LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 5

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SYNOD REPORTS
and ministry activities has not increased. In fact, in 2010 and 2011,
the share of the resources provided by our Lord and set aside
for district and Synod mission and ministry declined more than
$6 million.
As encouraged by several Synod conventions, we increasingly
appear to see our local congregations as “mission outposts,” attempting to do more and more mission and ministry locally. Sharing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone the Lord places in
our path is our task, wherever we find ourselves. However, even as
we focus on mission and ministry opportunities in our neighborhoods
and communities, it seems that the worldwide vision of the Great
Commission is going out of focus.
Look around your neighborhood and community, your circuit,
your district, our nation, and our world. What opportunities for mission and ministry can you see? Is your congregation capable of
assembling adequate resources to address those opportunities? If so,
it should, but not without coordination with other mission and ministry opportunities that are being addressed by your circuit or your
district or our Synod. Any identified mission and ministry opportunities that your congregation cannot meet by itself should be elevated to
your circuit convocation, your district convention, and/or our Synod in
convention. These larger organizations can and should be able to bring
coordination and economies of scale in seizing the identified mission
and ministry opportunities that cannot adequately be addressed by
an individual congregation. Cooperation in these efforts is not only
essential but also promotes good stewardship.
As we approach every triennial convention, we should ask ourselves: “Are the activities we determined in the past to do together (as
expressed in our Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions) still appropriate? Should we cease doing some of these common activities, or
should we pursue different common activities? Should we be doing
other activities together?” Once the common activities have been
identified, we need to ask ourselves, “Are we providing adequate
resources to our districts and to the Synod at levels that allow these
common tasks to be meaningfully pursued, each year? If we are not
providing adequate resources now, what can be done to ensure adequate resources are provided? If we are providing adequate resources,
how can we better distribute them for the work we have collectively
decided to pursue?”
Being good stewards of the resources God graciously provides is
key. This means prioritizing projects, coordinating efforts, and trusting that those who have been assigned these tasks will do them to the
glory of God, for the sake of the Gospel.
By God’s grace, and under the most capable leadership of our
new Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jerald C. Wulf, we have been able
to reduce the amount borrowed for operations against funds designated for specific purposes from nearly $16 million in 2010 to $6.6
million as of this writing. We are in the black for this fiscal year, and
we are intent on eliminating all internal borrowing and coming to
the point where we have at least 120 days of operating reserves—a
healthy standard for all non-profits. God help us!!
Koinonia Project
The “Koinonia Project” is a long-term initiative of my Office
under the Constitution of the Synod, Art. XI B 3, which enjoins the
President to “conscientiously use all means at his command to promote and maintain unity of doctrine and practice in all the districts
of the Synod.” Koinonia is the Greek word meaning “communion,”
“partnership,” or “participation or sharing” in something. The project fosters theological study and discussion groups at many levels
designed to bring together capable and respected people to study
God’s Word and the Confessions of our church so that, by God’s
grace, we come to clear agreement on

1.
2.
3.
4.

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the points at issue;
what we confess together;
what we reject; and
what we will therefore do together, on the basis of Scripture and our
Confessions.

This effort to develop spiritual and theological solutions under
the Word of God for some of our long-term issues we have chosen to
call the “Koinonia Project,” because we pray that God will build and
strengthen our unity in the Word of God, that is, our fellowship, our
“koinonia,” together.
Some have expressed the fear that the Koinonia Project would be
used to “root out” and “get rid of” dissidents. Others have expected
the Koinonia Project to work quickly to “deal” with our differences
so that we move with dispatch into a more unified future (however
particular individuals envision what that future should be!). Actually,
the Koinonia Project is neither. It’s not a “purge” of undesirables, nor
will it be a “quick fix.” Instead, the Koinonia Project is a long-term
effort on the part of our Synod to draw us together under the Word of
God. Audaciously we pray the Koinonia Project will become an
opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work a “cultural shift” among
us, i.e., a positive change in our shared expectations of one another
and our life together.
The project has roots in the “model theological conferences”
pursued in the previous decade. It takes into account the work of
the Harmony Task Force appointed in response to 2007 Synod Res.
4-01A. In a paper I initially presented to the pastoral conference of our
Southern Illinois District in 2009 titled “It’s Time,” I described broad
outlines for a “koinonia project.” In July 2010, I asked First VicePresident Herbert Mueller to develop the concept in consultation with
many across the Synod—the CTCR, the Council of Presidents, the
Praesidium, seminary faculty members, as well as an advisory group
of pastors representing various constituencies: Pastor Wally Arp, St.
Luke’s, Oviedo, Florida; Pastor Allan Buss, Immanuel, Belvidere,
Illinois; President Terry Forke, Montana District; Pastor Wayne
Graumann, Salem, Tomball, Texas; President Dale Sattgast, South
Dakota District; Pastor Harold Senkbeil, New Berlin, Wisconsin; and
President Anthony Steinbronn, New Jersey District (chosen while he
was a district executive). This group has met several times by phone
with Vice-President Mueller to discuss drafts of the concept paper
and how the concepts might be communicated more broadly. They
will continue to help him evaluate and extend the process. This group
should be expanded soon to include a wider variety of people, including ethnic representation.
As indicated, the first step in the process has been the development of a “concept paper,” available on the Synod’s Web site at http://
www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1041. We encourage you to read and
prayerfully consider the paper and the accompanying accountability
document for a Koinonia Project theological study group. Beyond the
concept paper, during the present triennium we have been developing a number of pilot projects around the country involving various
groups in a variety of ways, trying different approaches to see what is
most helpful. Following is a list of the activities to this point, mostly
by district:
Council of Presidents and CTCR
•	The Commission on Theology and Church Relations has reviewed
the concept paper.
•	CTCR Staff is helping with ongoing review of the concept paper.
•	The Council of Presidents has reviewed the concept paper and is
involved in ongoing discussions of the project.
•	The COP is also engaged in koinonia-like discussions regarding
“church and office,” Walther’s The Church and the Office of the
Ministry, the Augsburg Confession, etc.

2013 Convention Workbook