LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 55

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
First, the great blessing of the complete and total forgiveness of all of our sins. The blessing of being baptized
children of God is beyond any treasure we could hope to
obtain in this life. We have the blessing of hope and peace
and joy now in this present life, all made ours in Christ to
whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given.
It is this Lord, it is this Christ whom we serve and obey,
love and cherish. We move together into the new millennium confident in His blessing and His presence. We move
together following Him with confidence and trust.
We follow Him together. We move together into the new
millennium. This is what being a “Synod” is all about. We
support one another. We encourage one another. We help
one another be the best church we possibly can be. Together, as a Synod, we are bound together in common as
we move together into a new millennium. We follow the
example of the apostolic church (Acts 15:1–31), which was
keenly aware of the great strength and blessing that come
through unity and moving forward together as a church.
We move together into the new millennium realizing that
we join together and stand together and move together,
because it is our Lord’s will that the great diversity of gifts
He has entrusted to us will be used for the common good
of us all (1 Cor. 4–31). What are some of these common
commitments?

Part I
Moving Together into a New Millennium
Telling the Good News about Jesus
Grace, mercy, and peace to each of you from Him who
is, who was, and who is to come, even Jesus Christ our
Righteousness. Amen.
This is now the third time that I have had the honor
and privilege of offering a report to the Synod as we once
again find ourselves gathering in convention. This is the
first part of my report. I will offer the second part of my
report at the meeting of our floor committees over the
Memorial Day weekend. This second part will then be
printed in the first issue of Today’s Business, which all
delegates will receive shortly before the convention. The
third part of my report I will offer on Sunday morning to
the convention.
In this, the first part of my report, I want to organize
my thoughts around the theme Moving Together into a
New Millennium Telling the Good News about Jesus.
First, I want to talk about what it means for us to walk
into a new millennium together as a Synod of congregations, moving forward in the work our Lord has for us to
do. Second, I will talk about the all-important commission
our Lord has given to His church—telling the Good News
of His great salvation. Third, I will offer a summary of the
activities of the President’s Office during this past triennium.

Moving Together into a New Milennium … United in the
One True Faith

Our Lord speaks to us about this blessed unity through
the apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:1–6:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have
been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you
were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and
through all and in all. There is one body and one Spirit,
just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all
who is over all and through all and in all.
And again, in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions
among you, but you be made complete in the same mind
and in the same judgment.
As we move together into a new millennium, we must
continue to remain strongly united together with one another in the true faith. United in personal tastes? No.
United in personal opinions? No. United in personal preferences? No. This is not the unity about which the Scriptures speak. We are drawn by God’s Holy Spirit to be and
remain united in the one true and alone-saving faith, to
remain united in the teachings of God’s Word, to remain
united with one another in this sure and certain doctrine.
For it, and it alone, is the truth that God has given to us,
the truth that reveals the Savior and all that He has done

I. Moving Together
into a New Millennium
Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise
the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of
the sun to its going down the LORD’S name is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the
heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on
high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are
in the heavens and in the earth? Psalm 113:1–6
As we move together into a new millennium, we must
begin first by offering our thanks and praise to our good
and gracious God. We do so in humble repentance, recognizing that indeed, according to our sin, we deserve nothing but His wrath and punishment. We look over our
faults and failings, both as individuals and as a church,
and we bow in repentant humility before the throne of
grace, knowing that there sits the loving, merciful Father
who sent us His Son and by the power of the Holy Spirit
continues to pardon, renew, and strengthen us for service.
When we stop to consider the privilege that has been
given to us by our good and gracious God to be moving together into a new millennium, we join the psalmist in
words of praise and adoration for all the blessings we have
been given. What a time of opportunity this is for us as a
Synod. There are so many challenges in our lives and, yes,
challenges in our Synod as well, but we dare never lose
sight of the tremendous blessings that have been poured
out on us.
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200l Convention Proceedings