WordPress.com · 2009. 8. 5. · TABLE OF CONTENTS WELS’ 59TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION

PROCEEDINGSof the Fifty-ninth

Biennial Convention

WISCONSIN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNOD Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Northwestern Publishing House1250 N 113th St, Milwaukee WI 53226-3284© 2007 by Northwestern Publishing House

Published 2007Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELS’ 59TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION ..................................................................................................... 111

Synod officers ....................................................................................................................................................... 111

Convention summary.......................................................................................................................................... 111

Voting delegates ................................................................................................................................................... 112

Advisory delegates .............................................................................................................................................. 114

Floor committees.................................................................................................................................................. 145

State of the synod report..................................................................................................................................... 110

New members ...................................................................................................................................................... 115

Appointments and installations ........................................................................................................................ 117

ELECTIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 119

Report of Floor Committee No. 1 ...................................................................................................................... 119

MINISTRY DIRECTION................................................................................................................................... 121


CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS................................................................................................................... 123


PROCLAIM .......................................................................................................................................................... 127


PREPARE .............................................................................................................................................................. 129


PROMOTE ........................................................................................................................................................... 135


PROVIDE ............................................................................................................................................................. 139


SUBSIDIARIES ................................................................................................................................................... 143


MEMBERSHIP .................................................................................................................................................... 145


RESTRUCTURING ............................................................................................................................................ 147

Report of Floor Committee No. 11 .................................................................................................................... 147

CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS ..................................................................................................................... 153

Report of Floor Committee No. 12 .................................................................................................................... 153

FINANCIALS....................................................................................................................................................... 155

MINUTES ............................................................................................................................................................ 157

2007 MEMORIALS ............................................................................................................................................. 167

CONVENTION WORSHIP .............................................................................................................................. 171

Opening service sermon ..................................................................................................................................... 171

Essay ...................................................................................................................................................................... 173

Bible study part 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 199

Bible study part 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 100

Devotions .............................................................................................................................................................. 101

Closing service sermon ....................................................................................................................................... 110

WELS’ 59th Biennial Convention

WELS’ 59th Biennial Convention PROCEEDINGS /1

The 59th biennial convention of the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Synod was held July 30-Aug. 3, 2007, at Martin Luther College, New Ulm,Minn. Thirteen sessions were held, beginning at11:00 A.M. on Mon., July 30, and adjourning at11:50 A.M. on Fri., Aug 3.

The convention theme was “Declare His Praises.”Four hundred thirty-eight delegates attended theconvention—382 voting delegates, 48 advisorydelegates, and eight special guests.

The opening service with the celebration of theLord’s Supper was held at St. Paul EvangelicalLutheran Church, New Ulm, at 9:00 A.M. onJuly 30. Rev. Donald Sutton, pastor at St. Paul,New Ulm, served as worship leader. Rev. TakeshiNidaira, a pastor in Japan, delivered the ser-mon based on Exodus 15, with the theme, “Letus praise the mighty, gracious, and faithful Lord!”

On Thursday evening the closing worshipservice was conducted in the Martin LutherCollege chapel at 8:30 P.M. Rev. John Boeder,campus pastor at Martin Luther College, was theworship leader. Rev. Peter Naumann, Dakota-Montana District president, delivered the sermon.The sermon text was Luke 10:17-20, with thetheme, “Your name is written in heaven.”

The convention Bible essay leader was Rev. EarleTreptow, pastor at Zion, Denver, Colo. The essayand the Bible studies focused on sanctification.Martin Luther College Professor Mark Paustiandelivered four devotions on Gospel Gems fromthe Old Testament, focusing on Isaiah 40. Pro-fessor Ken Cherney of Wisconsin Lutheran Sem-inary led four devotions on New TestamentGospel Gems from Romans 5:1,2.

President Karl Gurgel, who announced hisretirement as synod president prior to theconvention, was honored on Wednesday even-ing. The convention elected his successor,Luther Preparatory School President MarkSchroeder, on Tuesday. As Wednesday morning’ssession began, President Schroeder announcedthat he would accept the call to be synodpresident. President Schroeder was installedduring Thursday evening’s worship service.Newly-elected Second Vice President JamesHuebner was not present for the installation,so it was announced that his installation servicewould be held at a later date. As the conventionclosed on Friday morning, President Gurgelpassed the gavel to President Schroeder.

PRESIDENT

Rev. Karl R. Gurgel2929 N Mayfair RdMilwaukee, WI 53222

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

Rev. Wayne D. Mueller2929 N Mayfair RdMilwaukee, WI 53222

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

Rev. Thomas F. Zarling6 Wiltshire Ct ESterling, VA 20165

SECRETARY

Rev. Robert W. Pasbrig876 Fairview DrHartford, WI 53027

SYNOD OFFICERS

CONVENTION SUMMARY

PROCEEDINGS /2 WELS’ 59th Biennial Convention

World Mission field workers

Bruce AhlersJohn HildebrantDan KrollRalph Martens

Arizona-California District

Dakota-Montana District

Michigan District

Minnesota District

Pastors

Jonathan BalgeTimothy BlauertCarl HenkelCurtis HolubDennis KlattLon KuetherWayne LaitinenArnold LemkeRoger NeumannMatthew RauhDaniel ReichJeffrey SchoneRobert SeifertC. James StrandDavid Tiarks

Teachers

David BauerMark Dobberstein John DornDavid GartnerJonathan HartzellEarl HeidtkeMichael KoestlerJohn MeyerMark ProbstRonald ShillingPaul Willems

Laymen

Dan AndersonDonald BikkieDaryl BurrierArden BusackBret ClancyIvan EnterLee EricksonHoward GrafensteinJoel GrunkeDavid HulkeWayne LueckRoy MerrittDale NeyhartAlbert NowackPhil PetersenDavid PomerenkeJohn QuintJohn RaymondVic RoseDavid RossWilliam Schimmel, Sr.Charles TimmGale TollefsonJohn ViethsLuke Wegner

Teachers

Peter BaganzPhilip KuskeJoel PankowGregory RushAlan SchafferRonald SosinskiJames Wooster

Laymen

Mark BannanJerry BeagleJerry ComstockCraig EhingerPhilip FreyJoshua Hanan

William HayesMichael HusbyDonovan KemerleyCharles KlingFreddy KriegerMike KruegerRobert KurthLouis LeitzRoger NickolsJames Ohren-HoeftPaul RennMarc RipmasterDavid ScharrerVern SontagTim WaltersLarry Wise

Pastors

Jonathan ArndtJames BarePhilip KriegerPaul KuskeJohn LiebenowMark Porinsky

Larry RetbergPaul SchaeweRodney SchwabPaul SternJoel VossMartin WeigandKevin Westra

Pastors

Kenneth BrokmeierDavid MaertzBruce MuellerKenneth Nelson

Teacher

Greg Diersen

Laymen

Clair BarthelJames Borchardt

Robert BranderRichard HansenWayne HeuerMarlo SchlomerMarvin SchlomerThomas TermesHarold TribittGary WeismantelBoyd Wermedahl

Pastors

Dan BaumlerThomas BernthalTheodore BodjanacMichael FoleySilas KruegerPhilip MalchowJerome McWatersKenneth PaschJeffrey SmithBill Tackmier

Teachers

Harmon ButlerGary GrayRobert GruetzmacherAl KarnoppCraig Kiecker

Laymen

Don AscoliGerald BernierJames DallmannGonzalo DelgadilloDennis FadenWarren FolkertsThomas HamblenTed HeynSteven KemmerleTimothy MannJames MeyerShawn PautzJeffrey PlattsTom PressAl RousseauDavid VetterHarold Warning

VOTING DELEGATES


Nebraska District

North Atlantic District

Northern Wisconsin District

Pacific Northwest District

South Atlantic District

South Central District

Southeastern Wisconsin District

Pastors

Thomas BauerJeffrey BonackJohn BrugNathan CordesThomas FischerTimothy HenningPaul HuebnerJonathan KolanderRonald MehlbergJonathan NitzScott OelhafenDale ReckzinJames SchulzMartin SchulzBryan SchwarzGordon Snyder

James SonnemannStanley SteinKeith Tullberg

Teachers

Mark BlauertKurt CallawayRobert DusseauRolland FrahmPeter FraserJohn FreeseKurt GosdeckCraig HirschmannSteven JankeRoger KrampTimothy MacKainGerald Marowsky

Pastors

William GabbDonald PattersonMarc VonDeylen

Teacher

Steven Gartner

Laymen

Chuey AbregoJohn ArtzRobert BarteltSteven GreenMelvin NiemeyerRoger RusertNathanael Winrod

Pastors

John QualmannMartin ScheeleDonald ThompsonWilliam WerthDaniel Witte

Teacher

Mark Boehme

Laymen

Jonathan BockRobert BottRobert CarruthersMichael ChappellRobert HolbrookDonald LoucksTom MauMark PalovickDouglas RallRainsford SmithTim Suttle

Pastors

Scott MewsJohn SteinbrennerDuane VanselowVaughn Vogel

Teachers

David SauerGregory Thiesfeldt

Laymen

Merle BlumMario IselyEarl LackeyJames LucaRobert McIntoshDon SchmeichelBenjamin SteenbockDavid Stuhlmiller

Pastors

Robert DienerVirgil HansonDennis KleistDaniel KrauseRobert KujawskiJoel LilloAndrew MartensTheodore OlsenRalph Rosenberg Glenn SchwankeLouis SievertGregory SlukeDavid SternbergBradley Wright

Teachers

Donald GurgelGreg ObermillerDaniel KellPaul SchulzJimmy GrothPeter MicheelJeremy ThiesfeldtDavid Kolander

David VossThomas WelchDale Witte

Laymen

Dennis BecherVirgil BenderBernard BornickMichael BrooksLarry ConradHenry GrasleyMark KampsBrent LarsonRichard ListBill MaassPaul MengesDavid NeumannDennis NeumannGerritt OberbeckDarol ReschkeDennis StrattonRussell SulewskiCarl ToepelGary VanderheydenDouglas VarnumStanley Wittler

Pastors

Timothy SatoriusJoel SchultzBruce Wietzke

Teacher

Jonathan Roux

Laymen

Rick GroveJack HoffmanTerry JohnsonRobert RungJohnny Vargas

Pastors

Earl LindemannTimm MeyerHoward MohlkeJoel SchroederJames SeitzJames Tauscher

Teachers

Timothy KassulkeMichael Schaefer

Laymen

Charles CaskeyRichard EinertGreg GreenBurt JohnsonRonald KraemerJohn LarsonKarl MaulisTimothy RichertCarl SchleicherNathan SchleusenerBruno SchlueterJames StuhtDean Thaut


ADVISORY DELEGATES

Officers

Rev. Karl R. Gurgel, presidentRev. Wayne D. Mueller, first vice president

Rev. Thomas F. Zarling, second vice presidentRev. Robert W. Pasbrig, secretary

District Presidents

Rev. Paul Janke, Arizona-CaliforniaRev. Peter Naumann, Dakota-MontanaRev. John Seifert, MichiganRev. Larry Cross, MinnesotaRev. Joel Frank, NebraskaRev. Joel Petermann, North Atlantic

