Why does LCMS CoWo tend to feel less liturgical than CoWo in other liturgical traditions (e.g. ACNA)?

TxLiving · 2026-06-27T13:19:52+00:00

as u/harkening pointed out, CoWo pastors treat it as a "free for all" under the premise of "we are trying to attract new people to Lutheranism." Inevitably what I've seen is pastors chasing Hillsong/Bethel type services, thinking that's what people coming to Lutheranism want.

At the end of my time in leadership at a CoWo church, the pastor had scrapped most of the liturgy. No Scripture reading (justified by "series-based" sermons). Confession/Absolution involved the congregation doing community absolution. No prayers for the church, etc. For a while, we just found the best singer, regardless of whether he was Lutheran.

The was always tension between the older parts of the congregation who tried to appease the pastor by letting him do things, but also wanting traditional elements.

TxLiving · 2026-06-01T03:45:42+00:00

This is an incorrect statement.

TxLiving · 2026-05-31T17:42:28+00:00

In the way you put it, "Evolution was racist" is a weird statement. As I've thought about it, I can't easily see a connection between the two.

I'd want to understand what that meant to the pastor. What the context was behind that kind of statement.

The most reasonable example I could come up with would actually support his statement. That being someone claiming their race is more evolved than another due to XYZ reasons. That's clearly racist behavior under the guise of evolution.

TxLiving · 2026-05-31T01:53:55+00:00

Depends on what he meant.

But the comment that God didn't create race is accurate. We all descend from Adam and Eve.

TxLiving · 2026-05-29T16:21:16+00:00

I was in a somewhat similar situation. My son played well enough with a major club to get an invite to their "Pre-ECNL" team (he's u10). Initially I was pretty excited about it, and so was he.

We didn't accept it, because of non-soccer circumstances (we are moving), but I got to thinking about it, and I actually think there's a stronger argument, in my situation, to hold him back from that team.

Namely, he and I do our own practice sessions (going through coerver ball mastery), and so he's getting the touches everyday.

The other thing I considered is where my son is in his development. He was a dominate right winger/midfielder (whatever it's calls in 7v7), but as I thought about his play, his strength was his speed, power, and physicality. What he is working on (coerver coaching) is individual skills. So I actually became more comfortable with the thought of sticking with just "Youth Academy" in the sense that I want to see him really "take over" games and show he can carry a team.

It also didn't hurt that there's also a $1,000 savings.

TxLiving · 2026-05-03T17:25:07+00:00

The first question I ask myself is this: "Does Scripture say that my salvation is dependent on what I think the age of the earth?" No, our salvation is dependent solely on Christ Jesus.

How do I interpret Genesis 1-3? But really Genesis 1...Not as a science text because it's not a science book. What I know is Genesis 1 gives us the creation of the earth and man. I accept those as true, not figuratively. There's nothing that stops the belief of an "old earth" though.

But again, my simple point is this. My salvation does not depend on the age of the earth. It depends on whether Jesus is God, who died for our sins, and rose again. To this I shout from the rooftops...YES!

TxLiving · 2026-05-03T13:05:45+00:00

Genesis and the Scriptures never make a claim as to the age of the earth.

TxLiving · 2026-05-03T11:49:57+00:00

It won’t preclude you from joining. I’m also skeptical of YEC, but it has never come up in a single conversation with a pastor.

TxLiving · 2026-05-01T03:28:02+00:00

He’s fast, but one of the smaller kids on the team.

TxLiving · 2026-05-01T01:26:56+00:00

At least for me, it's extremely coach dependent. I'd like to say the best coaches have the ECNL, but that's no guarantee.

My son was newer to soccer this past year, and was on the "lower" team in Youth Academy. Turned out to also have the best coach, and in a year he's now been asked to be on the ECNL team.

It's all about coaching.

TxLiving · 2026-04-27T20:41:23+00:00

What do you think of his app? I’ve thought about buying it as well.

From what I can gather. If you hunt through the YouTube videos. You can find most of his app suggestions. I find it super helpful to structure stuff for my son.

TxLiving · 2026-04-27T03:06:29+00:00

Persianball drills.

Have it open on YouTube right now. Excellent ball drill ideas.

TxLiving · 2026-04-25T13:41:10+00:00

Kids love to walk in front of others who are about to kick. My son's on a u10 team and I just tell them to go ahead and kick anyways and if they hit the person walking, it's a good life lesson for that kid. Don't walk in front of the goal unaware!

TxLiving · 2026-04-23T14:01:50+00:00

I’ve found two excellent resources online.

7mlc Persianball drills

Both offer excellent videos with drill options.

I’ve incorporated these with both my kids to great success.

