Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri

Matthew C. Harrison was a pastor before he became head of World Relief and Human Care.

To be certain, he personally keeps a balanced approach to all of his vocations: baptized Christian first, husband and father second, and ordained pastor after those vocations, but his service to the Lord and the Lord’s Church shows the same pastoral care priorities every time he has been called to serve, whether in the parish or at the International Center in St. Louis.

Why do we need a pastor as President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod? Our first president, C. F. W. Walther said it best: “The only power of Synod comes from the Word of God.” This truth can best be heard in an important and recently-reprinted essay.

Which essay? In preparation for the regional gatherings on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance, a document titled “The Final Report of the BRTFSSG” was mailed to every delegate. So was the essay, “Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Synod.” In 2007, the theses of Dr. Walther’s essay were included in the “Congregation—Synod—Church” study document. We thank President Kieschnick, the Task Force, and Concordia Publishing House for reprinting the entire 1879 essay from the First Iowa District Convention in preparation for the important votes in Houston in July 2010.

Not only does the essay reinforce the truth that “The only power of Synod comes from the Word of God.” It also teaches all who seek elected office in the LCMS that the only power of an LCMS President “comes from the Word of God.”  The Synod has no coercive power, nor does its leaders.

Originally, Dr. Walther was able to annually visit all of the congregations of the LCMS. Over time four, and eventually more, Districts were created by Synod so that District Presidents could assist in that visitation. Currently, Circuit Counselors (referred to as Circuit Visitors in our Wyoming District) assist the DP and SP in making sure each congregation and pastor are visited at least once every three years. Wouldn’t this be a good time to return to such a pastoral approach on all levels?

Congregations would benefit from patient, tactful pastors who allow the Gospel to suffer rejection while continuing to exhort with the Gospel. Pastors can avoid the mistake of legislating a change (and the disaster that so often follows) by properly teaching first and then introducing change once the Word has done its work.

Districts would benefit from caring District Presidents who personally and through Circuit representatives made sure that congregations are properly caring for their pastors and that pastors are properly caring for their congregations. And why not return to our former terminology about such visits, by having Circuit Visitors once again?

Synod as a whole would benefit from a pastor who has been uniquely prepared for the Office of President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.  Rev. Harrison served a rural congregation and an urban congregation with a Lutheran day school. He oversaw seminarians in their field education. He spent a year as a missionary to Cree Indians in Canada.  He grounds his scholarly pursuits in pastoral care, particularly the writings of Hermann Sasse and Johann Gerhard.  His translations take centuries-old Latin and German writings and give readers clear, 21st-Century English.  As others have noted, Rev. Harrison is a pastor first!

Matthew Harrison is a popular speaker.  His sermon the day after Call Day at one of our seminary chapels was truly inspiring, giving hope-filed pastoral care to men who have yet to receive calls.

Rev. Harrison has a pastoral heart, a pastoral mind, and a pastoral approach to the many challenges found in our culture and in the LCMS. It’s Time for Pastor Matthew C. Harrison as President of the LCMS.

What a relief!  After one hundred pages of administrative reports and details in the LCMS 2010 Convention Workbook, comes this word from Pastor Matthew Harrison:

“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).  It is impossible to adequately express the profound honor, thankfulness, and joy that we at LCMS World Relief and Human Care have and experience as a result of the unfathomable generosity of you, the dear members and congregations of the LCMS.” (p. 102)

These gracious words of Pastor Harrison precede his official report to the synod.  They let us know that, even though he has a lot to report about his department, they could not have done it without our prayers and financial support.  And this thankfulness is not tacked on the end, as an afterthought, but permeates Harrison’s whole report.  The entire report is in the mode of gratitude to the synod, to donors, and to our Lord!

Most impressive in the triennial work of this agency has been their relief “on the ground” for the 2006 tsunami in Asia, the hurricane “Katrina” that devastated New Orleans and the north Gulf Coast, and the gut-wrenching earthquake in Haiti.  In all these cases, synodical congregations and members came through with record-breaking donations, and LCMS World Relief and Human Care was there at the scene, working with partner churches, to give aid and help where it was most needed.

