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August
31, 2023
Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
As the duly elected voting pastoral delegate of the Southern Illinois District’s Electoral Circuit 9 to the 68th Regular Convention of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, it is my duty to offer a summary of the convention to those who selected me. You can find a number of viewpoints concerning the events of July 29-August 3, including a fairly comprehensive report on the results through Synod’s newspaper, the Reporter. As you may recall from my 2016 report, I must admit that I'm a little cynical about church politics—maybe more than a little cynical about church politics—so that will likely color my view of what took place.
The election of the President of the LCMS took place electronically in the month of June, and at that time the Reverend Matthew Harrison was re-elected to his fifth term. I believe President Harrison was the best candidate available. He is both a gifted theologian and a responsible churchman. I don't always agree with his decisions, but that would be true even if, God forbid, I was the one making the decisions.
Elections took place throughout the convention. In Synodical elections, one votes based on the biographies provided by the candidates. If you're fortunate, you know some of the candidates personally. In some cases, you seek the opinions of those who have personal knowledge of the candidates. Concerning the candidates with whom I had personal knowledge, the ones elected were people I trust. As is the case with any other kind of election, one must pray for those elected and hope they serve with integrity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
As far as the resolutions go, every convention has things that seem vital and things that seem like a huge waste of time. As a church body, we like happy news to fill the pages of the Reporter. Still, some of the resolutions had the potential to raise blood pressure, and it seemed from time to time like some delegates were playing parliamentary games to unduly slow the proceedings. But for the most part, the convention conducted its business at a deliberate pace and with a great deal of agreement in most matters.
Perhaps the most contentious matter brought before the convention was the attempt of the leaders of Concordia University Texas (CTX) to remove themselves from the authority of the LCMS. As I understand it, they don’t mind being aligned with the Texas District of the LCMS, but they don’t want to be under the direct authority of the LCMS as a whole. Whatever their motives, their actions are, in effect, an attempt to steal the Concordia University Texas name, reputation, and property which belong to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The President of CTX spoke at the convention, and he apologized for causing offense, but neither he nor the others involved have repented of their actions. The Synod in convention voted to call these leaders to repentance and urge them to return CTX to its rightful authority. (Since the convention, these leaders of CTX have refused to seat the rightly elected Regents elected to the Board by the convention. This is not an act which demonstrates repentance.)
In the midst of our grief over the discord with CTX and the closing of a number of Concordia University System (CUS) schools—Bronxville (New York) and Portland since the last convention—the Presidents of the remaining Concordias (besides Texas) spoke of their desire to be “more faithful and more tightly tied to the church, her confession, her teaching.” This was the end result of over two years of monthly conversations with the Synod Board of Directors, the CUS board, and the Presidents and Boards of Regents for the various CUS schools regarding the relationship between the CUS schools and the LCMS.
We also addressed Church fellowship. With great joy, the LCMS recognized and declared altar and pulpit fellowship with five bodies: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Sudan/Sudan, the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Lutheran Church of Uganda, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, and the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sri Lanka. Declaring altar and pulpit fellowship means that the LCMS is in full doctrinal agreement with these bodies. On a more solemn note, we also recognized the severing of altar and pulpit fellowship with the Japan Lutheran Church, a body which has officially begun to Ordain women into the Office of the Holy Ministry in opposition to the clear Word of God.
We heard about the current and growing shortage of clergy available to fill vacant congregations along with the growing shortage of Church-trained teachers for our schools, and we were introduced to the Set Apart to Serve initiative to address these shortages by raising up young men and women from an early age to meet these needs. We discussed matters of ecclesiastical supervision, which determines how district presidents interact with the pastors and congregations under their care. We also addressed various social issues—race, sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy, mental illness, persecution against those who live their lives in Christ, among others—seeking to approach these matters in God-pleasing ways,
The worship opportunities were excellent. Pastor Sean Daenzer, the LCMS Director of Worship, put together a splendid collection of services to remind the delegates that “we preach Christ crucified” in the midst of all the politics and bureaucracy.
The next convention is scheduled for 2026, and it will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. While I’m always happy to serve when selected, I hope you’ll select someone less sensitive to the extreme summer temperatures in Phoenix!
If you have any questions about the convention or how
I voted, I will happily give an account. The peace of the Lord be with
you.
Respectfully in Christ,
Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.
Voting Pastoral Delegate, SID
Electoral Circuit 9
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