Can someone help me understand the split?

[gingeandhales]

I recently discovered that there are different types of Lutherans. I also discovered that the church I grew up with is ELCA. However, I don't remember there ever being such a distinction when I was a kid. I stopped going to that church around 1989 (just before making my confirmation). Is it possible that it didn't have that affiliation back then or was I just totally clueless (not that I'd be surprised by that, I never had any idea what it meant to be a Lutheran at all back then and knew more about the Catholic church than my own because just about everyone I knew and know is Catholic).

I think I have a pretty good grasp on the differences between ELCA and LCMS, at least in a broad sense. And I am happy with my decision to choose an ELCA but I am really just curious about when this all happened and what brought it about.

Thanks.

 

[AngCath]

Please pardon the gross oversimplification....
The ELCA is the result of a three-way merger of Lutheran churches made up of many more predecessors. The LCMS is a church has been a part of some mergers with smaller bodies but has an altogether different history than the ELCA. Historically, the ELCA is the result of a lots of different Lutherans coming together and the LCMS is a descendant of the immigrants who refused to join in the Prussian Union. The real difference today is in Biblical hermeneutics and the role of the Confessions.

I suggest looking at wikipedia for the different histories.

 

[gingeandhales]

Ahh, thank you.

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

If you stopped going to church in '89 that would have been right around the formation of the ELCA. So when you were going to church it was probably ALC/LCA (maybe ALEC). So it was not so much that they were not affiliated prior, but the ELCA did not exist and they would have been affiliated with one of its predecessor bodies. In many cases, the ethnic background was a greater point of identification than the synodical background of these churches.
Also the synodical emphasis might be more noticeable now because at that time was the growing height of the unification movement in Lutheranism, where mergers and interlutheran relations were a priority within the Lutheran faith. Thus the emphasis was on minimizing differences. Since then it has been the opposite. The ELCA has sought ecumenical relations, but inter-Lutheran ones have dissolved more than improved, in fact two new bodies have since formed out of churches that have left the ELCA (these are known as LCMC and NALC).
The differences between the ELCA and LCMS has also never been greater, and so that also is probably why it is more noticeable.

 

[gingeandhales]

If you stopped going to church in '89 that would have been right around the formation of the ELCA. So when you were going to church it was probably ALC/LCA (maybe ALEC). So it was not so much that they were not affiliated prior, but the ELCA did not exist and they would have been affiliated with one of its predecessor bodies. In many cases, the ethnic background was a greater point of identification than the synodical background of these churches.
Also the synodical emphasis might be more noticeable now because at that time was the growing height of the unification movement in Lutheranism, where mergers and interlutheran relations were a priority within the Lutheran faith. Thus the emphasis was on minimizing differences. Since then it has been the opposite. The ELCA has sought ecumenical relations, but inter-Lutheran ones have dissolved more than improved, in fact two new bodies have since formed out of churches that have left the ELCA (these are known as LCMC and NALC).
The differences between the ELCA and LCMS has also never been greater, and so that also is probably why it is more noticeable.

Thank you for your reply. I am relieved to know there was a reason why I didn't know what kind of Lutheran church I belonged to. It simply wasn't as big a distinction as it is now, if I am understanding correctly. And my guess is that my church didn't join the ELCA until after I stopped attending.

ETA: Just did a little more research and learned that my church was an ALC member when I was a member. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[Moses Medina]

Thanks for the replies here because it helped me out greatly understanding the differences as well. God bless.