LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 2

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2 SYNOD REPORTS

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 | Timothy 2:5,
Acts 4:12; and 2 Corinthians 5:17—19—all listed above. The apos-
tle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, addresses the per-
son and work of Christ ffom 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 per-
son in the world.

In addition, John clearly focuses his Spirit-given words on mat-
ters 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.

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, encour-
agement, 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 ap-
plications:

* 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 discov-
ery 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

2007 Convention Workbook

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 Mis-
sion 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 trea-
sure on reflecting God’s love in Jesus Christ to the people of the
world.

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 posi-
tions and policies of the Synod, provides overall program direction and
priorities, and evaluates all such positions, programs, policies, direc-
tions, 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 affil-
iation 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 com-
missions 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 desig-
nated 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 be-
gins. This includes basic information regarding parliamentary pro-