First, did I offend you in some way? In no way was I trying to be elitist or a snob.
As far as the synods are concerned, there's a long history of the major synods namely the LCA(ELCA), Missouri and Wisconsin Synod. On a scale, the ELCA has the most liberal policies (female pastors, etc), the Missouri is typically more conservative and the Wisconsin is the most conservative. Although, it is quite likely that certain churches in the Missouri Synod are run as conservative as a Wisconsin Synod. I believe Missouri does allow female pastors which are not allowed in Wisconsin. Also, Wisconsin synod churches operate with only the males as voting members. I grew up and was confirmed in LCA then in my 20's was Missouri and finally Wisconsin (although they are they are not as widespread).
Finally, it is not Wisconsin's belief that they are the only saving church meaning they don't have the attitude of the catholics where if you ain't catholic, you're screwed.
Peace.
I am certain that there are no women pastors in the LCMS. LCMS does have some (but not all) congregations that let women read the bible aloud in church and serve on the church council.
WELS and LCMS both practice close communion, although LCMS has a wide range in what its congregations consider to be close communion. When I was in the Navy, I was allowed to commune at any LCMS church I attended, but I always introduced myself before the service. The WELS congregation I attended would not let me commune until I attended classes and joined the congregation.
Being a Mason is not allowed in either LCMS or WELS. I’ve been told it’s against ELCA policy, too, but not enforced. And I still don’t understand WELS prohibition against scouting.
They've become much more progressive in recent years and I think they're down to just one synod represented (LCMS) in town, and a ELCA congregation on the North side.
So it's not like I don't know Lutherans ~ I know all kinds of Lutherans! It's possible I know more different kinds than most Lutherans do ~ but that is simply because my own people were NOT Lutherans ~ they were Dunkards (German Methodist, more or less, but that congregation didn't have a single German in it ~ it was an experiment by a ne'er do well minister who imagined he could attract non-Germans to his church ~ which he did ~ much to his surprise).
More recently it looks like the Lutherans are "breaking up", but is it back to the ethnically based synods, or is it geography, or could it be theology? The piece here suggests that one cause is the tendency of one or two brands to turn the homosexuals loose on their congregations. Frankly, I had not noticed any major significant difference between the Wisconsin synod and the Missouri synod beyond the private school thing, but I attributed that to a question of numbers. Looks like I was wrong. One group is holding the line at women.