LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1986, Page 74

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

a

74 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

confessional strength and leadership is inseparably and
unavoidably linked to our ability, under God, to relate to
other Christians with whom we many times disagree, and
to do that without isolating ourselves from them or com-
promising the truth we believe, teach, and confess.

In part II of my report to the convention, which is in
Today’s Business, Section A, and which was delivered to
the floor committees in St. Louis, I underscored the im-
portance of learning to cherish the past in order to un-
derstand the present and move toward the future, alive in
Christ! There is much to cherish in our past, but nothing
greater than the legacy of sound doctrine drawn from the
Holy Scriptures, centering in the Good News of God in
Jesus Christ, and calling us to be active in mission and
service to the rest of the world. In this convention, we will
again have special opportunity to praise God for the many
blessings of the past, including the past three years.

Our devotional essays and Bible studies officially begin
a synodwide commemoration of the theological gifts of our
first President, Dr. C. F. W. Walther, as we remember the
175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary
of his death. Incidentally, I can’t talk about President C.
F. W. Walther without remembering the congregation in
St. Louis where Pat and I belong, Ascension Lutheran
Church. Our pastor is a delegate to the convention and has
among his members the grandson of C. F. W. Walther. A
former dentist in St. Louis, Dr. Julius Walther recently
celebrated his 98th birthday and still drives his own car
to church. Not only that, but he rightly distinguishes Law
and Gospel, too, as far as I can tell!

We will also learn from the past as we review the prin-
ciples and policies of our organizational life, and we will
have many opportunities to look back and say, “Thank you,
Lord, for all You have given this church in the past.”

In just a few moments we are going to have a visual
report on the work which you, the people of the Synod,
have been carrying out as you serve our good and gracious
Lord in countless ways, especially during the past three
years. Whenever we review our distant or recent past, I
pray that we will do so in order to help us understand and
cope with the present age in which we live, an age that is
marked by rapid change, mushrooming numbers of people,
and hasty and perilous advances into secularist, humanist,
atheistic, immoral, nihilistic, and materialistic patterns.
By the same token, students of our current age have en-
abled us to see that our present, and most likely the future
to come, too, is characterized by more and more religion,
but a diminishing impact by churches; by rising expecta-
tions among the world’s poor; by the graying of America;
by the multi-cultural character of our society, or what some
have called the “coloring” of America; and by the increasing
numbers of immigrants and nonwhites.

All of these are factors that affect the work of bringing
the life of Christ to the communities in which we live and
to the nations of the world. Moreover, to know the present
age is also to know and discover the powerful tools God
has given us to accomplish the task He set before us. Iam
thinking largely of the electronic communications media,
some of which will be in evidence as we carry out our busi-
ness at this convention. The Missouri Synod has always
been a pioneer in the use of modern communications me-

dia, radio and television. I rejoice, as I know you do, that
God gives us such remarkable tools now to do the things
that need doing today and tomorrow.

We can also look at societal and organizational patterns
of life that characterize our present age. We need to un-
derstand that our age is marked by a return to non-au-
thoritarian, decentralized, innovative, personal,
entrepreneurial approaches to organization and action.

There is probably no church body in the United States,
with the possible exception of the Southern Baptists, as
decentralized as The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
From a legal standpoint, our attorney Mr. Draheim some-
times reminds us, we are made up of nearly 60 separate
corporate entities, each with its own charter and bylaws—
and usually with a certain spirit of independence. Our 38
districts carry out an increasing number of the programs
of the Synod, especially those that have an impact directly
on the congregations of the church. In my judgment, that’s
the way it ought to be, provided that we don’t become dis-
engaged from each other. Each of our 6,150 congregations
is an autonomous, independent unit—I wish we were more
interdependent—making the decisions that are best for it
in its own circumstances, except, of course, where congre-
gations have covenanted in the Constitution and Bylaws
to act together with other congregations in certain deci-
sions.

If excessive centralization is a concern which calls for
our vigilance—and it should call for our vigilance—let us
acknowledge that the opposite extreme can also impede
the mission God has given us to do. During the past trien-
nium, synodical leaders have worked hard, and with some
success, to integrate and coordinate the various levels—
the congregations, the districts, the national and inter-
national structures—so that more and more we become
one body, one people, one organization working together
on behalf of the Lord wherever we have work to do.

In future years, I believe, we will need to give increasing
attention to organizational patterns that reflect the times
in which we live. This will include, in my opinion, the need
to strengthen our circuits, while developing networks and
other organizational patterns that will help us to listen
and respond to the needs and wishes of our people—all of
them, men and women, black and white, young and old,
people from the East and West, North and South, people
from rural areas and small towns as well as people from
urban communities—and to do so in increasingly repre-
sentative and effective ways.

I firmly believe that this is a katros for The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. You have heard me say that to
you in the Lutheran Witness and elsewhere. Kavios is a
Greek word that means the “right time,” a time that is
pregnant with possibility, a time that is opportune. God
has given us so much in our past that is needed right now
and for our future, too, if we are going to be faithfully alive
in His mission. Just think of it! Sound doctrine, an evan-
gelical spirit, a heart for missions, a pastoral way of dealing
with one another, excellent lay leadership, patterns of or-
ganization that allow the grass roots to direct their own
futures, and tremendous resources!

Speaking of resources, one of the things this convention
will impress upon all of us is how richly God has helped