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A Pastoral Letter to
Pastors of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
From President Jerry Kieschnick
February 23, 2010
Dear Brothers in Christ,
Late last month, I was in Southern California, where I
spent very little, but precious, time with our military
chaplains at their West Coast conference in San Diego. I
also had the privilege of spending a very full day in
meetings with student leaders, faculty, staff, and other
leaders at Concordia University, Irvine. I'll share more
about those visits later in this letter.
Such experiences as these are regular reminders to me of
the wonderful privilege it is to represent you and your
congregations in so many different contexts and places.
We can all be proud of and thankful for the men and
women to whom God has given the gifts to serve in so
many varied ministries and whom He has called to service
through His people in The Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod.
The same day this letter is written, I prepared my
column for the March issue of
The
Lutheran Witness. In it, I list from my
perspective some of the reasons that we so often refer
to the LCMS as "our beloved Synod." Among them is that
we focus on mission, education, and service. The
chaplains and university people I met during my visit
are good examples of why I believe this is true.
+ + +
Our military chaplains
Permit me to say just a little more about our military
chaplains. Depending on where they are located, LCMS and
ELCA chaplains attend one of four conferences held each
year on the West Coast, on the East Coast, in Europe,
and in Asia. While it's not feasible to attend all of
them, from time to time I attend one of these
conferences so that I can hear from, pray with, speak
with, and encourage these servants of Christ.
Our chaplains often are in harm's way, and they always
are in a ministry of caring for our men and women in the
armed forces and for their families. They serve on the
front lines, they visit the sick and injured in
hospitals around the world, and they have the unenviable
task of informing loved ones back home about the death
of a family member in the line of duty as a service man
or woman.
What a wonderful blessing we have in our military
chaplains. Please keep these men in your prayers, that
they may be protected in their service and given the
wisdom to minister well in whatever circumstance they
may find themselves.
+ + +
Irvine and LCMS higher education
As indicated above, I spent a full day at Concordia,
Irvine, during my Southern California visit. A non-stop
schedule of meetings allowed me to interact there with
student leaders, the theology faculty and staff, the
Executive Council, a student and faculty forum, an open
convocation, and the committee charged with the
responsibility of assisting in the process of finding a
new university president.
Concordia, Irvine, is one of 10 LCMS colleges and
universities in a system of higher education that also
includes our two seminaries. Our system of higher
education is a crown jewel of our Synod, and I thank God
for all 12 of these institutions and the service they
render to God and our Synod.
We LCMS pastors have experienced seminary education, and
many among us also have benefited from an undergraduate
education at one or more of our Concordias. I
evangelically encourage you to remember these
institutions and commend them to your congregations. In
these difficult economic times especially, our schools
depend on special gifts from congregations and
individuals in order to deliver and maintain the highest
level of Christian education and pastoral formation
possible.
+ + +
Who influences future church workers?
Of course, not all those who attend our colleges and
universities are planning professional church-work
careers. For the good of society, we need Christians
with a solid Christian education in all sorts of
vocations. At the same time, we do need gifted young
people to prepare themselves for church-work vocations.
As pastors, you are in an excellent position to guide in
that direction young people who have the proper gifts.
A study by the Synod's
What a Way
Steering Committee found that today's church workers
play a critical role in identifying, informing, and
encouraging the next generation to consider a career in
church work. When asked who influenced them most to
consider a church-work career, current workers said
their parish pastors were the
most
influential. Here is the breakdown of who
church workers said
most
influenced them to pursue a church-work
vocation:
-
Pastors, 29 percent
-
Family, 28 percent
-
Christian teacher, 22 percent
-
Friends, 8 percent
-
Other church worker, 6 percent
-
Youth leader, 4 percent
-
Lay leader, 3 percent
A survey taken at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, also
highlights the influence of pastors. Although many of
them listed more than one person as an influence, 77
percent of first-year students who enrolled last fall
said their pastor was a positive influence in their
decision to attend the seminary.
Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann, director of the
What a Way
church-worker recruitment and retention initiative,
recently commented on helpful characteristics for future
church workers. He said, "In addition to a love for God
and his Word, the following characteristics are helpful
for those considering professional church work: the
ability to work with people, a passion for studying and
applying God's Word, excellent communication skills, a
love for sharing the Gospel with others, and patience.
But at the center of it all a professional church worker
believes in Christ, follows his example, and joyfully
serves God's people."
My evangelical encouragement is for each LCMS pastor and
other church worker to take seriously the opportunity to
pray for and encourage young men and women in their
congregations to consider whether God's calling in their
lives might be toward a professional church worker
career. Your influence in the lives of young people who
know, love, and trust you cannot be overestimated.
For a list of church-work vocations in the LCMS, visit
www.whataway.org or
www.lcms.org?14911.
+ + +
One Response to a recent issue of Perspectives
In my February 11 issue of Perspectives I wrote:
Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and
gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name
of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and
why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of
Valentine's Day - and its patron saint - is shrouded in
mystery" (history.com).
That Web site goes on to hypothecate on various theories
of the origin of the day celebrated widely across the
country and in many parts of the world as a day of love
between boyfriends and girlfriends, and especially
between husbands and wives. How sad it is, therefore,
that people who share intimate relationships in marriage
all too often end up expressing anything but love for
one another.
The news media regularly report infidelity of U.S.
presidents, presidential candidates, senators,
congressmen, state governors, movie stars, recording
artists, sports heroes, and other public figures who
demonstrate unfaithfulness to their spouse in various
ways. Statistics indicate that approximately half of the
marriages begun in America will sooner or later end in
divorce. By God's grace, there is forgiveness even for
this most devastating breach of trust between partners
in marriage. Yet I thank God for the millions of
husbands and wives who remain faithful to each other, as
they promised in their marriage vows, "for richer, for
poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others,
till death parts us, according to God's holy will."
The next day I received a response from one of our
pastors, which included a respectful and helpful
correction of my incorrect use of the word
"hypothecate," observing that perhaps I meant to say
"hypothesize." His observation was correct and I thanked
him for it. More importantly, he also wrote the
following, shared with his permission:
"Thank you for your encouraging word... these last few
days have been pretty testy between me and my wife ...
I, like so many pastors, have been doing good, godly
things while sacrificing God's best - maintaining a
healthy, loving relationship with my spouse. Your words
have reminded me once again that God's best's for me is
to keep my relationships with Him and my spouse as my
top priorities then all those other good and godly
things will be a great blessing as well ... God bless
all married couples as they partner with Him to create
and maintain a love for a lifetime and a marriage that
goes the distance."
+ + +
A word of advice and caution
The arrest on charges of child abduction of 10 Baptist
missionaries in Haiti who said they simply were trying
to help some orphaned children leads me to share a word
of advice and caution, especially to well-intentioned
congregations and individuals who become involved in
mission work outside of the United States. The 2007
Synod convention adopted Resolution 1-10, which
resolved:
"That we encourage all districts, individuals,
congregations, institutions, organizations, and
auxiliaries of the LCMS through the Board for Mission
Services to support our sister and partner churches
through prayer, sharing resources, communicating, and
encouraging each other through visits and financial
means" and
"That we encourage all these entities in coordination
with the Board for Mission Services to team with other
sister and partner church congregations in praying for
each other, sharing resources, communicating, and
encouraging each other in the work the Lord has placed
us here to do."
There is a reason for working through and in
coordination with the Board for Mission Services. Our
mission staff has expertise in working in other
countries and is familiar with their laws and
regulations. Coordination through the mission board can
help prevent circumstances such as those that were faced
by the 10 missionaries in Haiti who found themselves in
jail. (Thankfully, eight have now been released from
jail.)
Further, the LCMS and our overseas partner churches have
agreements that govern our working relationships.
Without an understanding of those agreements, one may
cause offense to our partner-church leaders by working
in a region without their knowledge or blessing. No
matter the good intent, such actions can strain our
relationships with our partner churches and may actually
hinder future mission activities.
