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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 408

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

408

CHURCH AND CULTURE

Resolved, That the districts and circuits of the Synod develop an
objective mission and ministry action plan for outreach to diverse
communities among us; and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the Synod be encouraged to
conduct conversations on race and diversity, to strengthen unity
within the congregations; and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the Synod be encouraged to
engage members of their communities in these conversations, in
light of Christ’s Gospel; and be it further
Resolved, That we commend those within the Synod who
intentionally proclaim and work to reach out with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ to those who are different from themselves in the light
of the Great Commission; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Mid-South District send this resolution to the
Synod as it gathers at its 2023 convention to do similarly.
Mid-South District
Ov. 11-03

To Reject Bigotry and Advance the Gospel
WHEREAS, God has created one human race in His own image
(Gen. 1:26), and we are all blood-related going back to our mutual
fathers, Adam and Noah, and all are subject to the stain of original
sin, but now also have been equally redeemed by the blood of Christ
in order to be reconciled to God and to each other; and
WHEREAS, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ desires that the
Gospel be preached to all who live on earth (Rev. 14:6); and
WHEREAS, God’s Word says, “If you really fulfill the royal law
according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are
committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors”
(James 2:8–9); and
WHEREAS, Bigotry—the sinful notion that some ethnic groups
are inherently superior to others—misunderstanding, and strife are
present in the world and experienced in congregations due to our
sin; and
WHEREAS, The Synod abhors bigotry and in convention has
passed resolutions repudiating all forms of bigotry, prejudice, and
discrimination based on ethnicity (1992 Res. 3-03; 2019 Res. 1104A); and
WHEREAS, Nihilism and other similar theories including Critical
Race Theory (CRT) have become common and controversial
suppositions in today's world; and
WHEREAS, The Eighth Commandment forbids us to speak falsely
of our neighbor and exhorts us to explain everything in the kindest
way, and our Lord Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors; therefore
be it
Resolved, That the Kansas District and its members reject any
doctrine that teaches:
• One’s ethnicity, ancestry, or nationality are inherently
superior to the ethnicity, ancestry, or nationality of another;
• Any individual is inherently racist, or oppressive, whether
consciously or unconsciously, because of his or her
ethnicity, ancestry, or nationality;
and be it further

2023 Convention Workbook

Resolved, That the circuits of the district develop an objective
mission and ministry action plan for outreach to diverse
communities among us; and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the district be encouraged to
conduct conversations on ethnicity and diversity to strengthen unity
within the congregation; and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the district be encouraged to
engage members of their communities in these conversations in
light of Christ’s Gospel; and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention commend those within
the district who intentionally proclaim and work to reach out with
the Gospel of Jesus to those who are different from themselves in
the light of the Great Commission; and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention promote Christ’s
teaching that we love our neighbors and reject the world view
presented by nihilism, CRT, and similar theories that are contrary
to Scripture and counterproductive to true reconciliation of the one
human race created in God’s image; and be it finally
Resolved, That the district memorialize the Synod as it gathers at
its 2023 convention to do similarly.
Kansas District
Ov. 11-04

To Speak Gospel Clearly in Cultural Context of
Critical Race Theory
WHEREAS, God has created all people and they are blood-related
going back to our mutual fathers, Adam and Noah, and therefore
there is only one race, the human race, and all are subject to the stain
of original sin, but even now also have been equally redeemed by
the blood of Christ in order to be reconciled to God and each other;
(Gen. 1:26–28, Gen. 10, Rom. 5:12–21, I Cor. 15: 20–23, Acts
17:26); and
WHEREAS, As Critical Race Theory (CRT) asserts that racism is
present in all aspects of life, in every relationship and every
interaction—and its advocates urge their followers to look for, and
expect to find, racism everywhere—it is clear that the goal and
effect of CRT is to cause deep and irreconcilable divisions within
society; and
WHEREAS, Society has, in recent years, been deeply convulsed
by the efforts of some to eliminate historic racism through the
introduction of a new, more toxic form of racism which adds
elements of Marxist and post-modern thought to the historic form;
and
WHEREAS, The academic discipline of critical theory and its
progeny, such as CRT, is inconsistent with the Christian worldview
and also irreconcilable with Holy Scripture; and
WHEREAS, Critical theory, when applied to theology, frequently
denies the sufficiency of Christ’s death to forgive all people by
claiming that forgiveness is impossible for certain people based on
their race; and by heretically confusing the righteousness we have
before God for Jesus’ sake with the civil righteousness of the “social
gospel”; and
WHEREAS, The “solutions” proffered by CRT to racial inequities
do not come from Christ but rather from a theory of grievance and
retribution (and can produce only more of the same); and
WHEREAS, God’s Word says, “If you really fulfill the royal law
according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as