The 2010 LCMS Convention

Opening Worship
64th Regular Convention of the LCMS

A feast for the heart, the soul, the mind, the spirit, the senses... such were the feelings and comments of those attending the opening worship service of the Synodical Convention in Houston on Saturday, July 10, 2010.

From a pre-service sight and sound HD presentation which set the stage for a spirit of worship and praise, to the resounding closing hymn "The Church's One Foundation", God's Holy Spirit was abundantly present as more than 3000 delegates and guests gathered at the George Brown Convention Center for the opening worship service of the Convention. Dr. Jerry Kieschnick, President of the LCMS, spoke on the theme "One People - Forgiven".

Trinity Lutheran Church of Klein served as the host congregation for the worship service but many churches, lay people and Pastors from the Houston area worked together for the last two years to make possible this memorable event.

For more detailed information and live streaming of the Convention, you are encouraged to go the LCMS website at www.lcms.org.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Day one of the convention opened with a Service of Prayer led by Pastor Walt Weiser and Pastor Oscar Benavides.

Following approval of the amended Orders of the Day and adopting the Convention Schedule as printed, Colonel (USA, Ret) Jeffrey Williams, a NASA astronaut and member of Gloria Dei, Houston, extended the official welcome to Houston to the delegates and guests with a stirring testimony of faith and courage. Colonel Williams has taken more photographs of earth than any other astronaut and uses those visuals to point to a Creator who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us.

Our own President, Ken Hennings, welcomed the delegates to our state, highlighting the many strong ministries we have in the state of Texas and the challenges we face in reaching a population for Christ that expanded by 900,000 in the past two years.

The Bible Study was led by Ted Kober, founder and president of Ambassadors of Reconciliation, a peacemaking ministry for Lutherans around the world. Following the theme of the Convention, he spoke to the importance of understanding and forgiveness in the church and at this Convention.

The business of the day focused on the work of Committee # 8 Synod Structure and Governance. This work grew out of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance.

A summary report was given showing the history of the work of the Task Force since its inception some five years ago. In addition the Committee asked Tom Kuchta, Treasurer of Synod, to share the very real financial concerns facing Synod, which represents one of the strong rationales for adopting this new structure. In order to assist the delegates in their understanding of the 38 resolutions to be presented by Floor Committee #8, the resolutions were grouped into 5 Clusters. Starting with the first cluster and progressing one cluster at a time, an overview of each resolution within the cluster was given by Rev. Larry Stoterau (Chairman) and Rev. David Buegler (Vice Chairman) of the Floor Committee after which delegates had 20 minutes to ask questions pertaining to any of the resolutions within the cluster. There was active discussion as the committee answered questions and concerns.

Sunday's session closed with prayer.

For pictures and more detailed reports, please visit the LCMS website at www.lcms.org.

Monday Convention News

Because of the complex nature of the resolutions being considered with Floor Committee #8, please go to www.lcms.org Convention Website. All of the details of the day's activities can be found there.

First Impressions - Monday

The Texas District has a number of delegates who are attending their first Synodical Convention. What are their feelings, expectations, and anticipations as "rookie" delegates to the 64th Regular Convention of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod?

My first interview was with Gerard Porter a member of Redeemer Lutheran in Atlanta, TX. I discovered that by living in Atlanta, Gerard is less 10 miles from the Arkansas and Louisiana borders and about 40 from Oklahoma.

Gerard served as a delegate from his congregation to the Texas District Convention in 2009. When asked how they compare, he said the Synodical Convention is twice as big and that when resolutions are discussed here he notices the same people coming to the microphone over and over.

How did the "pre-convention" mail blitz impact him in preparing for the Convention? "Not much", he said. "We were warned in our orientation with President Hennings to expect this massive onslaught of mail." Gerard created a filing system after reviewing more legitimate mail….highlighting resolutions and learning all he could. He was somewhat taken aback by the rhetoric of some of the mailings, wishing the church wouldn't get so political.

He has been impressed with the way President Kieschnick manages the Convention…his spirit of fairness and knowledge. He was also impressed with the electronic equipment that expedites the process.

When asked if there was something he would like to see changed he stated that he believes delegates should be more prepared when coming to the microphone for a comment and especially when making an amendment.

Thank you Gerard for your service to the Lord, the Synod and the Texas District.

Tuesday Update

Following are the results of the Tuesday afternoon election.

President - Matt Harrison
1st. VP - Herbert Mueller Jr
2nd VP - John Wohlrabe Jr
3rd VP - Paul Maier
4th VP - Daniel Preus
5th VP - Scott Murray

I want to remind you to visit the www.lcms.org Convention Website for full Convention coverage as well as a live streaming of the Convention.

First Impressions - Tuesday

Jean Wottrich is a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Pasadena and is attending her first Synodical Convention.

She recalls that as the Convention drew closer she wasn't sure if being selected was a blessing or a curse. However, after spending four days with the delegates and guests and being involved in the experience of hearing the speakers and being a part of the voting process, she is very excited having the opportunity to serve in this way.

The item on the agenda which excited her most was the election of the President of Synod. She also indicated that while she didn't understand all of the resolutions that would be acted upon, she studied, read and asked questions in order to become as knowledgeable as possible. She indicated that she felt very comfortable with the actions she has taken through her votes thus far.

When asked if she had attended a District or Synodical Convention before, she answered that she was a delegate to the 2009 Texas District Convention but because of a family emergency had to leave on the first day. She has however attended numerous LWML Conventions. Her observation is that there seems to be a greater sense of unity and mission in those Conventions.

To Jean Wottrich, we say thank you for your service.