This advice and caution is offered knowing the good
intent of many who are involved in mission work in other
countries. It also is shared out of concern for the
well-being of those who serve and those who are being
served.
+ + +
Delegate meetings are complete
All nine regional conferences to prepare for
consideration of structure and governance
recommendations at this year's Synod convention now are
complete. The last of the conferences was held Feb. 19
and 20 in St. Louis. The others were held in Denver;
Detroit; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; Boston; Newport
Beach, Calif.; Atlanta; and Dallas.
These conferences provided a wonderful opportunity to
gather together those elected to positions of
significant responsibility in our Synod. Invited to the
conferences were all voting delegates to the 2010
convention, district presidents, district vice
presidents, representatives of district boards of
directors, and a number of advisory delegates.
The spirit of the gatherings was warm, collegial, and
engaging. Obviously not everyone agrees with all
recommendations proposed by the task force. As I
indicated at each gathering, not all members of the task
force agree with every recommendation. And neither do I,
as indicated in my "Response
of the President of the Synod to the Report of the Blue
Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance."
The delegates asked very good questions at every
conference about the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon
Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance and their
implications. They also provided some very good
suggestions to the convention floor committee that will
be responsible for drafting resolutions to be considered
by the convention. Those resolutions will be included in
the first issue of "Today's Business" that will be
published in June, sometime between the floor committee
meetings May 21-24 and the beginning of the Synod
convention in July.
+ + +
God's precious gift of life
Jan. 22 marked the 37th anniversary of the decision of
the U.S. Supreme Court declaring it legal for a woman to
abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the point
at which the fetus becomes "viable." This is a moral
violation of natural law and God's will. His marvelous
gift of human life is intrinsically valuable and should
be preserved and protected, not damaged or destroyed. It
also brings great sadness to my heart that many couples
with no children long for the opportunity to have, to
hold, and to love one of the millions of children whose
beating heart has been stopped by abortion.
A story in
Reporter
said that "160-plus Lutherans from 10 states" were among
an estimated 300,000 marchers at this year's "March for
Life" last month in Washington. It was a very moving
experience to participate personally in this event in
2009, not only by marching but also by offering the
prayer for the crowd gathered that day, also estimated
at 300,000 people. I commend those who were able to take
part in the march each year, either in person or in
prayer, for their concern for God's precious gift of
life. Please help your people understand what a great
travesty abortion is, also reminding them of the
forgiveness in Christ that God offers by His grace for
those who repent of this, and all sin.
+ + +
Sex and cell phones
In last April's pastoral letter, I wrote to you about an
activity that had become popular especially among teens
and young adults -"sexting," that is, using cell phones
and computers to share sexually explicit photos and
videos of themselves with others. Internet access
through "smart phones" has added online pornography to
the threats facing young people today.
The Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP) is a
coalition of religious leaders who are concerned about
the deleterious effects of pornography on the young, the
not so young, and our society. As a member of the
executive committee of RAAP, I meet monthly via
telephone with other members to discuss ways to work
together and with people in corporate America to engage
in battle against pornography.
Allow me, then, to call attention to a booklet
co-sponsored by RAAP that may be helpful to your
families. "Sex and Cell Phones," is a booklet meant to
help parents protect their children from pornography and
to help young people use cell phones and other
technology responsibly. This booklet can be downloaded
from the Web at
http://ilivevalues.com/cellphones/.
+ + +
This We Believe ...
This We Believe: Selected Topics of Faith and Practice
in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
is now available. This is the small book that my staff
and I prepared to help you and the members of your
congregations find quickly and easily what the Synod has
said officially on specific topics of doctrine and
practice of particular interest today.
A copy of this book, which provides succinct information
on 50 topics, has been sent to every congregation in the
Synod. Additional copies of the book are available from
Concordia Publishing House (www.cph.org)
for $8.99 each, or $6.99 each in quantities of six or
more copies.
+ + +
Lutheran Church of Guatemala
The Lutheran Church of Guatemala had its beginning
shortly after World War Two when three separate requests
came to the Missouri Synod for pastoral and missionary
support.
