, if those who are not yet willing to be of service are insisting that things be done their way. Also, what specific personal priorities do young people need accommodation for that older people don’t have? Your words seem divisive rather than trying to find common ground and work together in the manner you say you desire. It’s almost as if you are speaking of a social organization or club, with different factions vying for control, instead of the Body of Christ, where members share a common belief. Are there congregations who act in this manner? Absolutely, and I agree it’s terrible. However, to state that the younger generation has radically different values, goals and cultures when we are all supposed to share a common confession is odd. You’ve still not given actual specifics about what you want changed. What specific guidance and benefits do you think the church should be giving younger people?
Not to start off confrontationally, but who is saying that having a voice is the same as "insisting that things be done their way"?
When someone is new they should be invited to be at the table and to have an opinion at that table, they should not be calling the shots or making the decisions, but the vote of someone who was catechized just last week is the same as someone who's been a lifelong Lutheran. Of course, nobody who's new should be directing programs or anything like that, that's actually what I want to prevent from happening and why I mentioned "without being rushed into service positions", the thing is that a lot of people in the LCMS are treated as a second class and until the culture and mentality which shuts out development of spiritual life (and even in some sense regular life too) for many people is reversed and repented of, we are going to continue having these issues. The reason why I speak about the LCMS as though it is a club is because the LCMS currently is operating like a social organization and a club, with different factions vying for control, I am against that, but in order to get rid of it we have alleviate ourselves of the mental burdens which are continuing to turn the Body of Christ into a politicized, secularized and toxic affair. As the Body of Christ we know that Christ loves and cares for all persons, however while the old get visited, the young and lonely are ostracized, in fact unmarried people in general are largely turned away from the community because singleness is looked at as a black mark on your reputation. I even know of young couples who've not been accepted into the larger life of the congregations until they had children, and in speaking with the multiple sets of couples, it's because others looked down on them for not already being established with homes and children, something that they were actually looking for advice on and fellowship regarding. I can elaborate on many other examples too, but for all of them what can be universally said is that the LCMS has a nasty habit of turning people away or silently leaving them where they are. This is what I mean by the necessity of accommodating new members and youth, people should not be looked down on, ever, nor should their concerns be totally brushed aside "until they've proven themselves" nor should we treat their way of life as inherently wrong simply because they live in different circumstances. These are problems that the LCMS objectively has. Young people are desperate for family, community and (I know this is forbidden to talk about in any manner other than descriptive anecdotes in the LCMS because we fear all piety is really just making a new law) extremely desire to know HOW TO LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFE. New Members and Young People have been thoroughly catechized by the world and we are literally refusing to give them the gospel and properly catechize them because it just doesn't suit LCMS cultural complexes.
For your comment on different values, I don't mean that as in we have a different confession, we share the same mores, or moral values but the way in which we weigh the decisions that we make is completely different simply because the generations have grown up in very different circumstances, to emphasize the point I just ended on, people in the younger generations grew up in horrible environments, whether that be broken homes, financial troubles, mental illness, sexual exploitation(through LGBT stuff), internet social life, drug addiction, violence etc etc. it's the same problems yes, but they exist on a whole other magnitude, and paint the world of the youth far differently than they painted the world of our elders in the 60s. Right now it is the youth who are being tried in the fire on these subjects, not the retirees and it is the youth who want to attempt to find solutions to these problems yet are told that they must adhere to the abstract determination of the elder rather than a scriptural solution informed by their experience, it's also of note that due to digitization the youth simply have completely different cognitive functions and mental profiles than preceding generations. That is what is meant by saying "we have different values". I don't want to get technical when it comes to philosophy of ethics, but the youth simply have a phronesis/practical wisdom which has developed differently.
As for your question on what I would recommend again, it's highly situational depending on district and congregation, everywhere I have been has similar core problems but almost every congregation has them differently and on top of that these problems are highly cultural. The failure to acknowledge the complexity of these issues is one of the LCMS's biggest failings, repentance and sanctification of the church is not something you can just do by signing a piece of paper with an abstraction on it and suddenly the solution has been enacted, with an issue like this it is a serious problem that has to be addressed at all levels which ultimately begins with in the pulpit preaching, and teaching both in and out of the pulpit on what the family is and by extension what the church and community are but if you want an actionable change then I can tell you forwardly, we need youth engagement boards that function at the district level.
These boards need to be able to highlight churches that have focuses on the younger demographic and need to be able to provide community programs for them and christian education resources that go beyond mere appearances.
Boomers aborted 30% of their future voting competition and they cant help themselves from driving these church bodies and parishes into oblivion.
