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LCMS President’s Newsletter n

Witness,

Mercy,

Life together News and Notes rom the President’s Ofce

October 2011No. 3

Supplement to Reporter

OFFICE OF NATIONAL MISSION

Lie Together“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is forbrethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133:1).

By the Rev. J. Bart DayExecutive Director o the LCMSOfce o National Mission

Life Together a GiftLife Together begins in Christ.

There is no life apart from the one“through whom all things weremade” (John 1:3). The life of Christ isthe life of the world, our life together.The miracle of the Incarnation is thatour Lord descended to take up ourlife. He wears our fallen human esh,that He might bear our sin and be ourSavior. In His bloody enthronementat Calvary, He draws all creation to

Himself. Here is our salvation. Here isour life together.In the Divine Service, our Lord

lovingly invites us to eucharistic eat-ing and drinking. With His body and blood, we proclaim His death andreceive His life. The crucie Onegives us the gift of forgiveness andthe seal of immortality. As He is, sowe shall be. The post-Communioncollect roots our life in Christ and ourlife together in that same: “We givethanks to You, almighty God, thatYou have refreshed us through thissalutary gift, and we implore You thatof Your mercy You would strengthenus through the same in faith towardYou and in fervent love toward oneanother.”

The living Christ creates “ferventlove toward one another.” The work of the Church in witness , mercy , and life together ows from an to thecross. What joy and freedom we havein serving our Lord and His holy bride, the Church. We are no longer burdened by the Law’s requirements.The Gospel, Christ in us, compelsus to share His Word to the ends of the earth, to share the mercy andlove of Christ with those in need,and to share in the corporate life of the Church. Life together is the best

living. Selsh ambition an priedisappear as we pray for and supportthe body of Christ. We belong to oneanother only through and in JesusChrist.

In his little book Life Together ,Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers severalhelpful insights into our life together.For Bonhoeffer, our life together isa concrete reality. God is not a Godof emotions but a God of truth. Thattruth is revealed in the divine revela-tion of the Word and the Word madeesh. The justie sinner lives in thecommunity of sanctication, a gift

from God that no man can claim. Lifetogether is a gift.

Of course, the boy an all itsmembers suffer under the delusionsand false advertising of the world, thedevil and our own sinful nature. Thepromise of power, prestige and pos-sessions always comes at the expenseof hurting those we love the most.Our life together becomes a life of isolation. The body and communitysuffer. The powerful in the commu-nity weed out the undesirables. AsBonhoeffer notes: “The exclusion of the weak an insignicant, the seem-ingly useless people, from a Christian

community may actually mean the ex-clusion of Christ; in the poor brother,Christ is knocking at the oor.” Ourlife together includes all for whomour Lord died: the world. The body of Christ cares and comforts in word anddeed.

As the Ofce of National Mission(Life Together) begins it work, wepray that the Lord will strengthen andsupport the work of our Synod. TheOfce of National Mission is oingthe work of “Home Mission.” Theworld is at our door. The challengesfacing the Church in our post-Chris-tian culture can appear overwhelm-ing. In the face of such challenges, the

Church must stand ready to proclaimthe Gospel boldly. Being a faithfulLutheran has never been more critical.The world is crying out for authenticconfession and genuine life together.The Church has both to offer.

Our Work in Life TogetherThe newly create Ofce of Na-

tional Mission oversees most of thedomestic work of the Synod. Therehave been plenty of challenges toface during the restructuring process, but there have also been unexpectedsurprises. As one person put it, “Therestructuring process is like cleaning

out your hallway closet, the one younever touch until you are forced to.Yet once you start digging around,you are amazed at the treasures thathave been forgotten and unused formany years.” As the Synod is workingto better communicate and collaborateon projects, new and exciting oppor-tunities for mission are being discov-ered. For this we give thanks.

The Ofce of National Missionis made up of six departments.They include the work of the former

continued on page 4

Jesus Only“And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one

but Jesus only” (Matt. 17:8 ESV).Jesus only. In this instance “Jesus only” was

a letdown for Peter, James and John. They’d justglimpse glory on the Mount of Transguration,

complete with Moses and Elijah. No time to build booths. It was back to the grind of preaching, teaching and healing. Atthe en of the transguration chapter comes another isturbing passionprediction by Jesus: “’The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed” (Matt. 17:22–23).

