Who is Missouri?

While it is true that those within Missouri have their own ideas about what the real Missouri Synod is, there are those on the outside of Missouri who also have ideas about the Synod.  In many respects, the boundaries of the body are the same -- from the evangelical wannabes on one side to the catholic folk on the other and with a few old fashioned liberals thrown in while the muddy middle embodies a little bit of everything.  The difference is not in the facets they note are there but which facet predominates.  What is even more curious is how the critics lump the facets of Missouri they do not like together to make it appear that is all Missouri is.

Missouri's critics seem to have a rather broad contempt for the theology and practice of the LCMS.  They do not like an inerrant and authoritative Scripture, the presumption of historicity in the Scriptures, the practices of closed communion, ecumenical relationships that will not presume we believe the same but with different words, and any form the liturgy prior to 1978.  But they take all of these things they do not like, they lump together as if the evangelical wannabes and the liturgical crowd somehow are different sides of the same coin.  They seem to forget that the evangelicals in Missouri have more in common with progressive Lutherans outside Missouri than with the catholics in Missouri. 

The other thing is that the liberal Lutherans presume that those who are liturgical are located in very small, struggling, parishes made up of aging folk waiting to die.  They seem to delight in their estimation that this side of Missouri is statistically insignificant.  So, for example, what do they do with the parish I have served for 32 years?  It is growing, filled with young people, has tons of adult baptisms and confirmations, attracts new people every week and is as high as a kite.  And we are not alone.  In fact, there are plenty of us in Missouri.  We have high quality church musicians and church music and strong Law/Gospel preaching and teaching.  In fact, Lyman Stone suggests that this is the very kind of Missouri congregation that is actually growing.  The evangelicals may be somewhat stable but the catholics are growing -- at least according to folk like Lyman Stone.  Furthermore, the heart of the Missouri has never been evangelical and this is a modern temptation and not an historic identity.  If you do not believe me, read some of Walther on the liturgy and his critique of the Lutherans he found when coming to America.

Parish wise, the vast majority of Missouri is liturgical and confessional though perhaps to varying degree.  If you count the congregations, Missouri is predominantly liturgical and confessional -- weekly Eucharists, more ceremonial, chasubles, etc...  As with most church bodies, the actual numbers of people are not equally represented across Missouri's parishes but tilt toward the larger ones.  There again, the stereotype is that these larger congregations are all evangelical wannabes who idealize the mega churches with big personalities and cult-like following.  That would also be false.  Though the majority of evangelical wannabes in Missouri are found in larger congregations, those larger congregations are more equally distributed between liturgical and not than most think.  So who is Missouri?  Lutheran.  Liturgical.  Creedal.  Confessional.  Oriented more toward a fuller ceremonial than less.  Committed to schools (from preschool to university).  Dedicated to more catechesis rather than less.  Missouri is all these things though loathe to regulate this identity with laws and rules.  While liberal and progressive Lutherans wonder how anyone can believe and worship and confess as they did in the past, Missouri wonders why anyone would leave this behind.

I will say this.  Compared to other Lutheran options, Missouri has more theological and liturgical integrity than most.  The ELCA may be slighty more liturgical on the surface but you have to throw in there the congregations in which the Trinity is fuzzy, God may be addressed in female terms and pronouns, and nearly every Sunday explores some aspect of the LGBTQ+ freedom to be.  Wisconsin is a bit of a head scratcher.  It is scrupulously orthodox on paper but leans evangelical and low church and their last two hymnals have gone their own way on a number of fronts.  The reality is that Lutherans find a pop goes the weasel approach to liturgy in most places (especially in those looser confederations like the LCMC).  So while the critics within and outside of Missouri have a lot to complaint about, the reality is that we are in a far better place than other Lutherans -- though still not very good.  Sometimes I wish we put as much energy into working to build up the churches as we do tearing down the church.