Rev. Douglas Engelbrecht, Northern WisconsinRev. Theodore Lambert, Pacific NorthwestRev. John Guse, South AtlanticRev. Vilas Glaeske, South CentralRev. David Rutschow, Southeastern WisconsinRev. Herbert Prahl, Western Wisconsin

Western Wisconsin District

Pastors

Philip EnderleJon HadlerLance HoffMichael JensenRobert KnippelRussell KobsTimothy MuellerGalen RiedigerJonathan RimmertJames SchneiderLarry SchwankeTod VertzMartin WegnerLuke WerreRonald Winter

Teachers

Paul AdickesRichard BakkenPaul DableKarl HasslerRussell KlattKevin KlugMichel KrebsJames MahnkeRandy MenschingErhard OpsahlPaul Patterson

Brad SchaperGregory SchibbelhutDamon Tracy

Laymen

Frank AlbertsDouglas BaronJerry BeyerAlbert DemaskeGary DopsonWilliam GoetschJames HarrisHarold HerlichRichard KelnhoferDavid KlingerHarold LubeckJoel MantheiA. Otto MattkeArlan MillerWilliam PetriDonald RoloffJoel ScottNorman StilsonBill SuffrinsGerald ThaldorfLloyd ThomaGlen WiesmuellerJohn WinekeGeorge ZaferosRichard Zondag

Teachers

Michael NaumannScott NerbyMark OtteDan SchmalJames SchneckNeil ScriverPaul SnamiskaMark SteinDavid StoltzAlan UherJohn Wesenberg

Laymen

Roy BiermanDan BodunrinRoger CrawfordRichard Halfman

Allan HormannDaniel HylandDonald JankeHarold KasulkeRobert KernDoug KrauseAndrew NazimekStewart RomadkaRichard RuechelBruce SchaalEdward SeigworthGeorge ShiringDavid SieglerKeith StellickBrian VolkmanFredrick WestrichDennis WieselmanDonald WilkeJack Zamiatala


Committee 1—Elections

Chairman: Teacher Jonathan RouxSecretary: Teacher Kurt CallawayLayman Dennis BecherTeacher David GartnerLayman Thomas Hamblen

Teacher Karl HasslerLayman Robert KernLayman Wayne LueckTeacher John MeyerTeacher Michael Naumann

Synodical Council

Board for Ministerial Education

Home and World Missions

Parish Services

Rev. Joel Leyrer, chairman, Board for Parish ServicesRev. Bruce Becker, administrator, Board for Parish Services

Support Services

Other

*Also served as a voting delegate.

FLOOR COMMITTEES

Mr. Joel Hochmuth, director, Communication ServicesRev. James D. Liggett Jr., director, Christian GivingMr. Martin Spriggs, chief technology officer

Mr. George Martin, Independent Panel onRestructuring

Rev. Paul Naumann, chairman, Committee onConstitutional Matters

Rev. John Braun, vice president, NorthwesternPublishing House

*Mr. Roger Crawford, director, Human Resources

Mr. Jon Flanagan, director, Benefit PlansMr. Todd Poppe, chief financial officer, treasurer, and

executive director of Support Services

Rev. Mark Cares, chairman, Board for Home MissionsRev. Harold Hagedorn, administrator, Board for

Home Missions

Rev. Phil Koelpin, chairman, Board for World MissionsRev. Daniel Koelpin, administrator, Board for World

Missions

Rev. Donald Sutton, chairman, Board for Ministerial Education

Rev. Peter Kruschel, administrator, Board forMinisterial Education

Teacher Daniel Johnson, area Lutheran high schoolrepresentative

Rev. Mark Zarling, president, Martin Luther College

Rev. Paul Prange, president, Michigan LutheranSeminary

Rev. Mark Schroeder, president, Luther PreparatorySchool

Rev. Paul Wendland, president, Wisconsin LutheranSeminary

Mr. Tom Schlittenhart, Arizona-CaliforniaMr. Seth Hansen, Dakota-MontanaMr. Philip Hempel, MichiganMr. Paul Holzhueter, MinnesotaMr. Kurt Austad, NebraskaMr. Ron Hillmann, Northern Wisconsin

Mr. Warren Ehlke, Pacific NorthwestMr. Dale Anderson, South AtlanticMr. Robert Timmerman, South CentralMr. David Steinert, Western WisconsinRev. Jon Bitter, pastor-at-large representative

*Mr. John Freese, teacher-at-large representative


Committee 2—Ministry Direction

Chairman: Pastor John QualmannSecretary: Teacher Craig KieckerMissionary Bruce AhlersPastor Dan BaumlerLayman Michael BrooksPastor Nathan CordesLayman Warren FolkertsLayman Joel GrunkeLayman David HulkeLayman Daniel HylandLayman Burt JohnsonLayman Terry JohnsonLayman Donovan KemerleyPastor Dennis KleistLayman David KlingerLayman Doug KrausePastor Lon KuetherLayman Joel Manthei

Missionary Ralph MartensTeacher Greg ObermillerPastor Scott OelhafenLayman Mark PalovickLayman Shawn PautzLayman Phil PetersenLayman Paul RennTeacher Gregory SchibbelhutLayman Nathan SchleusenerLayman Marlo SchlomerLayman Marvin SchlomerPastor Jeffrey SchonePastor Glenn SchwankeTeacher Neil ScriverPastor James TauscherLayman Johnny VargasLayman Nathanael WinrodPastor Ronald Winter

Chairman: Pastor Kenneth BrokmeierSecretary: Pastor Jonathan ArndtLayman Chuey AbregoPastor Jonathan BalgePastor James BareLayman Jerry BeagleLayman Gerald BernierLayman Robert BottLayman Arden BusackTeacher Harmon ButlerLayman Larry ConradLayman Philip FreyLayman William HayesTeacher Earl HeidtkePastor Russell KobsPastor Daniel KrauseTeacher Michel Krebs

Pastor Silas KruegerLayman Earl LackeyPastor Howard MohlkeTeacher Scott NerbyPastor Roger NeumannLayman David NeumannLayman Dale NeyhartLayman Melvin NiemeyerTeacher Erhard OpsahlPastor Larry RetbergLayman Al RousseauPastor Martin SchulzLayman Vern SontagPastor John SteinbrennerTeacher David StoltzLayman Charles TimmLayman Harold Tribitt

Committee 1—Elections (continued)

Layman John QuintLayman Edward SeigworthLayman Gerald ThaldorfLayman Dean ThautPastor David Tiarks

Pastor Martin WegnerLayman Luke WegnerLayman Gary WeismantelLayman Dennis Wieselman

Committee 4—Proclaim

Chairman: Teacher Dan SchmalSecretary: Teacher Alan UherLayman John ArtzLayman Mark BannanLayman Douglas BaronLayman Clair BarthelPastor Thomas Bauer

Layman Virgil BenderLayman Jerry BeyerLayman Roy BiermanLayman Donald BikkieTeacher Mark BlauertLayman Bernard BornickLayman Albert Demaske

Committee 3—Conference of Presidents


Committee 5—Prepare

Chairman: Pastor Donald PattersonSecretary: Teacher David BauerLayman Don AscoliLayman Jonathan BockTeacher Steven GartnerPastor Carl HenkelPastor Timothy HenningLayman Ted HeynTeacher Craig HirschmannPastor Lance HoffTeacher Timothy KassulkeLayman Charles KlingLayman Robert KurthLayman Brent Larson

Pastor Kenneth NelsonTeacher Joel PankowPastor Galen RiedigerLayman Carl SchleicherPastor Joel SchroederPastor Bryan SchwarzLayman Joel ScottPastor Jeffrey SmithPastor Stanley SteinTeacher Mark SteinLayman Keith StellickLayman Tim SuttlePastor Duane VanselowTeacher David Voss

Committee 4—Proclaim (continued)

Teacher Mark DobbersteinLayman Gary DopsonTeacher Robert DusseauLayman Richard EinertLayman Lee EricksonPastor Thomas FischerTeacher Rolland FrahmTeacher Peter FraserLayman William GoetschLayman Henry GrasleyLayman Richard HalfmanLayman Joshua HananLayman Richard HansenPastor Virgil HansonTeacher Jonathan HartzellLayman Robert HolbrookLayman Mark KampsTeacher Al KarnoppTeacher Kevin KlugPastor Robert KnippelPastor Philip KriegerPastor Wayne LaitinenLayman John LarsonLayman Louis LeitzPastor Earl LindemannLayman Richard ListLayman Harold LubeckLayman Bill MaassPastor David MaertzLayman Timothy MannLayman A. Otto MattkeLayman Robert McIntoshPastor Jerome McWatersPastor Ronald MehlbergLayman Paul MengesLayman Roy MerrittPastor Scott MewsLayman Albert NowackLayman Gerritt OberbeckTeacher Mark Otte

Teacher Paul PattersonLayman William PetriLayman David PomerenkePastor Mark PorinskyLayman Tom PressLayman Darol ReschkeLayman Timothy RichertLayman Stewart RomadkaLayman Vic RosePastor Ralph RosenbergLayman David RossTeacher Michael SchaeferPastor Paul SchaeweTeacher Alan SchafferLayman William Schimmel Sr.Layman Bruno SchlueterLayman Don SchmeichelPastor James SchneiderPastor Joel SchultzLayman David SieglerLayman Rainsford SmithPastor James SonnemannLayman Norman StilsonLayman David StuhlmillerLayman Thomas TermesTeacher Gregory ThiesfeldtTeacher Jeremy ThiesfeldtPastor Donald ThompsonPastor Keith TullbergLayman Gary VanderheydenLayman Douglas VarnumPastor Marc VonDeylenTeacher Thomas WelchTeacher John WesenbergLayman Donald WilkeLayman John WinekeLayman Stanley WittlerPastor Bradley WrightLayman George Zaferos


Committee 5—Prepare (continued)

Pastor Martin WeigandLayman Boyd Wermedahl

Layman Glen WiesmuellerTeacher Paul Willems

Committee 6—Promote

Chairman: Teacher James MahnkeSecretary: Layman Mario IselyLayman Robert BarteltPastor Thomas BernthalPastor Timothy BlauertPastor Jeffrey BonackLayman Daryl BurrierLayman James DallmannPastor Phillip EnderleLayman Howard GrafensteinTeacher Gary GrayLayman Greg GreenLayman James HarrisPastor Paul HuebnerTeacher David KolanderPastor Robert KujawskiPastor Arnold LemkePastor John Liebenow

Pastor Joel LilloTeacher Timothy MacKainPastor Andrew MartensLayman Karl MaulisPastor Bruce MuellerLayman Andrew NazimekLayman Roger NickolsTeacher Mark ProbstLayman Richard RuechelTeacher Brad SchaperPastor Martin ScheelePastor Rodney SchwabLayman Benjamin SteenbockLayman Gale TollefsonPastor Tod VertzLayman Brian VolkmanLayman Harold Warning

