Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2023 · 68th Convention, Milwaukee › Page 86

LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 86

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

2. LCRL established and grew the main LCRL website—
LCRLfreedom.org—the two-kingdom web resource for
LCMS churches and schools.
a. Presently, the site is populated with timely and easy-toread resources to inform and instruct our people how “to
put their temporal liberties to work for the sake of the
eternal liberties of Christ.” Available resources are (1) the
weekly “Word from the Center” devotions and op-eds; (2)
“Mom and Pop” and two-kingdom papers on issues of the
day; and (3) podcasts of all the “Liberty Action Alerts”
with its various guests and topics.
o

Challenge: The resources, which are many and growing,
need to be more accessible and easily investigated for use
and application. LCRL is presently addressing this issue.

Challenge: Social media use is necessary, if also a necessary evil, to LCRL’s awareness, growth, and usefulness to
churches and ministries. LCRL is presently expanding our
social media platforms to meet those challenges and opportunities.

Presently, LCRL defers to organizations such as Alliance
Defending Freedom, First Liberty, and the Becket Fund.

Goals for 2023 and Beyond
1.

LCRL seeks to grow our advocating and encouraging presence on the Hill.

a. In spite of the change of tenor in the present administration, the LCRL seeks to grow our presence as a thought
leader in the various partnerships and meetings presently
attended.
b. Post-COVID-19, LCRL is returning to a more robust
visitation of our Lutheran representatives on the Hill and
reinstating its two-kingdom roundtable events that gather
various LCMS workers on the Hill to relay and undergird
our two-kingdom perspective on various issues.
c. LCRL will continue to be an encouraging voice to congressional leaders by supporting them in prayer, visitation,
and the Word from the center devotions, which are meant
to give them strength for the important work that they do.

3. LCRL established a growing “Champions for Liberty” network of churches. Members are trained not only in twokingdom engagement of various issues in our culture but
stand ready and equipped in service to the mission of the
church rather than in political ideologues.

2. LCRL looks to expand our Champions for Liberty Network
of churches.

a. LCRL hired a Champions for Liberty Network director. As
the need for training laity grows, the LCRL has recently
called the Rev. Mark Frith to expand the network and to
make it a support network for our churches and people
throughout the country.

b. LCRL will strive to increase our weekend Champions for
Liberty events around the country to better train and equip
laity.

b. LCRL created a Champions for Liberty educational process. Through both lecture and application, LCRL prepares
and equips Christians for differentiating God’s preserving
and saving work, thus being more effective in the left-hand
kingdom work in service to the mission of the church.
LCRL is intentional to do so without politicizing the Gospel, as many advocacy groups are tempted to do.

a. LCRL has plans to expand its web resources and more effectively utilize social media for the work of the LCRL.

3. LCRL will expand our partner base and resources to ensure
that we have the capability to meet the growing needs of
LCMS churches in this present partisan environment in the
public square.
a. While God continues to bless LCRL with the support that it
needs, LCRL’s next opportunity for growth is to build our
capacity—both concerning financials and staff—to meet
growing opportunities and challenges more effectively.
b. To do that, the LCRL is now partnering with
Meyer+Partners, a consulting and fundraising agency, to
unlock the potential of LCMS churches and people with
regard to the efforts that the LCRL is making on behalf of
all of us.

c. LCRL hosted Champions for Liberty weekends. From
2019 to present, LCRL has conducted some 80 events with
churches and schools to empower pastoral and lay leaders
to engage these seminal issues.
d. Due to COVID-19, LCRL’s university initiative with Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE) was tabled until further notice. The university was also changing presidents,
grappling with the challenges of COVID-19, and absorbing students from Concordia University, Portland. With so
many uncertainties, the university decided not to go forward with the mutual plan to establish the two-kingdom
minor in public engagement with internships in Washington, D.C. at that time. Due to expanding the Champions for
Liberty Network, LCRL has not revisited this with CUNE
but is open to such efforts in the future.
o

Challenge: LCRL must continue to grow and streamline
the delivery process of the Champions for Liberty Network educational process and ensure its application to the
many needs of our congregations and schools.

Challenge: LCRL must add a more definitive legal dimension to the resources it provides when a congregation partners with it through the Champions for Liberty Network.

2023 Convention Workbook

Gregory P. Seltz, Executive Director
R21

Atlantic District
The Atlantic District’s geographical area encompasses the eastern half of the state of New York. Twenty million people reside in
this district that is composed of the vast rural areas in its northern
and eastern regions; the sprawling suburbs throughout its northern,
central, and eastern regions; and the bustling metropolitan areas of
Albany in its northern region and the city of New York in its central
region. The Atlantic District has an unparalleled cultural diversity
and population density, replete with exciting mission opportunities.
The Atlantic District’s congregations, workers, and agencies share
God’s grace in Christ Jesus by nurturing Christians and reaching
out to others (mission statement of the Atlantic District) as it is
Making Disciples for Life (LCMS mission emphasis) by Engag-