Their only option was Jesus. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68). Allor nothing. Jesus or nothing. But with Jesus came suffering and death. Theirknowledge would remain partial until they’d seen the risen Christ. “Put todeath for our transgressions, raised for our justication” (Rom. 4:25). And then, just one thing remained: Jesus only. The apostles, just like us, wavered andstill ha the esh about their necks (Gal. 2; Acts 15:39), but trials an crossesalways threw them back upon Jesus only. “I have suffered the loss of all thingsand count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).

Service in the church is often very hard business. We come into thesevocations having been encouraged by our pastors, teachers, fellow

Christians and family. “You’dmake a good pastor!” “You’d be awonerful teacher!” Soon we nthat it’s not all Moses and Elijah inglory. Not at all. Times of joy may be punctuated with long periodsof deep trials, congregations inturmoil, challenging relationshipswith staff and church members.The stress of disappointment andgossip can sap all energy, throw

pastors into lethargy, parch preaching and drive us to separate ourselvesfrom the world. If I could change just one thing in the Missouri Synod bywaving a magic wand, I’d turn every bit of gossip and unhealthy complaintabout church workers into a prayer for them. Valid critique and appropriateaccountability are good things, but they also require careful and positiveimplementation, preferably while things are going well.

And it’s not just the “weak” church workers who have this experience.C. F. W. Walther, Friedrich Wyneken, Franz Pieper and FriedrichPfotenhauer (and for that matter, Luther himself) all had serious and long-lasting struggles with stress-related depression and breakdown. After tellingWalther about his life-long struggle with depression, Wyneken wrote:

The longer and the more I have suffered under my heavy spiritualAnfechtungen [i.e., trials, struggles], I have experienced in a practicalway the necessity and importance of pure doctrine. Since everyoctrine is connecte with justication, an unergirs it—inee,proceeds from it as from the center [of the faith], and leads back toit—I have foun in this octrine my only stay in the mist of myifculties (At Home in the House of My Fathers , p. 425).

Wyneken’s trials force him to the heart of it all—justication—Jesus,put to eath for our transgressions, raise for our justication. Jesus only.We all pass through times of trial an ifculty. I’m very thankful for thosetrials I experienced in the parish because they have made me much moresympathetic to others and much more compassionate. Such trials leave usclinging to Jesus only. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” And wonderfully, andsomewhat ironically, they render us ever more to be “little Christs” to our brothers and sisters in their challenging moments, so that we can come tothem with “Jesus only:” “Whatsoever you have done to the least of these . . .”(Matt. 25:40). Perhaps Paul said it best: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7).

When we began the trek into this church work business, they told us,“You’ll be a good pastor or teacher or . . .” But the way we become suchworkers is the Jesus way—”the Son of man must suffer many things.” Onlythrough such trials are we reduced to “Jesus only.”

n Pastor Matthew Harrison, PresidentThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Syno

“Service in thechurch is often

very hardbusiness.”




From C. F. W. Walther to Hanoiinternational schools

By Kim Plummer Krull

When Jim Wolf served with theMarines in Vietnam in the late

1960s, it was a less than ieal rstvisit, especially, he says, for a “shel-tered German Lutheran kid.”

Back then, he never imagined thathe would one day return to help buildeconomic ties between the UnitedStates and the Southeast Asia countryand even be welcomed as a friend of the Vietnamese government.

And the thought of an LCMSinternational school opening in Hanoiwould have been “impossible to con-ceive” some 40 years ago, he says—even for the great-great-grandsonof the Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther, theLCMS leader called the “father of theMissouri Synod.”

Wolf—a former Marine, retireglobal banking executive and LCMSmember with eep Syno roots—saysthat the years-in-the-making relation-ships that both he and the LCMS havedeveloped in Vietnam “must be theLord’s plan.”

“Otherwise, it’s impossible tofathom,” said Wolf, of Pittsburgh, Pa.,whose mother, Edna Marie WaltherWolf, 95, is believe to be the olestliving direct descendent of the churchpioneer who played a key role in theSynod’s founding in 1847 and servedas the rst LCMS presient.

Wolf calls the new Concordia

International School Hanoi (CISH),which opened in August, “a greatway to reach more people” and “shineour light” in Vietnam.