Committee 7—Provide

Chairman: Pastor Joel VossSecretary: Pastor Kevin WestraTeacher Mark BoehmePastor John BrugLayman Michael ChappellLayman Roger CrawfordPastor Robert DienerTeacher Greg DiersenLayman Ivan EnterLayman Steven GreenTeacher Jimmy GrothPastor Curtis HolubPastor Michael JensenLayman Richard KelnhoferPastor Dennis KlattTeacher Russell KlattTeacher Michael Koestler

Missionary Dan KrollLayman Mike KruegerPastor Paul KuskeLayman James LucaPastor Timm MeyerLayman Jeffrey PlattsLayman Douglas RallPastor Daniel ReichTeacher David SauerTeacher James SchneckTeacher Ronald SosinskiLayman David VetterPastor Luke WerreLayman Fredrick WestrichPastor Bruce WietzkePastor Daniel WitteLayman Richard Zondag

Committee 8—Subsidiaries

Chairman: Layman Charles CaskeySecretary: Pastor Paul SternPastor Theodore BodjanacLayman James BorchardtLayman Gonzalo DelgadilloLayman Craig EhingerLayman Dennis FadenTeacher Kurt GosdeckLayman Rick GroveLayman Harold HerlichLayman Allan Hormann

Layman Michael HusbyTeacher Steven JankeLayman Harold KasulkeLayman Steven KemmerleLayman Ronald KraemerTeacher Roger KrampLayman Freddy KriegerLayman Donald LoucksLayman Arlan MillerTeacher Gregory RushTeacher Ronald Shilling


Committee 8—Subsidiaries (continued)

Layman George ShiringPastor Dale ReckzinLayman Roger RusertPastor Louis SievertPastor Gregory SlukeTeacher Paul Snamiska

Pastor David SternbergLayman Dennis StrattonLayman James StuhtLayman Bill SuffrinsLayman Russell SulewskiLayman Larry Wise

Committee 9—Membership

Chairman: Teacher Robert GruetzmacherSecretary: Teacher Randy MenschingTeacher Donald Gurgel

Teacher Peter MicheelPastor Gordon SnyderLayman Tim Walters

Committee 10—Steering Committee

Chairman: Advisory John GuseAdvisory Vilas GlaeskeAdvisory Paul Janke

Committee 12—Constitutional Matters

Chairman: Pastor Kenneth PaschSecretary: Pastor Philip MalchowTeacher Paul AdickesTeacher Peter BaganzLayman Dan BodunrinLayman Robert BranderLayman Robert CarruthersLayman Bret ClancyLayman Jerry ComstockTeacher Paul DableTeacher John DornPastor Jon HadlerLayman Wayne HeuerPastor John HildebrantLayman Donald JankeTeacher Daniel Kell

Teacher Philip KuskeTeacher Gerald MarowskyLayman Tom MauPastor Theodore OlsenLayman John RaymondLayman Marc RipmasterLayman Robert RungPastor James SchulzTeacher Paul SchulzPastor Larry SchwankePastor Robert SeifertPastor James SeiltzPastor C. James StrandLayman Lloyd ThomaTeacher Damon TracyLayman Jack Zamiatala

Committee 11—Restructuring

Chairman: Pastor William GabbSecretary: Teacher John FreeseLayman Frank AlbertsLayman Dan AndersonTeacher Richard BakkenLayman Merle BlumPastor Michael FoleyLayman Jack HoffmanPastor Jonathan KolanderLayman James MeyerPastor Timothy MuellerLayman Dennis NeumannPastor Jonathan NitzLayman James Ohren-Hoeft

Pastor Matthew RauhPastor Jonathan RimmertLayman Donald RoloffPastor Timothy SatoriusLayman Bruce SchaalLayman David ScharrerPastor Bill TackmierLayman Carl ToepelLayman John ViethsPastor Vaughn VogelPastor William WerthTeacher Dale WitteTeacher James Wooster


Our world seems to be coming unglued. Someattribute this to global warming. In the worstcase scenario, the polar ice cap significantly ortotally melts, causing the world’s oceans to floodthe earth, reclaiming the land masses which,over the centuries, have been taken from the sea.Climate changes—occasioned by global warming,it is claimed—will cause widespread famine,creating political and social unrest, furtherbreaking the fragile fabric of our world.

Rather than this potential threat some see asglobal warming, what about global warnings?Each day we hear the tragic body count reportedfrom the killing fields of Afghanistan and Iraq.Roadside bombs killing our troops. Deadly carbombs killing citizens of these warring nations.Terrorist plots in London, like can openers, tearapart buses loaded with people. Cars, loadedwith explosives, seek to cripple the Glasgowairport. And right here in our own country, aderanged student goes on the rampage, killingdozens of his fellow students at Virginia Tech.

Expeditionary forces in foreign lands and Home-land Security in our own land don’t seem capableof stopping the violence. We often come up short,lacking sufficient resources. We are often pre-vented from doing much about our humansituation for lack of resources or technicalknowledge or expertise.

I don’t know how it is for you, but, for morethan one reason, I appreciate whenever ouryoungest daughter comes home from college.She fixes the computer, reprograms the TVremote, and suggests things my cell phone cando I never imagined. She overcomes my tech-nological ignorance.

There are, however, other examples of insufficientresources. As calculated by the Federal ReserveBoard, personal debt service, as a percentage ofincome, is 50 percent higher than it has ever beenbefore. This surely affects what percentage of theirincome people will dispose of for such things ascharitable giving.

Over the last few years, capital constructionamong WELS congregations has been averagingaround $50 million per year and congregationindebtedness is approaching $300 million.

The synod, too, as we are all very much aware, isaffected by insufficient monetary resources. At thelast synod convention a simple chart conveyed theconclusion of one floor committee—risingexpenditures and steady support. Even with nonew mission or ministry efforts, just to maintainwhat we currently are doing requires an increaseof about five percent per year. Our expenses runslightly above inflation since they are so heavilyweighted by personnel costs, including suchthings as health insurance premiums. At the sametime, though, our support is steady, even steadilygrowing. It has been, at least for the last severalyears, below the rate of inflation.

And so the gap continues to widen betweensteady support and rising expenditures. Weas a synod are also impacted by insufficientresources. However, while this may be trueof all mortals and every human endeavor, it isnever true of our God and all he ever seeks toaccomplish. Just look at the empty cross.

Yes, to begin with, the cross was occupied. Ourinnocent Savior was nailed to it. It was God theFather himself who declared him to be innocent.Speaking from heaven, the Father said, “This ismy beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” TheSavior constantly displayed his perfect innocence.He could even challenge his enemies, “Which ofyou can convict me of sin?”

And yet, as the Scriptures pronounce, “he madehim to be sin for us.” God the Father treated hisown innocent Son as if he had been a mere mortal,a sinful being like you and me. The Son, prayingin the agony of the garden, asked that this bittercup might be taken from him. And yet, he added,“Not my will but yours be done.” He was per-fectly willing because it was his heavenly Father’swill that he be nailed to the cross. He occupied thecross for every mortal.

But the cross is empty now. “By one offering hehas perfected forever those who are being sanc-tified.” Never again will he, or we, need to paysin’s penalty. The empty cross for all time standsas the symbol of the success of the cross onceoccupied by our Savior. The penalty for our sinshas been marked paid in full.

The empty grave is a further symbol of Christ’sEaster victory. But before it was empty, it was

STATE OF THE SYNOD REPORTMon., July 30, 2007

President Karl R. GurgelDECLARE HIS PRAISES


occupied by the dead body of the Savior. Asastounding as it is and defying complete humanunderstanding, the Son of God died. To fully paythe wages of sin, which is death, the Savior died,and his dead body was buried. His friends gentlylaid his dead body in Joseph’s new tomb. Thewomen watched, waiting for the dawn of a newday when they could further anoint his deadbody. And so it was a dead body they wereexpecting to find on Easter morning, only todiscover, first with alarm and then withaccelerating joy, that the grave was empty.

And because of who and what Christ was whenhe died—the perfectly innocent Savior of all theworld—the blessed results of his empty cross andempty tomb are far-reaching indeed. Luke reports,“This is what is written: the Christ will suffer andrise from the dead on the third day and repen-tance and forgiveness of sins will be preached inhis name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem”(Luke 24:46,47).

It is a parallel passage to the one we call the GreatCommission in Matthew 28, “Go and make dis-ciples of all nations.” It’s pointing to the alwayssufficient resources of our forgiving God. Withthe cross occupied and then unoccupied, with thegrave filled and then emptied, with the paymentfor sin made and accepted, God’s emancipationproclamation was to go out into all the world. InJesus’ name we are commissioned to declare hispraises in all the world.

On top of our broken world stand three solitaryfigures, representative in their various colors ofall the races of human beings. Towering abovethem, symbolically, is the empty cross, andbeneath their feet, symbolically, is a world madenew in the blood of the lamb. They could bestanding anywhere in the world, going out intoany place in the world. However here they arestanding, it seems to me, in North America, aboutto step off into every other part of the world. Itsymbolizes our task, declaring the praises of himwho has called us out of darkness into his mar-velous light. Here in the United States andeverywhere else in the world God gives usopportunities to declare his praises.

After successfully performing his task on earth,Jesus himself, before he returned to heaven, madeprovisions for the proclamation of his victory tobe made in all the world. He commissioned hissmall band of disciples to go out into all theworld. The message was his and so were themeans of grace he gave to them.

And just look at the power in those means ofgrace! Within three centuries the message ofpardon and peace had spread to strategic areas

of the Mediterranean-Roman World. Within threecenturies more it had penetrated the entire Romanworld, Christianizing it. And within another twoto three centuries it was taking ever firmer rootin the fringes of the Roman World—the Europeansoil, one day, which would give birth to theReformation.

The spread of the gospel into all the world isremarkable to behold! More amazing thanmigratory birds that fly thousands of milesbetween their summer and winter homes withoutchart and compass, the migratory passage of thegospel is more marvelous to behold. Each newvoyage illustrates God’s amazing grace as heemploys such unlikely vessels for his grace.

One of them was John Newton, the writer ofthe hymn Amazing Grace. John Newton’s parentswere an English couple, a very Christian motherand a seafaring, naval officer father. From thewood of the cradle, from his mother, John learnedthe story of God’s love in Christ. But from thewood deck of navy ships, following the earlydeath of his mother, John Newton jettisoned hisChristian upbringing. His rough ways becameeven too much for the British navy. Dishonorablydischarged from the navy, John Newton, contin-uing his time at sea, became the captain of a slavetrading ship, plying his trade between Africa andthe new world, the Americas.