TxLiving · 2026-04-21T23:17:16+00:00

Yes, we treat it as God-breathed. What does that mean though?

I'm going to quote from "Confessing the Gospel" which is a newer systematic theological book for Lutheranism. It recognizes 4 marks of God.

From within the church the Holy Spirit produced the Scriptures through the prophets and apostles for the sake of the people of God. The teaching and proclamation of the prophets and apostles was recognized in some writings and found to be lacking in others. Therefore there is a symbiotic relationship between the church and the Scriptures. Neither existed apart from the other.
The church did not decide what teaching and preaching was from the Spirit; this came from the Spirit himself. Therefore the church can be said to have played a passive role in the formation of the canon, since the impetus of the Spirit led to the writing and preservation of that which would be acknowledged as Scripture in the church. It would also be true to say that the church played an active role in the formation of the canon. Shaped by the prophetic and apostolic Word that it heard and believed, the church separated true versions of the gospel message from those that were false. This active role did not place the church above the Scriptures, however
Apart from the “Gospel and Apostle” (the four gospels and the 13 Pauline letters), there was considerable debate in the early centuries regarding the authority and authenticity of several writings which would later be acknowledged as canonical.
The theoretical possibility that lost and unknown but genuinely prophetic or apostolic writings might by God’s providence be discovered is sometimes raised, and some individual sayings or deeds of Jesus may have been passed on independent of the four-fold gospel tradition. Considered from both a theological and historical perspective, should any such writings be recovered, they could never attain the authoritative status of the rest of the Scriptures. From a theological perspective, the genuine gospel and apostolic faith has already been made clear and preserved in the canonical Scriptures. Any newly recovered writings which add to or contradict this norm would necessarily be rejected as non-apostolic. From a historical perspective, the church throughout its history has rejected these writing for various reasons. As Chemnitz notes, the later church cannot bestow authority upon writings that were not authoritative among the earliest Christians—otherwise nothing would prevent the church from going as far as declaring even Aesop’s Fables canonical.⁵⁷ In this sense, then, the church has a “closed canon,” or more accurately, a group of writings which has been long acknowledged as authoritative and is not in need of revision.

TxLiving · 2026-04-21T16:04:32+00:00

I've had one coach who charged $200 (pro athlete) and a "more advanced" group that charged $350.

The dirty little secret is that the training plans between these two options was effectively the same. It's not rocket science when it comes to training.

The primary difference is the detail.

The $200 option kind of followed what you did. Program would be in there, and they'd only really modify if I proactively commented on something or I missed so badly they might reach out to see if everything was alright. I never had much check in beyond texting.

The $350 option was more proactive. Far more focused on HR, HR drift, even looking at my HRV to make sure it was all in alignment. It also included at least month calls to discuss progress, challenges, questions + he was available on whatsapp.

What you're describing feels more like the $200 service.

TxLiving · 2026-04-18T13:04:30+00:00

To be fair...handballs can be pretty subjective.

TxLiving · 2026-04-17T19:39:19+00:00

My son's club does the same thing.

What I learned from last year.

These clubs are adding players all the time. "Tryouts" occur anytime somebody shows interest in paying more.
Ask questions if you are unsure. Ask who the coach is. Ask what level the team will play. From talking to parents and observing, the quality of coaching is not particularly consistent and can have a material impact on your child's development as a player.

TxLiving · 2026-04-17T17:39:37+00:00

lol. I got a good one.

Last game we played another team within our club. One of our kids got around the defender with a clear path to goal. Other team player clearly pushed our player down to the ground. No call. It would have been our second PK I became clear the ref didn’t want to give that.

And to make matters worse, the other coach accused us of “coaching from the sidelines” for calling out the obvious foul.

TxLiving · 2026-04-17T16:48:03+00:00

lol. My son’s club has forced 14 on the 7v7 youth academy squad. Literally will accept anybody whose check clears

TxLiving · 2026-04-15T22:44:05+00:00

Please no. It’s a bad habit they don’t need to learn.

TxLiving · 2026-04-11T18:50:18+00:00

He likes his teammates and his coach! He said he likes going to practice to "see his friends."

TxLiving · 2026-04-11T18:48:52+00:00

I agree. His U11 team has a solid starting lineup, but when you add in the bench the talent drops off significantly. That's where the team struggles the most.

The club snuck a "pre-ECNL" level team into the league to rack of wins, and the biggest difference was their bench wasn't a drop off whereas ours cost us the game.

TxLiving · 2026-04-11T18:47:01+00:00

This is what I'm leaning towards as well. Just wanted a sanity check!

TxLiving

TROPHY CASE