Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, was founded April 26, 1847 as "The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States," at a meeting of 12 pastors representing 15 congregations. It is a confessional Lutheran denomination and a member of the International Lutheran Council.The first president of the LCMS was C.F.W. Walther, a German immigrant.
In 1947, the church body shortened its name to its present name. Today the LCMS, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, counts about 2.5 million members.
The LCMS is a conservative Lutheran church body, and stands on the conservative side of mainline Protestant church bodies in general. It practices closed communion and its worship style is often traditional and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and traditional hymns, often centuries old, accompanied by a pipe organ.
The LCMS professes almost all the beliefs found in The Book of Concord, with minor disagreements. The LCMS's motto includes the words "Scripture Alone". The LCMS and other conservative Lutherans argue that the Book of Concord and Lutheran Confessions are written according to scripture and that they don't regard them as divinely inspired. The LCMS teaches that Jesus is the focus of the Scriptures, but maintains a literalist view of the Bible, and that he is the way to eternal salvation ("I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Light: no one can get to the Father except through me").
LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master's of Divinity degree from one of the body's two seminaries: the Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In seminary, pastors learn doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the church) and the original Biblical languages, as well as one or more areas of specialization such as education or music.
The LCMS has been divided in recent years into two unofficial factions. On one side is the Confessionals, who seek to preserve the traditional hymnal and liturgy, and on the other is a more evangelical-style group that seeks to modernize the service utilizing contemporary songs and instruments and sometimes relaxing the stance on closed communion. Although their style of worship differs, the doctrinal teachings of the two groups varies little. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod is composing a new hymnal that will utilize both traditional and contemporary hymns.
The LCMS operates ten universities known as the Concordia University System.
Maintaining its position as a confessional church emphasizing the importance of specific faith, the LCMS - while generally allowing interfaith activities - is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches or the National Association of Evangelicals.
Relationship to other Lutheran bodies
LCMS is a member of the International Lutheran Council, which all follow the confessional doctrines of the Gospels and the Book of Concord.
The LCMS is distinguished from its closest non-LCMS Lutheran US denomination - the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) - by three main theological beliefs:
- 1. The biblical understanding of fellowship - the LCMS believes in a distinction between the altar, pulpit fellowship, and other manifestations of Christian fellowship (i.e. a prayer fellowship). The WELS does not.
- 2. The doctrine of the ministry - the LCMS believes that the Pastoral office is divinely established, but all other offices are human institutions and hence are not divinely established. The WELS does not believe that any office is divinely established.
- 3. The role of women in the church - Both the LCMS and WELS agree that Scriptures forbid women to enter the pastoral office. However, the WELS also believes that the Scriptures forbid women's suffrage entirely.