The report of LCMS World Relief and Human Care stretches across ten pages of double column fine print—there is a lot to report here!  The work under Pastor Harrison is divided into these areas:  Health Ministries, Life Ministries, Social Ministry Organizations, Grant Administration, Deaconess Ministry, District and Congregational activities, International activities, Disaster Response, Specialized Pastoral Ministry, Task Force on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, National Housing Support, Elderly Housing Development, and Resources.  Departments that serve these programmatic activities include Communications, Operations, and Fund Development.  You can read the report for yourself here.

Anyone reading this report has to be impressed with Pastor Harrison’s ability to gather together a team of dedicated persons and to lead them through stressful times for the good of the church and for those they serve.  This is an impressive record of service by his “team members,” of financial support by caring Lutherans, and of Harrison’s ability to lead a very complex organization with a $30 million gift income for the triennium.

We hope that the synod will heed the plea of the Board for Human Care and not merge and dilute this work by the passage of Blue Ribbon Task Force Recommendation #18.  We also hope that the synod will seriously consider how Rev. Harrison’s work at LCMS World Relief and Human Care has helped prepare him for the role of synodical president.

The workbook for the 2010 regular convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has just been published.  That means that it’s time for the delegates to begin their work of studying reports and overtures, and reviewing the candidates for the many offices to be filled.

This year, the entire workbook is available online.  The main portion of the workbook can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/2010%20Convention/convention_wb.pdf

Information about the candidates can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/2010%20Convention/synopses_statements.pdf

A copy of the final report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=15930

This link includes several resources related to the final report, including Appendix 1, which is the very significant document with proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws of the synod.

For delegates:  you will receive printed copies of these books in the mail by early May.  You may share this article and the links above with pastors and lay leaders that you know in your circuit (just copy the web-address of this article into your e-mail message to them).  After they have had an opportunity to read these documents, ask them for their opinions about the candidates and overtures.  This will help you make informed decisions and make your work at the convention much easier. 

May our Lord bless your study and labor on behalf of His church!

Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri

Pastor Matthew Harrison, the Executive Director of World Relief and Human Care for the Synod and also a nominee for the Presidency of the LCMS, will be at Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Traverse City, Michigan, on Thursday, May 6, and Friday, May 7.

On Thursday, Pastor Harrison will be speaking from 1:00pm- 4:00pm about “Opportunities for the LCMS and World Lutheranism”.  A time for Q&A will also be provided, as well as time to discuss Rev. Harrison’s new book, “A Little Book on Joy”.  We hope many will come and hear Matt’s encouraging reports of mission opportunities that the Lord is placing before our synod.  While this presentation will be geared toward pastors, anyone interested may attend. 

On Friday evening, Pastor Harrison will also talk about missions, but the main topic for his address that evening will be “Living the Good News Life in a Bad News World”.  Copies of “A Little Book on Joy” will be available.  The presentation will be from 7pm – 9pm, with time for Q&A afterwards.  Everyone is invited. 

Reports from previous presentations have been overwhelmingly positive.  People are coming away genuinely encouraged and renewed by Pastor Harrison’s convincing and uplifting teaching. Please let your pastor, your elders, your lay delegate to the national convention, and all your friends know about this great opportunity to meet Pastor Harrison and “share the joy” with their brothers and sisters in Christ.   

  
Pastor Harrison was baptized in a small rural parish, raised in a large suburban church, was a missionary to native Canadians in Ontario, served as a graduate assistant at the seminary in Ft. Wayne, studied in Australia, vicared in Texas, and served as pastor in rural Iowa and inner city Fort Wayne, Indiana. After co-founding a nationally recognized neighborhood renewal project in what was the poorest census tract in Indiana, he became the Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care and has administered nearly $100,000,000 of charitable giving worldwide. He writes, translates, and speaks extensively. He delights in his wife, Kathy, and two boys, Matthew and Mark. He is an avid bluegrass banjo player and luthier, and finds joy in it all. He is a great speaker, so it will be well worth your while to set aside the time to come and hear him!

If you wish to follow Pastor Harrison’s work more closely, check out his blog at mercyjourney.blogspot.com. You can also check out the work of LCMS World Relief and Human Care at lcms.org/worldrelief.

