LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 192

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192 RESOLUTIONS

the evils of depersonalization and dehumanization that
may result from technological developments,

We likewise pledge ourselves to work for the contro]
and elimination of crime and injustice that fil] people
with fear and rob them of the fullness of life offered
by God.

We support those programs in public and private
sectors that seek to eliminate the causes of poverty and
hunger; we support comprehensive medica] care for all;
and we support all efforts to sensitize legal, social, finan-
cial, and educational structures to provide justice and
fairness for all. John 10:10; 2 Cor, 7—9; Acts 6: 1-7; Acts
9: 36-42: Rom. 8: 28-39,

V. We affirm that God expects us to develop whole-
some human relationships.

The command to love our neighbor as ourselves and
the command to love as Christ has first loved us not
only condemn the sinful acts that are perpetrated against
people, but they also demand wholesome, interpersonal
relationships with one another, individually and in
groups.

We therefore support programs that lead to the elim-
ination of racist and Separatist attitudes, since these
tear apart the human family and destroy the oneness
God intends for all people.

We call on all persons to avoid the practice of ap-
plying stereotypes to ethnic and social groups that result
in people being polarized rather than reconciled.

We support every effort to create and to further those
attitudes and practices that enable Christians to ex-
perience their oneness in Christ more fully. We also
call on Christians to work for understanding and recon-
ciliation in their communities. 1 John 3:14-16; Acts
17: 26-28; 1 Cor. 12: 12-27; Col. 3:11.

VI. We affirm that the church’s ministry is one.

The three articles of the Christian creed teach that
God is concerned about man in his whole being, creat-
ing, redeeming, and sanctifying him for a life of service.
We affirm that the church has only one ministry, cen-
tered in Word and Sacraments. F rom this center, Chris-
tians serve their neighbors in love.

We pledge ourselves to support every attempt to help
people understand this concept of the church’s ministry.
We affirm that social-welfare and social-service institu-
tions of the church are essential parts of this single min-
istry. Allocation of the church’s time and resources
should reflect this understanding of the oneness of its
ministry. Withholding funds from any portion of the
church’s ministry is a denial of this oneness.

We call on the church, as a corporate entity, to use
in responsible ways those channels that are open to it
to influence other structures and institutions such as
government, business, and labor, to sensitize them to the
task of improving the quality of life at every level. Mark
2:8-9; Acts 6.

VII. We affirm that this ministry of God’s people is
faith active in love.

We encourage full Participation on the part of God’s

people as individuals, congregations, and the Synod in

Prevention of those situations and conditions that cause
trouble.

VII. We affirm that the church’s ministry addresses
itself to the whole man.

Man, created in the image of God, has a number of
dimensions within his wholeness, all of which interact
constantly with one another,

Man has chemical, mechanical, and biological di-
mensions. Man, furthermore, has a Psychological di-
mension, and this makes him the only mortal being that
has the ability to think about and reflect on his own
awareness and existence. Man has a social dimension,

Man thus, in fact, is a multidimensional unity. What-
ever occurs in one dimension of his being affects the
other dimensions. No dimension functions in and by
itself,

Thus the church has a single ministry to the whole
man, and all Christians Participate in the single min.
istry of Jesus Christ to man in the totality of his being.
Ps. 32:3 ff£.; Mark 2:1-12; 1 Thess. 5:23.

Action: Adopted (7).

(In Session 2 the delegates declined an amendment which
would have changed the fifth Paragraph of Affirmation IV to
the effect that we support the efforts of individual Christians

ject the thought that the church should support such
Programs as church. During this discussion the assembly
declined to recommit the resolution,

; In Session 7 the delegates declined an amendment to sub-
stitute for the third paragraph of Affirmation VI the follow-
ing:

“We call on the church, as a Corporate entity, to refrain
from establishing or maintaining positions on secular [social,
economic, and political] issues past, present, or future; and

affairs; but

“That we reaffirm Synad’s long-held conviction that its
individual members be urged individually to take an active
part in social, economic, and political issues of our day.”)