A Short History of LCMS

by Wesley Kan

According to A. R. Wentz, "[i]t is clear that 'Lutheran' is a very inadequate name to give to a movement that is not limited to a person or an era but is as ecumenical and abiding as Christianity itself." Rooted in the Judeo-Christian ancestry of the Bible, the LC-MS is a new name for an ancient church. The "Luther" whose name the enemies of the Protestant Reformation fastened to us was Dr. Martin Luther, the 16th century professor of theology of Wittenberg University, who forsook the study of law to become an Augustinian monk. While secular history attributes to him the breaking of the Roman Catholic Church's oppressive political monopoly, Christians prefer to remember Luther for his solid Biblical teachings of justification by faith (and not works) and the priesthood of all believers which form the cornerstones of the Lutheran faith and provided the basis for the Reformation of the Christian Church in 1517.

Among Christian denominations we are a rarity in being named after a mortal individual, a fact which five centuries after his death would no doubt cause Luther much grief were he still walking the earth. The adoption of his name to differentiate ourselves from other Christians is far from amounting to worshipping the man. We are the first to recognize his many shortcomings. While Dr. Luther was a man gifted with analytic genius, he was short tempered and stubborn. He was a prolific writer but much of his writings are embarrassingly laden with caustic criticisms of those who dared to disagree with him, be they John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli or the Pope. What the Lutheran Church follows is his teaching that demanded the church return to the belief that Christ is the only way to heaven, the Bible is the only way to know God and His will for all people and God's grace and mercy is the only hope for forgiveness of sin.

The Lutheran Church spread from Germany to Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, France and Holland. It became the state church of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Estonia and Latvia. The first permanent colony of Lutherans in America was New Holland, founded in 1623. The Saxon immigrants who formed the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) arrived in 1847 and settled in Perry County, Missouri.

While there were once about a hundred fifty different Lutheran synods and organizational bodies in the United States, the number has been reduced by consolidation to two dozen. The LCMS ranks second in size with 2.7 million members, 6,300 churches, sixteen colleges and seminaries and 1,500 schools.

The LCMS is a highly structured organization of congregations who "walk together" in doctrine and practice. Its headquarters are located at the International Center in suburban Saint Louis, Missouri. The recognized head of the LCMS is an elected president.

Our Savior Lutheran Church  808.488.3654
98-1098 Moanalua Road  Aiea, HI  96701