“It’s a tremendous accomplish-ment. It’s not easy being ofciallyrecognized as an international schoolin Vietnam,” said Wolf, who haslongstaning ties to the country, rstthrough his military service and thenhis career. “My hat is off to all thosededicated servants who worked sodiligently over the years to make it areality.”

As an executive with StandardChartered Bank, Wolf’s work in tradeand investment development took

him all over the globe, including back to Vietnam.

The opening of the Synod’s new-est international school represents “alot of work” by the LCMS, Wolf said.“It’s a great step that’s sure to plantseeds.”

Years in the MakingAfter years of building

relationships and tackling legalities,the Concordia school receivedapproval from the Hanoi governmentand opened with about 50 studentsin pre-kindergarten through gradeseven. CISH is modeled after twosister institutions in Asia, the HongKong International School andConcordia International SchoolShanghai, China. LCMS educatorSteven Winkelman serves as the

Concordia Hanoi head of school.The Synod selected Vietnam as itsthird international school site, build-ing on human care work that beganin 1995 through LCMS Worl Missionas a registered non-governmentalorganization in Vietnam, headed bythe Rev. Te Engelbrecht. Over theyears, LCMS projects to help poorfamilies earned recognition from Viet-nam’s National Institute of Nutrition,including programs to teach mothersabout prenatal nutrition and farmersabout crop iversication.

CISH addresses another greatneed: improved education in theworld’s 13th most populous country.“I’ve spoken with leaders in both theVietnam government and in the U.S.State Department, and all agree verystrongly that education is a top prior-ity for the two countries to be work-ing on together,” Wolf said.

Families connected to the U.S.embassy and Hanoi’s huge multi-national business community alsoexpressed a desire for more interna-tional educational opportunities forforeign and American children as wellas local students. At present, onlystudents holding foreign passportscan be enrolled at Concordia Hanoi,according to guidelines set by theVietnamese government.

In Hanoi, the expatriate popula-tion consists of more than 20 different

nationalities, Winkelman said lastyear in a Reporter interview, with citi-zens from the United States, Australia,Canada and Great Britain makingup the largest percentage of nativeEnglish speakers. The largest foreignpopulations come from Japan andSouth Korea.

Strengthening TiesAs an international school in

Hanoi, CISH must operate differentlythan the traditional LCMS school inthe United States. Vietnam is a pre-dominantly Buddhist country, Wolf sai, “with a signicantly smaller

minority Christian population.”“It won’t look like our American[LCMS] schools, but it can have animpact,” Wolf said.

Wolf, a member of Peace Lu-theran Church, McMurray, Pa., plansto visit CISH on his next scheduledtrip to Vietnam in November. Heretired from Standard Chartered Bank in 2006 but continues to work as aneconomic development consultant forcompanies pursuing business op-portunities in Vietnam. His desire tohelp strengthen American ties withVietnam ignited when work took him back to Hanoi in 2005, his rst returnsince his military service.

Although he “always wanted togo back,” Wolf said he was surprisedthat he and his wife, Mary, were“welcomed with such open arms” asAmericans in Hanoi.

“That keyed in my mind that Iwanted to continue to do things therethat were much more positive thanmy rst experience in Vietnam as aMarine,” Wolf said.

A conversation with Vietnam’sambassaor to the U.S. afrmeWolf’s decision to use his expertise on behalf of two countries once torn by

war. “The ambassador told me thatmy [military] service was honorable, because my country asked me to do it.Now, he said, you are doing some-thing from your heart that is evenmore honorable,” Wolf said.

As he continues his work in Viet-nam, Wolf also follows LCMS work there, including the opening of theConcordia Hanoi school. He has metwith LCMS World Mission’s Rev. J.P.Cima, who is based in Vietnam, andworshipped with Cima and his wife,

Aimee, and other expatriates at aninternational congregation.

Part of theWalther Legacy

Like his great-great-grandfather,Wolf is a strong proponent of Luther-an education. He speaks fondly of his church-focused childhood in St.Louis, Mo.

“When I grew up, everythingrevolve aroun the church—WaltherLeague, Boy Scouts, the church sportsteams,” he said. “Going to a Lutherangrade school and high school provid-ed a great foundation for my life and

my faith.”He looks forward to joining inthe Walther Bicentennial celebra-tion, participating, when possible,in events that begin this fall and willextend through the 125th anniversaryof Walther’s death in 2012.

