LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 80

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80 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

e A tendency to be an inward-looking church, engaged
in mundane organizational problems and concerns
and content to be receivers and beneficiaries of the
activities of others rather than doers and givers on
behalf of our brothers and sisters.

e A fascination with rumor, small talk, and even gossip
about the woes and difficulties of others in our Synod,
often accompanied by an excessively critical attitude
toward those who serve and lead. (Few church bodies
are as self-critical as we are.)

e A tendency to “guard our own turf,” our own acre of
the Lord’s vineyard—whether that is our local con-
gregation, a District program, or a national effort—
rather than being concerned about and personally
involved in the total work of our Lord. We are all the
victims of our own particular contexts; the blinders
we all wear focus our attention most readily on the
things closest to our eyes, as we fail to share in the
vision of what we can do together.

Are such statements too harsh? As general descrip-
tions of our membership as a whole, they surely are, but
they are all too common among us to be dismissed
lightly. Look, for example, at our recent membership
statistics. To be sure, we have grown slightly, and we
may take a small measure of pride in that. But, my
brothers and sisters, in 1982 our baptized membership
increased only 3,740. That is only one new member for
every 722 existing members. Another way to describe
that statistic is to note that on an average it took nearly
two congregations of the Synod to bring in one new
member: In 1982, 1,470 of our congregations gained no
adults while 680 gained only one. There may be valid
reasons for such statistics in some instances, but for a
church in mission they are hardly cause for pride.

Again, our financial situation, particularly at the
national level, is indeed cause for concern, as you know
from many of the materials before this convention.
Exciting opportunities and challenges to serve one
another and the world around us with the Gospel have to
be declined week after week and month after month, not
only because funds are not available, but because our
distribution of resources between local, District, and
national work has not been done on a carefully priori-
tized basis. A church in mission will solve these
problems:

To cite other weaknesses in our church body would
not be difficult: our disappointing efforts with minori-
ties; our meager programs for the elderly; our failure to
follow strong words with strong actions against abor-
tion; our growing shortages of synodically educated
teachers for our parochial school system; our continuing
backdoor loses, including a high number of young
people between the years of Baptism and confirmation
(in 1981 only 56 percent of children baptized 14 years
earlier were confirmed); and our slowness in making use
of modern communications technologies in the service
of the Gospel.

Such weaknesses and failures on our part are a
sobering reminder of the presence of sin in our individ-
ual and corporate lives, and of our continuing need to

fall on our knees before the throne of God’s grace.
confess that we have sinned and fallen short, and see
His forgiveness. Such examples also challenge us, not.
only at this convention, but in our various ministrie,
and areas of service in the church, to correct what ig:
amiss, to strengthen what is weak, and to build up what:
is unsatisfactory. We are indeed a church in missio
but a large part of our mission is to use the rich resourc
of our gracious and bountiful God toward our ow
strengthening and edification.

And that, my brothers and sisters, is precisely wh
our focus in this convention is “Him We Proclaim.” Fo
it is the Christ of the cross and empty tomb who is th
heart and center, the foundation and structure, th
basis and goal of every aspect of this church body. If wi
were only an organization with its typical needs an
challenges, we would have no other resources tha
human ones. But we are a church in mission! We hav.
the proclamation of Christ with His forgiveness, life
meaning, and hope as our strength and power. Of al
reasons for optimism, enthusiasm, and encouragemen’
as we face the future in this time of uncertainty ani
change, none can come close to the solid fact that Jes
Christ is the Lord of the church, and our Lord, and th A
in Him and His message we do indeed have “‘a cleg
sense, a clear conception, a clear vision of the roat
ahead.”

In this quincentennial year of Dr. Martin Luther"
birth, we have special cause for hope, as well. Throug
Dr. Luther, a blessed man of God and gift to His whol
church, God has bestowed extraordinary blessings up
all of Christendom and especially upon those chure¢
bodies that bear Dr. Luther’s name. Not only in th
days of convention decisions, but in the months aheé
we will have many opportunities to praise God for |
insights and to learn from him anew to be the church if
mission for our Lord. How important that is for w
Lutheranism at this time ought to be understoo
each and every one of us! Throughout the world, mil
of fellow Lutherans are looking to The Luth
Church—Missouri Synod for our strong reiteration a
proclamation of confessional Lutheranism. This.
particularly true in North America as more tha
million American Lutherans prepare to form a n
church body. How we as a Synod respond to
challenges and opportunities facing us, both interna
and externally, may indeed be of critical importancem
only for ourselves but for countless others in
generation and beyond.

We in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod ha

a rich heritage, not only in the Biblical and evangelit
teachings of Dr. Luther, but in the unique way we ha
kept various dimensions of Christian faith and ecclésy
astical life in their proper balance; you might say we ¢
a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” church boo

e@ We emphasize both sound Biblical doctrine and
mission outreach of the church to all the world.
doctrinal focus without mission fervor makes fo
arid church, but a church concerned about miss!