Everything about Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod totally explained
The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), founded in
1847 in
Missouri, is the eighth largest
Protestant denomination in the United States, and the second-largest
Lutheran body in the U.S. after the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is a moderately
conservative,
Confessional Lutheran denomination with
German immigrant roots.
The LCMS is headquartered in
St. Louis, Missouri, and has about 2.4 million
baptized members, approximately half of whom are located in the
Upper Midwest, although it's represented in all 50
U.S. states, and is affiliated with other Lutheran sister churches worldwide. It is divided into 35
districts — 33 geographic districts, and two (the
English District and
SELC) non-geographic. The current president is the Rev. Dr.
Gerald B. Kieschnick.
History
The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In
Indiana,
Ohio and
Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and cared for by missionary
F. C. D. Wyneken. A movement of
Confessional Saxon Lutherans under
Martin Stephan created a community in
Perry County, Missouri and
St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by
Wilhelm Löhe cared for scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in
Frankenmuth, Michigan and the
Saginaw Valley of Michigan.
The Saxon immigration
In the 19th-century German
Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor
Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with the
rationalism and
unionism of the
state-sponsored Lutheranism. In the neighbouring
Kingdom of Prussia, the
Prussian Union of 1817 forced Lutherans to, among other changes, embrace non-Lutheran services of
Holy Communion and Holy
Baptism. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the
Book of Concord, Stephan and nearly 1100 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November
1838.
Their ships arrived
January 5 1839 in
New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. After spending some time waiting for that last ship, most of the remaining 750 immigrants settled in Perry County, Missouri and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the
bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation, and was expelled from the settlement, leaving
C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.
During this period there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper role of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church, or remained within the German Lutheran hierarchy. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.
Organization of the Missouri Synod
On
April 26 1847, twelve pastors representing 15 German Lutheran congregations met in
Chicago, Illinois and founded a new church body, "The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States." Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.
In its early days the synod was conservative on a number of issues. Following Walther's lead, it strongly opposed
humanism and religious
syncretism. It opposed
abolitionism based on Biblical passages which it taught neither approved of nor condemned
slavery.
Under the leadership of its second President,
F. C. D. Wyneken, the Missouri Synod poured much effort into caring for German immigrants, helping them find a home among other Germans, building churches and parochial schools and providing pastors and teachers to serve in them.
As a result, the new synod grew quickly during the 19th century, reaching 685,000 members by 1897.
Transition to English
As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [MissouriSynod] churches, and particularly their schools...indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on."
Until the United States' involvement in the
First World War, the older members of the synod remained overwhelmingly
German in their language, but younger members had long switched to
English. The anti-German sentiment during the war enabled the younger generation to "Americanize" the church's image and switch the remaining German services to English. As a result, over the next half-century the synod's membership doubled.
In
1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States," to the present one, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
On
January 1 1964, the
National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically
Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971 the
Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically
Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS.
Teachings of the LCMS
Doctrinal Sources and Standards (Formal Principle)
One of the signature teachings of the
Lutheran Reformation is the teaching named
Sola scriptura—"Scripture alone." The Missouri Synod believes that the
Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged. It also holds that the Holy Scripture is explained and interpreted by the
Book of Concord—a series of Confessions of faith composed by Lutherans in the 16th century. Missouri Synod pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord
because it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God. The Missouri Synod also teaches
Biblical inerrancy, the teaching that Bible is inspired by
God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much--if not all--of modern
liberal scholarship.
Salvation
The Missouri Synod believes that
justification comes from God "by
divine grace alone, through faith alone, for
Christ's sake alone." It teaches that
Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that
faith in him alone is the way to eternal
salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's
death and resurrection.
The means of grace
The Synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the
Sacraments are
means of grace through which the
Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the
cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. For Missouri Synod Lutherans, sacraments are actions instituted by Jesus and combine a promise in God's Word with a physical element. All agree that
Baptism and
the Lord's Supper are sacraments.
Confession and absolution is called a Sacrament in the
Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it isn't tied to a physical element.
Unlike
Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are
resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the
Book of Concord.
Sacramental Union and the Lord's Supper
Regarding Holy Communion, the LCMS rejects the
Roman Catholic doctrine of
transubstantiation and the
Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the
Sacramental Union, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the
Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of
consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS.
Eschatology
The Missouri Synod flatly rejects
millennialism and the teaching of any "secret
rapture." They believe that all believers will be caught up (raptured) on the
Last Day (
for example, the end of time). This belief system is formally referred to as "Historical
Amillennialism." The synod's focus tends to be on immediate salvation rather than on the
end of times.
Creation
The LCMS is officially
creationist. According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To Commend Preaching and Teaching Creation," all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the
Biblical perspective."
Law and Gospel
The LCMS, along with certain other Lutheran church bodies, also teaches the doctrine of the distinction between God's "Law" and God's "
Gospel." The Missouri Synod believes that the Holy Scriptures contain only two teachings—the Law and the Gospel. The Law is all those parts of the Bible that provide commands and instructions, which the LCMS believes are impossible to completely obey. Therefore, the Law is a statement of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the portions of Scripture that promise free salvation from God, even to
sinners. The law condemns, the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show a person their sinful nature and drive (draw) them to the Gospel, where the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The LCMS insists that both the
Old and the
New Testament teach both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This vital LCMS doctrine was most famously summarized by C. F. W. Walther in his book,
The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel.
