LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1992, Page 54

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

54 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

oriented, These concepts were featured in our 35 District
conventions in 1991, both in the synodical video report and
in banners and printed materials that provided the context
of District convention action.

Although these four vision concepts employ familiar
words, their implications are not always obvious. With our
focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we remind ourselves
that the world’s primary need is spiritual, and that God
has addressed that need primarily through the life, death,
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. A Gospel-based
church knows the priority of Gospel over Law but takes
the Law seriously, too; it emphasizes the forgiveness of
sins above rules, procedures, and order; it knows itself to
be a community of forgiven sinners, rather than a society
of the pure and perfect; it understands that it is the Gospel,
not programs and human efforts, that is God’s power for
salvation, but also for the life and service of His people. In
a mission-driven Synod, the key question is.never simply
maintenance of past traditions or ways of doing things, but
rather the question of what needs to be done in order to
communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially to the
lost. Such a church, at all levels, will do everything it can
and spend whatever it is able to in order to reach those
who do not know Jesus Christ with its saving message.

Understanding ourselves as a congregation-centered
Synod, although long emphasized and underscored in both
our doctrine and polity, is not always obvious. On the one
hand, much of our piety has tended to be individualistic,
rather than congregational. And the Synod and its Dis-
tricts have too easily been thought of primarily as recipi-
ents of congregational support, rather than as providers
of support and encouragement for congregations. As the
primary place where believers in Christ gather around
Word and sacraments, congregations are the focus of ev-
erything we do to carry out our Lord’s Great Commission.
Even our world mission program needs increasingly to be
carried out through congregations and not only on their
behalf.

By underscoring that our vision includes the picture of
our Synod as people-oriented, we again remind ourselves
that the church is not primarily institutional, organiza-
tional, or structural, whether we are speaking of the local

congregation or the national and District expressions of .

the church. Our primary focus, therefore, is on helping the
people of the church to relate to each other and to support
and encourage one another as fellow members of the body
of Christ and of the people of God. A people-oriented church
also places a greater priority on relationships than we have
sometimes done and gives strong attention to those special
people among us who need our love and support in various
ways. This includes especially minorities, those who hurt
and suffer, the unborn, the aging, and the poor of this
world.

These four key components of our synodical vision are
reflected in the reports of numerous boards, commissions,
Districts, and other entities in this Workbook. The con-
vention itself will have many opportunities to reflect these
vision concepts as it weighs various decisions and adopts
a course of action for the Synod’s future years.

Synodical Goals

In Part II of my report to the 1989 convention, I invited
the committees of the convention to respond to two
questions:

1. What would the LCMS be like in 1995 if the Synod
as a whole and each of its congregations would carry out
the Great Commission as faithfully and effectively as we
can?

2. What steps do we need to take now and during the
next triennium to help that to happen?

IT then laid out some of my dreams and goals in the
several areas of the Synod’s work, which correspond
roughly to the major areas of responsibility assigned .to
floor committees, namely, missions, congregational min-
istries, theology, funding, organization and d leadership,
higher education, and human care.

In order to answer the question of what steps we would
need to take, particularly during the triennium, in order
to help such dreams become a reality, the various dreams
and goals were discussed and further refined by the syn-
odical staff after the convention. Eventually, the steps thus
identified were arranged into 58 goal statements and
grouped into eight areas, the seven listed above, as well
as an additional area of support and trust. Each of the goal
statements was then assigned to an individual working
with an existing synodical entity. Throughout the trien-
nium, priority attention has been given to these specific
areas of activity, including the identification of action steps
to be taken and the target date for their completion.

‘ Throughout the Workbook, especially in the reports of
the various synodical entities, attention is given to such
goals and the action steps necessary to meet them. Lest
this be misunderstood and minimized as just another bu-
reaucratic procedure, let it be underscored that this activ-
ity has helped all of us in:the synodical administration,
including our boards and other components, to develop a
much stronger sense of the vision concepts identified above
as part of our overall mission to “Tell Everyone What He

* Has Done.” The long-range planning and vision thinking

that has emerged has set our Synod on a course of lead-
ership and service that will increasingly help every con-
gregation, and every individual member of every
congregation, we pray, to be more effective and more
deeply involved in the Great Commission of our Lord.

10 Top Priorities

To help the Synod’s leadership at all levels apply our
mission statement, vision concepts, and goals to the most
critical areas of our life and work together, the following
10 top priorities have been identified and provide an on-
going checklist for the Synod’s leadership team. In most
cases, the outline that follows has been fleshed out in great
detail. Again, the reports of the various boards, commis-
sions, and other synodical entities being presented to this
convention will reflect the progress the Synod has made
in these priority areas, as well as the many areas of activity
where continuing emphasis and effort are needed.

1. Spiritual Growth

a. The Gospel and sacraments must remain central in