LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 11

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SYNOD REPORTS

11

Wittenberg Project

Our Great Demographic Challenge

The Wittenberg Project is on track. A business plan has been
enthusiastically accepted by LCEF. It is strong and carefully crafted.
We know that the effort will be self-supporting once we restore the
Old Latin School, located not 25 yards away from Luther’s church
in Wittenberg, Germany. As this report is made, we have $1.3 million given or pledged. We will need gifts/pledges (three- to five-year
commitments) nearing $3 million to begin construction next January.
This project is significant for several reasons:

The Missouri Synod has continued its 40-year numerical decline.
I recommend that all of us study “‘Nones’ on the Rise: One-inFive Adults Have No Religious Affiliation,” by The Pew Forum on
Religion & Public Life. [http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/
Topics/ Religious_Affiliation/Unaffiliated/NonesOnTheRise-full.
pdf]
The Pew study documents the steady and quickening decline of
mainline Christianity and also evangelicalism (the LCMS is somewhere in between). Thirty years ago, we had some 220,000 high
school youth in the LCMS. Today, we have just less than half that
number. The Pew study demonstrates that religious decline in America
is concentrated particularly in demographic categories heavily represented by the LCMS. Anglo-Americans are having fewer children.
People are waiting longer to get married. The study notes that among
the WWII generation, only 1 in 16 Americans was not affiliated with
a church. Today, the number is 1 in 5! And worse still, of those under
age 30, one in three is unaffiliated; 90 percent of the unaffiliated have
no interest in religious affiliation and are not seeking a church; 75
percent of the unaffiliated are opposed to the moral values on sexuality and marriage given by the Bible.
Several thoughts come to mind:

1.

2.
3.

We will establish a stronger conservative Lutheran presence in the
place where the Reformation was born and to which the whole
Lutheran world still looks.
This presence is vital as more and more Lutheran churches worldwide seek to partner with the LCMS.
The educational and edifying programs offered will be a great blessing to thousands of LCMS students, pastors, and teachers, laypeople,
members of our German partner church (SELK), and many others all
over the world.

The following paragraphs are taking from the business plan. If
you have questions, visit www.thewittenbergproject.org; or email
David.Mahsman@lcms.org. If you would like information on building- and room-naming rights, contact Mark.Hofman@lcms.org. Let’s
get this done now!
•	The Wittenberg Project is being developed by the International
Lutheran Society of Wittenberg (ILSW), a German nonprofit
corporation established in 2007 and owned by The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod, Concordia Publishing House, and
Germany’s Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK). The
ILSW also is a recognized service organization of the LCMS.
•	The Wittenberg Project will offer a diverse menu of academic and
non-academic options that will appeal to the needs and interests of
a wide variety of people. The range of options will run from youth
servant events to college and seminary courses (partnering with the
CUS schools and two seminaries), to continuing education for church
workers, to learning opportunities and pilgrimages for laypeople, to
elder hostels, and the like.
•	Our ministry center (the International Lutheran Welcome Center) will
be located in the renovated Old Latin School, a building that originally was dedicated in 1564 and is located in the heart of Wittenberg’s
historic old town. There we will provide inexpensive group-friendly
accommodations (which will include lodging) and the opportunity
to learn, reflect, and/or study in a historic environment. In addition to
being the venue for presenting our programs, this facility also will be
available to other church-related groups, including LCMS and SELK
schools, seminaries, and congregations, for use in presenting their own
study programs, retreats, and conferences.
•	The mission of the Wittenberg Project is to increase among those who
participate in its programs knowledge of and appreciation for God’s
blessings through the Reformation of the 16th century. In so doing,
it will seek to strengthen the faith of Christians and to introduce the
Christian faith to non-Christians. The project will develop a presence
in Lutherstadt Wittenberg that will attract students and visitors, promote confessional-Lutheran theology, and open doors to witness and
mercy work in the community and surrounding area.
•	Wittenberg, Germany, is the very place God chose for restoring the
pure Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Church and to the world. This is the
place where He raised up reformers, most notably Dr. Martin Luther,
who would boldly proclaim the truth of His Word even in the face of
powerful opponents and the threat of death.
•	Our mission will be accomplished through a Christian education and outreach center in Wittenberg that will be located in the
town’s Old Latin School (Alte Lateinschule). Sometimes also known
locally as the “Altes Gymnasium,” the Old Latin School is a historic
building dedicated in 1564 and located just steps from St. Mary’s
Church (the Stadtkirche, or Town Church), the “mother church of the
Reformation.”

1.

2.

3.

The “fields are ripe for the harvest.” In a day and age when many
denominations have lost their evangelical way, we have a message, a
strong saving message of Christ.
The demographics are tough and getting tougher. But the demographics looked much worse about the time Paul was converted! And we
have growing opportunities and successes by the grace of God among
immigrant communities, where the demographics often are quite
different.
Of the “unaffiliated,” fully 25 percent have conservative values with
respect to sexuality and marriage. And 10 percent are looking for a
church! There is plenty of room for us to work! The Gospel is the
“power of God unto salvation,” even in the rockiest soil! We are baptized for Witness, for Mercy, and for Life Together.

Kingdom of the Left Issues
Many of you saw my testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the
Health and Human Services contraceptives mandate (http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=527spTZiwBU). We viewed the mandate as
a violation of religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution. The LCMS also won a Supreme Court
case (Hosanna-Tabor v. The EEOC: http://www.supremecourt.gov/
opinions/11pdf/10-553.pdf). We are also struggling in many places
with existing or impending legislation on sexuality and its effects on
Lutheran adoption agencies, congregations, and so on. The IRS has
increased its questioning of “ministerial exception” regarding our
school teachers. I do not believe the tide of secularization in America
will be turned back; however, as traditional Christians, we do need
to have an aggressive “defense” against infringement on our First
Amendment rights. To that end we are now pursuing a small but
effective office in Washington DC, where we can partner with others (Alliance Defense Fund; Becket Fund; other like-minded church
bodies, etc.) when appropriate, on issues the LCMS has clearly
established positions. And we can make known those positions to
our legislators. We will be nonpartisan. We will not produce voter
lists or guides. We have appended a statement that we sponsored (see
Appendix III of this Convention Workbook). Stay tuned.
Compassionate Action for Those Struggling
with Same-Sex Attraction
It has become increasingly difficult to stand and oppose the
advance of the homosexual agenda when I am well aware of the fact
2013 Convention Workbook