If not for podcasts such as Gottesdienst, Issues, Etc., World Wide Wolfmueller, and On the Line, I would have left the LCMS years ago. Since the theological alternatives are either “woke” or pop-Evangelical, I remain stuck in this toxic environment called the LCMS.
As a visitor to an LCMS congregation, the members will “size you up” to see if you will “fit in” and whether or not you will be “liked.” To quote Rev. Fisk in a 2025 podcast : “If you don’t fit in, shame on you!” It is a country club for people “with the right last names.”
The Boomers in the congregation are thinking: “If we only set up small groups studying pop-Evangelical curricula and bring in a schlock praise band, then the ‘young people’ will come.” Imagine a group of people setting up a flea market, and one of the organizers wants to have a classic rock garage band perform in the hope that it will attract a younger crowd. The market remains a place run by Boomers, for Boomers.
Do I believe the LCMS will exist in 30 years? Nope. The culture is too toxic. Please prove me wrong.
I think that may characterize some congregations no doubt but many are welcoming. I did ask a friend to visit my church as a secret shopper — young guy, long hair, wanted to see what he could share with me. For the most part I think he was welcomed.
Let's start by knocking off the generation bashing. I'm told that Gen Z hates the Millennials and everybody loves to kick the Boomers. Let's stop that out of the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ, young and old.
As the body of Christ we gather in an ancient Liturgy, sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs both old and new, and rejoice in our unity in the one Body of Christ. We would do well to honor our elders, apprentice our youth into responsible adulthood, and encourage one another in Christ to live lives worthy of our baptismal calling.
I think you go to my church
The joke in our area is, 'Come as you, stay if you wealthy, white, and wizened.'
Are any of you are familiar with this relatively new attempt for men to disciple together in the church.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RILSjVHf4Yk
Last week at Matins we had a group of young men come who said they are meeting together to encourage each other in the practice of spiritual disciplines in order to better live out faithful lives in their vocations.
Momento looks great. The guys involved appear to have a good grasp on the pulse of the young orthodox men.
The rigidity of the LCMS destroyed my family - never a kind word, never any joy or happiness. At holiday family gatherings I fled as soon as possible to enjoy the holidays with the families of my non-LCMS friends. The LCMS just doesn't get it.
So what do you attribute the lack of kindness and joy?
I’ve been a regular attendee at seven different LCMS churches in four very different states over the last 20 years. And I wouldn’t characterize any of them in the ways described in this article. Certainly, every congregation has challenges, some significant. However, there seems to be quite a bit of exaggeration going on here.
The childlessness in many congregations likely has a number of contributing factors.
Thought provoking article. MLJ is awesome. There has been, in some churches, the idea that children should be seen and not heard. Indeed you may also see spending on what the adults want but little on those things that would serve the youth. My congregation has been blessed to add 10 new members since December 2025. Plus an infant born in the congregation early 2025. The adults added are all great people, but the youngest is late 30s / early 40s. So we certainly feel the pain of a lack of young people (though a few 20s and 30s were added into the family in recent years). How do we work our way out? Or maybe we need to pray our way out?
Blame the boomer generation. 1 or 2 kids max, very little sense of duty, entitled, unsympathetic, zero ability to censor or live a pious life. How many times do we have to hear boomers say "its always been that way" or "i just want it to be the church I grew up in"?We cant escape them running all things democratic into the ground because they have the numbers. That being said, there are some non-boomer centric church plants in the English district that are success stories and might just make it.
See my comment above on generation bashing. Let's start by dealing with one another as blood-bought brothers and sisters in Christ.
I read your comment and am convinced that you are missing the point entirely. If the elders (boomers) collectively, and generally were able to shepherd the youth, then they would have done so. They have not and therefore cannot be looked to for such a thing. The idea is to discuss the topic at hand not sweep it under the "love is love" rug.
Many of us have done so, and have devoted our working lives and vocations to this end. Sweeping generalizations and generation-blaming are just lazy thinking and blame-shifting. It's the way of old Adam and Eve. Take responsibility yourself and stop blaming others. It's weak and sinful.
1. Your straw man is the weak argument and a sign of your emotional entanglement with it. 2. Generalizations are a legitimate tool and not inherently sinful. 3. Attempting to understand a problem and its roots is not a sign laziness on my part. 4. Your attempt to silence the argument by invoking "its sinful" is sad and indicative of the overall problem of why young people cant stand boomer churches.