Walther helped lay the foundationfor a church body that now ranks asone of the largest Christian denomina-tions in the United States, with morethan 2.3 million baptized members insome 6,200 congregations. The LCMSoperates America’s largest Protestantparochial school system.

“A bit of pride swells up,” Wolf says, at the mention of the LCMS

founding father’s lasting leadership.“It’s neat to have him for a great-great-grandfather.”

As the newest Concordia interna-tional school begins serving studentsand families in Hanoi, Walther’slegacy continues to grow. “He be-lieved strongly in reaching out andserving others,” Wolf said of Walther.“I know this new LCMS school wouldmake him happy.”

To learn more, visit the ConcordiaInternational School Hanoi website atwww.concordiahanoi.org .

New LCMS school in Hanoi ‘tremendous accomplishment,’ says Walther kin

Students arrive at Concordia Hanoi on August 24, the school’s inaugural day of classes. Concordia’s K-7 enrollment is approximately 50 students.

The staff and educators have been preparing for months for the opening of ConcordiaInternational School Hanoi. Staff includes Hai Quang Trinh, Vietnamese Relations; AmyWinkelman, Admissions; Meg Brainard, Curriculum and Instruction; and Lia Garcia Halpin,Communications.




Help Needed to Fund TheologicalEducation around the World

supporting missions abroad

By the Rev. Dr. Albert B. CollverDirector o Church Relations—Assistant to the President

Since the time of the Reformationand the early days of Wittenberg

University, the Lutheran Churchhas been a church that excels ateducation, in particular theologicaleducation. Education is a vitalpart of our LCMS heritage andhas blossomed to become a corecompetency of the LCMS. In fact,from its very beginning, the MissouriSynod emphasized the importanceof Lutheran education with thefounding of day schools, high schools,

colleges, seminaries, and morerecently, international schools suchas Hong Kong, Shanghai and Hanoi.Around the world, both Christiansand non-Christians alike associateeducation with the Missouri Synod. Itis really no surprise, then, that a majormissionary emphasis of the LCMSinvolves theological education.

Building on our strong traditionof education, President Harrisonannounced in May 2011 theestablishing of a Global TheologicalEducation Initiative, along witha generous matching offer of $250,000 from an anonymous donor.This initiative involves severalcomponents.

The rst provies funs to bothConcordia Seminary, St. Louis, andConcordia Theological Seminary,Fort Wayne, to offer scholarships for

international students from aroundthe world who are considered to befuture leaders of their church. Thiscomponent of the initiative helpspartner churches build capacity bothin leadership and in their ability toprovide theological education at theirown institutions. A second componentof this initiative provides supportfor the regional seminaries of LCMSpartner churches. A third componentprovides funding for LCMS

$250,000 matching gift available

Theological education support—a major missionary emphasis of the LCMS—helps partnerchurches and emerging churches raise up and train national leaders l ike those shown aboveattending a Lutheran theological training event in Madagascar.

professors and pastors to travel to apartner or even a non-partner churchand teach at one of their regionalseminaries or theological educationcenters. Each year, the LCMS receivesmore requests than we can meetfrom partner churches to providetheological education.

In practical terms, the GlobalTheological Education Initiativewill greatly assist our LCMS partnerchurches. Currently, Concordia

Rev. Dr. Alan Ludwig, Siberia, Russia

Rev. Dr. Carl, Deaconess Deborah and TedRockrohr, South Africa

Rev. and Mrs. Tony Booker, Czech Republic

Opportunities to SupportOur LCMS Missionaries

Nearly 75 years ago, Friedrich Pfo-tenhauer, fth presient of the

Missouri Synod, preached the follow-ing words at a mission festival:

To be sure, when we membersof the Lutheran Church considerthat the treasure of the Gospel,which makes us so rich andhappy, should also be broughtto others, it should make uswilling to do diligent work forthe mission. By that mission andthrough our work, many will bewon for the kingdom of Christ!We should ourselves be eagerto preach the Gospel to anotherperson and to

participate inthe missionwork of our belovedSynod, whilewe educatemessengersin ourinstitutionsand send outmissionaries near and far! [“TheDuty of the Lutheran Churchto Be a Church of Mission,”1937; At Home In the House of MyFathers (CPH 2011), p. 803].

