LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 57

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
That is precisely the meaning of the LCMS Mission
Statement:
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.

May that mission be the constant focus of this 63rd Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod!
The Purposes of a Synod Convention
The Bylaws of the Synod clearly indicate the major purposes of a Synod convention in these words:
The national convention of the Synod shall afford an opportunity for worship, nurture, inspiration, fellowship, and the
communication of vital information. It is the principal legislative assembly, which amends the Constitution and Bylaws,
considers and takes action on reports and overtures, and handles appropriate appeals. It establishes general positions and
policies of the Synod, provides overall program direction and
priorities, and evaluates all such positions, programs, policies,
directions, and priorities in order to provide responsible service for and on behalf of its members. Only a national convention of the Synod shall authorize affiliation or association and
the discontinuance of such affiliation or association of the
Synod with other church bodies, synods, or federations.
(Bylaw 3.1.1)

The Bylaws also direct that certain officers, boards and
commissions are to be elected by the Synod convention, including “the President, five vice-presidents in line of succession, the Secretary, the Vice-President–Finance—Treasurer
(who shall also be designated as Chief Financial Officer), and
the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod” (Bylaw 3.2.1) and:
• A Board for District and Congregational Services
• A Board for Mission Services
• A Board of Directors for Concordia Publishing House
• A Board of Regents for each Synod seminary (Bylaw 3.2.2).
In addition, some members of other boards and commissions are also to be elected by the Synod in convention (Bylaws 3.2.2.1).
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 14, specific attention will be
given to matters of information and importance for each
delegate to consider as the convention begins. This includes
basic information regarding parliamentary procedure, a
very important part of how we work together as a Synod in
convention. Please plan now to attend this orientation session 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 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

57

evaluate objectively and prudently the many opinions and
perspectives that may literally fill your respective mailboxes.
In this regard, it grieves me to inform you that some of the
material you will receive may not be accurate, charitable, or
even truthful. Accordingly, it would behoove you as a delegate to investigate fully any matters about which you receive
questionable information in order that you may be assured of
knowing the truth. You may do so, for example, by researching the actual facts or by asking your district president about
these matters. This is particularly important should you receive communications that do not honor the Eighth Commandment’s injunction that we defend and speak well of our
neighbor and “put the best construction on everything.”
May the blessing of Almighty God grant you the ability to
discover the facts and discern the truth as you endeavor
faithfully to prepare yourself for the significant task and
responsibility given to you by virtue of your election as a voting delegate, advisory delegate or advisory representative
to this 63rd regular convention of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod.
The State of the Synod…Defining Reality
That was the title of one section of my written report to
the 2004 convention of the Synod. After recently reading and
reflecting on this report, I have decided to share it once more
with the delegates to the 2007 convention.
******************************************************
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. Synod solidarity.
On Saturday, September 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
2007 Convention Proceedings