Why is this important?  Two things.  First: to confess means "to agree with God."  We do this when we confess our sins (because God knows them already) and when we confess what we believe about God.  A confession is a series of truth statements about God.  The Augsburg Confession, written by Philip Melanchthon (a colleague of Martin Luther) sets forth the truth statements upon which The Reformation was based.  The Augsburg Confession is only one of 10 documents that make up The Lutheran Confessions. 
Second: ELCA pastors (all Lutheran pastors I assume) take an oath during the Rite of Ordination.  Here is one pledge of that oath.

The church in which you are to be ordained

confesses that the Holy Scriptures are the word of God and are the norm of its faith and life.
We accept, teach, and confess the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds.
We also acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions
as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the Holy Scriptures.
Will you therefore preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures
and these creeds and confessions?
Each ordinand responds: I will, and I ask God to help me.
So The Lutheran Confessions are actually a pretty big deal because every Lutheran pastor promises to preach and teach consistently with what they teach about God.  So that is what I will be doing here, looking at what we as pastors have promised to preach and teach.