[LCMSNews] Two new mission boards meet

["LCMS e-News" <LCMSENEWS@lcms.org>]

>

>9.23.2010
>       LCMS News

>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod

September 23, 2010 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 84

>Two new mission boards meet for orientation

By Joe Isenhower Jr. and Paula Schlueter Ross

The two new mission boards formed out of sweeping structure changes
adopted by this summer's Synod convention met for the first time 
during
a Sept. 9-10 orientation in St. Louis for all those newly elected or
appointed to service in the national Synod.

About 80 people -- board and commission members, other LCMS officers 
and
Synod staff members -- participated in the orientation held prior to 
the
Sept. 11 installation service for Synod officers at Concordia 
Seminary,
St. Louis.

A resolution adopted by 2010 convention delegates reduced the Synod's
seven program boards and some staffed commissions to the two new 
elected
policy boards: the Board for National Mission and the Board for
International Mission.

After the orientation and a joint follow-up meeting, each mission 
board
met separately to elect officers to three-year terms.

>The Board for National Mission elected:

*       Rev. Steven C. Briel, senior pastor of St. John's Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Corcoran, Minn., chairman.

*       Rev. Samuel Cosby, pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church,
Houston, vice-chairman.

*       Rev. C. Bryan Wolfmueller, pastor of Hope Lutheran Church,
Aurora, Colo., secretary.

Elected by the Board for International Mission were:

*       Rev. Bernhard M. Seter, pastor of Zion English Lutheran 
Church,
Grafton, N.D., and Trinity Lutheran Church, Drayton, N.D., chairman.

*       John W. Edson, Plymouth, Minn., vice-chairman.

*       Phillip A. Magness, Bolingbrook, Ill., secretary.

Reflecting on the orientation, Briel said he appreciated an activity 
in
which board members were asked to list their "hopes and concerns" for
their respective boards.

"This was a very helpful exercise since it caused many of us to take
time to reflect on some of the challenges our Synod faces as we 
continue
to spread the saving Gospel of our risen Lord Jesus while remaining
faithful to God's pure Word and our Lutheran Confession," Briel said 
via
e-mail.  "While there is certainly some apprehension about how we will
carry out our work under the new structure that was adopted by [the]
convention this past summer (e.g., what are the parameters of our
authority and our particular responsibilities), most of us are excited
to accept this challenge and forge the way ahead, which we all hope 
will
be more efficient, while at the same time protecting the rights of the
congregations we serve and maintaining the solid, confessional voice 
for
which the LCMS is known throughout the world."

Seter said his hope was that any "lack of focus and clarity in [the
Synod's] mission and life together ... could be alleviated, and the 
joy
that we all felt over the response from the people in the pews over
events like [Hurricane] Katrina and works of mercy in general could be
continued."

His hopes, he said, were "reinforced" by the "Witness, Mercy, Life
Together" emphasis presented during the orientation "that graphically
expresses in a simple yet profound way what it means to be a member of
the body of Christ."

Seter's "concern" was whether or not there would be enough time "to 
get
this right."

Seter said both boards "are faced with something that no one has faced
since the Synod was formed.  We are in uncharted territory here, and 
we
want to get it right."

The two new boards also met together for worship, Bible study, to walk
through new Bylaws for their boards, and other presentations to help
them gain an understanding of the Synod and their own roles and
responsibilities.

For one of those Bible studies, Synod First Vice-President Rev. 
Herbert
C. Mueller Jr. concentrated on koinonia [life together] in the 
Gospel."

During a "getting to know each other" exercise, members of the two
mission boards formed small groups to put together a puzzle of the 
logo
for "Witness, Mercy, Life Together -- In Christ for the Church and
World" -- discovering that to complete the puzzle, they had to depend 
on
and work with others outside their own groups.

Synod President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison and Dr. Albert C. Collver 
III,
director of church relations for the Synod, introduced the new 
emphasis
during the orientation.