And then one night, on a storm tossed ship,in danger of floundering, God caused him toremember again the Bible lessons learned on hismother’s knees. God brought this proud man tohis knees in repentance, and by the grace of God,raised him up forgiven. John Newton, the roughsea captain, became a Christian evangelist, aChristian hymn writer. Amazing Grace, undoubt-edly his best known hymn, is so reflective of whatGod by his grace had done for him and throughhim would do for others: “Amazing grace, howsweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. Ionce was lost but now am found. Was blind butnow I see.”

Just look at what God’s amazing grace has done,filling the world, as the waters cover the seas,with the proclamation of the gospel. There ishardly a place in our vast world that has notheard the gospel. Hardly a place that does notneed to hear it still, since just like in the parable ofthe sower and the seed, the devil to this very day,with the allure of this world’s passing glory, seeksto tarnish the luster of the eternal gospel. Therestill are places, many places, where the gospelneeds to be planted or planted again. And in thecontinuation of this planting, again to us in ourday, the Lord gives the Great Commission.


We surely are not the only ones planting gospelseeds in all the world. But God is blessing ourevery effort to declare his praises in all the world.Among us still today the Lord is preparing futurepastors, teachers, and staff ministers. Over the last10 years, on average 124 future teachers have beenassigned, graduates from Martin Luther College.Year after year, nearly everyone who is eligibleand available to go anywhere has been assigned.Some, deferring assignment for a time, are servingas volunteers in distant parts of the world, teach-ing English as a second language, using opportu-nities to teach an even more important lesson, thelove of the Savior.

At Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, the story ismuch the same. Over the last 10 years, on aver-age, we’ve assigned 39 graduates per year to theirfirst pastor calls. Once or twice, a graduate or twoor three have had to wait to be assigned. Theopportunities are there for them to declare hispraises in all the world.

But the world is a very big place, just filled withbillions and billions of people. We need morethan just a few to proclaim the amazing graceof God in all the world. Wouldn’t it be great ifwe could count on more than just a few, if wecould employ all of the members of WELS inthis sacred task?

While 32 percent of the world’s population isnominally Christian, that means seven out ofevery 10 are ignorant or antagonistic toward theChristian faith. We need only think of the risingtide of Islam. We’re not just thinking of the phys-ical dangers posed by their most aggressivefollowers. We’re thinking about the eternal fatalityof these people, redeemed by the blood of Jesus,dying ignorant of his saving love. We need moreand more people to declare his praises and sharehis love with people everywhere.

As a catalyst for declaring his praises, we thankGod for every single one of the men and womenGod has prepared through our worker trainingsystem to be pastors, teachers, and staff min-isters. We thank God that there are about 4,500of them stationed throughout North Americaand in 23 countries of the world. But wouldn’tit be great if we had 100 times their number?An impossible dream you say? We have nearlythat number already in the nearly 400,000 men,women, and children of the Wisconsin Evan-gelical Lutheran Synod.

In Numbers 11 an incident is recorded when Godpoured out his Spirit in a special way upon 70of Israel’s leaders. God enabled them, in spec-tacular ways, to go about the camp, declaringGod’s praises. Joshua, Moses’ loyal aide, wasconcerned about the impact this would have on

Moses’ unique position as leader. “Moses, mylord, stop them,” Joshua frantically urged Moses.To which Moses replied, “Are you jealous for mysake? If only all of God’s servants were prophets!”

That brings me to a suggestion for a WELS Visionfor 2020. Vision, used here, is not some super-natural sighting, some charismatic revelation,something so un-WELS. It is, under God, by hisgrace, what we hope to be by the year 2020, justa little over a decade away. Could it be that by2020 every WELS member would be a partnerin proclaiming the living Jesus to a dying world?It could be done one-on-one, personal missionwork, right where we are each day. It could bedone where two or three are gathered in his name,where we hear and study God’s Word togethereach week. It could be done to the four cornersof the earth, sustaining and expanding gospelproclamation by WELS in all the world. It couldbe done all for One, for the one who called usout of darkness into his marvelous light, to declarehis praises.

One-on-one is a somewhat popular phrasesometimes used to describe athletic contestspitting one person against another. The objecthere is to defeat the other, to overcome them withour own superior strength or skill. That is not thepurpose here in going one-on-one. It is not theirdefeat but their victory we are seeking to achieve.

It does not require moving anywhere. It can takeplace right where we are, right where God hasplaced us, giving us opportunities right there todeclare his praises. He puts us in families whereour chief goal needs to be the spiritual health andstrengthening of those closest to us. We’re all inextended families, some of whom may not knowthe stronger, more binding love of Jesus. Rightwhere we work or play are countless people whomay have come to trust us in other ways, whofrom our lips may want to know what it is whichgives our lives such hope and confidence. Allaround us, in nursing homes, homeless shelters,jails, detention centers, are people, one-on-one, inneed of hearing of Jesus’ love.

Sometimes it’s more than just one-on-one.Sometimes it’s where two or three or more aregathered in his name. We know how easy it is toget off course and to lose our sense of directionwhen we are walking alone. And that is why, forspiritual direction, God urges us not to walkalone. We know the importance of meetingtogether, gathering together for regular andspecial worship services. We need to rememberthe importance, in large and smaller groups, ofgathering together for regular study of theScriptures. Thank God for the larger gatheringof Christians for dedications and anniversaries


or, just like this morning, for the opening servicefor the synod in convention. We thank God fororganizations like Kingdom Workers and theLutheran Women’s Missionary Society who gatheraround the Word to be encouraged, in word anddeed, to share that Word with others. We all needthe encouragement which comes when two orthree are gathered around the Word.

Then we’re inspired, we all are, to declare hispraises to the four corners of the world. The facesare not all the same, at least in color they’re not.And yet they are all alike, each one with eyes,ears, a nose, and mouth. More importantly eachone with a heart—a heart just like mine, black-ened with sin, with intentions and actions whichare not right in the sight of God. But most impor-tantly of all, each one is washed clean in the bloodof the lamb, made white in the innocence of theSon of God.

For them God has made you—he has made us—a light. It is the light of the knowledge of Godin the face of Jesus Christ. It is to push away thedarkness of sin and unbelief. It is to bathe peopleeverywhere in the light of the gospel. It is to bringpeople everywhere to the gospel’s dawn beforethe sun sets on the gospel’s invitation.

To do this, to declare his praises to the fourcorners of the world, we want to declare hispraises all for one. To begin with we need torecall, through the amazing grace of God, theoneness we most importantly and already enjoy.One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God andFather of us all, one hope, one Spirit.

There is no more remarkable oneness than this!And all of it, to each of us, freely given. It wasGod’s Spirit, through Word and Sacraments, thatbrought each of us into oneness with our SaviorJesus and the heavenly Father. Pardoning us, Godmade us one with him. And because he did thesame for you, the very same way, making you onewith the Father through his Son, he links you andme together, making each one of us one in Christ.

What a remarkable oneness this is! God himselfcompares the oneness he has established by faithwith each of us to the oneness between a husbandand wife in marriage. This essential oneness in amarriage does not need to be fractured even bysinful mistakes. A husband and wife reunite toeach other in repentance and forgiveness. Thisessential oneness in a marriage does not need tobe fractured by differences of opinion. WhereGod’s truth is not contradicted by human opin-ions, each can hold to separate opinions while stillmaintaining their oneness with each other.

Do you see the parallels for us today as membersin a synod? We do share the most importance

oneness of all, faith in the redeeming merits of ourLord Jesus Christ. At times, more times than wecare to recall, we sinfully hurt one another withour words and actions. And yet that need notdivide us as in repentance and forgiveness werenew our expressions of oneness. And wherethe Word of Truth is not compromised, in mattersGod does not decide, we can continue to hold todifferent opinions without destroying the bondof peace that unites us.

All for one, declaring his praises. Here are someof the ways we have done just that over the pastbiennium. We’re still declaring his praises inNorth America. No, we may not be doing it theway we once did, infusing large dollars right upfront, starting 15-25 new mission congregationsthroughout North America. Not that it wouldbe an undesirable thing to begin to do some ofthat again. But, as we looked for other ways toaccomplish the same purpose, declaring hispraises in North America, since 2004 we haveassisted 90 ministry openings with financialsupport and expertise. Forty of these led to newministry positions for called workers, 27 of thempastors. God-willing this will be increased to 150in the next two years.

There have been intensified efforts to reach outto the various ethnic groups living among us,especially Hispanics and Hmong. WisconsinLutheran Seminary has initiated the PastoralStudies Institute, which participates with localpastors in raising up and training pastors fromthe various ethnic groups. For the most part theirpreseminary and seminary training takes placeright where they are. They’re taught by localpastors, and their training is augmented by sum-mer schools and other courses at WisconsinLutheran Seminary. This past spring five of them,four Hmong and one Hispanic, received theirdegrees from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

The privilege was mine to preach for the servicein which four Hmong brothers, the Lor brothers,were commissioned for the Christian ministry.It had to be a day of great joy for their parents.All of them have escaped from oppression inSoutheast Asia, some of them swimming theMekong River to safety. One will serve as pastorto his home congregation in Kansas City. Twomore of them will serve in Sacramento, Calif.,and La Crosse, Wis. And the last one will servehis relatives and other Hmong in Laos. Amazinghow what begins here has both origin and finaloutcome around the world.

And, as one, we are declaring his praises aroundthe world. Despite the monetary difficulties ofthe past years, all 23 world mission fields remainopen, though some of them are with a decreased


American presence. World missionaries have beenrecalled. And yet, so rich is God’s blessing that theactual number of those serving in world fields hasincreased remarkably.

The process is called indigenization. It’s theprocess of actively promoting a growing inde-pendence in world mission fields. Just a few yearsago, we had about 75 expatriate world mission-aries. Today there are 53. And yet, with an empha-sis on training national pastors in our own foreignseminaries, we now have 173 world mission pas-tors. We’ve also compensated for limited mone-tary resources in other innovative ways, partic-ularly with the use of Christian literature incountries where we cannot maintain a Christianpresence for monetary or political reasons.

This year, here at this convention, we will becommemorating the 50th anniversary of ourmissionary activities in Japan. You heard one oftheir national pastors delivering the sermon atthe opening service of the convention. In thisdifficult place for Christian missionary activity,our Japanese brothers and sisters eagerly andactively are declaring God’s praises. They con-tribute significantly to their own expenses. Weare still assisting them with two full-time mis-sionaries and one retired American missionary.

Also, this past month the Gereja LutheranChurch of Indonesia observed its 20th anni-versary. Except for one U.S.-based friendlycounselor who assists them with periodic visits,they are largely on their own. They have nearlytwo dozen national pastors, and the Lord hasblessed them with amazing growth each year asthey continue to reach out with the gospel ofJesus Christ in their Muslim homeland.

In Africa, for decades already, we’ve been heavilyinvolved in raising up the next generation ofnational workers. We support a Bible Institute-College in Malawi and a seminary in Zambia.Scores of called workers are being trained, andincreasingly the majority of the work is beingcarried out by Africans, including the leadershipof their church body and worker training schools.