Generalizations about generations and their faults are legitimate discussions points. Just as you might point out a fault of neighbor to help him or the situation, sometimes it is necessary to discuss the faults of generations. The reflexive NAXALT response of the Boomer generation is part of the problem of not being able to recognize some of the problems and address them with solutions. And look at your other comments. Below you state, "A grievous problem with an aging congregation". Is that not also just a generalization of a body of people, who sound like they are also probably Boomers? It's fine to make the argument that the generalization applies such that there is an overarching problem that needs to be recognized and resolved with an appropriate solution, such as changing how the congregation operates.
Original point: church has no young people (= full of boomers, adjacents)
Secondary opinion :analyze why all boomers (=no young people)
Rebuttal: discussing church is full of boomers and why that might be a problem is a sin and should be driven out.
Result = young people leave or are driven out.
You know best. When you grow up, it'll look different and the kids will complain about you and your generation too.
I'll take back what I said about "generalizations." The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, did say "All Cretans are liars." So it's fair to say that all Millennials are whiners and all GenZers are lazy and entitled, and all Boomers [fill in the blank with your favorite gripe.]
Why not just analyze the problem in terms of polity, structure, practice, doctrine, whatever, and make some constructive steps toward fixing it? Does everything have to framed as a generational divide? The devil loves division, whether in terms of politics, musical style, age group, Scythian, Barbarian, slave, free. Harping on generational tendencies simply exacerbates division. Party spirit and division are works of the flesh not of the spirit.
All of this will go away once genuine persecution begins. This kind of generational analysis is a luxury item for first-world cruise ship Christianity.
I have no answer. All i now is I never had a kind word from my maternal grandmother- my own mother once said, "I have no mother."
Everything was either black or white - there was no room for uncertainty or shades of grey.
What do the actual numbers look like for loss of Lutheran membership?
I’ve read for every 2 losses evangelicals gain 1, for Catholics it’s 8 losses per new convert.
I’m a recent LCMS member.
On simple membership, the LCMS has lost ~35% since 2000 through 2024. ELCA lost 45%.
We will publish data later this week covering stats for the major church bodies.
I am 34. Raised LCMS and never felt like anything was grossly lacking until I met some friends who were Catholic and was impressed by the way their lives simply expressed and modeled devotion. I felt envious! Why did my faith life feel so shallow by comparison? Why was I uncomfortable making the sign of the cross? Why was reverent family prayer and catechesis abnormal? I went through a brief crisis of identity and was watching orthodox and Catholic content. Thank God I found Wolfmueller and OTL. I finally felt some reassurance that the Lutheran church (and “culture”) that I wished for was not entirely theoretical. Only through online resources, self study, and taking the lead on family devotions and catechesis have I started to feel like I am catching up.
Now we’ve got a handful of Memento groups going at our church. Men want to be pushed. They want to be given high expectations for how to run their lives and homes. They don’t want you to beat around the bush and give some half baked answer on birth control. They want sermons that make them want to do better.
The main thrust of this incoherent rant is this: If you want to stay LCMS for the doctrine but want to have a more robust culture of discipleship and sanctification you are going to have to start modeling the culture in your home and with other men in your parish.
We can blame boomers all we want, but let’s not use them as an excuse to not put the pedal down and take our own walks seriously.
I'm 54 and it's been this way as long as I can remember
I'm glad OTL and Memento has been such a blessing to you. I represent a younger cohort of pastors, along with the founders of OTL and Memento, and we are trying to help reverse the trends addressed in this article.
What is OTL?
On The Line: https://ontheline.net/
Thank you!
Re those who vocations require them to work on Sunday. In the world of the ancient church there was no "day off." The church's solution was to offer the Mass daily, early in the morning before sunrise. We need to move beyond one a week Christianity toward the daily Mass and daily prayer in those areas where people are unable to gather on Sunday morning.
The same hold true for catechesis, Bible study, devotion, etc. People are hungering for more than Lutheran Lite. We need to turn up the Law/Gospel burner to something more than a warm glow, where there is a genuine fear of the Lord, faith in Christ, and love for the brotherhood.
A grievous problem with aging congregation is the stubbornness to move beyond "how we've always done it here."
Maybe I’m off, but the problems described on the X posts shown in the article somehow reminded me of the problem described here: https://americanmind.org/salvo/what-is-total-boomer-luxury-communism/
The analysis is really horrible and seems to have some different reasons. One is that congregations seem to be too harsh with their old order instead of helping with new worship times. There are also good new Christian hymns (Keith and Krystin Getty for example, WELS is using some). And: Sanctification is important, the preaching of Law and Gospel is important. I can only invite you: Back to Luther! His Small and Large Catechism are great devotional books, as are his "Freedom of a Christian" and his "Sermon on good works", his "Betbüchlein" and also the "Kinderlehrpredigten" of Nuremberg, Sermons on the main parts of the Catechism. Also the Catechism of Chytraeus, which is now available in English, is very helpful.
