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People affiliate with others through common interests and pursuits. Beta Sigma Psi exists in order that college men might be able to gather around a common faith and a common pursuit of faithful living. Founded upon the traditions of the Lutheran church, the Fraternity seeks to maintain such traditions as a foundation for community and individual identity.
No. A Christian church is recognized by the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. Although the Gospel is conveyed by word and deed among the brothers of Beta Sigma Psi, the sacraments rightly have their place among the whole people of God, of which Beta Sigma Psi is only a section. Therefore, Beta Sigma Psi is not a church.
Beta Sigma Psi is a community brought together and sustained by the Lord, in whom its members place their trust and faith. The first community we experience in our lives in which God develops our faith is our family. Beta Sigma Psi is meant to be a continuation of such a community as young men leave the support and nourishment of their homes and venture into college.
The Fraternity's relationship to the Church is the same as a family's relationship. The members of Beta Sigma Psi need the community, the spiritual sustenance and the guidance which they receive as active participants of a worshipping congregation. As they live together and work among others, the church provides a base for their lives and actions.
The Christian Gospel was never meant to be hoarded. It has always been meant to be shared. Beta Sigma Psi does not exist to provide a place where college men might isolate themselves from the secular world. Rather, the Fraternity is meant to be a place where faith is supported and strengthened in order that each person might be a better witness of God's mercy as he works and studies in the college community. As the brothers of Beta Sigma Psi live out their faith in their daily lives, the Fraternity becomes a unified witness to Christ's love in the world.
Beta Sigma Psi is not a Lutheran Fraternity in order to exclude. Rather, its Lutheran character is meant to be a vehicle to include all those who seek faith and faithfulness as the focus of their identity. Some fraternities have rituals or conduct oaths and traditions which are in opposition to the Lutheran heritage. Beta Sigma Psi exists to provide an alternative to such groups and allow college men to be faithful to the teachings of their church.
Being a member of a Lutheran fraternity does not place one in the ranks of God's elite. Members of Beta Sigma Psi are ordinary men who share the same calling and importance in God's eye as do all others. Beta Sigma Psi seeks to cultivate leaders in the world -- ordinary citizens with an understanding of their responsibilities to the church, community, nation and world.
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