LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 69

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we've had an excellent group of doctrinal reviewers who
have taken their work very seriously.

Government contacts are especially important these
days. As you may have read, the LCMS filed an amicus
brief in the Webster case on abortion that the Supreme
Court ruled on the other day. Our brief, which is cited twice
in footnotes in the opinion of one of the justices, is very
typical of the leadership we have been able to give as a
church body in this critical issue. The LCMS today has the
strongest, most compassionate pro-life position of any
church body in the United States, a fact that is recognized
and appreciated throughout the length and breadth of this
nation. Our efforts are not supportive of those whose ac-
tions violate the civil rights of others. Although we have
a strong pro-life position, we must also uphold law and
order in our society. The Webster decision, although it dis-
appoints us in some ways, is a step in the right direction.
It also demonstrates that the legal processes of this great
nation do work. Even when we disagree with government
positions, we have the freedom to say so and to become a
part of the democratic process to seek change. Because
abortion remains an important issue for the future, I hope
that during this convention delegates will have opportu-
nity to speak out on the current pro-life questions facing
our nation.

I would also like to call your attention to some items on
page 4. First, I want to emphasize that nothing is more
vital for our church body than the spiritual growth of every
one of our members, and that happens best through the
ministry of our congregations. Passing resolutions at con-
ventions is important. (We have 132 of them ready to go,
which means passing 19 a day.) Predictably, however,
we're going to go home thinking that because we’ve passed
all of these wonderful resolutions, we’ve done the work of
the Lord. But nothing is more important in the Lord’s work
than the spiritual life and growth of the people of God.
What presidents and secretaries, vice-presidents and
staffs—and even conventions—do is to support and en-
courage the growth of God’s people through Word and Sac-
raments. The number one priority of the LCMS is the
spiritual growth of our people through the Word of God
and the Sacraments of God. As we know, through these
means, wonderful things are done by our good and gracious
Lord through the gift of His Spirit.

I also call your attention to a very brief report on con-
gregational ministries. It goes without saying that con-
gregations are the heart and center of the Synod’s life and
work. Our Constitution and Bylaws make it quite clear
that the Synod is not some far-off organization that exists
in St. Louis, or in District offices, or in other similar places.
Ultimately, the Synod is nothing other than we, the people
of God in the 6,100 congregations of the Synod. The Synod
exists to help ministry happen in parishes, and it functions
on behalf of and in support of our parishes. We have re-
alized that, I believe, with growing clarity and conviction
in the life and work of the Synod again in this past trien-
nium. Some new and exciting things have been going on
and we're going to be talking about them in this conven-
tion—and I hope reporting enthusiastically on them to the
folks back home. Some new things are happening in the
way the LCMS hopes to develop networking and vision and

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 69

relationship-building within the Synod, all based on-our
solid theology of the Word of God, and done in a way that
will help congregations better than we have done for many
years.

I have also addressed the issue of our financial diffi-
culties, but the Board of Directors does it more thoroughly
in its report.

Comments on Part II

At this point, I'd like for you to turn to the second part
of my report in Today’s Business. Several of you heard this
report when we met together in St. Louis at the excellent
floor committee meetings in late May. (Parenthetically, I
want to commend the committees for their hard work in
responding to 101 reports and 583 overtures in the reso-
lutions that are before us for action.) Near the bottom of
page 25 you'll see two questions that I asked the members
of the floor committees, and that I would like to put to all
of you this morning, and again and again as you transact
the business of this great convention.

Question 1: What would the Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod be like in 1995, two conventions away, if the
Synod as a whole, and each of its congregations (and I
suppose we could add, each of us individually within our
congregations) would carry out the Great Commission as
faithfully and effectively as we can?

Somehow we all know that we are not doing that as
faithfully and effectively as we can. When you pose this
question, you are doing what the organizational theorists
call “visioning.” You're trying to develop a picture of what
you want our beloved church body and all of our congre-
gations to be like through being faithful to God and effec-
tive in God’s service. I'd like you to think about that. What
kind of a church would we be? How large would we be?
What would we be doing, if we were really faithful and
effective in carrying out God’s Great Commission given us
by our Lord Jesus Christ?

Question 2: What steps do we need to take now, at this
convention, and during the next triennium in our congre-
gations, Districts, Circuits, institutions, colleges, and sem-
inaries, and what do J need to do as a person, as a member
of my family, and with my children—what do all of us need
to do to move us toward those goals that we believe are
possible and attainable for us in 1995?

In the following paragraphs, I shared some of my per-
sonal dreams of what the Synod, under God’s blessing,
might be like in 1995. As you read my dreams, you will
also understand something about the direction and the
emphases of the President’s office, and the kinds of things
that I’ve been committing my time to. A reporter asked me
the other day what I consider to be the biggest issue facing
this convention, and I said almost instinctively, “Missions!
Getting into the people’s hearts once again the great zeal
for carrying out the Great Commission of our Lord. And
in order to do that, congregational ministry for spiritual
growth is right behind it.” (By the way, neither of those
emphases appeared in the article, evidently because such
matters are not considered newsworthy.)

By 1995, in the area of missions, I see The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod as a senior partner in a world-
wide association of confessional Lutheran churches en-