To go with this summer’s LCMS Convention theme, Baptized for This Moment: A Bible Study, is being made available for free through the synod’s website, where you can download a pdf file of the study. The study’s five lessons are: 1. Baptized 2. Repent and Be Baptized 3. Baptized for Witness 4. Baptized for Mercy 5. Baptized for Life Together I’m planning to use this Bible study with my own parish, starting later this month, and in our service on May 26 I’m planning to preach on the passages from Acts 2 that form the basis for the theme and   More…

 St. Louis, July 20-25, 2013 The 2013 Convention Workbook is now out! It was posted online yesterday and will be arriving in the mail soon. Over 450 pages from cover to cover! What’s in there? Lists of delegates, floor committees, synodical officers, etc. Reports from various officers, boards, and commissions. Over 250 overtures, organized into seven categories. CCM opinions, CTCR reports, SMP Task Force report. There’s a lot here to absorb! The art is in knowing what to skim over and what to study more closely. Today I’ll give just a brief overview. In succeeding columns, I may focus on   More…

 St. Louis, July 20-25 Today the nominees were announced for LCMS President, First Vice-President, regional vice-presidents, and regional Board of Director lay members. The nominees are those who received the highest number of nominations from congregations and who then consented to serve if elected. (These nominations are in addition to the previously announced nominees for the various boards, commissions, and other offices.) PRESIDENT (To be elected in June, four weeks before the convention.) Matthew C. Harrison: 1,111 Herbert C. Mueller, Jr.: 140 David P. E. Maier: 126 FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT (Of these 22 names, the President-elect will pick five for the   More…

Another interfaith prayer service has been announced. WWDPD? What Would a District President Do? Let’s find out. The location of the upcoming interfaith prayer service will be Fort Wayne, Indiana. The mayor of Fort Wayne, along with several interfaith leaders, announced the service on Tuesday, as reported yesterday in an article in The Journal Gazette, Mayor endorses event to celebrate all faiths. FORT WAYNE – Sounding as much like a religious leader as a politician and civil servant, Mayor Tom Henry on Tuesday called people of all faiths in Fort Wayne to prayer. Flanked by a Christian minister, an Islamic   More…

At the 2010 Convention in Houston, there was a proposed resolution, Res. 8-30 “To Amend Article VI of the Constitution,” which would have changed the language of our Synod’s article on “Conditions of Membership.” In my opinion, those changes would have made the article much weaker. And so, as a delegate, I was totally opposed to that resolution. I was not alone. The resolution itself was what was amended. By the end of the week it became Res. 8-30B “To Study Article VI of Synod’s Constitution.” Instead of amending the Synod’s “Conditions of Membership,” the resolution now called for a   More…

An Illinois state senator who is a member of an LCMS congregation last month voted in favor of a bill that would legalize homosexual “marriage” in the state. Illinois Democrat Andy Manar is the legislator whose vote helped the bill pass the Senate. Manar is a a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Bunker Hill, a congregation in the Southern Illinois District of the LCMS. Meanwhile, the president of the Southern Illinois District, the Rev. Timothy Scharr, has written an open letter upholding the biblical and synodical stance against homosexual behavior and thus opposing the bill. These developments are covered   More…

[On Sunday the following overtures were adopted, unanimously, both by my congregation and our circuit forum, to be submitted to the LCMS Convention Workbook. CH] To Upgrade the SMP Program WHEREAS, Holy Scripture sets high standards for the theological aptitude of pastors, saying that they are to be “able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2) and “able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9), and that “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers” (James 3:1); and WHEREAS, the curriculum and standards for the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program are significantly   More…

[On Sunday the following overture was adopted, unanimously, both by my congregation and our circuit forum, to be submitted to the LCMS Convention Workbook.  CH] To Provide Guidance on Participation in Interfaith and Joint Worship Services WHEREAS, the LORD God commanded his people, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod. 20:3), and judged them severely when they mixed the one true faith with the worship of the golden calf (Exod. 32); and WHEREAS, the prophet Elijah did not participate in any “interfaith prayer service” on Mount Carmel, but rather mocked and condemned the prophets of Baal (1 Kings   More…

President Harrison’s Video on the Newtown, Conn., Statement of Unity and Pastoral Letters “LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison summarizes the events following the Newton, Conn., tragedy that involved Christ Lutheran Church, the LCMS congregation in Newtown, and her pastor, the Rev. Robert Morris. Harrison offers his personal apology for the way the matter was handled, which brought negative national media attention to the congregation and pastor of Christ Lutheran Church as well as to The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. The video mentions several documents.” President Harrison on the Newtown, Conn., Statement of Unity and Pastoral Letters

["A Statement of Unity" and "Pastoral Letters on the Newtown Tragedy" today have been issued by Pastor Rob Morris, District President Timothy Yeadon, and Synod President Matthew Harrison. I will post below, in full, "A Statement of Unity." To read the pastoral letters from President Harrison and President Yeadon, follow the link. A statement from Pastor Morris and his congregation is linked also. I encourage everyone to read all of these statements in full. And I rejoice over, and give thanks to God for, the peaceful resolution that these fine men have brought to this matter. CH] A Statement of   More…

Yesterday both former Synod President Gerald Kieschnick and current Atlantic District President David Benke made public comment on the Newtown situation, Kieschnick in his “Perspectives” column and Benke in an article in the New York Times. In his column, Kieschnick writes: “Some who read this article may know what I mean when I say this sounds like Yankee Stadium in Newtown, Connecticut. In both cases, the pastor in question was simply responding in a pastoral way to people in need of healing and hope. He did so without in any way compromising the truth of what we believe, teach and   More…

The following overture concerning women in combat is already being considered by congregations in several districts (and hopefully more soon). I pass it on in the hopes that the pastors and congregations of the synod will consider it in prayer and love for neighbor. I believe it to be a good overture. I hope and pray our Synod will pass it as a resolution this coming summer in convention.  However, you must move fast, overtures must be submitted by March 2nd. Here is a good summary of how to properly submit an overture: http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=25311 There are two avenues remaining to submit   More…

The national media have picked up on LCMS President Matthew Harrison’s response to the participation of Pastor Robert Morris in an interfaith prayer service in Newtown, Connecticut. The interfaith service took place on December 16, a letter from Pastor Morris regarding his participation was issued on January 31, and a letter from President Harrison on his handling of the situation was issued on February 1. Now, in the last 24 hours, an article by Caleb Bell of Religion News Service (RNS), “Lutheran pastor apologizes for praying at Newtown vigil,” has appeared in the Washington Post and other news outlets. And   More…

 St. Louis, July 20-25 In early October all LCMS congregations were sent a mailing from the Office of the Secretary containing Official Nominations Ballots and return envelopes for the 2013 Elections. These ballots must be voted on, filled out, returned, and received properly, following particular instructions, by the February 20 deadline. My guess is that most congregations that are going to participate in this process will be doing so, now that Advent and Christmas are over, sometime during the next four or five weeks. Each congregation may nominate one or two ordained ministers for President of the Synod, as well   More…

(( Editors: We have re-posted this article since the apology has been issued )) An LCMS pastor is scheduled to participate in an interfaith service tonight in Newtown, Connecticut. The Rev. Rob Morris, pastor of Christ the King-Newtown, is listed as giving the blessing at the end of the service. The service is being televised nationally right now on several news outlets (e.g., MSNBC). Below is the lineup for the service as published in the New York Times today. Note that Morris’s last name is misspelled as “Mossis,” and that he is no longer the vicar but the pastor: Program   More…