First Impressions - Wednesday

Robert Coleman-Foster is a small business owner in Houston and a member of Faith Lutheran in Sugarland. Robert is attending his first Synodical Convention.

When asked about his expectations of the Convention and if they are being met, he responded that he expected there to be a political climate and that the delegates supporting positions coming into the Convention would not be easily changed. He believes his expectations have been validated.

He appreciated the Bible Studies and discussions around our theme of One People Forgiven. He believes the Convention delegates would have been blessed if more dialog could have taken place with Ambassadors of Reconciliation even if that dialog would have taken place during the lunch hour... since reconciliation is at the heart of resolving the mistrust that seems to exist in our Synod.

One opportunity that he feels the Convention missed was not taking advantage of being in the fourth largest city for seven or eight days and not finding a way to impact the community by reaching out in service in the name of the Jesus we talk about every day. He believes it would have been a strong witness to the city of Houston about who we are as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

He was pleased and excited with the faithful work of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance and Floor Committee #8 and believes it is a wise decision to accept and approve the work of this Task Force.

Finally, he expressed thanks for the speakers, devotional leaders and especially the servant leadership of Dr. Will Sohns. His desire would have been to have more in depth teaching and worship.

Our thanks to Robert for serving his Lord, his church, his District and Synod by serving as a delegate to the Convention.

Readers are encouraged to go to the www.lcms.org Convention Website for a thorough update of Convention results and pictures.

Wednesday Update

The results of the elections can be found on the elections page of the www.lcms.org Convention Website.

First Impressions - Thursday

Roy Highsmith of Prince of Peace, Belton is attending his first Synodical Convention, however, he has attended two District Conventions, one in the 70's and the 2009 Convention.

Roy is extremely excited about being at this Convention and counts it a blessing to represent the Texas District. He said that while the Convention is large in terms of numbers of people, he has been remarkably impressed by the management of the Convention business by President Kieschnick. He has also been pleased with the opportunity to meet fellow Lutherans and to see how they witness in different settings.

The work of Committee 8 on Structure and Governance has been a high point of the business transacted and one that he believes will have a positive impact on our Synod. In particular he is excited about having regional Vice Presidents elected in the future, feeling that it will give more voice from other areas of the country and not just the Mid West.

He was very impressed with the opening worship service and the devotions and the devotional leaders. The Bible Studies on Forgiveness and Reconciliation were especially meaningful and timely.

When asked if there was anything about which he was disappointed, he had nothing to say. As are many delegates, he does wonder how the election process will impact our Synod…that is neither a negative or positive statement ….but just an observation.

Roy expressed sincere thanks and appreciation to the Texas District for the lunches held for the delegates. He found them to be informational, a break from the "largeness" of the Convention, with excellent food and fellowship. The opportunity to meet fellow delegates from Texas was especially appreciated. Roy had high praise for President Ken Hennings quiet but strong leadership.

His excitement about being a delegate to this Convention was a joy to behold. He is ready to do it again.

Thank you Roy for your servant heart and for your service to the Lord and the church.

We continue to encourage our Texas District family to go to the www.lcms.org Convention Website for full Convention coverage. If there are ever questions regarding aspects of the Convention please contact John Goeke at jagdeepwater@yahoo.com

First Impressions - Friday

Mark De Young is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Austin, TX. Mark served as a delegate to the Texas District Convention in 2009, but this is his first Synodical Convention.

When asked if he had any preconceived ideas about the Convention, he indicated he had none when elected to serve, but after receiving the deluge of Pre-Convention materials, he realized that it would be divisive and extremely political.

He was fascinated by the elections (no comment on his choices) and felt it was an honor to be a part of the process to elect people to serve in all capacities.

There are a couple of things he would like to see changed in future Conventions:

  1. the desire to discuss resolutions until delegates can have questions answered
  2. Somehow linking By-Laws from one committee to another to assist in the understanding
  3. Have the resolutions numbered and where possible to proceed in the numerical order of the resolutions

He was excited to be a delegate and thoroughly enjoyed the process of the Convention.

Thank you Mark, for you service to the Lord, the Texas District and the LCMS.

Delegates Gather for Meals

As has been done at every Synodical Convention for the last number of years, the delegates of the Texas District met on three days for lunch, fellowship and to hear from key leaders of Synod.

On Monday, President Jerry Kieschnick shared his vision and excitement for the work of the Synod. He shared the joy of his ministry... and the challenges. Answering questions from the delegates, Kieschnick clearly expressed how God is blessing our Synod and how other church bodies, both foreign and domestic, who have lost their biblical view, want to talk to him about some kind of fellowship with our church body.

On Wednesday, Rev. Tom Zehnder, Executive Director of LCMS World Missions since November, 2008, excitedly told the story of people who have come to know Jesus through the work of LCMS short and long term missionaries across the world. A former missionary to Japan, pastor of a number of congregations across the United States, and past president of the Florida-Georgia District, Zehnder demonstrated his enthusiasm for world missions and encouraged the Texas delegates to pray for the mission program of Synod. Rev. Zehnder is retiring from his position in September.

Friday, Mr.Tom Kuchta, Vice President of Finance-Treasurer of Synod was our guest. He was scheduled to retire from his position August 31, but because of the change of administration, he has been asked to serve until a new Treasurer can be hired. He shared many options of what Synod might do to alleviate the financial burden Synod now faces, including selling a number of properties, combining some of our educational institutions and various other ideas. His creative thinking will be missed in our Synod.

Again, readers are encouraged to go to the www.lcms.org Convention Website for full Convention coverage.