That same model is bearing fruit in India. Last fallI had the privilege of teaching at our seminary inGuntur, India. What a pleasure, what a privilege!There were 11 seniors and 17 more two yearsaway from graduation. Those 11 seniors grad-uated this July and will be ordained into theChristian Lutheran ministry.

But sometimes a seminary program is still years,perhaps many years away. Sometimes we cannoteven stay in a country except for occasional teach-ing visits. Such a country is Nepal. Some years agocontacts were followed up and a teaching ministry

was begun. Today, without our permanent, phys-ical presence in the country, gospel workers, manyof them numbering in the hundreds, are beingprepared with the Christian literature and occa-sional teaching visits we are able to arrange. It’sall a part of the program of Multi-LanguagePublications at work supplying Christian litera-ture in many languages for gospel work here aswell as around the world.

Together as one we also declare his praisesthrough Parish Services. Following our country’smilitary personnel around the world, we seek toprovide spiritual encouragement for those inharm’s way. We reach out in our own country tothose with developmental disabilities, for they arealso those for whom Christ bled and died, andthese special children of his often demonstrate alove for their Savior that is beyond the ordinary.

Through Parish Schools many of our preciouschildren are constantly surrounded by his love inChristian elementary and high schools. The largestpart of the budget of Parish Services goes tosustain and support Christian teaching at thesespecial schools, the third largest parochial systemin the United States.

But the children of some parents still go astray.Some of them end up in prisons. Some of them,concentrating on selfish, self-love find it hard toimagine that anyone would love them and espe-cially when their consciences become active, findit hard to imagine that even God could love them.

The cards and letters we get from the morethan 40,000 prisoners we serve, mostly by mail,are heartwarming. With handwriting almost asillegible as mine, with the grammar most Englishteachers would mark with an “F,” the message iswhat comes through: “If only I had known aboutthe love of God for me earlier I wouldn’t be inthe situation I am now. Thank you for sharingthe love of the Savior for me, pardoning me andbringing me an eternal peace I could neverotherwise have known.”

These are just some of the things that we aredoing together as one, declaring his praises. It’sthe reason that, as one, you, the nearly 400 dele-gates, are assembled here. It was individually,but as one, that we heard his Word and receivedhis true body and blood. It is for every one tolisten to the presentations, to participate in thefloor committees and the convention floor dis-cussions. It is to elect leaders who will carry onthe recommendations and resolutions passed here.It is, as one, we the many, but every one of us, too,declare his praises.

To declare his praises one-on-one, right whereGod has placed us, testifying to the hope, by faith,


God’s Spirit has placed within us. To declare hispraises where two or three are gathered in hisname, not forsaking the assembling of ourselvestogether. To declare his praises to the four cornersof the earth since God has made us lights for thisdark world. And finally, we declare his praisesone for all, for the one who died for us and roseagain, who in his rich blood has truly made usone to share that glorious gospel in all the world.Declaring his praises truly is what the Christianlife, individually and collectively, is all about. Mayour gracious God, by his grace, make us all eagerto declare his praises.

NEW MEMBERS

Reference: Report from the President’s Office

Subject: Membership—congregations

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) the following congregations arerecommended by their respectivedistrict president for votingmembership in the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Synod; and

WHEREAS 2) their constitutions have beenexamined and approved by theirrespective district constitution andlegislation committees; therefore beit

Resolved, a) that the following congregations begraciously welcomed into the votingmembership of the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Synod:

MICHIGAN DISTRICT:

St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church,Columbus, Ohio

Spirit of Life Evangelical Lutheran Church,Caledonia, Mich.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN DISTRICT:

St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church,Clintonville, Wis.

Teacher Bob Gruetzmacher, ChairmanTeacher Randy Mensching, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Membership—called workers

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) the following pastors, professors,graduate tutors, male teachers, and

staff ministers have been recom-mended by their respective districtpresident for voting membership inthe Wisconsin Evangelical LutheranSynod; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the following be graciouslywelcomed into voting membershipin the Wisconsin EvangelicalLutheran Synod:

ARIZONA-CALIFORNIA DISTRICT:

Rev. Dewid Lor, (Mission Developer/Educator),Thailand, from WLS

Rev. Ger Lor, St. Andrew (Hmong Mission),Sacramento, Calif., from WLS

Rev. Christopher J. Rathje, Immanuel/Immanuel,Taylor/Springerville, Ariz., from WLS

Teacher Zachary M. Biebert, Peridot, Peridot,Ariz., from MLC

Teacher Eric J. Fillner, Apostles, San Jose, Calif.,from MLC

Teacher Timothy R. Hochmuth, Our Savior, Bylas,Ariz., from MLC

Teacher Matthew M. Linton, St. Peter, Modesto,Calif., from MLC

Teacher Justin T. VanBeckum, California LHS,Wildomar, Calif., from MLC

DAKOTA-MONTANA DISTRICT:

Rev. Benjamin A. Radtke, St. Martin’s (Associate),Watertown, S.D., from WLS

Rev. David W. Schmidt, St. John, Tappen, N.D.,from WLS

Rev. Mark E. Schutz, Hope, Spearfish, S.D., from WLS

Rev. Nathanael P. Seelow, Great Plains LHS(Tutor), Watertown, S.D., from WLS

Rev. Bradley P. Taylor, Mountain View, Calgary,AB, Canada, from WLS

Rev. P. James Wilcox, Abiding Word, Rapid City,S.D., from WLS

Rev. Jonathan G. Zimpelmann, Apostles(Associate), Billings, Mont., from WLS

Teacher Timothy P. Fischer, Great Plains LHS,Watertown, S.D., from MLC

MICHIGAN DISTRICT:

Rev. Jeffery G. Bolwerk, Trinity (Associate),Jenera, Ohio, from WLS

Rev. Jonathan D. Quinn, Good Shepherd(Assistant to the District President),Midland, Mich., from WLS

Rev. Clint A. Rogas, Jr., St. Paul, South Haven,Mich., from WLS

Rev. Mark J. Schroeder, Michigan LutheranSeminary (Tutor), Saginaw, Mich., from WLS


Teacher Joseph R. Greefkes, St. Paul, South Haven,Mich., from MLC

Teacher Nicholas R. Raith, Grace, Saint Joseph,Mich., from MLC

Teacher Michael J. Smith, St. Paul, Hopkins, Mich.,from MLC

MINNESOTA DISTRICT:

Rev. Adam M. Bode, Martin Luther College(Tutor), New Ulm, Minn., from WLS

Rev. Kevin L. Draper, St. John, Sleepy Eye, Minn.,from WLS

Rev. Michael J. Kuschel, St. Matthew/St. Matthew,Flora/Danube, Minn., from WLS

Rev. Adam S. Manian, Immanuel, Tyler, Minn.,from WLS

Rev. Eric D. Schroeder, Bloomington/Living Hope(Associate), Bloomington/Shakopee, Minn.,from WLS

Rev. Dustin D. Sievert, Martin Luther College(Admissions Counselor), New Ulm, Minn.,from WLS

Teacher Jeffrey D. Dolan, St. Croix LHS, West SaintPaul, Minn., from MLC

Teacher David M. Duncan, Trinity, Nicollet, Minn.,from MLC

Teacher Jason T. Leitz, Crown of Life, West SaintPaul, Minn., from MLC

NEBRASKA DISTRICT:

Rev. Brad D. Krause, Nebraska LHS (Tutor), Waco,Neb., from WLS

Rev. Bounkeo Lor, Rock of Ages, Kansas City, Mo.,from WLS

Teacher Adam M. Frey, Lord of Life, Northglenn,Colo., from MLC

Teacher Joel Lauber, Good Shepherd, Omaha,Neb., from MLC

NORTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT:

Teacher Matthew Redfield, Grace, Falls Church,Va., from MLC

Pastor Daniel Walters, Our Savior, Springville,N.Y., from WLS

Pastor Peter Kesting, Faith, Pittsfield, Mass., fromWLS

NORTHERN WISCONSIN DISTRICT:

Rev. Don Forss, Faith, Oshkosh, Wis., by ColloquyRev. Chadwick L. Graham, Grace (Associate),

Oshkosh, Wis., from WLSRev. Nicholas C. Maglietto, Immanuel (Associate),

Manitowoc, Wis., from WLSRev. Paul Cher Pao Thao, St. Paul (Northern

Wisconsin Mission Board), Appleton, Wis.,from WLS

Teacher Peter A. Iles, Grace, Oshkosh, Wis., from MLC

Teacher Drew P. Kock, Emanuel, New London,Wis., from MLC

Teacher Christopher S. Mueller, Christ, EagleRiver, Wis., from MLC

PACIFIC-NORTHWEST DISTRICT:

Rev. Brian P. Hackmann, Peace, Eagle River,Alaska, from WLS

Teacher Justin T. Wiechmann, Immanuel, Salem,Ore., from MLC

SOUTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT:

Rev. Philip J. Huebner, Palm Coast Outreach, PalmCoast, Fla., from WLS

Rev. B. Jason Richards, St. John, St. John, Antigua,from WLS

SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN DISTRICT:

Rev. Scott W. Bergemann, Mt. Zion (Associate),Kenosha, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Emile J. Burgess, Trinity (Associate),Caledonia, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Philip J. Casmer, Christ the Lord (Associate),Brookfield, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Jonathan L. Munson, Peace (Associate),Hartford, Wis., from WLS

Rev. German M. Novelli, St. Peter (SEW MissionBoard), Milwaukee, Wis., from WLS

Teacher Adam A. Harvey, Hope Middle School,Milwaukee, Wis., from MLC

Teacher John E. Martin III, St. John, Newburg,Wis., from MLC

Teacher Matthew D. Oppermann, Friedens,Kenosha, Wis., from MLC

Teacher Peter C. Trapp, Atonement, Milwaukee,Wis., from MLC

Staff Minister Benjamin S. Kohls, CalvaryAcademy, Milwaukee, Wis., from MLC

WESTERN WISCONSIN DISTRICT:

Rev. John C. Berg, English, Viroqua, Wis., fromWLS

Rev. Paul M. Burk, St. John/Immanuel,Waterloo/Marshall, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Aaron J. Dolan, Luther Preparatory School(Tutor), Watertown, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Christopher E. Koschnitzke, Christus,Delavan, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Daniel C. Lor, Hmong Ministry, La Crosse,Wis., from WLS

Rev. Michael T. Novotny, Eastside (OutreachPastor), Madison, Wis., from WLS

Rev. Nathanael R. Scharf, Luther PreparatorySchool (Tutor), Watertown, Wis., from WLS


Rev. Paul Schupmann, St. John (Associate),Juneau, Wis., from WLS

Teacher Joseph M. Hering, Immanuel, Medford,Wis., from MLC

Teacher Seth M. Jaeger, St. Paul, Bloomer, Wis.,from MLC

Teacher Benjamin R. Pagel, Luther PreparatorySchool, Watertown, Wis., from MLC

Teacher Kevin A. Proeber Jr., Peace, Sun Prairie,Wis., from MLC

Staff Minister David P. Hochmuth, St. Andrew,Middleton, Wis., from MLC


ADOPTED

APPOINTMENTS AND INSTALLATIONS


Subject: Membership appointments

Resolution No. 3

The following were appointed to synodical officessince the synod last met in convention:

