LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 119

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
“reactive” than “proactive” in their service. That is, it is perceived that
there is much more time spent by the staff in assisting congregations
who are vacant or who are struggling in other ways rather than in time
spent in helping ministries to develop strategies for ministry in these
difficult days of post-Christian life in America and as the rural ministries deal with the 21st-century flight of people to cities. Moreover,
that we have not planted a new congregation in more than ten years
is another criticism and reality cited.
Those weaknesses aside, much Kingdom work is getting done
here in the Rushmore State by congregations and schools of the
LCMS. Our district commits 32 percent of our congregational mission
receipts to the Synod. We continue to go even beyond this commitment, with additional financial and prayer support of world missions
via the TIM program, having supported Amy (Hartwig) Kashenov
in her work in Kazakhstan from 1994 to 2012, until her ill health
forced her to leave her service in the mission field. In the 2015 District
Convention, after honoring Amy for her work, the delegates elected to
shift the support we had given her to Rev. Dr. Alan Ludwig, via TIM,
as he ministers on our behalf at the seminary in Novosibirsk, Russia.
In the state, our district maintains ministries to the Native
Americans on both the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations
in southern South Dakota. We are seeing an increase in worship attendance and in adult Baptisms in these ministries through the faithful,
patient service of Revs. Albert Sutton and Andrew Utecht and their
many lay helpers. Additionally, congregations in Sioux Falls are ministering to and with new Americans, especially those from African
countries. Chera Nemera, an Oromo-speaking Ethiopian man, became
the second African immigrant to be ordained as an LCMS pastor in
our district when he was ordained as an EIIT pastor in 2014. Chera
serves his fellow Oromo people at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in
Sioux Falls.
Our state was rocked by severe weather —particularly by tornadoes—in the past triennium, with especially devastating consequences
in the communities of Wessington Springs and Delmont. Zion
Lutheran Church in Wessington Springs received heavy damage to
their church building by the tornado of June 18, 2014, but was able to
accomplish the needed repairs in order to continue their ministry in
their building. Zion Lutheran Church in Delmont, however, endured
the tragedy of having both their beautiful German Gothic church
building and their parsonage destroyed in the tornado on Mother’s
Day 2015. In both cases, the dear heavenly Father spared both congregations any loss of human life. And in both cases, God’s people
throughout the Synod provided an outpouring of financial support
to assist in rebuilding. Special thanks to LCMS Disaster Response
and to our own District Disaster Response coordinator, Rev. L. Scott
Spiehs, for being on site after both tornadoes to provide invaluable
guidance and encouragement.
Finally, we in the South Dakota District need to acknowledge, with
thanksgiving to the Lord of the Church, the nine years of faithful service by Rev. Dr. Dale Sattgast as our district president (2006−15). As
he headed off into retirement, we are honored to call Rev. Sattgast
our “President Emeritus” (a title bestowed on him at the 2015 District
Convention), and we are grateful that he and his wife, Debbie, will
continue to reside in South Dakota. We also acknowledge the 30 years
of excellent service of our district’s business manager, Mr. Randall
Gayken, and the good work of our other full-time servants at the
district office: Rev. Darren Olson, executive secretary; Julie Pike,
administrative assistant; and Chad Zinnel, accountant.
There can be no doubt that there is plenty of Kingdom work for
us to do within these 77,000 square miles and beyond. We in the
South Dakota District will push forward in ministry under the theme
of “Called into Partnership: For MERCY” this triennium, led by our
Lord’s example and by His words in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son

119

of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a
ransom for many.”
And so we serve and will continue to serve, taking our refuge in and standing ‘Upon this Rock: Repent[ing], Confess[ing],
Rejoic[ing].’ We go forward believing that the South Dakota District
is a blessing to our Synod and is providing viable ministry in this part
of the Kingdom, all because Christ, the Rock of our salvation, first
served us, is with us, and is blessing us.
Scott Sailer, President
R48

South Wisconsin District
The 54th convention of the South Wisconsin District was held
July 7–9, 2015, at Concordia University Wisconsin. The theme was
“Walk Humbly with Our God,” based on Micah 6:8. Major presenters
were Dr. Andrew Bartelt, a son of South Wisconsin, who led the delegates in a Bible study of the convention’s theme, and attorney Kevin
Theriot from Alliance Defending Freedom, who led the convention
in a discussion of the legal risks and challenges that the unchristian
culture presents to the church.
District President Wille reported the following:
1. First and foremost, it was shared that as of the end of April 2015,
SWD is debt-free. If you remember back in 2006 when I was first
elected, we discovered that SWD carried an indebtedness of $5.5
million capital indebtedness, and we were nearly $1 million in operational indebtedness. Due to your generosity and the watchful eye
of a great many, those debts have now all been paid off. South Wisconsin is financially solvent and healthy. That means we can now
move forward into mission and church planting, not weighted by the
ball and chain of debt.
2. Also on the agenda was Pastor Ted Krey, regional director for Latin
America and lead missionary for the Dominican Republic. Really
great things are happening in the Dominican Republic as Pastor
Krey and his fellow missionaries, ordained, commissioned, and lay,
reach out with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. As you may know,
SWD is one of the partners in the effort to plant a Lutheran church
body in the Dominican Republic. In connection with that, Pastor
David Preus was also present. Pastor Preus heads up theological
education at the Palmar Arriba seminary. The goal is to create a selfsufficient, confessional Lutheran church body in the DR that will be
a blessing for the region.
3. Because of what is happening in our culture, we also invited Kevin
Theriot to be with us. Kevin is senior counsel with the nonprofit
Alliance Defending Freedom. He spoke about our First Amendment
rights, rights that are systematically being taken away from us. Tim
Goeglein, who was in the “W” Bush administration, said this in a
presentation at the 2015 March for Life: “The millennials are the
first generation in American history that are measurably losing their
rights.” And we with them.
Anti-Christian sentiment is afoot. Worship attendance is declining.
Indifference has set in. We are living in a culture that has accepted
Satan’s lie. Sin is no longer that serious; it is merely a choice to live
differently, a choice to live according to one’s own selfish desires,
and death merely is the end. To that Hermann Sasse comments:
“Where man denies that he and others are dying, the terrible dissolution [of his culture] is held up as a glorious ascent, and decline
is viewed as an advance, the likes of which has never been experienced.”
What are we to do? At times like this a confessional Lutheran church
like our LCMS ought not to be paralyzed by mushy indifference. A
confessional Lutheran church, we are called to care about people
both in the church and out of the church, about their families, about
their body and soul, about their eternal well-being. A confessional
Lutheran church, we are not one to wring our hands in despair. It is
time to confess, humbly and yet boldly.

2016 Convention Workbook