First Saint Paul's Lutheran Church Chicago — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Jeff Leininger

Founded 1846

Denomination Lutheran (LCMS)

Service Times Sunday mornings (check website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website fspauls.org

Pastor Credentials Rev. Dr., 21 years campus ministry at Concordia University Chicago

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

LCMS confessional — affirms Trinitarian orthodoxy and Augsburg Confession/Book of Concord.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

LCMS confessionally affirms Scripture as inerrant — not explicitly stated on homepage but implied by denomination.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not mentioned on homepage.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Lutheran sola fide via confessions; not explicit on homepage.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Rev. Dr. Jeff Leininger (male); LCMS ordains only men. 21 years prior at Concordia University Chicago.

Rev. Dr. Jeff Leininger (male); LCMS ordains men only

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Single pastor visible on homepage; LCMS polity includes elders/voters' assembly.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

'Clear, Bible-based preaching' with 'Traditional Worship for a Contemporary World.'

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Proclaiming Christ, Nurturing Faith, Serving Others.'

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No Reconciling-in-Christ language detected. LCMS is not part of ELCA's RIC program; denomination is conservative on marriage/sexuality.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Synod affiliation not explicitly stated on site pages inspected — verify via LCMS locator.

Strong

Assessment

First Saint Paul's Lutheran Church in Chicago — LCMS congregation. Full theological review pending.

#lcms#lutheran#chicago#illinois#conservative

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Site does NOT explicitly name LCMS, ELCA, or any synod in inspected content. Rev. Dr. Jeff Leininger visible. No Reconciling-in-Christ markers visible. Prior audits caught Immanuel Chicago and Ebenezer Chicago as ELCA mis-tagged; exercise caution. Keep yellow until synod verified via LCMS locator.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source fspauls.org

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.