The Rev. Gottlieb Schober, a Moravian who had been ordained by the Lutheran Church,* was instrumental in the formation of "The General Synod" which united Lutherans in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. Lutherans in New York (New York Ministerium) rejected the plan. As a Moravian, Pastor Schober de-emphasized theological teaching and differences in favor of personal experience of religion. He worked hard to try to unite the Lutheran and the Reformed churches. Schober's original model for the General Synod's Constitution was based on that of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
The General Synod had its problems as synods came and went. The Wisconsin Synod was a member, but left at the urging of C. F. W. Walther. The Augustana Synod was organized in 1860 by Scandinavian Lutherans who had left the General Synod because of its laxity in Lutheran practice. President H. A. Preus in his ``Seven Lectures'' on conditions in the Lutheran Church in America, delivered in Norway in 1866 stated about the General Synod: ``The Lutheran General Synod in America is composed of more than twenty component synods, among them there are such that do not even pretend to accept the Lutheran Confessions. In recent years, however, a more genuinely Lutheran stand has been taken by some among them. This position has been championed chiefly by the old Pennsylvania Synod. ... However, the greater portion of the General Synod still represents the so-called `American Lutheranism' in contrast to the old German orthodoxy which they consider obsolete.''
It is to be noted that the Pennsylvania Ministerium would withdraw to form the General Council in 1867. The Ministerium had withdrawn briefly in 1823, even though it was a charter member of the General Synod in 1820. In 1823 the Pennsylvania Ministerium had left to explore fellowship with the German Reformed. In 1867 the Ministerium left because the General Synod accepted the Frankean Synod as a member. The Frankean Synod did not accept the "Unaltered Augsburg Confession," and the Pennsylvania Ministerium insisted that the General Synod accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession. (This was such a major point to early Lutherans that even today on older churches you can find the initials "U.A.C." on cornerstones and other church signage.) This breach wouldn't be repaired until 1918.
One source opined "The General Synod, which emphasized practical union and administration and which included primarily English speaking churches, was a poor fit for the German immigrants of the 1830's and 1840's who came to America seeking refuge from the increasingly authoritarian Prussian state church and the emerging Prussian Empire." At the formation a major concern by German pastors was that they would lose any influence in the union. Hence the agreement that resulted made the General Synod an advisory body.