To Forward in Christ, contributing editor

Rev. Jon SchroederRev. Paul Prange

To Northwestern Publishing House, reviewer

Rev. Warren WidmannRev. Gary HaagRev. John Stellick

To the Commission on Inter-Church Relations

Rev. Peter PrangeRev. James PopeRev. John ViethsRev. Thomas JeskeProf. John BrennerProf. Ken Cherney

To the Communication Services Commission

Mr. Gary Stechmesser

To the Commission Passages of Scripture Ad HocCommittee

Rev. Joel FredrichRev. Joel ThomfordRev. Charles WestraRev. Eugene RoeckerProf. Daniel Leyrer

To the Synod Structure Committee

Rev. Em Carl Voss, chairmanMr. Jon Flanagan

Rev. Karl Gurgel, ex officioProf. John KolanderRev. Mark LindnerMr. Norman MischkeMr. Thomas PlathMr. Todd PoppeStaff Minister Phillip RehbergerProf. Daniel SchmalMr. William SchmidtMr. Martin SpriggsTeacher Scott UeckerRev. David VossMr. Gerald Zimpelmann

To the Support Committee

Rev. John SteinbrennerRev. Philip ZarlingRev. Paul Naumann

To the Committee on Relief

Rev. John ZickuhrMr. Osama IzzatRev. Mark Lindner

To the Committee on Constitutional Matters, chairman

Rev. Paul Naumann

To write synodwide stewardship program

Rev. Richard Gurgel

To the Church Extension Fund Board of Directors

Mr. Norm MischkeMr. Jude PeckMr. John Tappe

To the WELS Investment Funds Board of Directors

Mr. Kevin EismannMr. Jon BrussMr. James AbitzMr. Ronald White

To the WELS Foundation Board of Directors

Mr. James BreenMr. Mark Schulz

To the WELS VEBA Commission

Rev. James TauscherCaptain Doug Miller

To the WELS Pension Commission

Rev. David KolanderMr. Scott HeinsMr. Scott UeckerMr. Roger Kamin

To the Northwestern Publishing House Board of Directors

Rev. John Stellick

To the Japan Europe Asia Administrative Committee

Rev. Mark PaustianMr. Ron Drecktrah


To the Latin American Administrative Committee

Rev. Tim Westendorf

To the Restructuring Independent Panel

Mr. George MartinMr. Kenneth HullMr. Paul HolzhueterMr. Ron Hillman

To the Area Lutheran High Schools Board

Mr. Dan Johnson

To the Ministry of Christian Giving, Administrator

Rev. James Liggett


ADOPTED

Elections PROCEEDINGS /19

REPORT OF FLOOR COMMITTEE NO. 1

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, pp. 34-36

Subject: Election result report

The Lord has again blessed our Wisconsin Evan-gelical Lutheran Synod with willing and capableservants for continuing the Lord’s work in thefollowing areas of our ministry. They are:

Synod president

Rev. Mark Schroeder, Watertown, Wis.

Second vice president

Rev. James Huebner, Milwaukee, Wis.

Board for Ministerial Education

Luther Preparatory School Governing Boardchairman (parish pastor): Rev. KennethBrokmeier, Brookings, S.D.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary Governing Boardchairman (parish pastor): Rev. George Ferch,Carmel, Ind.

Area Lutheran High School representative: Mr.Daniel Johnson, Phoenix, Ariz.

Layman: Mr. William Finn, Fond du Lac, Wis.

Northwestern Publishing House Board of Directors

Layman: Mr. William Strutz, Racine, Wis.Parish pastor: Rev. John Stellick, Crete, Ill. Martin Luther College professor: Prof. Keith

Wessel, New Ulm, Minn.

Synod Board of Appeals

Chairman (pastor): Prof. John Brug, Mequon, Wis. Pastor: Rev. David Rosenow, Manitowoc, Wis.

Teacher: Prof. Philip Leyrer, New Ulm, Minn.Layman: Mr. Mark Maurer, Aurora, Colo.

Synodical Council

Pastor-at-large: Rev. Earle Treptow, Denver, Colo.

Board for Home Missions Chairman (parish pastor): Rev. Charles Westra,

Columbia, Tenn.

Board for Parish Services

Teacher: Mr. Frederick Horn, Wauwatosa, Wis. Commission on Parish Schools chairman:

Mr. James Sievert, West Bend, Wis. Commission on Evangelism chairman: Rev. Donn

Dobberstein, Port Orange, Fla.

Restructured Board for World Missions

Chairman (parish pastor): Rev. Philip Koelpin,Tucson, Ariz.

Board member (pastor): Rev. Howard Mohlke,Norfolk, Neb.

Board member (teacher): Dr. Robert Anderson,Lannon, Wis.

Board member (layman): Mr. Ray Solofra,Milwaukee, Wis.

Board member (layman): Mr. Danny Wehmeyer,New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Ad Hoc Committee

Chairman: Rev. Joel Voss, Centerville, OhioMay God bless these men as they carry out thetasks God has put before them.

Teacher Jonathan Roux, ChairmanTeacher Kurt Callaway, Secretary

ADOPTED

Elections

Ministry Direction PROCEEDINGS /21


Subject: President’s Report

Report No. 1

Floor Committee No. 2 gratefully acknowledgesPresident Gurgel’s State of the Synod Report tothe 2007 synod convention. We thank our graciousSavior for the rich blessings he has showered onour humble efforts as a synod to share the gospelwith the world. We pray that Jesus would con-tinue to bless his kingdom work during thesefinancially-challenged times.

Our committee also implores all the members ofWELS to thank the Lord of the Church for bless-ing us with the faithful service of Rev. KarlGurgel, who has served us as synod presidentthese past 14 years.

Finally, our committee considered two memorialsnot published in BORAM: Resolution No. 3 fromthe 2007 Michigan District Convention entitled“Comprehensive Synod Strategic Plan” coveringBORAM, pp. 39-44, as well as Resolution No. 1from the 2007 Southeastern Wisconsin DistrictConference entitled “Synodical Finances” cov-ering BORAM, pp. 75-85. The results of ourstudy of these memorials will be shared in ourforthcoming resolution.

Rev. John Qualmann, ChairmanTeacher Craig Kiecker, Secretary

Subject: Synod ministry direction

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) our Lord Jesus Christ gave us hisGreat Commission to preach the gos-pel to every man, woman, and child(Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16;Luke 24:46-49; John 20:22,23; Acts1:7,8); and

WHEREAS 2) our Lord has blessed us with a finitenumber of resources at this time toaccomplish his work on the synod-ical level; and

WHEREAS 3) the synod in convention in 2005agreed that our core work is ”mis-sion outreach (establishing andmaintaining home and world mis-sions, and such charitable institu-

tions as it may deem appropriateto its calling), ministerial education(establishing and maintaining the-ological seminaries, colleges, acad-emies, schools, and other institutionsof learning), and synod publications(printing, publishing, purchasing,selling, and disseminating literaturethat maintains Lutheran doctrineand practice)” (Proceedings 2005,pp. 59, 60—Synod Ministry Direc-tion); and

WHEREAS 4) there has been a perceived discon-nect between what our synoddirected in convention in 2005 andthe ministry plan carried out sincethat convention; and

WHEREAS 5) we understand that historically thepurpose of our synod has been todo together what we cannot do asindividual congregations; thereforebe it

Resolved, a) that we affirm the purpose of oursynod to be an instrument to carryout those kinds of gospel ministryefforts that cannot be done easilyby individual congregations; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that we commit ourselves to expandmission efforts at home and through-out the world, using both traditionaland innovative means of gospel out-reach, as God provides the resources;and be it further

Resolved, c) that we commit ourselves to recruitand train as many qualified workersas possible, confident that the Lordof the Church is calling upon us tosend workers into his harvest field,dedicating ourselves to maintainan effective and affordable three-tiered system of ministerial educa-tion, which positions our synodfor growth and expansion; and beit further

Resolved, d) that we direct and authorize thesynod president and SynodicalCouncil in consultation with theConference of Presidents to evaluateall current programs and staffing,and to make any changes deemed

Ministry Direction

Ministry Direction PROCEEDINGS /22

necessary to carry out the core workof the synod in the most effective andbeneficial manner; and be it further

Resolved, e) that we encourage one another to befilled with confident hope and joycreated by the gospel and its prom-ises, for we are coworkers with God(2 Corinthians 5:20, 6:1); and beit further

Resolved, f) that we call for a renewed commit-ment by all members and congrega-tions to walk and work together inproclaiming the gospel, stronglyencouraging increased unity, andidentifying and resolving issueswhich threaten our unity; and beit further

Resolved, g) that we strive by all possible meansto restore the people’s and calledworkers’ confidence in our synodand its mission, finding ways torestore the understanding that whenGod’s people give to “synod,” they

are, in fact, giving to our synod’score work; and be it further

Resolved, h) that we reconnect with our brothersand sisters in our synod throughclear, timely, and accurate infor-mation and communication, identi-fying and resolving those factorswhich hinder such information fromreaching the people of our synod;and be it finally

Resolved, i) that ahead of anything else thepresident forge a future that leadsus to live up to God’s expectation tobe in his Word, urging every pastor,teacher, and staff minister and everyWELS member to recommit to Biblestudy, and do more to encouragethose who are not in the Word to bein the Word.

Rev. John Qualmann, ChairmanTeacher Craig Kiecker, Secretary

ADOPTED

Conference of Presidents PROCEEDINGS /23


Reference: To declare formal fellowship with theIgreja Luterana de Portugal (unpublishedmemorial)

Subject: To declare formal fellowship with the IgrejaLuterana de Portugal

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) the Igreja Luterana de Portugal(Lutheran Church of Portugal or ILP)has been formed and exists as anindependent confessional church; and

WHEREAS 2) the ILP has provided doctrinal state-ments that the WELS Commissionon Inter-Church Relations (CICR)might review; and

WHEREAS 3) the CICR, through qualified per-sonnel who are proficient in thePortuguese language, studiedthe doctrinal statements of theILP and found them to be scrip-turally sound in their variousdeclarations; and

WHEREAS 4) the ILP has stated its desire to estab-lish formal fellowship ties withWELS; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God for allowingthe Igreja Luterana de Portugalto be formed as a confessionalLutheran church with whom weenjoy unity in faith and doctrine;and be it further

Resolved, b) that WELS officially declare fellow-ship with the Igreja Luterana dePortugal; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that we ask the Lord to bless thisfellowship with continuing benefitsand joy for both church bodies.

