The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is holding its triennial convention July 9-14 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The delegates will not be trying to revise the Christian sexual ethic, ordain women, or weigh in on national politics.
The biggest issue, as I understand it, has to do with the paradoxically-named “Lay ministers.” Some decades ago, the LCMS started a program for laity who wished to serve congregations full time. But some congregations–especially small, rural parishes–began using lay ministers as pastors, having them preach, give pastoral care, and administering the sacraments. But that seemed to go against the Augsburg Confession, Article XIV , which requires an ordained ministry for public preaching and for ecclesiastical order. Some in the LCMS defend the lay ministry program in the name of the priesthood of all believers and for pragmatic reasons, saying that these little congregations couldn’t afford a seminary-trained pastor and that these lay ministers have been doing an excellent job and don’t deserve to lose their positions.