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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 20

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

Venezuela, which is in the midst of a terrible and prolonged economic crisis. The fruits of the first Lutheran missionaries from
Argentina nearly 100 years ago, and one LCMS missionary,
the late Rev. Dr. Juan Berndt, over 70 years ago, are now fully
abounding to the glory of God.
All our experienced missionaries can tell similar stories
from around the world reflecting the need for patience, and
long-term, steadfast missionary presence. Their work is most
efficient when working through and with partner churches formally working in harmony from generation to generation. While
we all have erred in practice, current and past missionaries can
speak of terrible mistakes made by well-intentioned but poorly
informed help that has led to dependency, entitlements, even
corruption, and in some cases the loss of faith. No doubt, our
Western eyes can always find places where our resources could
make an immediate impact. Yet, the healthy establishment of a
new church requires careful teaching and a generation of wellplaced and often-limited financial resources aligned with faithfulness to the Gospel, especially the theology of the cross. There
are no doubt emergency relief or disaster needs that must be
addressed quickly and abundantly when we are able. However,
unbridled and poorly informed contributions can lead to jealousies, division in church bodies, corruption, lawsuits, and even
imprisonment of church leaders who are led astray by the temptation of resources that might greatly exceed local church needs.
None of us has an easy answer to the proper balance between mercy and ministry of the Word and Sacrament. We all
have done too little, and then again at times too much. Nevertheless, those best suited to struggle with these assessments are
career missionaries who have learned the local language, history, and culture and sat alongside the local church leaders for
years, seeking to more fully understand the context. Furthermore, the career missionary will be there long-term to sort out
the consequences or effects of the outside assistance that has
been brought to bear. What the missionary learns alongside the
local church are lessons upon which we all must build.
With years of experience garnered by sacrificial missionaries who learn the language, history, culture, pains, joys, and sorrows of complex social structures, we begin to understand our
partners well. Over time, as we learn from them, and they from
us; then we can effectively integrate with Christian principles
the best of intentions from two very different worlds. In this
context, faithful and mature missionaries with faithful and mature partner church leadership guide our global strategy while
committing to an excellence in confession, practice, and life.
We all make mistakes, but there is no substitute for being there
long-term, fully engaged in the teaching, preaching, witnessing,
and living out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for years on end.

Missionary Care, Services, and Retention
With this passion from the mature, career missionaries’
perspective, an OIM “priority-one” concern is missionary retention. Care of the missionary, beginning at orientation, must
guide OIM’s daily practice. In support of missionaries around
the globe, an improved risk assessment and understanding of
best practices for security can never be under-estimated. Global
safety and security needs have increased, and we are addressing
this with a qualified, full-time staff position for the first time in
this fiscal year. Realignment of our current staff, and the addition of another new position in Missionary Services, we pray
2019 Convention Workbook

will greatly enhance our attention to missionary care, carefully
synchronized with the services provided in our four regional offices. Our staff at the International Center is small, and funds
are limited, but we are continually reassessing OIM’s procedures
as they integrate with other departments in the Synod.
Four years ago, we began recruiting regional communications personnel. While we understood the overall need to improve communication from the field back to the members of the
LCMS, we struggled in working out a way to integrate new, deployed communication assets and paradigms into the excellent
LCMS Communications Department that has broad duties of
service for the entire Synod. With the expert support of Communications, we are launching a field-driven website bringing
the above-mentioned missionaries’ perspective to the LCMS:
international.lcms.org. Please check it out.
Communication is not only one-way from the field back
to the LCMS constituency. We also have a challenge in communicating more effectively with partner and emerging-partner
church leaders. The web is worldwide and LCMS global activity
is often scrutinized more often by people overseas than by our
own congregation members in the U.S. The above-mentioned
website will present a perspective that is real, but not paternalistic or critical. It will be informative while also seeking to protect
work and workers in places that could be targeted by those who
seek to thwart or destroy our efforts. It is to be a joyful celebration of what LCMS-sent missionaries are doing in the name of
the LCMS; in faithfulness to Convention-established mission
priorities; in fulfillment of the ends policies established by the
Board for International Mission; and therefore, in faithfulness
to Scripture and our Lutheran confession.
In the digital era in which we live, all government scrutiny
has increased, making demands for more sophisticated banking systems, legal enterprises, record keeping, and accounting
procedures. Though we increased the number of missionaries
greatly over the last five years, an increase in the staff for the
business operations has been lacking. This we are currently attempting to address.
In order to maintain a global operation that communicates
effectively and faithfully within its own ranks, we are in the process of establishing a more efficient means for data storage and
data sharing. A priority is that those who serve today can pass
on accurate information to those who follow. The number of
legal documents, reports, board manuals, policies, procedures,
and directives continually grow in an organization that is more
highly scrutinized than ever before not only by our church body
but also by governments around the world. Digital information
is mandated. In collaboration with our overworked Regional
Business Managers and a small St. Louis Operations Team, we
are enhancing integration with the Synod’s Information Technology and Accounting Departments. We eagerly anticipate improved tools for the sake of maintaining accurate shared documents for current operations and accessible historical reference
that will serve us effectively for years to come.
Efficiencies that take into account new technologies can
lead to better interfacing and simplification of our operations,
improved stewardship and, again, missionary and staff retention. It is my prayer that we can fully utilize the gifts of so many
wonderful, dedicated and competent servants that God has provided for us both here at the IC and through the global regions