Rev. Kenneth Brokmeier, ChairmanRev. Jonathan Arndt, Secretary

ADOPTED

Reference: Definition of “Framework of Fellow-ship” (unpublished memorial)

Subject: Outside speakers and “framework offellowship”

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) various groups within the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Synod havearranged for speakers not infellowship with WELS; and

WHEREAS 2) there is concern and confusion thatin some instances these speakershave addressed WELS groups onmatters that may have related todoctrine and practical aspects ofconducting gospel ministry; and

WHEREAS 3) Scripture teaches us to “watch outfor false prophets” (Matthew 7:15)and “keep away from” persistenterrorists (Romans 16:17) and thatwelcoming the persistent erroristmay constitute “sharing in hiswicked work” (2 John 11); and

WHEREAS 4) particular questions and concernshave arisen regarding the usage ofthe term “outside the framework offellowship;” and

WHEREAS 5) our WELS doctrinal statementsprovide a definition for the frame-work which constitutes fellowship:Church fellowship can be defined asthe status in which individuals orgroups, on the basis of a commonconfession of faith, have mutuallyrecognized one another as Christianbrethren and now consider it God-pleasing to express, manifest, anddemonstrate their common faithjointly. Church fellowship can alsobe defined as the activity whichincludes every joint expression,manifestation, and demonstrationof the common faith in which Chris-tians (individuals or groups), on thebasis of their confession find them-selves to be united with one another.(Doctrinal Statements of the WELS1997, p. 28); and

WHEREAS 6) the Conference of Presidents hasaddressed the issue of the frame-work of fellowship and establishedguidelines for the use of non-WELSspeakers, stating:

1) It is possible for presentationsand discussions about secularand/or religious matters whichtake place in schools, churches,

Conference of Presidents

PROCEEDINGS /24 Conference of Presidents

conferences, commissions, andparasynodical organizations ofour fellowship, or other similarevents to take place outside theframework of fellowship.

2) When speakers and presenters arenot of our fellowship they MUSTconduct their presentation outsidethe framework of fellowship:

a) They must not lead worship,including prayer, confession,song, and sacrament.

b) Preliminary cautions must bemade in the advertisementsand the introduction of thepresenter if that individualdraws conclusions on the basisof Bible truths.

c) Since fellowship includes jointchurch work, outside speakersmust not participate with theiraudience in church activitiessuch as canvassing, counseling,etc. (BORAM, p. 34); and

WHEREAS 7) it is always our desire to strengthenthe bond of peace within our belovedsynod; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention urgethat, when possible, groups affiliatedwith WELS utilize speakers withinour fellowship; and be it further

Resolved, b) that we request that the Conferenceof Presidents more broadly sharethe scriptural guidelines they haveestablished; and be it further

Resolved, c) that the synod in convention implorethe districts, conferences, and circuitsof our synod to review, discuss, andapply these documents to strengthenthe bond of peace that exists withinus; and be it finally

Resolved, d) that the Conference of Presidentscontinue to monitor the practice ofusing outside speakers.


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, p. 34

Subject: Great Commission study

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) the 2005 WELS synod conventioninstructed the Conference of Presi-dents “to conduct and publish athorough exegetical, doctrinal, andconfessional study of the ‘com-mission passages’ of Scripture foruse by circuits and congregations”(2005 Proceedings, p. 60, ResolutionNo. 3); and

WHEREAS 2) the committee appointed by the Con-ference of Presidents has studied theissues and has compiled a report andit is now available; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod thank the men whoserved on this committee for theirwork; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that we urge the district conferencesand circuits of our synod to studyand discuss the documents that thiscommittee has produced.


ADOPTED

Subject: Recognition of service to the synod

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) Rev. Karl Gurgel has chosen notto stand for re-election and is there-fore leaving office after 14 years offaithful service to our synod aspresident; and

WHEREAS 2) Rev. Karl Gurgel will be serving oursynod in a new call by teaching atthe Asia Lutheran Seminary in HongKong; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that our synod in conventionexpress its heartfelt gratitude forRev. Karl Gurgel’s years of service;and be it finally

Resolved, b) that our synod would ask the Lord tobless Rev. Karl Gurgel and his wifeBarbara as they serve in Hong Kong.


ADOPTED

Conference of Presidents PROCEEDINGS /25


Subject: Corporate stewardship of the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Synod

Resolution No. 5

WHEREAS 1) we experience great blessings bywalking together as members ofthe Wisconsin Evangelical LutheranSynod; and

WHEREAS 2) our calling as God’s redeemedpeople affords us the privilegedstatus of stewards of God’s truthand God’s treasures, both individ-ually and corporately; and

WHEREAS 3) our “administration of God’s gracein its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10)is a matter of New Testament free-dom; and

WHEREAS 4) in recent years our beloved churchbody has developed and fosteredan approach to stewardship thattends to be needs-based, solicitingand earmarking offerings for spe-cific WELS missions and ministries(e.g., Mission Partners, MissionAdvancement); and

WHEREAS 5) while such programs are notinherently wrong, they can havethe effect of fracturing and frag-menting the corporate stewardshipof the synod and threaten our walk-ing and working together as a unitedand unified church body; and

WHEREAS 6) God’s holy Word instructs, “Every-thing is permissible, but not every-thing is beneficial” (1 Corinthians10:23); therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention urgethe Conference of Presidents towork with the Ministry of ChristianGiving and all others charged withtasks relating to synodical steward-ship to review our stewardshippractices asking the question, “Isthis particular practice of needs-based soliciting and earmarkingofferings for specific WELS mis-sions and ministries beneficial?”;and be it finally

Resolved, b) that we implore the individual mem-bers and congregations of WELS, asthey plan their giving to the synod,to support the operating unifiedbudget of our WELS with generous,consistent, freewill offerings.


ADOPTED

Subject: Offerings of the convention

Resolution No. 6

WHEREAS 1) we have gathered here in conventionunder the theme “Declare HisPraises”; and

WHEREAS 2) at this convention we in joy andthanksgiving declared the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran Church indoctrinal fellowship with the IgrejaLuterana de Portugal (LutheranChurch of Portugal or ILP); and

WHEREAS 3) at this convention we also thankedGod for his overflowing blessingsduring 50 years of gospel work inJapan; and

WHEREAS 4) at this convention we are mindful ofthe many blessings we have in ourministerial education system; and

WHEREAS 5) at this convention we have heardreports and presentations fromrepresentatives of the Board forHome Missions, Board for WorldMissions, Parish Services, and otherareas of the synod; and

WHEREAS 6) a thank offering was gathered atboth the opening service of theconvention as well as the Thursdayvesper service; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the 2007 WELS conventiondesignate both the Monday open-ing service offering and the Thurs-day vesper offering to the generalbudget of the synod.


ADOPTED

Subject: Expressions of gratitude

Resolution No. 7

WHEREAS 1) the accomplishment of the conven-tion’s work requires the effort ofmany people; and

WHEREAS 2) the work of the synod dependson the consecrated labor of manypeople within its membership;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention expressits gratitude to

PROCEEDINGS /26 Conference of Presidents

1) the faculty and staff of MartinLuther College for hosting thisconvention; and

2) the support staff and officersof the synod for arranging andconducting the business of thisconvention; and

3) those who delivered the sermons,devotions, and essay; conductedthe services; served as organistsand instrumentalists; sang in thechoirs; and in other ways led us inworship; and

4) the representatives from theLWMS for the presentation ofthe flags; and

5) the delegates and floor commit-tees of the convention for concen-trated efforts, and all who servedon boards, commissions, andcommittees of the synod; and

6) Northwestern Publishing Houseand others who have providedmaterials for the convention; and

7) the secretaries, printing staff,pages, staff, and volunteers whoworked in the kitchen, diningareas, and dormitories, and allothers who have contributed theirtime and talent to make the con-vention flow smoothly to a suc-cessful completion.


ADOPTED

Subject: Gratitude for service

Resolution No. 8

WHEREAS 1) Rev. Thomas Zarling has faithfullyserved our synod as second vicepresident since 2003; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we extend our thanks to Rev.Zarling for his four years of faithfulservice.


ADOPTED

Subject: Location of the 2009 synod convention

Resolution No. 9

WHEREAS 1) Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS)has extended an invitation to hostthe 2009 synod convention at MLSin Saginaw, Mich.; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we accept the invitation ofMichigan Lutheran Seminary withthanks and schedule the 2009 synodconvention at MLS in Saginaw, Mich.


ADOPTED

Proclaim PROCEEDINGS /27



Subject: Support for mission counselors

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) the Board for Home Missions hasestablished the mission counselorprogram to assist established andnew congregations in their outreachefforts; and

WHEREAS 2) the mission counselor program hasproven to be an invaluable asset tocongregations as they work to reachthe lost with the gospel; and

WHEREAS 3) missionaries, missions, and churcheshave praised and endorsed the inval-uable experience, expertise, andinsight of the mission counselorsin their support of ministry; and

WHEREAS 4) one of the existing three missioncounselor positions is currentlyvacant, and one new position hasnot been filled at this time; and

WHEREAS 5) many districts are not served by amission counselor; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the Board for Home Missionsfill the two vacant positions withmission-minded, caring men whohave a passion for the lost; and beit finally

Resolved, b) that the Board for Home Missionsmake a high priority of creatingadditional mission counselor posi-tions over the next biennium.

Teacher Daniel Schmal, ChairmanTeacher Alan Uher, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Publicity of the success of home missionefforts

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) during recent years of financialchallenges our Lord has blessedthe efforts of our Board for HomeMissions (BHM) as it directs oursynod’s outreach efforts; and

WHEREAS 2) the BHM has established more than90 new ministries in the last bien-nium, many of these being cross-cultural ministries; and

WHEREAS 3) our Lord has blessed our synod’sNorth American Outreach; and

WHEREAS 4) the mission counselor program hasproven to be extremely valuable asan additional resource in strengthen-ing our home mission efforts; and

WHEREAS 5) “. . . there is rejoicing in the presenceof the angels of God over one sinnerwho repents” (Luke 15:10); thereforebe it

Resolved, a) that our synod in convention thankthe Lord for his continued blessingsto reach out with the gospel throughour home mission endeavors; and beit further

Resolved, b) that we encourage renewed enthu-siasm on the synodical and locallevel over these successes so thatmore may share in our joy; and beit further

Resolved, c) that our synod’s leadership utilizeany available communicationmethod to inform all WELS mem-bers of the God-given successesof the BHM and the value of themission counselor program; andbe it finally

Resolved, d) that all delegates to WELS’ 59thBiennial Convention personally com-municate this information to theirbrothers and sisters in Christ in theirlocal districts and congregations.


ADOPTED


Subject: Thanksgiving for blessings on world missions

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) despite recent financial challengesand cutbacks, our Lord continuesto bless the efforts of our Board forWorld Missions (BWM) as it directsour synod’s outreach efforts world-wide; and

Proclaim

PROCEEDINGS /28 Proclaim

WHEREAS 2) the BWM currently reaches 26 fieldsand more than 77,000 souls with thegospel; and

WHEREAS 3) the BWM prudently directs limitedmission dollars to fields where thefoundation for self-dependentchurches has been laid; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that our synod in convention thankthe Lord for his continued blessingson our efforts to reach souls world-wide with the gospel; and be itfurther

Resolved, b) that as members of WELS we thankour BWM team for its efforts to con-tinue mission work on our behalfwith the resources the Lord has pro-vided; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that our BWM team continues toexplore alternative strategies for mis-sion work and wisely implementsthose strategies that are best suitedto each mission field.