Harrison referred to the emphasis as "profoundly biblical and
theological. And it's a theme that is so simple, yet at the same time 
we
can invite our seminaries, the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations, or Concordia University System and others [to] mine the
depths of the Old Testament and New Testament witness on these
fundamentals of the church's life."

Describing the emphasis as "a work in progress," Collver told the 80
orientation participants, "We want to suggest [that] the work of our
Synod can all be wrapped up into 'Witness, Mercy and Life Together -- 
In
Christ, for the Church and the World.' "

He said that leading up the orientation, "we spent a lot of time 
talking
about how we were going to restructure the Synod," referring to the 
work
of Harrison, himself and others, including Rev. Jon Vieker and Barb
Below, senior assistant to the president and assistant to the 
president,
respectively.

"The structure of the Synod is there in order to help the church
accomplish its mission," Collver said. "Where do we go from here?"

Article III of the Synod's Constitution, which lists the church body's
objectives, can be concisely summed up "under the categories of
'Witness, Mercy, Life Together,' " Collver suggested.

He cited numerous Scripture passages in reference to the new emphasis
and invited those at the orientation to "give us feedback and also 
think
about how we can expand this further."

Collver also spoke of "how ... these areas [of the emphasis] are
interrelated to one another. I think this is an important aspect as we
start to think toward how our Synod is going to function together and
live together under a new restructuring."

The logo for the new emphasis features its wording around three
interlocking circles centered with a cross.

"Everything we do centers on the cross of Christ," Collver said. "And
everything that we do should be for the church. It should be for the
individual, for the congregation, for the district, for the Synod, for
the church at-large, and this includes our work with other churches
around the world.  Our church should be missional. It should be
proclaiming the Gospel of Christ."

In comments later to the Synod Board of Directors, Harrison said that
the new emphasis "seems to be going over fairly well" with those to 
whom
it is being introduced. "I feel that it's nicely scalable for
individuals, congregations, and all the entities that make up our
Synod."

For more about the "Witness, Mercy, Life Together" emphasis, click 
here
<http://www.lcms.org/emphasis> .

Below, who served as facilitator for the orientation, described it in 
an
e-mail to Reporter as "an opportunity to gather many individuals
together from various boards and commissions. It was a mixture of
individuals -- some with lots of experience in boardsmanship and 
others
who were just beginning the adventure of being involved in synodical
leadership as a member of a board."

She also referred to the two days as "an opportunity to share in depth
the president's emphasis on 'Witness, Mercy, Life Together' and help
guide discussion of how all board members can think about their work
along these emphases."

"My overall feeling is that people enjoyed what we had prepared and 
were
glad to be together," she said, adding that many commented "they were
honored to serve on a board and willing to help in any way that they
could.
"The challenge is that all board members are wondering 'how do the
structure and governance changes impact the work my board will be
doing?' " Below continued.

"Answers to these types of questions will become clearer as we all 
work
within the new structure and with the new Bylaws," she wrote. "The
'Witness, Mercy, Life Together' emphasis is helpful for everyone to 
see
how the work of the boards overlap and are focused on Christ. ... We
will trust that God grants us all the much-needed wisdom to identify 
the
best process in the new structure for the boards and commissions to 
work
together to accomplish the work of the church."

Below also shared that 60 percent of the orientation participants 
turned
in written anonymous evaluations -- all agreeing that "worship 
enhanced
the board orientation meetings." Other responses ranged from "words of
encouragement" to "recognition of difficulties" and "constructive
criticism," she said.

For instance, one participant wrote, "Thank you for all of your work. 
 I
have a lot of hope for the future of Synod.  We have great leaders!" 
And
from a member of one of the two mission boards: "It is confusing 
because
we are not sure what we are to do about this [referring to some
crossover of programs between national and international offices] ...
and now we have to deal with these complexities."

"I am very excited to begin work with these two new boards filled 
with a
diverse mixture of extremely talented and gifted people from a variety
of backgrounds and experiences," Below said. "The board members are 
much
like me right now -- excited to serve and overwhelmed by the task at
hand."

>****************************************

If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org
<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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