# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S188 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 188 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS bian agenda, along with sexual immorality and violence against every age and gender of the crown of God’s creation, His people; therefore be it Resolved, That The Lutheran Church of Our Savior. Windom, memorialize The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at its 1998 convention to pass a resolution which encourages all our people who belong to LCMS congregations to give serious and prayerful reconsideration to their purchase and support of Disney products; and be it further Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod com- municate this action to Mr. Michael Eisner, chairman of the Disney corporation, expressing our deep disappointment in the moral di- rection he is leading Disney. Our Savior Windom. MN 3-119 To Oppose Homosexual Activity and Participate in Boycott WHEREAS, God wants His people to worship Him and to live as good citizens according to His Word. We are in the world but not of the world. (Psalm 100; Matt. 5:14-16; Acts 1:8; Col. 3:5); and Wuereas, God declares homosexual activity to be an abomina- tion (Lev. 18:22, 24; Lev. 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10); and ‘ WHEREAS, Homosexual and other immoral acts are voluntarily undertaken by individuals in their sinful human condition; and WuerEAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its members have a duty and responsibility under God to speak out against immorality and sin; and WHEREAS, There is a sinful movement, sadly including even some church bodies, which want our culture to accept homosexu- ality as a natural lifestyle; and WuereaS, The Southern Baptist convention and other church bodies have initiated an economic boycott against businesses in the United States, and the Walt Disney Company in particular, who have openly promoted the homosexual lifestyle. The goal of such boycott efforts is to raise public awareness of the issue and, through public and economic pressures, encourage these corporations to cease their promotion of immorality in our culture; therefore be it Resolved, That we, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in convention, adopt as policy that its officers. all synodical organi- zations and institutions. ordained and layworkers actively under- take to: educate and raise the awareness of congregational members and the general public of the sinfulness of homosexuality and other is- sues of sexual immorality through preaching and other available means of communication, as well as the availability of God’s for- giveness through the Gospel: communicate to other church bodies our concerns about the damage they do to God’s church at large and to the misleading of God’s people by changes in their doctrine to accommodate those who seek acceptability of the “gay” and other immoral lifestyles; and be it further Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in con- vention join the economic boycott of the Walt Disney Company and other corporations which promote acceptance of homosexual and other immoral activities in our culture. We encourage mem- bers to exercise their Christian civic duty and responsibility by boy- cotting the Walt Disney Company, its subsidiaries and others as long as they openly promote homosexuality and other immorality by their corporate policies. Boycott activities include, but are not limited to writing letters to corporate officers, refusing to purchase products, and refusing to visit theme parks or movies, watch tele- vision, rent or purchase videos, books, compact discs, audiotapes, or magazines produced by these firms; and be it finally Resolved, That all the above activities be conducted in an at- mosphere of continual prayer and Christian concern for the souls of all involved. Particularly, God’s love should be shown and assis- tance offered to those who desire to repent of an immoral lifestyle. Hope Osage Beach, MO 3-120 To Consider Boycott of Disney Products WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and their children have for many decades enjoyed and trusted the Disney Co.’s television programming, films, and theme parks which have _ reinforced basic American virtues and values; and WHEREAS. The virtues promoted by Disney have contributed to the development of a generation of Americans who have come to expect and demand high levels of moral and virtuous leadership from the Disney Co.; and WHEREAS, In recent years, the Disney Co. has given the appear- ance that the promotion of homosexuality is more important than its historic commitment to traditional family values and has taken a direction contrary to its previous commitment; and WHEREAS. In recent years. we watched the world’s largest fam- ily entertainment company with growing disappointment as Dis- ney Co.'s moral leadership has been eroded by a variety of corpo- rate decisions, which include, but are not limited to the following: 1. Hosting of homosexual and lesbian theme nights at the parks 2. Choosing a convicted child molester to direct the Disney movie Powder through its subsidiary Miramax Productions 3. Publishing of a book aimed at teenage homosexuals entitled Growing Up Gay: From Left Out to Coming Out through its sub- sidiary Hyperion, connecting Disney to the promotion of the ho- mosexual agenda 4. Producing, through its subsidiary corporations, objectionable material such as the following: a. The films Priest (ridicules Christian values/morals); Chasing Amy (lesbianism); Pulp Fiction (sex, violence); Color of Night (sex); Clerks (graphic language); Chicks in White Satin (lesbian- ism); Lie Down Dogs (homosexuality); and The House of Yes (in- cest) b. ABC TV shows “Ellen” (lesbianism) and “Relativity” (les- bianism); and WueREAS, These and other corporate decisions and actions rep- resent a significant departure from Disney’s family values image and a gratuitous insult to Christians and others who have long sup- ported Disney and contributed to its corporate profits; and WHEREAS, Previous efforts to communicate these concerns by organizations involved in the Southern Baptist led boycott have not produced Disney’s satisfactory return to family values; and WHEREAS, Boycotts are a legitimate method for communicating moral convictions (1 John 3:18); therefore be it Resolved, That we encourage Missouri Synod Lutherans to give serious and prayerful reconsideration to their purchase and support of Disney products and to boycott the Disney theme parks and stores if they continue their anti-Christian and anti-family trend; and be it further Resolved, That we monitor Disney's progress and encourage Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod publications to start and/or con- tinue reporting on these issues; and be it finally Resolved, That a copy of this proposal be sent to the President of Disney Co., and we encourage Missouri Synod Lutheran fami- lies to support this resolution with their purchasing power, letters, and influence. St. Peter Wilkes Barre, PA