A Pastoral Letter to

Pastors of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

From President Jerry Kieschnick

July 18, 2006

Dear Brothers in Christ,

When the Central Illinois District convention adjourned July 11-just a week ago-this year's district convention season was brought to a close. Attending these conventions over the course of the last six months truly has been a joy for me. They offered uplifting and inspiring worship, warm fellowship, and a chance to greet many of you, my brothers in the ministry, as well as many other wonderful people from throughout our Synod.

Many of the conventions had a mission theme, and quite a few had themes that tied directly into Ablaze! Most, if not all, of the conventions adopted very fine and encouraging mission resolutions that urge ever greater concern for the lost and efforts to reach them with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This is fitting and proper. Some may tire of hearing it, but I don't tire of emphasizing our Synod's mission statement: In grateful response to God's grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and the world.

When the 1998 Synod convention adopted that statement, it said, "The Lord of the Church calls His people to faith, sending them forth to witness to His grace and loving-kindness (Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 24:47-48; Acts 1:8; John 20:21)."May the same Lord bless you richly as you lead His people in their calling "to witness to His grace and loving-kindness"!

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The American Association of Lutheran Churches

A frequently asked question at district conventions regards the status of formal conversations between The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and The American Association of Lutheran Churches. Since the most recent conversation was held just last week, I am able and thankful to be able to share with you the following formal announcement:

Representatives of the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) unanimously recommend that their respective church bodies proceed toward entering into Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with each other.

This recommendation was reached at the conclusion of the third in a series of formal meetings held in St. Louis July 13-14. Discussion at this meeting focused on church fellowship practices, including discussions about the practice of close(d) communion. Previous meetings were held in St. Louis and in Albuquerque in 2005.

In the earlier two sessions of these meetings, participants discussed each church body's official position on "Church and Ministry," "Lay Ministry," "Charismatic Concerns," "Inter-Christian Relations," "Piety vs. Pietism," and the "Role of Women in the Church." Also discussed at length were each church body's understanding of the authority of Scripture and the binding nature of subscription to the writings in the Book of Concord.

The participants expressed their thanksgiving to God for the agreement reached in these discussions. "We are grateful to God for this godly opportunity to work together toward the expression of our common confession and witness to Christ, and we look forward to the prospect of Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with the Missouri Synod," said Rev. Thomas Aadland, Presiding Pastor of the AALC. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters in Christ dwell in unity," stated Dr. Samuel Nafzger, Executive Director of the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations, echoing the words of Psalm 133. "I pray that this important step in the process of working toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, one of the important objectives of our Synod, will be a genuine blessing to both the AALC and the LCMS, strengthening the Gospel witness of both," said Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, President of the LCMS. The meeting concluded with the singing of the doxology.

This recommendation will now be presented by each set of representatives to their respective church bodies for consideration in accordance with the procedures required for entering into church fellowship.

Representing the AALC were Presiding Pastor Thomas Aadland, Administrative Assistant Gregory Gerendas, ALTS Seminary President Franklin Hays, and Darrel Deuel, formerly Chair of the Commission on Doctrine and Church Relations. President Gerald Kieschnick, First Vice-President William Diekelman, Secretary Raymond Hartwig, Commission on Theology and Church Relations Executive Director Samuel Nafzger, and Concordia Seminary Professor Charles Arand represented the LCMS.

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District presidents

While speaking of district conventions, I am taking this opportunity in a public manner to express congratulations to all district presidents who were newly elected or re-elected this year. Of the 35 districts, 10 have newly elected presidents. All but two of these men replace predecessors who either retired from office or were term limited.

These 35 district presidents have very serious and important responsibilities placed upon them by the Synod. They need our affirmation and prayers. Please join me in praying that our Lord would bless these brothers, all of whom are experienced parish pastors, as they exercise evangelical ecclesiastical supervision and fraternal doctrinal oversight in service to Christ and to our Synod.

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President's report to district conventions

Upon completion of my report to many of the district conventions, I received numerous requests for video copies of the report, including some requests for the specific "On the Street" interview segments that were shown as a part of the report. DVD copies of the entire "Synod President's Report to District Conventions" and of the "On the Street" interview segments are available from my office. If you are interested in receiving a copy of one or both of these DVDs, send your request to presidentsoffice@lcms.org and put "DVD order" in the subject line.

