LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 52

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

52

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

a Board of Directors for Concordia Publishing House; and a
Board of Regents for each synodical seminary (Bylaw 3.55 a.).
In addition, some members of other Boards and Commissions are also to be elected by the Synod in convention
(Bylaws 3.55 and 3.57).
Accordingly, convention sessions and activities will be
planned and conducted with all these goals and objectives
in mind. During the delegate orientation the first day of the
convention, Saturday, July 10, specific attention will be
given to matters of information and importance for each
delegate to consider as the convention begins. Please plan
now to attend one of these orientation sessions Saturday
afternoon, whether or not this is your first time as a delegate.
Additional information will be provided to delegates in
the months and weeks prior to the convention. All delegates
are evangelically advised and encouraged to read carefully
all official materials received from the Synod.
In addition, delegates are no doubt already aware, if not
disappointed or even confused, that unofficial and unsolicited materials will be received in abundance. It is my fervent prayer that God will provide wisdom and discernment
to each delegate, enabling each of you to evaluate objectively and prudently the many opinions and perspectives
that, without a doubt, will literally fill your respective mailboxes. It grieves me to inform you of what is undoubtedly
already quite obvious, namely, that not all the material you
will receive is accurate, truthful, or charitable.
May the blessing of Almighty God grant you the ability
to “separate the wheat from the chaff” as you endeavor
faithfully to prepare yourself for the significant task and
responsibility that has been given to you by virtue of your
election as a voting delegate, advisory delegate, or advisory
representative to this synodical convention.
The State of the Synod . . . Defining Reality
On Sunday, July 15, 2001, in an acceptance speech following my election as President of the Synod, I offered the
following prayer:
Our Gracious Heavenly Father, Your ocean is so big
and our boat is so small. You have chosen to place my
hand with Yours on the rudder of this ship we call The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. At times my hand
will probably be tempted to turn that ship toward the
safety of the harbor, for ships are safe in a harbor. But
that’s not what ships are for. So, fill the sails of our ship
with the sometimes steady, sometimes strong, and
sometimes seemingly still breeze blown by Your Holy
Spirit, who is the Breath of Life. And as our ship sails
through weather, stormy or smooth, enable us to cast
the life preserver of Your precious Gospel to those
drowning in the depths of sin, that they may also, by
Your grace, be saved eternally, through Christ our
Lord. Amen.

In that speech, I identified a number of matters of importance facing our Synod in the years ahead:
1. The fulfillment of the Great Commission.
2. The recruitment, training, and support of pastors, educators,
evangelists, musicians, and other professional church workers.
3. The importance of the priesthood of all believers, especially the
full support and creative involvement of lay leaders.
4. The importance of relationships between the Synod, its Districts, and its congregations.
5. The place of the grace of God among us.
6. Synodical solidarity.
2004 Convention Proceedings

On Saturday, Sept. 8, 2001, moments after my installation in the Chapel of Saints Timothy and Titus on the campus of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis as the 12th President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, I prayed
this prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, look upon Your people gathered in this beautiful and holy place, filled with the
presence of your Spirit. Focus our eyes and our hearts
upon Jesus, given by You, in your majestic and universal love, for the salvation of the world. Prepare our
hearts and hands this day to love and to serve You and
You alone. Build our commitment to be faithful and
strengthen our resolve to be courageous, that through
Your power we might “Shake the Earth” with the great
news of forgiveness, life, and salvation, through Christ,
the Savior of the world and the Lord of the universe.
We pray this in His most holy and precious name.
Amen.

In that speech, I offered the following comments and observations:
• It is the mission of the church that concerns me most at
the beginning of my term of office as President of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Let it be known, with
no equivocation or uncertainty of any kind, that accomplishing the mission of the church to disciple and teach
the nations of the world will be Job One in this administration! We do not have the luxury, even if we wanted to,
of “fiddling while Rome is burning.”
• (After briefly describing the origin of the early church following the death and resurrection of Christ, including the
persecution and martyrdom of many believers and disciples, I added,) Also hardy souls, the people of central Europe, in my case, southeastern Germany near the Polish
border, lived their faith in a reasonable semblance of joy
and peace. But the oppression of governmental entities
made it clear to our ancestors that they had no choice but
to leave the place of their birth, travel on leaky, ill-fated
vessels to a distant land, leaving behind their homes,
their property, their heritage, their families.
For what reason did they choose to make this sacrifice?
The integrity of their faith was in danger of being lost as
a result of governmental declarations forcing those who
bore the name “Lutheran” to enter into ecclesiastical relationships without adequate basis for such relationships.
That would be too much to tolerate, much less to affirm.
So, with a portion of their possessions in hand, they embarked upon the journey that would take some of them
successfully to places like Perry County, Missouri, and
Lee County, Texas. Many of them died on board and were
buried at sea. The survivors thrived in the new world.
They ultimately formed what was once known as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and
other States, later called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod
of Missouri, Ohio and other States. Still later they
changed their name to The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod.
• Notwithstanding the significant growth experienced by
congregations and entities of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod in the first century of its existence, the
LCMS is not exactly, at the present moment, on top of the
heap when it comes to church bodies that demonstrate vibrancy and significant impact on the worldwide Chris-