Lutheran: ELCA and LCMS

[Josiah]

This rather long video (21 minutes) deals with some fundamental differences between the ELCA (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and the LCMS (the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod). They are both among the 10 largest Protestant groups in America.... they share a common link in history.... they both have "Lutheran" in their moniker, but are quite different (and sadly, often confused by non-Lutherans).


The ELCA has about 3,000,000 members and 9,000 congregations. It was created in 1988 and is a result of a long, long series of mergers of various Lutheran groups (mostly of Scandinavian origin).

The LCMS has about 2,000,000 members and 6,000 congregations. It was founded in 1847 (with no major mergers or splits) by conservative Lutheran immigrants from Germany. The name "Missouri" simply refers to where it was begun (early on, various Lutheran denominations usually put the state of their origin into their names).




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[Albion]

Yes, it's perhaps ironic that the LCMS was the largest of the Lutheran bodies in the USA until three others merged in order to form the ELCA.

That made the newcomer the largest of the bodies. And that in turn made the LCMS appear to outsiders to be similar to the various split-off churches in other Protestant denominations, churches formed by people who had to leave the parent body in order to preserve traditional beliefs and practices.

But the LCMS, although similarly conservative and in opposition to the ELCA which is theologically and socially liberal, isn't any kind of split-off or schismatic Lutheran church. It simply was overtaken in membership thanks to a merger (an unusually successful one, as these things go) of not two well-known churches but virtually all of the liberal-leaning ones involving American Lutherans.

 

[Josiah]

The video contains something I had not considered but seems very insightful.....

The presenter notes that in the ELCA, "culture" is considered normative... God "speaks through culture." Very, very odd (ESPECIALLY for a Lutheran since this is exactly what Luther rejected in the Reformation) but I suspect this is a common thread in much of liberal, modern Protestantism. But here's what I found very interesting: The presenter asks, "WHICH culture?" Certainly not that of Japan or China.... not that of India... not that of Africa or Latin America... it's EXCLUSIVELY the culture of modern, LIBERAL, Western European and American culture (their OWN... themselves!). I never thought of it that way, but I think he makes a very insightful observation. The ELCA is hardly the only denomination that looks in the mirror and not exclusively to the Word... we're all at times guilty of that.... but we SHOULD repent of that, not take pride and celebrate that.



On a completely different note, when I was at the LCMS national convention in Tampa, I learned from a fellow delegate that some years ago, there was a movement to change the name of the denomination to "The Lutheran Church - USA" Which I think would be much less confusing than our current name (adopted about 100 years ago). And it follows the pattern of "daughter churches" - the Canadian districts spun off into an independent denomnation called "The Lutheran Church - Canada" and those in Brazil became "The Lutheran Church - Brazil." Anyway, I was told the movement went nowhere since the leadership of the LCMS didn't like it and thought it too expensive. No big deal.... I'm okay with the name chosen after World War I.... even though people wonder about the "Missouri" thing (how can there be Missouri churches in Idaho?) and ask "What's a synod?" (indeed, many don't even know how to pronounce the word).



Blessings!


- Josiah




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