LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 61

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
Rejecting these false doctrines, we confess the complete authority of the Bible and its teachings, as it is
correctly and unchangingly stated in the Book of Concord. We can have full fellowship with those churches
who share with us the same faith and teachings, and
which do not ordain or promote the ordination of
women, do not defend homosexual behavior, do not
make compromises on the doctrine of justification, and
who confess that each communicant in the Holy Communion, under the sign of bread and wine is given and
receives the body and blood of the Lord.

This is a remarkable act of courage from this relatively
small group of Lutheran Christians who have had to endure so much under the dark years of Soviet persecution
and now have to endure the pressure of left-leaning
Lutherans who demand that they compromise their strong
confessional stance, even threatening to stop sending
them much-needed financial support.
I am struck by the sad irony of the fact that at precisely
the same time as the Lithuanians take such a courageous
stand, there are some Lutherans in our country and, yes,
even some within our own Synod, who would shy away
from such a clear and open witness to the truth and instead are working to undermine the position of historic,
confessional Lutheranism within our Synod through various tactics and methods. There is much we can learn from
these our new friends in Lithuania. May God strengthen
and support them in their faithful confession and may He
lead us always to the same bold, courageous witness to the
truth of His Word!
Across the world more and more churches are emerging from years of persecution and turmoil under oppressive governments and once more are coming back to life
after many dark and difficult years. Many of these
churches are Lutheran churches in the lands of the former Soviet Union and in other lands dominated and controlled by the Communists. Time and time again these
church bodies reach out to the LCMS for support, friendship, and encouragement. I have heard repeatedly during
the last three years from church leaders from all over the
world who are attracted to the Missouri Synod’s strong
theology and commitment to genuine Lutheranism. They
have grown increasingly concerned by and dissatisfied
with the liberal theology of the large state churches in Europe that tend to control and dominate organizations such
as the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World
Federation.
Our Synod has the opportunity to continue to be a beacon of hope for emerging Lutheran churches, as well as
other Christian groups, who do definitely want to remain
faithful to the sacred Scriptures as God’s Word and do not
want to embrace the agenda of the liberalizing Christianity that characterizes much of modern Lutheranism and
Protestantism.
The Changing Nature of Church Relations

Historically, our Synod related to other church bodies
by means of establishing mission churches and then establishing fellowship with those mission churches. A variety of names have been used to describe such relationships: partner churches, sister churches, daughter
churches. More and more as time goes on, none of these

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terms is fully adequate to describe the reality we face
today.
For this reason I think it is important for our Synod
simply to recognize that what we have today is basically
two ways of relating to various churches throughout the
world. When and where it is possible for us to be in altar
and pulpit fellowship because we do share a common confession of the Christian faith as we are unified in the doctrine of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, this
we continue to pursue. In these cases, then, we can worship with one another, commune together, and enjoy all
the blessings of church fellowship.
Where this is not yet possible, we attempt to be of support and encouragement in what I believe is best referred
to simply as “a working relationship” with these churches.
Most often this involves a supporting role in sending professors and teachers to assist in the training of future pastors and other church workers. This is more and more becoming a trend across many lands, and we thank God for
the privilege and opportunity to support, encourage, and
befriend a wide variety of churches.
The Lord is opening many doors around the world to
our Synod. I encourage you to read carefully the report
here in this Workbook from our Board for Mission Services
for more details of the tremendous activity our Synod supports throughout the world.
The International Lutheran Council

Our Synod continues to be an active and supportive
member of the International Lutheran Council, a worldwide association of established confessional Lutheran
church bodies that proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on
the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy
Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and
to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word of God.
At the present time there are 28 member churches
from all points on the globe. The ILC meets every three
years, the last meeting being in England in 1998, the next
being in South Africa in the fall of 2001. A special meeting
of representatives from seminary faculties of the various
ILC member churches is being held this summer in Brazil.
Responses to Significant Ecumenical Documents

In what clearly was the most important development
in world Lutheranism, the acceptance of The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, I initiated efforts
to prepare a detailed response to this statement. This was
necessary because the perception has been that this statement in an accurate and faithful presentation of the
Lutheran position on the chief article of our faith: salvation by grace through faith on account of the work of
Christ alone. It clearly is not. It has been claimed that this
document represents Lutheranism’s view of Roman
Catholic doctrine, when, again, clearly it does not speak
for worldwide Lutheranism, but rather only that portion
that is prone to the compromising theology of the large
Lutheran statement churches and much of the leadership
of the Lutheran World Federation.
200l Convention Proceedings