The Church has always seen the

missionary task as a great privilege,duty and gift given by our Lord Jesus.The Lord has called the Church wher-ever it is located to make disciples by teaching and by baptizing peopleinto the Lor’s holy name—Father,Son an Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19–20). Jesus calls for His Church to pray tothe Lord of the harvest to send labor-ers into the el (Matt. 9:38). Jesusalso calls for His Church to supportnancially the sening of these labor-ers into the el. Historically, thepeople of the Missouri Synod haveresponded eagerly to the Lord’s call to

pray and sup-

port laborers inthe el.Last July,

the LCMS sentout more than30 missionariesto 16 countries.In addition tothese newly sentmissionaries, the

LCMS has many in the el who arealso in need of prayer and support.

Among the new career mission-aries sent out are Rev. Alan Ludwig(www.lcms.org/Ludwig ) who serves

By the Rev. Dr. Albert B. CollverDirector o Church Relations—Assistant to the President

in Siberia, Russia; Rev. Tony Booker(www.lcms.org/Booker ) who will servein the Czech Republic; and Rev. Dr.Carl Rockrohr and Deaconess Debo-rah Rockrohr (www.lcms.org/Rockrohr ),

who will serve in South Africa. Pleaseremember these missionaries, as wellas all LCMS missionaries, in yourprayers, and consider supportingthem as you are able.

President Harrison wrote in hisletter that accompanied the May 2011Lutheran Witness that a generous giftfrom an anonymous donor provideda matching opportunity for LCMSMission Outreach. This rst match-ing challenge has been met, and nowwe have the chance to respond toadditional opportunities to send outlaborers into the harvest.

Seminary, St. Louis, has two professorsfrom the seminary of our partnerchurch in Argentina studying at thegraduate school so that they can returnto their country and better preparepastors for Hispanic ministry in SouthAmerica. The Evangelical LutheranChurch of Argentina is the world’slargest Spanish-speaking Lutheranchurch. By assisting the LutheranChurch in Argentina, the LCMS

maximizes its mission outreach in theregion while at the same time buildinglocal capacity for the future.

In Papua, New Guinea, St. TimothySeminary is in desperate need of reno-vated toilet, shower and dormitoryfacilities. Currently, this need hindersthem from enrolling more studentsto study for the pastoral ministry.Elsewhere, the Lutheran Church inNigeria (LCN) recently celebrated its75th anniversary. At the celebration,Archbishop Ekong mentioned the needfor visiting seminary professors fromthe LCMS at their seminary.

Recently, the Lutheran Churchin South Africa (LCSA) requested

that the LCMS send a professor whocould teach the Small Catechism in apractical way so that students wouldknow how to use the catechism ineveryday ministry. We were able tofulll this request by sending the Rev.Randy Asburry from Hope LutheranChurch, St. Louis. Each of theseexamples demonstrates the variousneeds that the Global TheologicalEducation Initiative is designed tomeet so that the Gospel of Jesus may be spread throughout the world. Partof our Life Together as a church is torespond to the needs of our brothersand sisters, both near and far.

Time is short for the matchinggrant opportunity. Please considersupporting the Global TheologicalEducation Initiative by visiting http:// lcms.org/projects.

Please visit one of the mission-ary’s links or go to www.lcms/ missionaries to learn more about eachof our LCMS missionaries and how tosupport them.

“The Church has always seen

the missionary task as a

great privilege, duty and gift

given by our Lord Jesus.”




Office of the President

Rev. Matthew C. Harrison—PresidentRev. Herbert C. Mueller, Jr.—First Vice-PresidentRev. Jon D. Vieker—Senior Assistant to the President, EditorBarbara A. Below, LCSW—Assistant to the PresidentRev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III—Director o Church Relations,

Assistant to the President

1333 S. Kirkwood Road • St. Louis, MO 63122-7295Phone: (314) 996-1402 • Fax: (314) 996-1119Email: [email protected]: http://www.lcms.org/president

Blog: http://www.wmltblog.org

Permission is granted to reprint articles rom this insert in church bulletins andnewsletters. Please acknowledge the LCMS Ofce o the President as the source o the materials. Check our website or electronic versions o these articles.

