LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 309

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FLOOR COMMITTEE REPORTS AND OVERTURES ASSIGNMENTS

1. National Witness
REPORTS
R1, R1.1, R1.2, R1.3, R1.4, R6, R14, R54, R59
OVERTURES
1-01

To Reaffirm LCMS Commitment
to Work of Great Commission
Whereas, The words of Matthew 28:19−20 powerfully share
Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples, to “go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end
of the age”; and
Whereas, That Great Commission has been and remains the heart
of our mission as the church, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with
those around us; and
Whereas, There are many people in our towns, villages, and cities, be they large urban centers or suburban or rural neighborhoods,
who have not heard the life-changing Good News of God’s kingdom
in Christ Jesus; and
Whereas, We live during a time of great cultural change, which
often impedes the proclamation and reception of God’s Word in life
and witness; and
Whereas, God’s mission for the church is to proclaim the lifechanging Gospel of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament
proclamation in the context of a community of believers, the church;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm its commitment to the Great
Commission as stated in Matthew 28:19−20; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm North America as a mission
field with the rest of the world; and be it finally
Resolved, That the LCMS commit its focus, energy, and appropriate resources to train and equip our people under the guidance and
power of the Holy Spirit, that they would be confident to share the
Good News of Christ Jesus in creative and bold ways in their neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and wherever they are placed as they
live their lives as witnesses for Christ.
Board of Directors, Southeastern District; Florida-Georgia
District
1-02

To Support Sharing the Gospel through
Professionally Produced Musical Stage Play
Whereas, The mission of God’s Church is to “go and make disciples of all peoples” (Matt. 28:19), to “go into all the world and preach
the Good News” (Mark 16:15), to be the witness of Jesus “to the ends
of the earth” (Acts 1:8); and
Whereas, Our Lord gave to us a good example for fulfilling that
mission through the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 9:22: “I have become all
things to men, so that by all possible means I might save some”; and
Whereas, Some of the more effective means of outreach lately
have utilized public avenues and arenas of communication, and have
involved popular activities such as television, movie, and theatrical productions (e.g., The Bible TV series and follow-up Son of God
309

movie, the War Room and Woodlawn movies, and all the Bible-based
sight-and-sound plays in Branson, Missouri, and elsewhere); and
Whereas, A musical stage play/dramatically portrayed concert
has been written by one of our Missouri Synod pastors entitled Seed
of the Woman (based upon the very first Gospel promise in Genesis
3:15, involving a portrayal of Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the
devil, as well as a portrayal of ten of His female ancestors), through
which the Gospel would be proclaimed in such a public and popular manner; and
Whereas, A business plan has been formulated for an eightweekend, community-venue performance tour of Seed of the Woman,
involving eight theaters/auditoriums in Colorado, New Mexico, and
Utah (in the region of the Missouri Synod’s Rocky Mountain District,
but also easily accessible to eight adjoining states, representing nine
other LCMS districts), with the potential for directly reaching up to
10,000 people through the performances, as well as hundreds of thousands through the Gospel-oriented publicity; and
Whereas, Mr. Eric Cunningham, executive producerdirector-composer of the world-renowned professional
singing-dancing-orchestral group Women of Ireland, is supportive
of Seed of the Woman and has agreed to produce and direct it as well as
to provide for all of its singer-dancer-musician needs, according to the
above-mentioned business plan and once funding can be assured; and
Whereas, Presuming that the regional performance-tour outreach
is successful, such could open the door for synodwide, national tour
productions of other Gospel-proclaiming musical stage plays by the
same Missouri Synod pastor, and possibly involve continued participation by Women of Ireland as well, with the potential for directly
reaching hundreds of thousands of people through the performances,
as well as millions through the Gospel-oriented publicity; therefore
be it
Resolved, That the 2016 LCMS convention approve support of the
Colorado-New Mexico-Utah regional musical stage play outreach
described above, even looking upon it as a continuing application
and fulfillment of the theme “It’s Still All about Jesus,” and that this
eight-weekend, community-venue Seed of the Woman performance
tour will be planned for July–August 2018; and be it further
Resolved, That besides a budget need of around $60,000 (as
estimated by a representative of the Synod offices of Finance and
Communications staff for fund-raising, accounting, publicity, etc.),
the donated funding for the total possible production expenses of
about $375,000 (as estimated by Women of Ireland [wages: $153,000;
accommodations: $41,000; transportation: $21,000; catering:
$21,000; and scenery: $11,000], as well as by representatives of area
performance venues [$71,000] and regional radio/television companies [$57,000]), along with general support (through local publicity,
performance attendance, etc.), will be requested from all the Synod
and district offices and staff, as well as from all their congregations,
schools, organizations, church workers, and other congregational
members, along with their various communities; and be it further
Resolved, That e-mail fund-raising correspondence (involving five
separate monthly mailings, including things like a letter, poster, news
release, and a few reminders) from the Synod’s Communications
Department (including mention of the connection to the theme “It’s
Still All about Jesus,” as well as the involvement of the Women
of Ireland and the possibility that this may lead to potential future
nationwide performance tours) will be sent to all Synod-level offices,
organizations, and workers; to all the district offices and, through
them, to all their staff members, schools, organizations, church
workers, and churches, and through them, to all their members and
2016 Convention Workbook