LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Sheet 142

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1. MISSIONS

1-01

To Recommit to Synod’s Mission Statement

WHEREAS, The Synod at its 1998 synodical convention adopted
a mission statement that reads as follows:

“In grateful response to God’s grace and empowered by the

Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make

known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches,
communities, and the world”; and

WHEREAS, This mission statement emphatically stresses that our

primary objective shall be to make known the love of Christ by our

words and deeds within our churches, communities, and the world;

and

Wuereas, The Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 13 impresses upon us that
love is much more than a pious sentiment, but deals with the every-
day relationships of people, especially Christians; and

WHEREAS, We in the Synod must be aware that there is much
unhealthy dissension and division among us over such matters as
the right or wrong ways to worship God, with whom we may or
may not join in worship, with whom we may or may not share in
the Lord’s Supper, with whom we may or may not participate in
joint mission efforts, what women may or may not be permitted to
say and do in our churches, and much more; and

WHEREAS, Resolution of such differences is often attempted by
adopting by majority vote statements that request that all will
“honor and uphold” such statements, creating more dissension and
unloving attitudes; and

WHEREAS, In matters of disagreement our Lord has assured us
that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13) and that
meanwhile “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boast-
ful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but re-
joices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor. 13:4-8);
therefore be it

Resolved, (a) That we in the LCMS confess before God and one
another that we, conservatives and moderates alike, have often
given offense by our unloving words and deeds in times of contro-
versy;

(b) that we pray that God help us to recognize our faults and to
confess and repent of them;

(c) that we joyfully celebrate together the Gospel of our Lord’s
forgiveness, His free gifts of grace and the Holy Spirit, so that we
may improve our relations with one another;

(d) that we will try harder not to exercise power and authority
over one another instead of serving one another in love; and

(e) that in all our doings we reaffirm that one is our Master,
even Christ, and we are all brothers and sisters who will try harder
to live by the mission statement we have adopted. So help us, God!

Trinity
Portland, OR

1-02

To Increase Mission Activity

WHEREAS, The Lord of the church has laid upon His people the
urgent obligation “Go into all the world and preach the good news
to all creation” (Mark 16:15); and

WHEREAS, Our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has as one
of its objectives to “strengthen congregations and their members in
giving bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God,
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to extend that Gospel witness
into all the world” (Constitution, Art. III; and

WHEREAS, God over the years has provided opportunities for
such bold witness both in the United States and throughout the
world, both corporately and individually; and

WHEREAS, There still are large numbers of people who until
now have not even had the opportunity to learn of Christ and the
good news of salvation in Him; and

WHEREAS, With each passing day the window of opportunity
for such witness grows smaller; therefore be it

Resolved, That we humbly thank God for using both the corpo-
rate and individual witness of members of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod in offering the blessings of salvation to a world in
need of Christ; and be it further

Resolved, That we repent of our failure to grasp the opportuni-
ties for faithful witness that God has placed before us both as indi-
viduals and as a synod; and be it further

Resolved, That in view of the urgency of bringing the Gospel
to those still ignorant of it we will give priority to Christ’s mission
in every aspect of our life together in The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod; and be it finally

Resolved, That we request the Board of Directors annually to
increase the amount of funding related to the missionary programs
carried on by the Synod through the various committees and task
forces under the aegis of the Board for Mission Services.

Holy Cross, Arlington, TX; Lord of Life, Leawood, KS

1-03

To Recommit to Gospel Motivation

WHEREAS, The Gospel provides the proper motivation for our
life together as a synod; and

WHEREAS, Such a motivation manifests itself in faith, hope, and
love; and

WHEREAS, Such a motivation should be determinative for all
that we do together in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; and

WuereaS, When legalism impacts the Gospel as the motivation
for activity, it will show itself in distrust, self-centeredness, and
fear; and

WHEREAS, In much of the activity of the LCMS in recent years
legalism has led to the building of barriers between ourselves and
other Christians; and

WHEREAS, There has also been a tendency toward self-congrat-
ulation concerning our Synod’s doctrinal orthodoxy, often at the
expense of outreach to a world that is perishing in sin; and

WHEREAS, Fear has often motivated us to look back at the suc-
cesses of the past rather than to look ahead to meet the challenges
that will confront the church in a new post-Christian age; therefore
be it

Resolved, That we humbly confess to God that we have not al-
ways allowed the Gospel to motivate all of our activities as a
synod; and be it further

Resolved, That we implore God’s forgiveness for our failures
to give the Gospel the precedence that it deserves; and be it finally

Resolved, That we seek, with the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, to
renew our commitment to the Gospel as the motivation for all that
we do.

Holy Cross, Arlington, TX; Concordia, Wilmington, DE;
Family of Faith, Houston, TX; Lord of Life, Leawood, KS;
St. John, Clearlake, CA

1-04

To Prioritize Focus on Gospel

Wtereas, As disciples of Jesus Christ, our calling is to be wit-
nesses of the love of God in Christ; and

Wuereas, The leaders of our Missouri Synod are meeting in
convention to focus on this priority; and

WHEREAS, One of the main purposes of meeting in convention
is to inspire and encourage the congregations of our Synod to focus
on this priority; and

2001 Convention Workbook