LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 64

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64

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

heartbeat of our church body. The critical event occurs
when one Lutheran Chris-tian gives witness about Jesus of
the hope that is within him or her to another person so that
person may encounter Christ. That’s exactly what happened in the early days of the Christian faith. That’s exactly what must happen among us, in response to the grace
of God in our lives, given freely out of God’s love in Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I invite you, as
leaders in the LCMS, to pray for the blessing of God’s Spirit
upon each and every member of each and every congregation of our Synod, that the witness about Jesus of the hope
that is within you may be used by God’s Spirit to set this
world on fire with the great news of Jesus Christ, our Lord!
That’s what I mean by One Mission—Ablaze! . . . to
the ends of the earth!
Respectfully submitted,

APPENDIX
MEMO
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
President Gerald B. Kieschnick
A Matter of Concern
January 22, 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ, Savior of the
world and Lord of the universe, through whom alone we receive forgiveness, life and salvation!
In recent months, I have engaged in fraternal dialog
with individuals and groups in The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod who have expressed genuine concern about
matters of doctrine and practice in our Synod. In more than
one such gathering, after asking sincere, heartfelt questions indicating their disagreement with some of my decisions and actions, participants have requested of me, “In
your responses to our questions, show us your heart.”
The primary concern in such dialogs has to do with the
general subjects of “unionism” and “syncretism,” with specific reference to my role in events surrounding the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001. Frequent reference is made to an
event titled “A Prayer for America,” convened at Yankee
Stadium by the then Mayor of New York City, Rudolph
Guiliani. Since this event still seems to be on the minds and
hearts of some of our pastors and people, I believe it is appropriate for me to address with you once more this matter of concern.
On Sept. 23, 2001, an LCMS District President, Dr.
David Benke, participated in the event at Yankee Stadium
by offering a prayer that concluded with the words “…in
the precious name of Jesus. Amen.” Dr. Benke had informed me of his invitation to participate, discussing this
invitation in two telephone calls prior to the event. Since I
2004 Convention Proceedings

am his ecclesiastical supervisor, his consulting with me was
the proper thing to do.
My response was based on careful review of the position
of the LCMS regarding Synodical pastors participating in
“civic events” as articulated in a statement prepared by the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations and the
now sainted President of the Synod, Dr. Alvin Barry,
adopted by the Synod in convention only two months before
9/11. Having received assurance from Dr. Benke that the
invitation to pray did not in any way include a restriction
on his Christian witness, I offered my counsel that Synodical pastors “may for valid and good reason” (see below) participate in such an event.
Here are pertinent portions of the statement commended by the Synod in convention “for continued use and
guidance” that guided my counsel:
“Pastors, teachers, and other officially recognized
church workers are often asked to participate in activities outside of their own and other LCMS congregations. Some of these are civic events. Offering prayers,
speaking, and reading Scripture at events sponsored by
governments, public schools, and volunteer organizations would be a problem if the organization in charge
restricted a Christian witness. For instance, if an invitation requires a pastor to pray to God without mentioning Jesus, he cannot in good conscience accept.
Without such a restriction, a Lutheran pastor may for
valid and good reason participate in civic affairs such
as an inauguration, graduation, or a right-to-life activity. These occasions may provide opportunity to witness
to the Gospel. Pastors may have honest differences of
opinion about whether or to what extent it is appropriate or helpful to participate in these or similar civic
events. In these cases charity must prevail.
There are also “once-in-a-life-time” situations. It is
virtually impossible to anticipate all such situations or
to establish rules in advance. Specific answers cannot
be given to cover every type of situation pastors and
congregations face. These situations can be evaluated
only on a case-by-case basis and may evoke different responses from different pastors who may be equally committed to LCMS fellowship principles. The LCMS has
always recognized this.
However, the response to one situation should not
establish a precedent for future ones. Where pastors
regularly consult each other and are convinced of one
another’s integrity, they are freer to use their discretion where such prior consultation is impossible. We do
not want to fall into the trap of case law rigidity by setting down rules for every conceivable situation. At the
same time, the exception should not become the rule,
lest the truth of the Gospel be compromised.
Many people in the LCMS at least have heard about
this event held in Yankee Stadium. Many others are
also quite familiar with it. Basically, controversy has
developed within our Synod due to conflict between
those who believe that Dr. Benke should not have participated at Yankee Stadium and those who believe he
was right in doing so.
From an official perspective, the formal charges
brought against Dr. Benke by a number of individuals
and congregations in the Synod, seeking to have him
expelled from membership in the Synod, have been resolved. The final decision of the duly constituted and
conducted Dispute Resolution Panel was that Dr.
Benke should not be expelled from the Synod. Details
concerning that entire process are included in my
memos to the Synod dated November 30, 2001; February 11, 2002; July 9, 2002; and May 12, 2003. These
memos are available on the Synod’s Web site at
www.lcms.org/president and can be found on the Web
page for the “President’s Office” under the heading,