May be it would also be helpful to study, how the Walther League worked in its best times, when Walter A. Maier was Secretary in General.
In Christ
Roland Sckerl
I don't know what is at the heart of the matter, but in my experience, if the the father of the family does not attend church, and the mother is responsible for bringing the children to Sunday school, confirmation, and worship, the children are unlikely to be church goers once they graduate from high school. These weren't Boomer parents nor divorced couples, but intact families.
Now our local churches are filled with women--in the pews and on boards. How can we help but to slide into the feminization of faith and family, even though we know these signal the death of both?
I think that, as lifelong Lutherans, not necessarily Boomer Lutherans, our perspective about why we attend church may be odd to newcomers. We go to to receive the gifts of the Word and Sacraments, to confess and be absolved, and to take this renewing home and out onto the world. But I have little expectation that my church and the people who worship there are my social circle or the tether to the gifts I receive. Maybe they are supposed to be, but it has never crossed my mind that they should be.
Amen
How much of those tweets were 2 young men looking into the church - and seeing families. And realizing they don’t get that - they are on the out of “the good Christian life.”
I’m a convert to the LCMS I’ve been here for 15 years now - half of that playing the organ. I’m 32 - and there isn’t a single women near my age, anywhere I’ve been except for the few short years in college. I’m in a church currently with 8 single dudes between 22-32, we do weekly compline and Bible study services.
We (the single dudes) are facing a future of second class citizenship in the church. We are not bringing kids to the font, to fill the Sunday school and the catechism classes. The church is family - except we are not participating in the cycle of family. Yeh, we want to get married - but finding a remotely Christian interested women on the east coast has only happened for 1 of us.
I had hope when the Wolfmullers were doing the large single events - eg the cruise. Sadly they don’t seem to be planning another one. I’ll be goin to the 1 or 2 “3 hour single LCMS mixing events” this coming summer - but I don’t have much hope that will help me find a lady.
I know a couple of single, devout Lutheran ladies. They don’t believe in using dating apps, but there are very few opportunities to meet devout men either.
I’ve said before, the young men need to work on themselves - personal hygiene, learning to communicate. Many of our young men seem incapable of making conversation, so end up buried in their phones. Simple things like learning to ask polite questions / make small talk will go a long way.
I’m sorry - but the most frustrating parts of these conversations are: “those guys are just wired and lacking in social skills.” I assure you - that is not the case for me and most of the other guys at my church. There is a lack of Lutheran women - and a lack of ability to do cross-region mixing. Dating outside the congregation via “attending the larger conservative non-Lutheran church” is not possible when you are the organist, or host of other weekly committed roles.
Wolfmuller’s created a space that was longer than 2-3 hours for Lutheran singles to meet. I’m sure it was a lot of work but several marriages have resulted from that event.
I’m less than excepted to drop $600 on flights, hotels for a 2 hour singles mixer. The chances of two people having a “instant connection” is pretty slim.
That has been my observation with the single young men at our church. I apologize if it’s not applicable in your case. Message Ad Crucem with your details and I’ll pass them along to the young ladies I know.
As one of the people who got married due to the cruise (ended up being first marriage and first baby) it was desperately needed and I wish they would do it again. We need those big events because we have the exact same problem of young men and really no young single women.
That is wonderful! Congratulations!
At my congregation we have the opposite-single ladies wondering where all of the good Lutheran men are. We plan to host a conference next January for LCMS young adults. Not a cruise, but a chance for you to enjoy confessional teaching, preaching, worship, and fellowship. Faith Lutheran Church, Dunedin, FL.
That is interesting. Everywhere we have travelled in the West and Midwest, the lament has been about the dearth of ladies. A great National Mission project would be to subsidize travel to these events to underwrite family formation. Getting to Florida from Cali or Oregon is not cheap!
Tampa International is 30min from the church. We are looking at housing options for those who may be on a budget. There are very few confessional conferences targeting 18-35 year olds in the Southeast. Many of our young folks routinely fly to Chicago, even Casper, WY, to enjoy such fellowship. We figured we would offer an alternative.
We are a small/mid-size congregation, but growing. Our demographic is trending younger. We do have some older single men. But of our young adults, aside from college students, they are single ladies.
What’s the planned cutoff age?
18-35. MLK Weekend. Jan 15-17.