LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 4

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4

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

at least while there’s a chance of repentance and correction. Luther
said, “Doctrine is heaven. Life is earth.” We ought to suffer no false
doctrine, but in this life, because sin abounds even among us Christians, there has to be some mercy. Thankfully, doctrine is clear. It’s
the teaching of Holy Scripture. And biblical moral expectations are
also clear. But we remain sinners. When some scandalous issue arises—as they always have—it’s asserted that such a matter defines the
whole Synod. That would be the case if there were no engagement
with the matter and no repentance. About 90 percent of the issues of
ecclesiastical supervision that I discuss with district presidents are
addressed calmly and corrected before they ever reach the public.
District Visitations: Since becoming president, we began a program of regular, intensified visitation to all 35 districts. These have
mostly been in person with district presidents, boards of directors,
staff, and/or circuit visitors. We’ve gotten through most of the districts again this triennium. These are very positive opportunities to
raise any and all issues and to have a conversation. We are accountable to each other for what we believe, teach, and confess, and for
the sacred mission of the church that we steward. I’d estimate we’ve
completed roughly 100 such visitations. I’m also responsible for
new district president orientation, and we’ve greatly emphasized
the benefits and importance of regular visitation by district presidents (and their representatives in very large districts). The Constitution of the LCMS depends heavily upon this visitation, so we as
a church body remain united in doctrine and also united in love. It’s
a never-ending task.
The Lutheran Witness: Founded in 1882 as the official magazine of the English Synod and becoming the English-language
popular publication of the LCMS when the English Synod joined
in 1911, The Lutheran Witness remains our chief publication for
teaching the faithful. We conducted a thorough survey of readers
last year, and the magazine scored tremendously, with the vast majority responding that the content was just about right, neither too
fluffy nor too erudite.
Recognized Service Organizations (RSOs): We’ve received
some public criticism for association with Lutheran organizations
that are promoting homosexuality or adoption by same-sex couples
or this or that. Often, the organization in question is not associated
with—or is no longer associated with—the LCMS. Our RSO staff
is small but diligent. In just the past two years, 28 new applications
and 53 renewals have been processed, 64 certificates of approval
were sent, and 44 terminations/withdrawals/dissolutions/denials
were recorded. Organizations granted RSO status agree to respect
and not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod. When
I became head of LCMS World Relief and Human Care in 2001, we
were working jointly with staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) to grant status and monitor RSOs. At that time,
there continued to be a tremendous push by LCMS and ELCA staff
to get as many organizations recognized by the LCMS and affiliated
with the ELCA as possible. Over the past three years, some 50 agencies have ceased to be LCMS RSOs. Many of those were organizations whose practice aligned with the ELCA’s position on sexuality.
It’s a tedious process sometimes, especially if an LCMS district is
a co-owner or otherwise listed in the organization’s bylaws. It takes
time … but we’re getting there.
500th Anniversaries: The great third-generation Wittenberg
theologian Friedrich Balduin, in his commentary on Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (1610), wrote that “there is always need of reformation in the Church” (semper in Ecclesia opus esse Reformatione).
2026 Convention Workbook

As we approach two tremendous anniversaries, this phrase
comes to mind. In 2029, Luther’s Small Catechism will be 500
years old, and in 2030, our wonderful Augsburg Confession will be
500 years old. Renewal in faith, renewal in confession, and renewal
in mission always happen in surprising ways in the Church. It’s
always a result of the cry “Back! Return!” In 8:20, Isaiah called the
people back “to the teaching and to the testimony!” Jesus stood in
the synagogue and called the people back to the words of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18). Then He said,
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke
4:21). Luther called the Church back to Christ and His apostolic,
biblical truth. Our own Dr. Walther called the Church of his time
back to the faithful teachings of the true Lutheran Church: Bible,
catechism, Augsburg Confession!
It’s a rough world. Our world and nation are deeply divided
and afflicted by sin. It affects every aspect of our lives, our families, and our church. Confusing messages and situations surround
us, envelop us and threaten to drown our loved ones and us. “Lord,
to whom shall we go?” Christ is risen! Alleluia! Listen to the risen
Shepherd’s voice!
Death is overcome in Christ’s resurrection. Luther spoke on
St. Paul’s wonderful words that Christ is “the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). He wrote: “The resurrection
is to be viewed and understood as having already begun in Christ,
indeed, as being more than half finished, and that this remnant of
death is to be regarded as no more than a deep sleep, and that the
future resurrection of our body will not differ from suddenly awaking from such sleep. For the main and best part of this has already
come to pass, namely, that Christ, our Head, has risen. But now that
the Head is seated on high and lives, there is no longer any reason
for concern. We who cling to Him must also follow after Him as
His body and His members. For where the head goes and abides,
there the body with all the members must necessarily follow and
abide. As in the birth of a man and of all animals, the head naturally
appears first, and after this is born, the whole body follows easily”
(Luther’s Works, American Edition [LW], 28:110).
“Fear not,” Luther reminds us. Christ’s resurrection is so
powerful that it’s as though we, too, are half out of the grave already! “A Christian has already been thrust into death by the very
fact that he became a Christian. Wherever he may be, he occupies
himself with this hourly. He expects death any moment so long as
he sojourns here, because devil, world, and his own flesh give him
no rest. However, he enjoys the advantage of already being out of
the grave with his right leg. Moreover, he has a mighty helper who
holds out His hand to him, namely, his Lord Christ; He has left the
grave entirely a long time ago, and now He takes the Christian by
the hand and pulls him more than halfway out of the grave; only the
left foot remains in it. For his sin is already remitted and expunged,
God’s wrath and hell are extinguished, and he already lives fully in
and with Christ with regard to his best part, which is the soul, as he
partakes of eternal life” (LW 28:133, emphasis added).
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For
if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall
certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We
know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the
body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. (Rom. 6:4–6)