LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 57

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
The 64th Regular Convention
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Report of the President, Part III—July 11, 2010

There was a time in our country when stores were closed on
Sunday, and kids weren’t playing soccer or football or baseball or
basketball on Sunday morning because most of them were in Sunday
school .
There was a time in our country when adherents of Islam,
Buddhism, Hinduism, Jehovah’s Witness, and Mormonism were
considered minor players or even bench-sitters on the American
religious playing field .
And there was a time in our country when our Pacific Southwest
District—formerly known as the Southern California District—
did not have worship services conducted every Sunday in 70 (70!)
congregations using a language other than the English language .
My friends, these and so many other realities simply were not a
part of my—or your—grandfather’s day . They were not a part of his
experience . They were not a part of the life of his church .
When I say, “This is not your grandfather’s church,” I’m
not saying, and never have said, that we should change anything
concerning our view of Holy Scripture or the Lutheran Confessions .
I would never alter one iota of our theology, doctrine, or Christian
values, including those outlined in the synopsis of what we believe,
teach, and confess that I have shared many times, including my report
to the district conventions last year and also in Part I of my report
to this convention . The following excerpts from that list provide an
overview of some of the beliefs and teachings we hold in common,
without compromise:

Dear friends in Christ  .  .  .
This report of the president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod is brought to you in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit . Amen .
Never before in the 163-year history of our Synod has God
blessed us with so many opportunities to reach the world for Christ .
Achieving our full potential in what God has called us to do will
require that we come to grips with the challenges ahead .
During my first term as Synod President, I made an observation
that has prompted a reaction, not all of it favorable . Referring to our
beloved Synod at the outset of the 21st century, I said, “This is not
your grandfather’s church .”
Those troubled by this comment inferred it to mean that we
should turn our back on what has happened in the past for the sake
of focusing on the future . They considered my comment a disregard
for, even an insult to, the time-honored heritage and traditions of our
Synod that our grandparents held so dear . Nothing could be further
from the truth .
Today, in this report, I’ll share with you my thoughts about the
church of our grandparents and the church of our grandchildren .
Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers and grandmothers
lived in this country at a time when its claim to be a Christian country
was far more accurate than that same claim today . They belonged to
South Texas LCMS congregations full of faithful people of God who
did not face the multifaceted challenges that confront congregations
today, including the ones to which you and I belong .
Perhaps my observation, “This is not your grandfather’s church,”
would have been more easily understood had I broadened it to say,
“This is not your grandfather’s world .” Or, “These are not your
grandfather’s times .” In other words, the environment in which our
grandfathers’ church operated was vastly different from our own .
I don’t need to review for you everything that has changed
between the days of our grandparents, or the days of our parents,
or even our own days in the not-so-distant past, and today . Here are
just a few examples:
There was a time in our country when children prayed openly in
public schools or recited, every day, without criticism or threat, the
Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase “one nation under God .”
There was a time in our country when abortion was considered
an evil by just about everyone and divorce was commonly frowned
upon .
There was a time in our country when same-sex marriage wasn’t
even mentioned and the idea of homosexual clergy was unthinkable .
There was a time in our country when Christianity was widely
respected and the church was the center of the spiritual and social
life of the community .
There was a time in our country when our religious liberties were
not constantly under threat and certainly not by our own government .
There was a time in our country when America was considered a
sender of missionaries, not a receiver of them .
There was a time in our country when our Synod was opening
one or two new congregations every week to accommodate returning
soldiers and the sustained postwar population boom .

• That there is only one true and triune God, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, who created the world in six days .
• That since the fall into sin, all people are born with original sin
and are incapable of pleasing God by their own merits, works, or
behavior .
• That God promised a Savior to Adam and Eve and, through them,
to all people .
• That this Savior is Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who died for
the sins of the whole world .
• That only those who trust in His atoning work of dying on the cross
will be saved eternally .
• That the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Christ
is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls .
• That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired,
inerrant, infallible, written Word of God and the only rule and norm
of faith and of practice .
• That the Lutheran Confessions are a true statement and exposition
of the Word of God .
• That in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion,
Christ is really present as we receive His true body and blood for
the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal salvation .
• That abortion is not a moral option except as a result of medical procedures necessary to prevent the death of another human
being—the baby’s mother .
• That homosexual behavior is contrary to the will of God and therefore intrinsically sinful .
• That marriage is a divine institution which binds one man and one
woman together in a one flesh union not to be broken until death
parts them .
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2010 Convention Proceedings