The Koinonia Project—A Quick Report

DISTRICT IN MISSION

By the Rev. Herbert C. MuellerLCMS First Vice-President

Koinonia (pronounced “koy-

no-NEE-ah”) is a Greek wordtranslated as “fellowship” or“participation,” literally “to havesomething in common.” “God isfaithful, by whom you were calledinto the ‘fellowship’ (koinonia) of His son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1Corinthians 1:9). Because Go hascalled us, we have Jesus in common.The same word is behind the phrasein our creed, “I believe in . . . thecommunion (koinonia) of saints.”

“The Koinonia Project” is themoniker given to the effort by theOfce of the Presient of Syno tofoster discussion groups aroundthe Synod working toward greatertheological unity under God’s Word.

As our concept paper explains(see http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1041), the heart of the effortis the development of various studygroups for theological discussion.Some will utilize existing groups incircuits. Others will be specicallychosen to represent a broad spectrumof opinion.

An informal advisory group has been established to help First Vice-Presient Herbert Mueller rene theconcept paper and to help “put legson” the idea. These seven pastorsfrom around the Synod provide a

broad perspective: Pastor Wally Arp,St. Luke’s, Ovieo, Floria; PastorAllen Buss, Immanuel, Belvidere, Il-linois; President Terry Forke, MontanaDistrict, Billings, Montana; PastorWayne Graumann, Salem, Tomball,Texas; President Dale Sattgast, SouthDakota District, Sioux Falls, SouthDakota; Pastor Harold Senkbeil,New Berlin, Wisconsin; Pastor TonySteinbronn, Mission Executive, New Jersey District, Mountainside, New Jersey. Ongoing consultation is alsotaking place with the Commission onTheology and Church Relations, theCouncil of Presidents, our theologi-

cal faculties and others and will beexpanded in the future.

Pilot GroupsAlready Forming

Various pilot groups will beformed in the next several months.District leaders in the NorthernIllinois District have asked to formpilot groups in their district. Wepray this can begin yet this fall. TheNebraska District and the SouthWisconsin District have also asked toform pilot groups.

Presentations have been made inKansas, South Wisconsin and Texas.Future presentations are also sched-

uled in Nebraska and Wyoming.Circuits in Kansas and Texas haveexpressed interest, as well as othersacross the country.

As a long term effort, the KoinoniaProject will create multiple oppor-tunities for theological dialog underthe Word of God toward the goal of greater concord in our life together.Study groups will seek to• clearly ene the point(s) at issue.• afrm where the members of the

group agree on what we confess.• explain what we therefore reject

(showing also where we may stilldisagree).

• work towars agreement on what

we will, therefore, do together.

What Does a Koinonia Group Look Like?

The following steps are suggestedto form a successful Koinonia group:1) Bring respected and capable

people together, 8–12 in a group,for theological dialogue under theWord of God, with the help of achaplain/facilitator.

2) Begin with a discussion of whatit means to be a Synod of broth-ers and sisters who walk togetherin our confession of the Word of

God. The Augsburg Confession isa great place to start the conversa-tion.

3) Much prayer is needed across theSynod for this ongoing effort.

4) The chaplain/facilitator leads thegroup into the Word of God withregular worship and holds thegroup accountable to behavior t-ting that of brothers and sisters inChrist.

5) A broad spectrum of people willneed to be involved as we moveforward and the project growsacross the Syno. Over time, vari-ous groups will need to be multi-plied. Participation by the semi-

naries and theological faculties of the Synod will be essential.

6) The groups themselves must livein the baptismal rhythm of re-pentance and forgiveness, confes-sion and absolution, dying to self and living in Christ and for oneanother. Regular worship, studyof Scripture and the Confessionsand prayer are the center of thislife together. The Word of Godworks repentance and faith. God’skoinonia is a gift in Christ, andGod gives His gifts by His Word.

CONTINUEd FROM PAGE 1.life together

7) Groups must to operate in a spiritof trust, providing “safe places”for honest theological conversa-tion.

8) Each group will take the timenecessary to form a “statementof the controversy.” What exactlyis at issue in the matter they arediscussing? Can the folks on oneside explain the position of othersin a way that those others will

recognize and accept? Such aprocess will enable the group tounderstand and to agree on whatthe issue actually is.