Please include your name and shipping address in the request and indicate which DVD you would like-"President's Report," "On the Street," or both. In order to offer these DVDs, it is necessary to recover production and shipping costs. So, an invoice will be included in the shipment for $6 for the "President's Report" DVD; $12 for the "On the Street" DVD; or $15 for both.

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One way to get into Ablaze!

From time to time, pastors and lay people alike ask me how they can begin to get their congregations involved in Ablaze! As you have previously heard, Ablaze! is not a program, but quite simply, yet very significantly, a movement among confessional Lutherans worldwide to share with unreached and uncommitted people the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, some have requested suggestions for how to begin this movement within their congregations.

In this regard, I have heard numerous unsolicited testimonials for an approach called "Friendship Ablaze!," which was developed by the Center for U.S. Missions in Irvine, California. One brother told me that he had "a hard time getting my mind around Ablaze!" until he discovered Friendship Ablaze!

The Friendship Ablaze! materials "were written to encourage and enable congregations to equip their members to reach out with the love of Jesus Christ and embrace their unchurched friends. Material for a Friendship Sunday outreach is included as part of an overall, ongoing Friendship outreach focus," says the Friendship Ablaze! Web site (www.friendshipablaze.com). These materials may be downloaded free of charge from the Web site. I've heard a number of pastors say that the results were well beyond their expectations.

Another Web site to visit in order to get going with Ablaze! in your congregation is www.lcms.org?9916. Titled "Start-Up to Ablaze!," this site includes a variety of resources, including a link to Friendship Ablaze!

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Streaming video

Three more video files have been posted by my office on the Synod's Web site-go to www.lcms.org?9729-since my last e-News letter to you in May:

·    "Constitution, Bylaws, and Scripture," recorded at the Missouri District Convention, deals with the relationship of the Synod's governing documents to Holy Scripture.

·    "On the Effects of Outreach," recorded in an interview setting, addresses the eternal ramifications that our outreach efforts can have on those with whom we share the Gospel.

·    In "I Will Not Rest," I talk about motivation for the mission of Christ, personally and corporately in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

These video files may be helpful in numerous ways in congregations of our Synod, some of which have used them in Bible classes, small groups, or other gatherings. I pray they will be useful to you and your congregation as well.

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Directors of Christian Outreach

As you know, I have been saying something in each of these letters about a church-work career that you could suggest to someone in your congregation who you think might be a good candidate for such a calling. One of those careers is director of Christian (DCO) outreach.

The DCO's primary function is to stimulate, educate, mobilize, and support congregation members in witnessing, evangelism, and assimilating new members. Some DCOs serve in cross-cultural outreach in the United States or on mission fields overseas. They also serve in a variety of specialized ministries, including campus ministry and starting new congregations.

The DCO program, which is available at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minn., includes four years of college coursework and one year of internship. The course of study prepares the student for a wide variety of ministries that focus on evangelism or missions.

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A parting word of encouragement

As I said at the outset of this letter, I truly enjoyed going to all the district conventions that I was privileged to attend-19 of the 35, including five conventions in six days at one point. Even then, it sometimes seemed like running a race (often literally running for a plane)-at times a sprint, at other times a marathon.

To one extent or another for all of us, ministry is like that for years and years, not only for a few months in my life every three years at district convention time, and not only during the more challenging times of your ministry, whenever those might occur. When I reflect on that reality, I am more determined than ever to encourage you, even as I am often encouraged by those who remember me in their prayers, to remember the words of Jesus: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). And again, the promise of Jesus: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

These are tremendously encouraging words for me, dear brothers in Christ. May they also give you strength as you "run in such a way as to get the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24). God's grace will sustain you as you carry out your particular ministry to the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom. For someday when our race is finished, the words of Paul will become reality for each of us, by God's grace through faith in Christ our Lord: "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

God's grace, mercy and peace be with you all!

Jerry Kieschnick

Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

e-mail: president@lcms.org

Web page: www.lcms.org/president

"Transforming lives through Christ's love ... in time ... for eternity ..." John 3:16-17