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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 90

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

als, and presentations to LCMS entities, districts, and congregations.
Yes, financial challenges facing our beloved Synod still persist; but it is with a joyful heart that we continue to serve God
and our neighbors throughout the world as the Good News of
salvation through Jesus the Christ is proclaimed. Let us join together, with joy, to thank our God for allowing us to bear witness to His love for all mankind, throughout the world.
Let us lift up, before the throne of grace, our beloved district and Synod officers and workers, giving thanks, with great
joy, that we are not alone in this task.
I am “Joy:fully Lutheran,” and I joyfully thank God for
His children, my partners in the spreading of the Gospel, who
report administratively to me. They are competent and dedicated employees whose support for Synod operations is vital.
May our work together be a blessing to those whom we
serve, and bring glory and honor to our triune God.
Jerald C. Wulf, Chief Financial Officer

Board for National Mission
Greetings from your Board for National Mission as it seeks
to support and encourage the congregations and schools of the
LCMS through their districts to remain “Joy:fully Lutheran” in
their mission and ministry.
According to the LCMS Handbook, the Board for National Mission (the BNM) is charged with “developing and
determining policies for the coordination of and in support
of district ministries which support congregations and schools
(Bylaw 1.2.1 [m]). These policies shall embrace and apply the
mission and ministry emphases adopted by the national convention” (Bylaw 3.8.2). In response to this directive, the BNM has
spent this past triennium reworking entirely the policies which
give direction to the Office of National Mission as it seeks to
carry out its responsibilities for the various domestic ministries
that serve congregations and schools through the districts of the
Synod (see Bylaw 3.8.2.3). The Board has organized its policies
under the seven “Mission Priorities” (six originally adopted by
the Synod in her 2013 convention [Res. 3-06A] and reaffirmed
at the 2016 convention and a seventh established at the 2016
convention [Res. 4-02A]). These mission priorities include:
••

Plant, sustain, and revitalize Lutheran churches

••

Support and expand theological education

••

Perform human care in close proximity to Word and
Sacrament ministries

••

Collaborate with the Synod’s members and partners
to enhance mission effectiveness

••

Promote and nurture the spiritual, emotional, and
physical well-being of pastors and professional
church workers

••

Enhance early childhood, elementary and secondary
education, and youth ministry

••

Strengthen and support the Lutheran family in living
out God’s design

2019 Convention Workbook

Besides developing and determining policies to guide the
Office of National Mission in carrying out its mission responsibilities, the Handbook further charges the BNM to “have
oversight of the implementation of policies adopted by the board
and implemented by the Office of National Mission . . .” (Bylaw
3.8.2.1). Therefore, as part of its monitoring responsibility, the
BNM, at its regularly scheduled board meetings, hears verbal
reports from the various program directors and solicits suggestions from the directors for policy improvement. These programs include black ministry, campus ministry, church planting and revitalization, Hispanic ministry, national missionaries,
recognized service organizations, rural and small-town mission,
stewardship, urban and inner-city mission, witness and outreach, youth and adults.
The board also continues to set aside time for theological
presentations that the board believes are necessary to keep itself
focused on the mission of the Church. The theological presentations the board heard since the last report included presentations by Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, Exec. Dir., LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations; Dr. Daniel Harmelink,
Exec. Dir., Concordia Historical Institute; Rev. Micah Glenn,
LCMS Domestic Missionary; and Rev. Michael Meyer, LCMS
Disaster Response Manager.
The BNM was authorized at the 2013 convention (Res.
2-05B) in Saint Louis to “serve as a calling agency for institutional
and agency chaplains and other non-foreign specialized ministers
. . .” (Bylaw 3.8.2). As such, the BNM has called three Specialized Pastoral Ministers, providing a Divine Call into their ministry so that they might serve the Church with the confidence
that they are doing so in accord with the Lutheran Church’s
confessional commitment that “no one shall publicly preach or
teach without a regular call” (Augsburg Confession XIV).
The board was surprised and saddened by the resignation
of the Rev. Bart Day from the Office of National Mission as
he moved into a new area of service with the Lutheran Church
Extension Fund. Rev. Day provided critical direction and leadership as the BNM wrestled with adapting to the new structure
adopted by Synod in 2010. The board thanks God for Rev. Day’s
humble service and believes God will continue to use Rev. Day
in service to His Church. God always provides faithful workers for His Church, and He has done so once again in giving
the Office of National Mission a new executive, the Rev. Robert
Zagore. Pr. Zagore has served in the parish ministry since his
ordination in 1990 and, like Rev. Day, brings a pastoral heart to
the Office of National Ministry. He was installed as the ONM
executive director on May 30, 2018, and has proven to be a gift
to the BNM as he provides a calm and pastoral heart to the
board’s work in developing the policies so critical to the national mission and ministry of the LCMS. The board would also
like to express once again its deep appreciation for the guidance
provided by the Rev. Kevin Robson, the Chief Mission Officer
of the LCMS. Besides his pastoral experience, Rev. Robson’s experience in the business community prior to his seminary training has proven invaluable to the board’s work in developing policies for the Office of National Mission. I must also express the
board’s deep appreciation for the humble service of many staff
personnel such as Ms. Jeannie Smithson and Ms. Barb Below
who regularly attend our board meetings and devote countless
hours working behind the scenes, so to speak, helping prepare
the board’s agenda and keeping the board on track.