Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2019 · 67th Convention, Tampa › Page 547
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 547

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

CHURCH AND CULTURE
deception within our congregations that they may recognize their
errors, repent, and know the reconciling forgiveness of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who by Baptism gathers His people into one from all
nations; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Atlantic District make statements from time
to time through press releases to decry incident of racism in society,
whenever these occur.
Atlantic District
Ov. 11-14

To Condemn the Sin of Racism
WHEREAS, The sin of racism has plagued creation since the Fall,
and its victims have been found in every place and every time
including within and outside the Church; and
WHEREAS, The Gospel of Christ calls the Church to suffer
alongside the oppressed at the cost of all things, for Jesus said,
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life
for his friends” (John 15:13); and our Lord has commanded us,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39b); and
WHEREAS, Racism seeks to harm its victims in thought, word, or
deed, and people in our communities and ministries have
experienced such harm; and
WHEREAS, The Church is called to condemn sin in every form
and manner, both in public and in private, including racism in all of
its expressions, such as: racial profiling; unjust incarceration;
economic injustice and inequality; discrimination in education,
employment, and housing; xenophobic sentiment; and inhumane
treatment of immigrants and refugees; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has
condemned racism in eight Synod conventions resulting in
convention resolutions; and
WHEREAS, In 1994 the Committee on Theology and Church
Relations (CTCR) issued a document called “Racism and the
Church” that was commended to the Synod by the 1995 convention
(Res. 2-05A); therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Northwest District of the LCMS publicly
condemn the sin of racism in all its manifestations, giving honor to
the Father “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is
named” (Eph. 3:15); confessing the Son, who, by His Incarnation
and sacrificial death gave value and dignity to every human being;
and calling on the Spirit to work in us true repentance and renewal
of life; and be it further
Resolved, That honest conversation about racism and its effects
be encouraged in the district by creation of a district task force on
racism and its effects, to develop tools to help congregations see and
respond to racism and its effects in their local setting; and be it
finally
Resolved, That the Northwest District in convention memorialize
the Synod in convention to again address the sin of racism in a
convention resolution calling for repentance, dialogue, and public
witness.
Northwest District

547

Ov. 11-15

To Resist the Increasing Influence
of the Gnostic Heresy
WHEREAS, The Gnostic heresy, which from early days of the
Church has sought to radically separate the material world from the
spiritual and elevate the spiritual over the material, is making a
resurgence within culture and in some corners of the Church itself;
and
WHEREAS, This Gnostic impulse is leading many to deny that the
human person is an integrated and indissoluble union of body and
soul/spirit; and
WHEREAS, This has led many in society to diminish the
importance and the goodness of the human body relative to the
soul/spirit; and
WHEREAS, This diminished view of the body has led to the denial
of natural law and the natural order of creation, and has recently led
to many anti-Scriptural and unnatural practices in our public life,
including abortion, pornography, same-sex marriage, the
celebration of transgenderism, gender fluidity, and homosexuality;
and
WHEREAS, These Gnostic-inspired attitudes and practices are
demonstrably harmful to the temporal flourishing of human life
both on the individual and corporate level, as well as to distorted
understandings of the Christian gospel; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod in convention strongly encourage pastors
of the district to stress in their preaching, teaching, and worship
leadership the importance, the goodness, and the integrity of the
whole human person and that of the whole creation, both in its
physical and spiritual dimensions; and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention urge pastors of the
district that in their preaching, teaching, and worship to not
intentionally or inadvertently give the impression that a goal of the
Christian life is to be liberated from the body, even though a person
may be experiencing bodily or psychological suffering; and be it
further
Resolved, That the district in convention urge pastors of the
district that in their preaching, teaching, and worship to be
intentional in reminding their members that, in Christ, they await a
new heaven and a new earth, including a new and glorified body;
and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention encourage pastors and
congregations of the district to continue to hold the sacraments in
high regard, not only because they are a most blessed means by
which God assures us of forgiveness, life and salvation, but also
because in joining God’s Word and its promise to physical
elements, a clear witness is given to the high regard God continues
to have for the physical world; and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention encourage pastors and
congregations of the district to continue to publicly celebrate the
Feast of the Ascension of our Lord and other such occasions which
reinforce the enduring importance and goodness of the human body
by drawing attention to God’s permanent commitment to his
embodied creatures by remaining embodied himself in Christ to this
very day; and be it finally

2019 Convention Workbook