St. Louis radio station AM 850
KFUO airs a program called "Law and Gospel" and is hosted by an LCMS pastor-the Rev. Dr. Tom Baker. The program runs Monday-Friday and is live from 1:00PM to 3:00PM CST. The show can also be heard world wide via www.kfuo.org.
Practices
The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion — the policy of sharing the Lord's Supper ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of her sister churches with whom she's formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship. There are a variety of ways in which Missouri Synod congregations put close(d) communion into practice, most often asking visitors to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time.
Fellowship in the Lord's Supper
explains more regarding this practice.
The Missouri Synod's original Constitution indicates that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while also encouraging responsible and doctrinally-sound diversity. The synod requires that
hymns, songs,
liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the
Bible and
Book of Concord. Historically, worship in Missouri Synod congregations is orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, accompanied by a
pipe organ or other classical instrumentation. In recent years, some congregations have adopted a variety of less-formal worship styles, employing
contemporary Christian music, pianos, guitars, and other instruments. This has caused some contention in the church body since it has a decidedly liturgical heritage. The recent publication of
Lutheran Service Book and its widespread reception shows the strength of liturgical life in the parishes of the Synod.
The Missouri Synod teaches that the
ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of great debate within the Synod. Women received the right to suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in
1969, and it was affirmed at the Synod's
2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices don't include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office." Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, readers, ushers, etc.
Franz August Otto Pieper's
Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod provides a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.
Church structure
The Synodical structure is
congregational (run by congregations) instead of
episcopal (run by bishops), although, unlike some other
Protestant denominations, this isn't considered to be a point of doctrine, as the Synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure. Congregations are served by a full-time professional clergy. The strict "democracy-based" values of a congregation have created severe problems in several churches where local internal problems and stress can't be addressed (by constitutional laws) by elected officials in St. Louis. Programs such as "Peace in the Parish" can only serve as guidelines to a congregation which can reject the wishes of the Synod.
The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: autonomous local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects far too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.
The entire synod is divided into
districts, usually corresponding to a specific geographic area, as well as two non-geographical districts, the
English and the
SELC, which were formed when the formerly separate English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into
circuits, each of which is led by a circuit counselor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations.
The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained Synodical President, currently
Gerald B. Kieschnick. The President is chosen at a Synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen, and
lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various Synodical positions. The next Synodical convention will be in 2010. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.
LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year
Master of Divinity degree which is usually obtained from one of these institutions:
Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the
Concordia Theological Seminary in
Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the
Lutheran Church—Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries, but must then take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (
Biblical Greek and
Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod). It has been noted that the seminaries of the LCMS are some of the most difficult seminaries in the United States as the LCMS has a strong focus on education.
Ordination
Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the ministry. The LCMS doesn't believe ordination is an extension of an episcopal form of
apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the word and sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St.
Jerome). The
Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Article XIII) explicitly grants that ordination can be considered a sacrament, only if interpreted in relation to the ministry of the Word. The
Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call. The
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope holds that ordination takes place by divine right (par. 72).
Organizations
In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates ten universities known as the
Concordia University System. Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as
Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including
The Lutheran Hour radio program; and the
Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates a publishing company,
Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes the official periodical of the LCMS,
The Lutheran Witness.
Relationship with other church bodies
Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS isn't associated with ecumenical organizations such as the
National Council of Churches, the
National Association of Evangelicals, the
World Council of Churches or the
Lutheran World Federation. However, it's a member of the
International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran Churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and
the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the
American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).
Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant
evangelicals and
fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the
Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily
Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity.
With 2.4 million members, the LCMS is the second-largest American Lutheran denomination, after the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 4.8 million members, and followed by the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) with 410,000.
The LCMS is distinguished from the closest non-LCMS Lutheran US denomination — the Wisconsin Synod — by three main theological beliefs:
- The biblical understanding of fellowship — the LCMS believes in a distinction between the altar, pulpit fellowship, and other manifestations of Christian fellowship (for example, a prayer fellowship). The WELS does not.
- 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 believes that other offices, such as teachers, are also divinely established.
- The role of women in the church — Although both the LCMS and WELS agree that Scripture reserves the pastoral office for men, the WELS also believes that Scripture forbids women's suffrage in the congregation.
Presidents
1847-1850 Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther
1850-1864 Friedrich Conrad Dietrich Wyneken
1864-1878 Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther
1878-1899 Heinrich Christian Schwan
1899-1911 Franz August Otto Pieper
1911-1935 Friedrich Pfotenhauer
1935-1962 John William Behnken
1962-1969 Oliver Raymond Harms
1969-1981 J. A. O. Preus II
1981-1992 Ralph Arthur Bohlmann
1992-2001 Alvin L. Barry
2001-2001 Robert T. Kuhn
2001- Gerald B. KieschnickFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://lutheran_church_-_missouri_synod.totallyexplained.com">Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