The Committee for Convention Nominations has published its report of nominees for the numerous offices, boards, and commissions of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  Its report may be found here:   http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=13531

Since Recommendation #18 of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synodical Structure and Governance proposes to alter the program boards and commissions of the national offices, a number of these nominations may be voided by the convention.  These would be nominations for Board for District and Congregational Services, Board for Mission Services, Board for Pastoral Education, Board for University Education, and Commission on Theology and Church Relations.  If these nominations are voided, the Commitee for Convention Nominations may have to devise an alternative method of nominations for the new boards or commission.

As in previous years, you can expect to see published lists favoring candidates for these offices.  Now would be a good time to sit down with your pastor, or someone else familiar with the synodical scene, and get his opinion on the nominees whose names he recognizes.  You also might try “Googling” the nominee’s name, i.e, entering his or her name in the search field at the Google website, and see what comes up (sometimes adding LCMS to the name helps find the correct person).  All rostered church-workers of the LCMS should, at a minimum, be listed on the LCMS web-site under “Directories,” and possibly on their congregation’s web-site.  The nominations book, with pictures and credentials of all nominees, will be mailed to all delegates in the upcoming months.

Not all nominees will be elected, which is the nature of an election.  If a person you know is a nominee, and not elected in July 2010, you should thank him or her for taking the time to fill out the forms, and for letting their name stand for election.  Congratulations is in order for those who are elected.  Here at Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri we thank all nominees who have let their name stand for office and who desire to serve their Lord and our church!

All congregations of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod who are rostered in the Lutheran Annual are eligible to nominate any clergy they wish for President and Vice-Presidents One to Five.  Each congregation should have received a ballot in the mail in early November from the Secretary of Synod.  Each congregation should exercise its right to nominate at a regular or special voter’s meeting.  The deadline for receipt by the synod Secretary is coming up soon, March 10, 2010.  No exceptions are allowed.

 Who should congregations nominate?  Any rostered LCMS clergyman is eligible, but congregations often look to the counsel of other congregations for help in this important matter.  After all, not all clergy have gifts of leadership for the national level.

 “Jesus First” is an organization that has been campaigning for candidates and nominations for over ten years.  Their recommendations are:

 President:   Gerald Kieschnick and William Diekelman

 First Vice-President:  William Diekelman and Jeffery Schrank

 2^nd to 5^th Vice-Presidents:  Victor Belton, David Buegler, Luther Brunette, Paul Maier, and Dean Nadasdy.

 “The United List” is a similar organization with similar tenure, but with different recommendations:

 President:  Matthew Harrison and Herb Mueller, Jr.

 First Vice-President:  Herb Mueller, Jr. and Matthew Harrison

 2^nd to 5^th Vice-Presidents:  John Wohlrabe, Daniel Preus, David Adams, Scott Murray, and Carl Fickenscher

 Whom should your congregation nominate?  Whom should your delegates vote for?  Frankly, they are all competent men, or they would not have made either of these two lists.  Frankly, none of them are “left-wing” or “right-wing” nuts, in spite of what some folks may say in order to convince you or others how to vote.

 You need to look for “clues” in order to determine the best choices for our church. One clue is the organization promoting a candidate.  The organizations that promote these candidates are on either side of the “bell-curve” of options.  “Jesus First” has promoted candidates who support more “liberal” church practices; “United List” has promoted candidates who support more “conservative” church practices.  

 Another clue is the “real value” of the candidate’s experience (to use an idea from investment-guru Warren Buffett).  The convention nomination committee will mail delegates a “facebook” with lists of accomplishments for each candidate.  Not every listed accomplishment or office is of equal value, and only a few such items really pertain to the relevant office they are being nominated for.

 Since the “facebook” has not been published, congregations seeking factual information on these candidates should be able to “Google” the candidate’s name, and then review any number of the resulting web-pages that discuss their roles and activities.  Although you might get a flood of information on one candidate, and a trickle on the other, the advantage is that Google has not been edited by any “political party.”  What is out there, is out there, and you need to be your own judge.