What is an LCMS Lutheran?

In our first two episodes of “The Theology Minute” we have identified the historical foundation of the Lutheran Church and the foundational theology that stands at the core of our identity. But what makes an LCMS Lutheran distinctive?

Did you know that there are over 40 Lutheran denominations in North America alone? And despite our common heritage dating to The Reformation, there are a variety of differences between the two groups. Some of those differences are simply heritage, where our history begins, but sometimes there are also differences in our theology that set us apart even from other Lutherans. (Did you know that SYNOD means “walking together”?)

One of the distinctives about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod simply comes from our history as German Lutherans who settled in the midwest. In the 1830’s, like many other Christians, a group of Lutherans from Saxony and other parts of Germany came to the New World to find a place to freely practice their faith. In 1847, 14 congregations scattered across several states from New York to Missouri joined together to form an official organization. They called the Rev. Dr. C.F.W. Walther to serve as the first president of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and other states. In 1947 it was shortened to Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The origins of the LCMS aren’t so much about theological differences as they are about heritage. We began as a group of independent German Lutherans joining together to support each other and strengthen the work of missions in what was still a very new nation. The history of the two other largest Lutheran denominations, the ELCA and WELS have very similar beginnings with a significant number of Norwegian Lutherans in the ELCA and a group of Germans settling in Wisconsin with WELS. Over time other groups of Lutherans have merged with all of these different groups, adding to their numbers and presence in increasingly larger parts of the nation.

One example of growth by merger can be found in our two non-geographical districts, the English District and the SELC District. While the LCMS presence in the United states is broken up into regions (West-Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, East-Southeast, and Central) and then further into geographical districts (NW District, Texas District, Rocky Mountain District, etc), two of our districts are not part of any geographical region. The English District for example represents 159 congregations scattered across 22 states and even part of Canada. They were an independent group of English speaking Lutherans (as opposed to the Germans speaking LCMS) founded in Missouri in the late 1800’s. They joined the LCMS as a “district” in 1911.

The SELC district (originally the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church) were, you guessed it, formed of Slovak immigrants and joined the LCMS is 1971. They kept their churches as a district.

Hertiage and immigration is one of the major defining charateristics of the LCMS as well as other Lutheran denominations. Next time we will look at how, even though we share a Lutheran heritage with 40 other Lutheran denominations, we don’t all have the same theology.

Next- What are some theological differences between the LCMS and other Lutherans?

What do Lutherans believe?

Our second edition of the Theology Minute continues our look at our identity as a Lutheran church. Two weeks ago we shared where things began way back in the 16th century with the reformation of the Catholic church. This time we want to give you the foundation of what it means to be a Lutheran- specifically, what does a Lutheran believe?

There are a lot of theological points that we can discuss, for example, what does the true presence of Christ in Communion actually mean, or is the practice of baptizing infants actually biblical. These discussions are important but today we want to focus specifically on the foundations of the Lutheran church.

Lutherans form one of the many denominations that make up the Christian church. We, like other Christian churches, believe the bible to be the authoritative Word of God and we find our distinctive identity in how we understand and interpret this Word. Martin Luther writes in the Smalcald Articles (a document laying down his confession of faith) that the bible is the only source for establishing doctrine. This is what he says: “The true rule is this: God’s Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so” (Smalcald Articles, Part 2, Article 2, The Mass). We believe in sola scriptura, “scripture alone”- the Bible is the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.

Because the bible is the sole source of authority for the Christian faith we also believe in sola fide or “faith alone.” Again in the Smalcald Articles, Martin Luther lays down “The Chief Article.” This says that our redemption is found ONLY in the person of Christ Jesus and that no human work can earn or merit this gift of grace. “The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification… for we hold that on is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Smalcald Articles, Part 2, Article 1, The Chief Article).

This is what it means to be Lutheran.Though not an uncommon expression of faith among Christians, it is delivered in almost defiant terms as the foundation of our faith. Luther was struggling against the Roman church which, in the 16th century was teaching that salvation must be earned. As Lutherans we declare that we are saved not through anything that we do or through any desire from our human natures, rather it is only by God’s grace- sola gratia (grace alone) that we are given what we need for salvation, namely Christ, and it is only through faith in Christ, believing that we are sinners and that he took our sins on himself to the cross, that we are saved. This is what the bible teaches and there is no other means by which we can be saved.

There are a lot of other doctrines and theological positions that we will discuss in the weeks ahead but when asked what it means to be a Lutheran- we reply as follows- we believe in God’s grace alone, received by faith alone and our only source of authority is God’s Word alone.

Next week- What are LCMS Lutherans?

June 26, 2025

Where did the Lutheran Church come from?

Our identity as a Lutheran congregation is found in the name of our church- Christ Community Lutheran Church. But what does it mean to be “Lutheran? Where does the Lutheran church come from? There is a lot to that answer but we will try to keep it simple.

For more than a 1000 years following the death of Christ, the church that we today know as the Roman Catholic Church was the predominant Christian church in the modern world. It grew in strength and power with the backing of the Holy Roman Empire and spread across the Western world. As time passed, like the Jews prior to Jesus, the church began to build up rules and expectations that placed increasing burdens on the faithful. The leadership of the church was often given as a political favor or as a way to raise money and was frequently seen as corrupt and disconnected.

By the early 1500’s things had reached a boiling point. Martin Luther, a young German monk had entered the church after making a bargain with God. God spared his life and Luther became a monk. As he learned and studied, Luther became increasingly dissatisfied with the state of the church and it’s portrayal of God, as one who stands in judgement ready to destroy hapless sinners. Martin Luther set out to discover the loving God of the New Testament and along the way to correct what he saw as errors in church doctrine. His was not the first attempt at reform, but due to the political situation that Rome faced from the East he was allowed periods of time where the church was too distracted to squash his attempts at change. Coupled with the invention of the printing press, Luther was able to mass distribute his writings to the common people.

Luther is most famous for the nailing of the 95 Theses to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Often portrayed as an act of defiance, this was really the practice of the time used to begin discourse and discussion. These theses took issue with the Catholic practice of selling indulgences which allowed people to buy their way out of purgatory, the interim place between earth and heaven where people suffered for their sins. Though he never intended to begin a new church, Luther’s reformation began a tradition that provided the foundation for all non-Catholic (called Protestant) churches today.

Next post- What is a Lutheran?