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====== Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod ======

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States, founded in 1847 by German immigrants. It is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, after the [[evangelical-lutheran-church-america|Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA). The LCMS holds to confessional Lutheran theology, affirming the inerrancy and verbal inspiration of Scripture, adherence to the historic Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord, and practicing closed or close communion. It ordains only men to the pastoral office and does not affirm the ordination of women or the blessing of same-sex unions.

The LCMS is organized congregationally, with member congregations voluntarily belonging to one of 35 geographic districts in the United States. It operates two seminaries - Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri - along with a network of Concordia University System schools and an extensive parochial school system. The synod supports international mission work and partner church bodies through the International Lutheran Council.

===== Current State =====

The LCMS has maintained a theologically conservative identity since a period of internal conflict in the 1960s and 1970s, commonly referred to as the "Seminex" controversy, during which a faction of faculty and students departed Concordia Seminary in St. Louis over disputes concerning biblical inerrancy and historical-critical methods of scriptural interpretation. The departing group eventually merged into bodies that became part of the ELCA. Since that period, the LCMS has positioned itself as more theologically and socially conservative than the ELCA, a contrast widely noted by outside observers, with the ELCA having taken more liberal positions on issues including women's ordination and same-sex relationships. Membership in the LCMS, as in most mainline and confessional American denominations, has declined in recent decades.

The synod continues to debate matters of practice and polity internally, including the appropriate degree of cooperation with other Christian bodies (a question framed within Lutheran theology in terms of "unionism" and "syncretism"), the use of contemporary worship styles versus historic liturgical forms, and the structure of synodical governance and authority relative to individual congregations.

===== Viewpoints =====

  * **Confessional traditionalism** - holds that LCMS doctrine and practice should closely follow historic Lutheran confessional standards and liturgical forms, resisting accommodation to broader evangelical or contemporary worship trends. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-confessional-traditionalist-viewpoint]].
  * **Evangelical/missional outreach** - emphasizes contemporary worship styles, church growth methods, and broader cooperation with other evangelical Christians as means of mission and outreach. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-evangelical-missional-viewpoint]].
  * **Centrist/moderate institutionalism** - seeks to balance confessional fidelity with practical openness to changing cultural and ecclesial contexts, often associated with synodical leadership seeking unity among factions. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-moderate-institutionalist-viewpoint]].
  * **Critique from the [[evangelical-lutheran-church-america|ELCA]] and progressive Lutheran perspectives** - holds that LCMS positions on women's ordination, sexuality, and biblical interpretation are unnecessarily restrictive and out of step with contemporary scholarship and social mores. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-elca-progressive-critique-viewpoint]].
  * **Continued affirmation of historic confessional positions** - holds that the LCMS's positions on the [[ninety-five-theses-lutheran-viewpoint|Reformation heritage]], scriptural authority, and the pastoral office reflect a faithful and necessary continuity with classical Lutheran and broader Christian teaching, against perceived theological drift in other denominations. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-confessional-continuity-viewpoint]].

===== Controversies =====

  * The "Seminex" crisis of 1973-1974, in which a majority of the faculty and students of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, left amid disputes over biblical interpretation and synodical authority, resulting in a lasting institutional and theological rift with bodies that later formed the ELCA. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-seminex-controversy]].
  * Periodic disputes over the doctrine of "fellowship" and the propriety of joint worship or prayer with non-LCMS Christians, including controversies surrounding LCMS clergy participation in interfaith or ecumenical public prayer services. See [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-interfaith-prayer-controversy]].

===== Related Pages =====

  * [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-history|History of the LCMS]]
  * [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-women-ordination-debate|Debate over women's ordination in the LCMS]]
  * [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-elca-biblical-authority-viewpoint-debate|Viewpoint Debate: LCMS vs. ELCA on biblical authority and church practice]]
  * [[lutheran-church-missouri-synod-seminex-controversy|Seminex Controversy]]
  * [[evangelical-lutheran-church-america|Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]
  * [[ninety-five-theses-lutheran-viewpoint|Ninety-Five Theses (Lutheran Viewpoint)]]

===== Footnotes =====

  - Mark Granquist, *Lutherans in America: A New History* (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015).
  - James C. Burkee, *Power, Politics, and the Missouri Synod: A Conflict That Changed American Christianity* (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011).
  - "The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod," official synod website, accessed 2024, https://www.lcms.org.
  - Kurt E. Marquart, *Anatomy of an Explosion: Missouri in Lutheran Perspective* (Fort Wayne: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1977).