LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 1

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SYNOD REPORTS
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has some use for the Missouri Synod? Even us? Could it be that we
are together baptized into Christ’s death, that together we may lead a
new life, a life lived outside ourselves and as a witness to our neighbor who needs Jesus?

President’s Report

Witness versus Doctrine?

Table of Contents
Baptized for This Moment?
Witness versus Doctrine?
Thankfulness: Has Our Love “Grown Cold”?
Is It Still Raining in Missouri?
So “What Does This Mean” for the 2013 Convention?
Can We Visit about the Mission?
Missouri’s Moment?
Restructuring
Values and Priorities
Financial Issues We Face
Koinonia Project
2010 Resolutions Assigned to the President
Current International Mission and Partner Churches
Wittenberg Project
Our Great Demographic Challenge
Kingdom of the Left Issues
Compassionate Action for Those Struggling with
  Same-Sex Attraction
National Offering
Worldwide KFUO: The Messenger of Good News
SMP Task Force

In Dr. Walther’s very first sermon at a Synod convention, he
opened with a statement we would do well to hear even today. It
takes us to the genius, the heart, the gift of the Missouri Synod. Some
might even see it as the contradiction of the Missouri Synod! Walther
ceaselessly emphasizes “pure doctrine,” but not for its own sake, not
for smug self-assurance or an excuse for laziness. Hardly! While in
our day it is common to pit doctrine against mission, and vice versa,
from the beginning the Synod did not do so. And that’s because the
Bible does not do so! (Matt. 28:19–20; 1 Tim. 4; Eph. 4). Pure doctrine and witness, witness and pure doctrine belong together. Imagine
yourself at that first tiny convention gathering in Chicago in 1847.
Dr. Walther preached:

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The very most important matter in a Synodical fellowship is pure
doctrine and knowledge. A Synod must certainly be a part of the church
of God on earth and evidence for this is given that in her midst ‘the
Gospel is preached purely and the holy Sacraments are administered
purely of the Gospel!’ [AC VII] It must also be built upon nothing but
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, where Jesus Christ is the
cornerstone [Eph. 4]. It must also be a little flock of those ‘holy believers
and lambs who hear the voice of their shepherd.’ [John 10:27] Also, it
is established to carry out the commission bequeathed by the Savior, ascending into heaven, to his church on earth: ‘Teaching them to hold fast
to everything that I have commanded you’ [Matt. 28:19]. Its ultimate
goal is the salvation of sinners, which is accomplished through nothing but the pure Gospel. So her first and foremost prayer must not be:
‘Thy kingdom come!’ but rather: ‘Hallowed be thy Name.’ (“Sermon at
the Synod’s First Convening [1847],” in Treasury of C. F. W. Walther,
vol. 7, p. 7, trans. by J. Baseley)

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Baptized for This Moment?
Our world is becoming unglued—violence, pornography, promiscuity, rejection of natural law, mass murder (including the ultimate
mass murder of now 50 million unborn babies since Roe v. Wade),
militant Islam, war, false religions by the thousands, persecution of
Christians, incessant ridicule of all that Christians hold sacred, worldwide political strife, Christianity in the West in serious decline, and
much more. We are in the end times, perhaps at the very last gasp of
sin, death, and the devil. Jesus’ words are fulfilled daily before our
very eyes.

By “pure doctrine” Dr. Walther, founder of our Synod, simply
meant believing, teaching, and acting in accord with what the Bible
says. That means walking the golden road between demanding more
than the Bible does and, on the other hand, ignoring the plain teaching of Scripture. And why do we believe, teach, and act according to
what the Bible, God’s Word, says to us? We do so for the salvation of
sinners (including ourselves!), the ultimate goal of the Synod. The
whole Bible points to and delivers the Gospel, Jesus Christ, who was
conceived, born, lived, suffered, died, and rose again for the salvation of the world (John 20:30; Rom. 15:4); “Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal life!” (John 6:68).
Our special emphasis in the 2013 convention is on the biblical
teaching of Baptism and what it means for our witness, mercy, and
life together today, at this challenging moment in the Church’s life. It
is vital that the Word of God have its way with us. The Word—even
Baptism (Eph. 5:26)—forgives (Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38), regenerates
(Titus 3:5), renews (Titus 3:5), restores (Titus 3:7), and casts us headlong into our sacred vocations as spiritual priests, propelling us to bear
witness to Jesus (1 Pet. 2:9; Acts 8:38; Heb. 10:19ff.), to have mercy
on those in need (Acts 16:15, 34), and to live with one another in faith
and love (1 Cor. 1:13; 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:5), and to do so with
joy (1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 16:34) and thanksgiving (Col. 2:7).

The disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will
these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the
end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you
astray. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and
they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the
end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver
you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray
one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise
and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the
love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will
be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout
the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come.” (Matt. 24:3–14)

Thankfulness: Has Our Love “Grown Cold”?

Jesus’ ominous words are doubly troubling when he tells us that
the Church will suffer persecution from without, but also, be wracked
from within—so much so that “the love of many will grow cold.”
Unfortunately, we in the Missouri Synod are hardly immune from
Jesus’ prophetic predictions. But Jesus also says the end will not come
until the Gospel has been “proclaimed throughout the whole world
as a testimony to all nations.” This means, does it not, that God still

Have you ever considered how many times the words “thanks”
and “thankfulness” occur in the Small Catechism?
• “… pray, praise, and give thanks” (Second Commandment)
•	“For all this [First Article gifts!] it is my duty to thank and praise, serve
and obey Him” (Creed, First Article)

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