9) Then groups will nee to ientifyareas of agreement. What do weafrm together? What o we,therefore, reject? How does theWord of God apply? How do ourconfessions keep us focused onChrist and His Gospel at the cen-ter? Where do we still disagree?How does it matter?

10) Through this process we look toGod’s Word to instruct us so thatwe grow towards being able tosay: Here is how we will proceed.

Here is where our conscience

District and Congregational Services, with other groups coming fromLCMS World Mission and World Relief and Human Care. The newdepartment is focused on supporting the “Home Mission” of the Synod inour Life Together. The six departments are:

• Recognize Service Organizations (RSOs)• Stewarship• Schools• Youth• Worship• Church an Community Engagement

Each department is engaged in great work to support the mission of our Synod. Some of the work is well-known to people throughout theSynod; other work is not.

Deaconess Dorothy Krans is supporting the work of RSOs. Previ-ously, RSOs were uner the program boars that best aligne with theirparticular work. We have the unique opportunity to better help coordinatean encourage collaboration among the various RSOs of syno. RSOs area valuable asset as they are able to provide faithful Lutheran services inmany areas beyond the ability of the Synod.

Under the leadership of Rev. Wayne Knolhoff, stewardship continuesto equip districts with valuable resources to encourage lifelong steward-ship that focuses on our whole life in Christ. Stewardship also works withseveral congregations who use resources like Faith Aame as part of theirstewardship life. School ministry remains one of the most vibrant parts of our lifetogether. Directed by Bill Cochran, school ministry continues to providecritical services that help sustain and grow our parochial schools. FromSLED (School Leadership Development Project) and accreditation toproviding support for expanding technology to information shared on the

Lutheran portal, school ministry continues to look to the future and how best to support exemplary education while proclaiming the Gospel to theends of the earth.

Keeping our youth engaged is the work of the Rev. Terry Dittmer andhis staff. Through services and programs, the Synod youth departmentcontinues to provide helpful resources and opportunities to serve. Mostknow about the National Youth Gathering in 2013, but there are otheropportunities through LYF (Lutheran Youth Fellowship), annual servantevents, as well as online resources at thEsource. Worship staff continue their work by providing faithful resourceslike LetUsPray , as well as completing the companion volumes to LutheranService Book. By engaging the church in ongoing conversation on thisvital area—one that impacts every congregation of Syno every Sunaymorning—Worship seeks to be a resource for materials that incorporate both the riches of the past with that which is faithful from the present.

The newly formed group, Church and Community Engagement , brings together the most ynamic ministry opportunities in the Ofce

of National Mission. Here is our life together work of evangelism andoutreach (The 72—Partners on the Roa, Rev. Al Tormoehlen), churchplanting and revitalization, rural and small town mission (RalphGeisler and Rev. Lee Hagan), black and ethnic ministry (Rev. QuentinPoulson) and the work of Rev. Carlos Hernandez who oversees Hispanicministry, Veterans and Soldiers of the Cross and Gospel Seeds, a programencouraging congregations to work in their communities to support theneeds of the least of these.

The Ofce of National Mission serves a critical role in supporting ourwork at home. By the time this goes to press, we will have hosted a Na-tional Mission Conference to hear from district presidents, district missionexecutives an others in orer to help our ofce shape its work for thefuture. We are absolutely committed to remaining relevant and supportiveof the needs of the Church. May the Lord bless us in our life together.

is captive to Christ so that weconfess God’s clear Word. Here iswhere we have Christian freedom.Here is where we have more work to do. Here is what we will agreeto do together out of love for oneanother and for the common good.

11) Some grant funding is in place todevelop pilot groups. Ways needto be found for these efforts to be studied by the whole Synod.Much remains to be done.

Our Syno is not a hierarchicalorganization, but a fellowship of congregations and church workersunited by our confession of Christ inthe Word of God and the LutheranConfessions. We have no power overone another save the power of theWord of God and fraternal persua-sion. We come alongside one anotheras brothers and sisters who help eachother hear the Word of God clearly.Pray that God would use this effortto increase our fellowship with oneanother in Christ Jesus.

For more information, email Herb.

[email protected].

1011 wml office of the president

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