I just felt the need to write someone and tell them that I, for the first time in 36 years, am embarrassed to be in the LCMS.  I have answered the questions of why women can't be involved in certain ways in our church, I have tolerated the "We can't do that..." attitude when it comes to outreach, but this is too much.  I get the feeling that the only people that are worthy to be LCMS members are a few people at the top, who get to judge the rest of us.  I attend Bible Study in another church that is another religion.  It seems that I will be taken out of LCMS too.  My church doesn't have the facilities and numbers to have Bible Study that I can attend, so trying to learn more about God, I went elsewhere. 

                       Now I worry that I will no longer be a welcome member of LCMS.  OF course, I am seriously thinking of leaving the church anyway, so I guess that I'm not too worried. 

                       A member of the church had this to say, "What will happen when we run out of Missouri Synod members?"  It seems as though we are the only ones that can be in our church and the rest of the world is damned.  I also disagree with Dr. Benke that this was a syncretic get together.   The beliefs weren't being fused, just put at the same place.  Should we have denied the chance to draw attention to our religion?  We lost members of LCMS and those people had the right to hear someone from their religion speak at the stadium that day. 

                       Worst of all, LCMS members look like arrogant Pharisees that know the Law and tell everyone else what they do is wrong.  Even if you believe that Benke broke commandments, Jesus taught us the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart, and soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.  I see no love coming from our church leaders at all.