I think what she said is that LCMS, WELS,
and the conservative split-offs from ELCA are all known for adherence to the Book of Concord. I'm not so sure who is referred to by the "for over 60 years" part of the statement, however.
So, were you smiling because you called me female?
I'm still trying to find the "via media" in Lutheranism, but it's not in ELCA nor its conservative competitors LCMS and WELS--I tried both in Vacaville. Coming in as a Charismatic, LCMS here is quite dour, and WELS leaves no option to believe the world is older than 6000 years. However, I recently ran into an Association of Free Lutheran Congregations mission right in my home town of Dixon. I attended several months, even the weekly Bible studies, but I could see no future in lay leadership by an 86-year-old and no priest within 80 miles. I never quite got why he left WELS, just why he left ELCA before he went there, other than that he is a real stickler for lay independence over clericalism. He formed his group here in association with numerous others, none of whom was satisfied with their constitution but him. They're less than a dozen, he pays the rent on ads and on the Vet's Hall out of his own pocket.
There's the Independent Lutheran Diocese, just north of the border with Oregon. It's mainly a means for "called" Lutherans to get some seminary training and ordination without paying much--and thereafter apparently functioning on a volunteer basis. There's a meeting nearer me in Corning, two hours drive away, apparently the only one west of Texas except for Bishop Robbie Osmundson in Klamath Falls.
There are also other splinter groups, but what's the point if they're the same as LCMS anyway--except of course for North American Lutheran Church, the "baby" of CORE in 2010. I just talked to a lay leader of Our Savior church in Auburn. It's over an hour away, but worth finding out about. They feature on tape the Braaten-Benne Lecture series. A Martin Braaten heads the North Texas Mission. Apparently they have the Carl Braaten theology as their basis. Carl Braaten was the theologian I agreed with during the 2009 Convocation that caused the split. I think the problem in my area is that though lay people are Biblical (or think they are) the liberals control the ELCA Synod, and no parishes are inclined to or dare to break off. If parishes here ever discussed the issues, I would think many would switch to NALC. But clergy have kept a lid on it, and I never saw it discussed here in Christian Forums (that's one thing I did during my dormancy here, where are any ELCA people who care about the Bible?). (Is CF in on the Conspiracy?) So how could I in good conscience stay ELCA? Well, I sort of belong there, I'm a Higher Critic and Catholic who can accept the Augsburg Confession and Apology but no more "Reformed" theology than that. They allow women to be ordained, but not practicing homosexuals. No gay "marriage".
