Ten Reasons To Be A Lutheran
	1.	Justification by grace......through grace..apart from works of the law. This critical concept states simply that salvation is not earned but is an unconditional gift. But this then raises some important issues concerning the stewardship of our lives. If we do not need to earn God's favor, what then ought we to do as an expression of thanks for what we have received.
	2.	Sole authority of Scripture. With Luther we believe that the Bible is the cradle in which we find the Christ Child. We do not worship the cradle, but we look to Scripture as the source and justification of all that we teach and believe.
	3.	No solitary Christians. As Lutherans we affirm centrality of the Church which is "the assembly of believers where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel," According to the Augsburg Confession. we believe there is no complete Christian life apart from participation in the fellowship of the redeemed, and that we experience the church in three distinct realities: the local congregation, participation in a regional witness (the synod), and connection in a natural and worldwide expression of the body of Christ.
	4.	Priesthood of all believers. This is our critical confidence in the power of our baptism. which calls us in to Christian ministry in the midst of daily life. This concept has also driven e sense that the decision-making authority of a congregation must dwell in all baptized and not be expressed through some hierarchical system that would see certain members as more important than others.
	5.	Education as a high value. Our system of Lutheran colleges and universities, Lutheran campus Ministry, and Parochial schools in unequaled. We value theologically trained leaders and anticipate that all members will participate in a lifelong experience of Christian faith formation.
	6.	Passion for sharing the Gospel. We intend to be a church always in mission ....making Christ know....as we share companionship with other Lutherans throughout the world. We proudly participate in the Lutheran World Federation, over 85 million Lutherans worldwide, most of them found in Africa, Asia and South America.
	7.	In a world but not of a world. We sincerely try to be a reality - based Church. We have never claimed to be a holiness Church, which every day gets better and better. No, we are simultaneously saints and sinners (simul Justus et peccator).
	8.	A compassionate church. We are a church that has always valued being Christ to our neighbor. Ministries of compassion have always been central to the Lutheran experience. We are proud to participate in Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Lutheran Disaster Relief and Lutheran Services in America, the largest social service delivery system in America.
	9.	An ecumenical Church. We have always honored our Lord's desire that they might be one. We have come to value the importance of our full communion agreements, which provide us a chance to express our unity with all who share with us a faith in Jesus Christ.
	10.	An ever-reforming Church. We Lutherans embrace the challenge of change, understanding that the changeless Good news about Jesus Christ must always come in new forms. We seek to embrace tradition (the living faith of those who have died) but reject traditionalism (the dead faith of living people, to borrow Jaroslav Pelikan's phrase). What is more, we have a growing passion to reach the young, the new immigrants, those who have felt outside the church of Christ.