On Nov. 13, 1945, Rev. Harry Smith, who was operating a
Spanish Christian bookstore in Brownsville, Texas,
received a letter from Alfredo Vazquez, a carpenter in
Zacapa, Guatemala. He asked for Lutheran materials to
share with his family and friends. Later, Smith received
another letter from Vasquez indicating that they had
begun holding Lutheran worship services on Dec. 30 of
that same year.
Requests that the Missouri Synod begin work in Guatemala
soon came from two other places. Martin Knoetsch was a
German Guatemalan who had been interred in the United
States during World War Two. During his time in the
internment camps, he and others were ministered to by
LCMS pastors. Upon return to Guatemala after the war, he
and some others requested that the Synod begin work in
Guatemala City. Another call originated from Puerto
Barrios, Guatemala, where a group of Anglicans who had
no pastor to serve them also invited the Missouri Synod
to establish work there.
Soon Rev. Bernard Pankow, a Missouri Synod missionary
working in Mexico, was sent on an exploratory trip to
Guatemala. He made four visits in 1946 and 1947. On the
final visit, he took with him Rev. Robert Gussick, who
was our first missionary assigned to Guatemala. A number
of missionaries have served in Guatemala through the
years, but now the church functions without the presence
of any LCMS missionaries.
Establishing Lutheran schools has always been a part of
the missionary outreach of the Lutheran Church in
Guatemala. Today there are four schools and about 20
congregations, plus many preaching stations around the
country. The makeup of the church reflects the makeup of
the country, with about half of the members speaking
Spanish and the other half speaking one of the 40-plus
Mayan languages found in Guatemala. There also is a
congregation in the city of Puerto Barrios that has many
members from the Garifuna people, who are of African
descent. Guatemala is a very culturally diverse country.
Challenges facing the Lutheran Church of Guatemala today
are how to sustain the ministries of the congregations
in a land where incomes are very low, how to serve
people in both their material and spiritual needs, how
to focus more on outreach and planting new
congregations, and how to maintain good relationships
between the Mayan-and Spanish-speaking members.
+ + +
Convention Prayers
Your prayers on behalf of the convention and the
convention process continue to be deeply appreciated.
Please include the special prayer needs for this month
in your personal and congregational prayers. This
month's prayer requests are:
-
Continued blessings upon the nomination process for
Synod President and Vice Presidents (due March 10);
-
Continued guidance upon the process of overture
submissions (due March 6);
-
Thankfulness for all who have agreed to be nominated
for service as an officer and on the boards and
commissions of the Synod;
-
Thankfulness for all who have agreed to serve on
convention floor committees and for wisdom in their
service preparation;
-
Continued guidance for the convention worship,
devotion, and Bible study essay leaders as they
continue in their preparations;
-
For wisdom for the convention delegates, and the
congregations they represent, as they consider the
recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on
Synod Structure and Governance; and
-
For the many staff people at the International
Center of the LCMS and the many volunteers in
Houston involved in convention preparations.
+ + +
A parting word of encouragement
In the opening to this letter, I mentioned that in next
month's
Lutheran
Witness column, I am listing some reasons
that so many of us talk about "our beloved Synod." I
cited our focus on mission, education, and service as
one of those reasons. Another is our emphasis on the
grace of God - we are saved by God's grace alone,
through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, as
taught by Scripture alone.
Sometimes, I fear that the "solas" can become a formula
about which we give little thought. But think about what
they mean. Think about God's grace in your life. Even in
rough patches, even in crisis, God's love is far greater
than your sins and failures, or mine. Every day- in
fact, every minute of every day - we can begin anew in
repentance and without wasting precious time wallowing
in guilt or wondering about God's care for us, because
by His grace, our slates are constantly wiped clean and
His love in Jesus Christ is certain.
As you assure your people of God's grace, please give
yourself that assurance as well. May He grant you His
richest blessings as you do!
Jerry Kieschnick
Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
e-mail:
president@lcms.org
Web page:
www.lcms.org/president |
