LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 75

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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
sion to your kingdom, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son,
our Lord. Amen.

Convention Theme and Biblical Basis
In the Report of the President: Part I, printed in your Convention Workbook, I spent some time unpacking the theme of
our convention, “One Message—Christ!” I believe it is important briefly to review this information.
The theme of this convention is the second part of the
three-fold vision of One Mission, One Message, One People.
Our theme is “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. 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
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.
The subtheme “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 nonbelieving 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.

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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!
in seeking the lost for Christ 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 alone
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!
It is my prayer to our gracious God that this message will
be the constant focus of this 63rd Regular Convention of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod! It is both my counsel to
you and my prayer to God that every resolution you prepare
for presentation to the convention of our Synod will reflect
this theme and will enhance the mission connected to it, to
the glory of God and for the salvation of many of the people of
the world who do not now confess the name of Jesus.

Report of the Convention Delegate
Review Committee
Perhaps by now most if not all of you have received information regarding a document titled “Update on Circuit Exceptions for the 2007 LCMS Convention.” The author was a
plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in 2005 against the President and
First Vice-President of the Synod and against the Synod itself. The document essentially resurrects the same issues contained in the lawsuit, having to do with requests for bylaw-allowed voting delegate exceptions to a Synod convention.
Detailed information regarding the lawsuit is included in the
Convention Workbook in a “Special Report of the President to
the 2007 Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod regarding the Lawsuit against the President and First
Vice-President of the Synod and against the Synod Itself.”
In an April 17, 2007, memo to all district presidents, I addressed this matter in some detail, encouraging district presidents to share that memo with voting delegates from their
districts. In addition, my May 8, 2007, memo to all voting delegates and district presidents stated,
This memo is to inform you of my belief and testimony that
all things regarding this matter have been done with integrity, transparency, and propriety, with no violations of either the spirit or the letter of Holy Scripture, the Lutheran
Confessions, state or federal laws, lawsuit agreements, constitution, bylaws, resolutions, or other covenants of love by
which all members of the Synod have agreed to work and walk
together. All current and former district presidents in office
prior to the Synod conventions in question (2001, 2004, and
2007) have also stated in writing their belief that nothing inappropriate has been done in their districts in connection with
this process.
However, to assure the Synod that all is in order regarding this matter, to honor and protect the integrity of the convention itself, and to assure each of you that your election to
serve as a delegate to the 2007 LCMS convention is indeed

2007 Convention Proceedings