LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Sheet 83

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AA a RCC Me tt A Ge ee

A ALE Na a Leen Ante wash

ARE Se co OL a isa ee a

aerenattone te Wea “Neamt NE alate iain dant tt ama, Mosca a Shen.

i:

85

2. MISSIONS

To Reaffirm Our Church’s Mission

RESOLUTION 2-01A
(Replacing Res. 2-01)

Reports 2-01, M2.-01A, M2-01B; Overtures 2-06A —2-
15B, 2-32 (CW, pp. 15-20, 31-33, 37-38)

Jesus Christ is Lord!

In Phil. 2:8-11, the apostle Paul explains why Jesus
Christ is Lord: “He humbled Himself and became obedi-
ent unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has
highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord.”

Although Jesus Christ is Lord, only 25% of the four
billion people in our world today claim membership in
the body of Christ. The challenge becomes even greater
when we recognize that many of this billion may be
Christians in name only.

In accepting the report of the Board for Missions (2-
01), we commend the board for establishing the following
overarching objectives:

“1. A growing number of people all over the world
who worship and serve the true God, by word and deed
witnessing to the saving work of God in Jesus Christ,
and, while awaiting His final coming, proclaim His lord-
ship over all of life. (Believers in Christ worshiping,
witnessing to, and serving God in His Mission.)

2. Christian people, individually and corporately
under the blessing of the Holy Spirit —

a. living in faithfulness to the Word as given us in
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testa-
ments as the only standard of faith and life and to
the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church as a true and unadulterated statement and
exposition of the Word of God;

b. growing in faith and service, equipping and
freeing each other to minister to people in all
sorts of conditions;

c. expressing an interdependence in giving and
receiving the various gifts God has given each;

d. responding to the challenge and opportunity to
bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to unevangelized
people everywhere through creative ministries of
witness and service;

e. sharing with other churches and individuals the
treasures God in His grace has entrusted to His
people.”

We regret and are grieved by the fact, as reported in
the Board for Missions report, “that the theological
divisiveness in the Synod has detracted from the
ongoing mission work.”

We are also saddened by the fact that tensions «
the board and between the board and staff have net been

thin

completely resolved, but we are gratified by recent
indications that progress is being made toward resolving
these differences.

We rejoice at the increase in national workers in
overseas churches and at the development of a national
ministry in sister churches overseas.

The emphasis on evangelism and missionary outreach
in sister churches is also cause for great joy. We
praise God that, for example, 5,000 were baptized in New
Guinea during the past year. Jesus Christ is Lord!

We join the Board for Missions in expressing
appreciation for the years of service given to the
mission program by the twelve staff members who
resigned during the past two years. We also join the
Board for Missions in commending the staff members
who remained and gave extraordinary service under
difficult circumstances.

We thank and praise God for directing the Rev. A. L.
Barry to accept the call to become the executive secretary
of the Board for Missions. We pray God’s blessings
upon his work and leadership in implementing the
policies and decisions of the Board for Missions.

Finally, we express our appreciation to the Board for
Missions for the spirit of humility and commitment
which permeates its report. We are especially grateful
for the declaration in the report: “We cannot continue
to count every sin or weigh and hold each charge in
perpetual debate. In the quiet chambers of our hearts
and in the hearing of the church we can before God and
each other say: ‘Lord, I am sorry for my part in all this.
Please lead me to forgive others as You have forgiven
me. Help me to be a better ambassador and servant in
Your mission. Amen.’”

It is in this spirit of humility and commitme::t that
we offer the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, That we recognize that Christ’s people
must proclaim the Gospel so that by the power of the

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