LCMC has a pretty good head start, but quite a few of these congregations are now joining the newly-formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC).
LCMC and NALC congregations are very similar to each other. Unlike the Missouri or Wisconsin Synods, LCMC & NALC both have women pastors and celebrate open communion.
Their differences are mostly in structure. NALC will have a nationwide structure, complete with Bishops, while the LCMC is much more focused on the individual congregations.
SmithL wrote:
“Their differences are mostly in structure. NALC will have a nationwide structure, complete with Bishops, while the LCMC is much more focused on the individual congregations.”
Unfortunately, both have just peeled the calendar pages back a few years. The foundation of what ails the ELCA and what caused it to be where it is today has remained unresolved in both of these groups. The optimist in me says maybe they will continue looking, studying, meditating on God’s word, and critically examining themselves, and so become truly Lutheran once more. The pessimist in me says ... well, you know. Go back and look at the “Definite Platform,” Samuel Schmucker’s American recension of the Augsburg Confession, and the 1917 “Agreement to Disagree,” and you will find the roots of my pessimism. Both must deal with what Charles Krauth said long ago (The Conservative Reformation). Until that is done ... well. Nevertheless, I wish them both godspeed, for to be free of the abomination that is the ELCA is a truly good thing.