LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 56

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56

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

ple God has called us to be, united by God’s Love in Christ
Jesus.
What does this vision of ONE look like in The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod? In a spirit of humility, repentance,
and prayer, I respectfully submit this description of my hopes
and prayers for the LCMS in the years ahead:
A Repentant People
The vision of ONE sees the people of the LCMS by the
Holy Spirit’s power, in the light of God’s Word, first looking
into our own hearts in repentance, seeing our own personal
need for forgiveness and renewal through the grace of God in
Jesus Christ.
A Redeemed People
The vision of ONE sees the people of the LCMS as redeemed and Spirit-filled, confident of God’s forgiveness for
Christ’s sake, living our lives to the glory of God and exercising faithful stewardship of His many gifts to us.
A Renewed People
The vision of ONE sees the people of the LCMS as renewed “lights in the darkness” and “salt of the earth” who
love, respect, and honor one another, vigorously making
known the love of Christ by word and deed within our
churches, communities, and the world, speaking freely and
joyfully about God’s grace to those who have yet to hear and
believe!
It is in this spirit of repentance, redemption, and renewal
that I encourage our Synod to move forward in the years
ahead, united in the mission and the message that God has
entrusted to our care!
Convention Theme and Biblical Basis
The theme of this convention is the second part of the
three-fold vision of ONE: “One Message—Christ! His Love
is Here for you!” Its scriptural basis is 1 John 4:9–11:
This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one
and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since
God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Many passages of Holy Scripture articulate the truth that
Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of the world, including 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12; and 2 Corinthians 5:17–19—all listed
above. The apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, addresses the person and work of Christ from a personal perspective, focusing specifically and powerfully on the
benefit of God’s love, made known to mankind in the person of
Christ, for each and every person in the world.
In addition, John clearly focuses his Spirit-given words on
matters of great importance for us as Lutheran Christians,
namely, a proper understanding of Law and Gospel. “This is
love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Thus John also
writes, in the 19th verse of this same chapter, “We love because He first loved us.”
It is therefore true that any love that comes from us as
human beings comes only as a result of the fact that God
“first loved us.” This is true in respect to the love we show to
2007 Convention Proceedings

one another, as well as the love we demonstrate toward God
Himself. Our lives are lived to God’s glory, in accord with our
vocational calling as Christians, purely in response to God’s
love for us in Christ our Lord. The power of that love propels
us to proclaim the light of Christ’s love to all who live in the
darkness of doubt and disbelief.
During our convention as I address the delegates and
guests, I plan to tell the stories of how the light of Christ’s
love was shared with two individuals I encountered as a result of what can only be described as “divine appointments.”
On two separate occasions, I met Brad, a 43-year-old man,
and Jerry, a 26-year-old woman, under circumstances that
were totally unplanned, at least humanly speaking. In both
cases, traumatic events had occurred in their lives, events
that created fear, anxiety, even despair. By the power of God’s
Spirit, the light of Christ’s love provided hope, encouragement, and peace. I can’t wait to share “the rest of the story”
with you!
The sub-theme “His Love is Here for You” has numerous
applications:
• Christ’s love is here, in God’s Holy Word, for you!
• Christ’s love is here, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, for
you!
• Christ’s love is here, in the words of Holy Absolution, for
you!
• Christ’s love is here, in the Sacrament of Holy Communion,
for you!
• Christ’s love is here, in The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, for you!
The non-believing people of the world, including many
people here in our own country, are watching and waiting
for the discovery of meaning and value in their lives. They
also are wondering and wandering in their effort to find
such meaning and value, often turning to movements or
groups whose faith is based on principles or beliefs contrary
to what we in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod believe, teach, and confess.
From 160 years of biblical and confessional study, we in
the LCMS have come to understand and firmly believe the
truth of God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ, expressed so
clearly in the words of Jesus Himself: “For God so loved the
world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16–17)
That is the message we proclaim. We in The Lutheran
Church— Missouri Synod have ONE Mission—to be
ABLAZE! with the power and presence of the very Spirit of
God in our lives, on our lips and in our labors! We proclaim
ONE Message, that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the
world! We pursue the ONE Mission and proclaim the ONE
Message as ONE People, united by God’s love in Jesus
Christ!
And so our task, our purpose, our privilege in life is to be
ABLAZE! with the God-given light of God’s love, made real
to us in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord.
In and with that light, we are enabled to focus our time, our
talents and our treasure on reflecting God’s love in Jesus
Christ to the people of the world.