LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 68

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68 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

spiritual ministry among us. The presidency is an office
exercised by a pastor on behalf of and in support of con-
gregations, the people of God. And the primary authority
of the President, like that of all pastors of the church, lies
not in some constitution or bylaws, but in the Word of God.
It’s an authority he exercises by preaching and teaching,
encouraging and holding up the arms of people, and lead-
ing and guiding—and, once in a while, by disciplining and
reminding some that a certain behavior or position was
not in accord with the Word or will of God or the will of
the Synod itself. So I ask your understanding of my un-
derstanding of the call to the presidency of this church,
which for me has always been a call from God to serve His
people—a call that is considered every three years to de-
termine if God wants to continue that call or to extend it
to another to lead and guide His people as the presidential
pastor of the church.

I want you to know how humbled I have been to have
been privileged to serve in this office for eight years. What
an honor you have given me! I know better than anyone
else, unless it might be my wife or my secretary, that I
have not been perfect in the performance of my respon-
sibility. I have many weaknesses and many limitations. I
hope that you will be charitable as you evaluate those, even
as I know that the Lord of the church is charitable with
all of us as He looks upon our sins and then covers them
with His own blood.

I do want to thank you for the privilege of being cheered
on by you, the wonderful people of God of this church. My
predecessor, Dr. Preus, was surely correct when he told a
convention that one of the great gifts to him from this
ministry was being able to travel all over the world, es-
pecially all over this nation, and to see the men and women
and children of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
carrying out their high and holy callings in response to the
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of being able to walk the
streets of Brooklyn or the valleys of Texas where the im-
migrants live and work, or to visit the homes for the de-
velopmentally disabled, or to talk with the farmers of
Kansas or Nebraska about the plight of rural America. Or
to visit Washington, where the President of the United
States, cabinet officials, and government officers have hon-
ored our church body by listening to us speak on behalf of
the church—a church that wants to speak only when the
Word of God speaks. Ours is a wonderful, caring, loving
church, doing God’s ministry in countless ways all over the
world. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is some-
thing very, very special—a beloved Synod — a beliebte Syn-
ode, as my father used to say.

Comments on Part I

In the few remaining moments that we have together,
Id like to highlight some of the things that are especially
important in the previous sections of my report. For ex-
ample, in the Workbook, page 1, I called attention to co-
workers whom God has called home to Himself in heaven,
and we now add to that number the name of Dr. Carl
Heckmann, the previous President of our Texas District,
who was laid to rest earlier this week. We ask President
O’Shoney and other members of the Texas delegation to

express to Mrs. Heckmann and the family our Christian
sympathy and hope in these very difficult days.

I paid tribute as well to the people on the President’s
staff. They are a very special kind of family in ministry. I
especially commend my coworker, close friend, and col-
league, a man of extreme patience and wonderfully fine
humor, a Christian gentleman, Dr. August Mennicke. He
has been a special blessing to me and to the church. There
are many others, too, who share their criticisms and sug-
gestions, and do so in a loving way. The Council of Pres-
idents, the Council of Administrators, and the Board of
Directors are all people with whom I continue to enjoy a
very close collegial relationship.

Please note the material on pages 1-2 dealing with dis-
cipline. I have not written to the delegates about the ge-
neric criticism of some that the leadership of this church
does not carry out doctrinal discipline. But I do ask you to
understand how the Bylaws of this church describe the
conduct of ecclesiastical supervision. The President does
not have the authority to remove people from the clergy
roster of this church by fiat. The people primarily respon-
sible for exercising supervision of doctrine and life are the
District Presidents. It is the President’s task to counsel
with them, support them, and help them in every way
possible. If it should happen that a District President fails
to do his duty, we have procedures that enable the syn-
odical President to step in and take a stronger role. I would
especially like the delegates to understand that the word
discipline, if I may play the role of professor for a few
moments again, comes from the Latin word for “teach.”
Discipline is teaching. It’s no accident that the Western
church for centuries referred to its bishops as a “magis-
terium,” because that word, too, refers to a “teaching” of-
fice. The church is in many senses like a giant school. There
are some people who lack proper knowledge, while others
know but do not act on the basis of their knowledge, and
who need to be “disciplined,” that is, educated, taught, or
helped to do the right thing. I’m referring and appealing
here not only to Bylaws or etymology but especially to the
Word of God. Please recall, for example, last Sunday’s Epis-
tle from Galatians, chapter 6: “Brethren, if someone among
you is overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” The word for “restore”
is the same word used in the Gospel for mending or pre-
paring nets. What we do in “restoring” such a one is to
“repair the net” so that he or she can again be used effec-
tively in God’s great fishing expedition for souls.

I want to assure you that your leadership (meaning
especially the President, Vice-Presidents, and District
Presidents) regularly review discipline cases in Council of
President’s meetings and elsewhere. And I want you to
know that we take that responsibility very seriously, and
that we endeavor to carry it out in a very pastoral, per-
sonal, evangelical, fraternal, and patient way.

-Other items in part 1 of the report are also worthy of
note, for example, the comments there about the doctrinal
review process. I would like to pay tribute to each of the
90 people or so who day in and day out read and review
everything from My Devotions to major theological works.
Their names are never known, but they’re chosen for their
doctrinal] orthodoxy and their care. Again this triennium,