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LCMS has a long, successful history in Hong Kong

LCMS Mission History in Hong Kong

Transparency from the United-Lister Synod leadership in St. Louis is lacking. Without consultation with our largest partner church in Hong Kong, Office of International Mission leaders in St. Louis announced for the first time publicly on Monday, February 5, that LCMS Asia mission operations are moving from Hong Kong, China, to Chiayi, Taiwan, Republic of China. What is causing President Harrison to sell our $35 million Hong Kong property and relocate our LCMS Asia headquarters to distant Taiwan? Did he forget the mission work of the Lutheran Church Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS) he praised just four years ago during the anniversary of 100 years of ministry to China? Please watch and listen to the two minute video below. Hear Matt Harrison honor the work of our partner church, the Lutheran Church Hong Kong Synod. How Will St. Louis Use the $35 Million? Why up to now haven’t congregations in Synod been informed

Character and Ethics are a lighthouse shining in the storm

Character and Ethics Needed in Our Next President

January 15, 2018 Congregations Matter Candidates, Essays and Articles Leave a comment

“Faithful churches cultivate character.” Thus writes Concordia Seminary Professor Joel Biermann in his book, A CASE FOR CHARACTER: Towards a Lutheran Virtue Ethics. 1 Rev. Dr. Biermann recounts how Lutherans are unfairly portrayed as soteriological reductionists pitting law and gospel against one another. Some critics say Lutheran theology and ethical teaching simply don’t fit together. Biermann admits some Lutheran preachers have indeed spent too little pulpit time on clear Scriptures regarding how we Christians ought to live. Dr. Biermann’s prescriptions for re-emphasizing our Lutheran Confessions’ solid commitment to character and virtue ethics are valuable. His book’s message is also timely as we witness widely-known men losing leadership positions due to their wrongful actions toward women as revealed via the #metoo movement. Joel reminds fellow pastors, “Christian people need to be trained in virtue. A noble character does not simply happen.” He also believes community can still shape and sustain a

Who Serves Who in Synod? Congregation Self-Governance Versus Hierarchialism

Congregational Self-Governance Versus Hierarchialism

January 13, 2018 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles Leave a comment

The History, Theology and Practice of Congregational Self-Governance in the LCMS In terms of governance and order, the Missouri Synod has throughout its history balanced power between the baptized and the ordained. We have made our decisions at conventions through votes mediated by an equal representation of clergy and laity. These votes were not to be viewed as mandates, but as carefully crafted and thoroughly dialogued advice. In a fun, tongue-in-cheek essay, the Editorial Staff of Congregations Matter has provided another brief history of the LCMS on one issue: Congregational Self-Governance as opposed to the current Synod trend towards hierarchialism. The essay reviews our history, theology, and the unfortunate, current tendency of our Synod to move from prizing the Priesthood of All Believers and Congregational Polity toward a foreign, non-Lutheran emphasis on maintaining and growing the structure itself and fulfilling its needs at the expense of the our “first love”:

Walther and Grabau: Hierarchy Matters or Congregations Matter?

LCMS Historical Bastion for Congregational Autonomy

January 11, 2018 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles Leave a comment

Missouri Synod history is replete with instances when those who espoused hierarchical control were in conflict with “Missouri’s” understanding of Scripture on the issue of congregational autonomy. We are sad to see the growing attack on the Scripture in our Synod on this principal upon which the Synod was founded! The following article by Pastor Mike Ramey is a comprehensive historical overview of a grave time in our Synod when first and founding President C.F.W. Walther had to fend off attempts by Grabau and Loehe to exert a hierarchical approach to governance at the expense of the local congregation in his day. History Repeats Itself We need to be aware that a full fledged attack on the rights of the local congregation is in full swing in our day. President Walther would have been gravely saddened and moved to pick up the fight should he have lived to see the darkness that is descending upon our beloved Synod in our

Disaster recovery from Hurricane Harvey Flooding in Houston, August 2017. Disaster relief funds are staying in St. Louis. They cover cash flow problems at Synod.

Millions of Disaster Relief Dollars Still in St. Louis?

December 14, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles, Synod News Leave a comment

Did you send a check to LCMS Disaster Relief in St. Louis and specify you wanted your dollars to go to Hurricane Harvey victims? Do you know what happened to your contributions? The Selfless Work By Our Texas District First, some good news. If you instead sent your contribution to the Texas District of the LCMS and specified your dollars were for Harvey victims, every single dollar you sent to our Texas District is going to Harvey relief. Not a dime will be kept by the district office as it quickly distributes your funds to families with needs. This is selfless of our Texas District since staff time has been heavily used for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. And, this has been a labor of love for them. But, what if you sent your Hurricane Harvey donations to LCMS Disaster Relief at Synod headquarters in St. Louis? St. Louis Disaster Relief Keeps A

Hurricane Harvey Funds Stay in St. Louis

December 8, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles Leave a comment

Did you send a check to LCMS Disaster Relief in St. Louis and specify you wanted your dollars to go to Hurricane Harvey victims? Do you know what happened to your contributions? First, some good news. If you instead sent your contribution to the Texas District of the LCMS and specified your dollars were for Harvey victims, every single dollar you sent to our Texas District is going to Harvey relief. As of November 22, over $1,000,000 has been received by the Texas District and most of it has already been distributed. That percentage will quickly rise to 100%. Not a dime was kept by the district office as it gathered, and then quickly distributed your funds to families with needs. This is selfless of our Texas District since staff time has been heavily used for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. And, this has been a labor of love for them.

Concordia President Asks for Regent Selection Flexibility

November 23, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles, Synod News Leave a comment

“The growth and development of our Concordia University System (CUS) is one of the most remarkable stories in all of U. S. higher education,” writes Concordia St. Paul President, Rev. Dr. Tom Ries. (For a full copy of Ries’ article, click here or the link at the bottom.) Our Concordia’s are asking for support from LCMS congregations. They want Synod to change the governance model of our university system to allow greater flexibility in the selection of members of their Boards of Regents. They ask that we pass a CUS overture at 2018 District Conventions and again in Tampa in 2019 (the CUS overture will be the subject of a future Congregations Matter article). As Ries writes: “The greatest need for help from the church at the Concordia institutions today is a change in the governance model, specifically the formation and responsibilities of the boards of regents….Approval by the Synod in convention

Harrison blames LCMS women for the decline of the Synod

HARRISON BLAMES WOMEN FOR DECLINING MEMBERSHIP

November 14, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles, Synod News Leave a comment

As 2016 drew to a close and Synod President Matt Harrison’s salary ballooned to $252,573 from $210,156, Harrison ended his lucrative year by laying the blame for declining LCMS membership in the laps of what he considers not-pregnant-often-enough LCMS women.

Big arm pulling pastor back using Ecclesiastical Supervision

Ecclesiastical Supervision: What’s the Big Deal?

October 30, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles Leave a comment

In the past months, several District presidents wrote powerful pastoral letters in opposition to the recent Ecclesiastical Supervision contrived and enacted by the Harrison administration. Use these links to review each of their letters. Council of Presidents Chairman, Rev. Ken Hennings, President of the Texas District. Past Council of Presidents Chair, Rev. Larry Stoterau, Current President of the Pacific Southwest District Rev. John Denninger, President of the Southeastern District Other District Presidents have done the same. More and more LCMS leaders are voicing their opposition to the unconstitutional change to Bylaw 2.14. President Harrison sought this power. But Harrison couldn’t do it alone. With the support of the United List majority of the Synod Board of Directors (BOD), President Harrison and Secretary Sias bypassed the Council of Presidents and the expressed will of the Milwaukee Synodical convention.

CFW Walther Fought Against Hierarchical Control

October 23, 2017 Congregations Matter Essays and Articles Leave a comment

Why should congregations, pastors, and church workers care about ecclesiastical supervision? Because a new bylaw put into effect by the Board of Directors of the Synod has a detrimental effect and impact on every congregation, every pastor and every church worker in the Synod now and in the future. It is a demonstration of the trend towards centralization of power with hierarchical governance. Walther: We Must Fight To Preserve Freedom of Congregations In his 1879 essay at the Iowa District convention, CFW Walther stated that a congregation is not a community under clerical control, but a community of members of Christ, united by an evangelical, gentle bond of love. So a Synod is a community of congregations, pastors, and church workers that are not under clerical or hierarchical control. Walther said, “Throughout the existence of the Missouri Synod we have had to battle arduously to preserve freedom of the congregations;