ADOPTED


Subject: World missions publicity

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) the need exists to inform our WELSbrothers and sisters of our worldmission outreach efforts; and

WHEREAS 2) the BWM has experienced challengesas they reach others with the pre-cious Word of God; and

WHEREAS 3) the BWM has also seen the hand ofGod richly bless our efforts; and

WHEREAS 4) the BWM has made difficult deci-sions to direct limited funding as itbecomes available; and

WHEREAS 5) the impact of these difficult decisionsis not widely understood by WELSmembers; and

WHEREAS 6) reports of Christ’s work on the mis-sion fields will encourage our WELSbrothers and sisters to use their time,talents, and treasures to share inthese efforts; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that our synod in convention thankthe Lord for his continued blessingson our efforts to reach out with thegospel worldwide; and be it further

Resolved, b) that our synodical and world mis-sions leaders utilize any possible

media avenues and personal com-munications to convey to WELSmembers the successes of the BWMand the potential impact of limitedfunding upon souls hungry for thegospel; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that all delegates to WELS’ 59thBiennial Convention personally com-municate this information to theirbrothers and sisters in Christ in theirlocal districts and congregations.


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, pp. 23, 26

Subject: Work of the Commission on Special Min-istries and the Commission on Evangelism

Resolution No. 5

WHEREAS 1) by the grace of God, the Commis-sions on Special Ministries andEvangelism have done an excellentjob in proclaiming the gospel in theirrespective spheres; and

WHEREAS 2) God has graciously granted successin reaching approximately 44,000prisoners through the prison min-istry program of the Commissionon Special Ministries; and

WHEREAS 3) God has richly blessed the gospelministry through the development ofthe military civilian chaplaincy pro-gram of the Commission on SpecialMinistries; and

WHEREAS 4) the Commission on Evangelism’s“WhatAboutJesus.com” Web siteis experiencing more than 25,000monthly visits, including docu-mented cases of people coming toknow the Savior; and

WHEREAS 5) the Commission on Evangelism’s“WhatAboutJesus.com” Web sitesends daily devotions to more than9,500 e-mail addresses; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that our synod in convention thankthe Lord and rejoice in these Spirit-led successes and that we encouragethe Commissions on Evangelism andSpecial Ministries to continue theirgood and faithful work in all theirareas of service.


ADOPTED

Prepare PROCEEDINGS /29



Subject: Recruitment

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) Martin Luther College (MLC) andArea Lutheran High Schools (ALHS)are partnering to consistently enrolla minimum of 10 percent of theALHS graduates each year; and

WHEREAS 2) MLC has a strategy of sending outyoung(er) recruiters [assignees fromMLC and Wisconsin Lutheran Sem-inary (WLS)]; and

WHEREAS 3) MLC is working with individualrecruitment plans at each areaLutheran high school; and

WHEREAS 4) MLC is assigning specific schoolsto specific recruiters; and

WHEREAS 5) MLC is bringing its applicationprocess under a single director ofadmissions; and

WHEREAS 6) MLC is making greater use of cur-rent students in the recruitmentprocess; and

WHEREAS 7) MLC is planning to increase itsrecruiting presence in the LutheranElementary Schools (LES) of theALHS federations and associationsand in general; and

WHEREAS 8) MLC is planning to increase theinvolvement of parents in therecruiting process; and

WHEREAS 9) MLC has increased availability ofmerit and other scholarships; there-fore be it

Resolved, a) that we commend the joint recruit-ment efforts of MLC and the areaLutheran high schools; and be itfurther

Resolved, b) that we encourage the synod toexpress appreciation for the revi-sion of the recruitment process:specifically, making greater useof current MLC students, increas-ing presence in the elementaryschools, initiating direct commu-

nication with parents, and assign-ing graduates from MLC and WLSto the recruitment team; and beit further

Resolved, c) that we encourage continued imple-mentation of the recruitment planwith area Lutheran high schools; andbe it further

Resolved, d) that we encourage MLC to continuedeveloping a plan for recruiting inhomes, parishes, Lutheran elemen-tary schools, and among WELSstudents attending public schools;and be it further

Resolved, e) that we hold ourselves and oneanother accountable to recruitcalled worker candidates from ourhomes, parishes, Lutheran elemen-tary schools, area Lutheran highschools, synodical prep schools,and WELS public school population;and be it finally

Resolved, f) that we pray for the Lord’s blessingson these recruitment efforts tosupply future called workers.

Rev. Donald Patterson, ChairmanTeacher David Bauer, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Michigan Lutheran Seminary

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) our current three-tiered system,consisting of a seminary, a college,two preparatory schools, and 22area Lutheran high school partnershas proven its value and reliabilityin securing quality called workersin the quantities desired by oursynod; and

WHEREAS 2) Michigan Lutheran Seminary(MLS), our preparatory school inSaginaw, Mich., has consistentlydemonstrated its commitment andsuccess in providing a steady streamof graduates to Martin Luther Col-lege (MLC)—especially for the MLCpastor track; and

Prepare

PROCEEDINGS /30 Prepare

WHEREAS 3) a minimum additional annualsubsidy of $2.3 million would berequired to fund MLS as a synod-owned, operated, and funded prepschool (Note: This assumes that MLSwould be able to raise $500,000through mission advancement effortsand other means for school year2007-08 and 2008-09); and

WHEREAS 4) overall, Congregation Mission Offer-ings (CMO), Individual MissionOfferings (IMO), other gifts, andbequests would need to increase$4 million in the second year ofthe coming biennium (fiscal year08 and 09) and even more in fol-lowing biennia (fiscal year 10 and11) just to maintain current missionand ministry programs that wouldinclude four ministerial educationschools; and

WHEREAS 5) WELS will still have a deficit budget;and

WHEREAS 6) a long-term synodical strategy—with a clear mission vision for fully-funded mission and ministry pro-grams for the future—has not beencreated, so it appears mission andministry cutbacks will continue forthe foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS 7) new recruitment strategies and plansare being created, developed, andimplemented by Martin Luther Col-lege and the area Lutheran highschools that may help to reduce thepotential loss of MLS graduatesenrolling at MLC; and

WHEREAS 8) the Synodical Council is makingthe MLS campus available for$1 to interested WELS groups,associations, or individuals whowould operate a WELS-affiliatedprep or high school on the cam-pus; and

WHEREAS 9) long-term funding for MLS—whether provided through synod,district, or local means—is uncer-tain nor have efforts to date pro-duced funding commitments suf-ficient to operate a prep school there;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God for the workersprovided by MLS for the Lord’s king-dom over the years; and be it further

Resolved, b) that we accept the BME recom-mendation to defund MLS and

the Synodical Council proposal(BORAM, p. 41) to close MLS; andbe it further

Resolved, c) that the Synodical Council makethe MLS campus available for $1to any interested WELS groups,associations, or individuals whowould operate a WELS-affiliatedprep or high school on the campus;and be it further

Resolved, d) that we hold ourselves and oneanother accountable to maintainan atmosphere of brotherly unity,understanding, patience, forgiveness,and kindness as we reach a decision;and be it finally

Resolved, e) that we continue to pray that Godwill graciously enable his peopleto respond so generously with anoutpouring of gifts and ongoingcommitments that we will be ableto support and maintain our three-tiered ministerial education systemas well as the current and expandedmission and ministry activities of theother areas of ministry.


NO ACTION TAKEN SINCE COMMITTEE NO. 7,RESOLUTION NO. 5, WAS ADOPTED

Subject: Financial assistance

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) enrollment at Martin Luther College(MLC) has dramatically decreased inthe last five to six years; and

WHEREAS 2) the enrollment decrease has coin-cided with an increase in tuition/room and board that has almostdoubled to $13,670 per year in thesame time period; and

WHEREAS 3) the decrease in enrollment has nega-tively impacted the financial healthof MLC; and

WHEREAS 4) in the last five to six years finan-cial assistance has not kept pacewith the rising cost of educationalexpenses; and

WHEREAS 5) MLC has drawn down available cashreserves for financial assistance; and

WHEREAS 6) on average an MLC graduatingstudent’s debt from educationalcosts in relation to entry-level sal-


ary may be a deterrent for parentsencouraging their child(ren) toconsider ministry as a calling; and

WHEREAS 7) these have led to a decrease in thenumber of future pastors, teachers,and staff ministers; and

WHEREAS 8) Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary(WLS) is not an accredited edu-cational institution, requiringMLC pastoral graduates to beginrepaying government loans incurredat MLC while also experiencingfurther educational expenses atWLS; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God that despitethese challenges he continues toshower his blessings on the min-istry of MLC; and be it further

Resolved, b) that we thank God that despitethese challenges he still leads menand women to study for the publicministry; and be it further

Resolved, c) that we thank God that he contin-ues to move the hearts of his peopleto support MLC with prayers andgifts of time, talents, and treasures;and be it further

Resolved, d) that the Board for MinisterialEducation search for ways to easethis burden for future pastoralstudents possibly includingsynodical refinancing of loansto ease the financial burdens ofMLC pastoral track graduatescontinuing their education atWLS; and be it further

Resolved, e) that MLC continue making everyeffort to decrease the burden onthe student and his/her family forMLC educational expenses; and beit further

Resolved, f) that the delegates return totheir homes with renewedappreciation for God’s blessingsthrough the ministry of MLC;and be it finally

Resolved, g) that the delegates share withthe people in their home congre-gation and circuit the critical needfor financial support of the min-istry of MLC.


ADOPTED


Subject: Parish services

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) many congregations need and desireassistance to provide excellent facili-ties, personnel, and programs tominister to those in today’s worldand to give glory to God; and

WHEREAS 2) many of the functions entrustedto Parish Services cannot be easilydone by the districts or the individ-ual congregations on the local level(e.g. worship resources, prison min-istries, school accreditation throughWELSSA); and

WHEREAS 3) the various commissions that makeup Parish Services (Evangelism,Worship, Youth Discipleship, ParishSchools, Adult Discipleship, SpecialMinistries, and Parish Assistance)have proven themselves to be avaluable part of the overall ministryof WELS by supplying high qualityand doctrinally sound supportservices and materials; and

WHEREAS 4) Parish Services has maintaineda Web site that catalogs many ofthe services and materials it pro-vides; and

WHEREAS 5) the WELS operating budget alloca-tion for Parish Services was cut by38 percent or $925,000 during thelast five years; and

WHEREAS 6) the last two synod conventions haveaffirmed the value of Parish Servicesby resolution; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we encourage all delegates toWELS’ 59th Biennial Conventionand their congregations to go towww.wels.net/jump/bps to seeall the services and materials avail-able to their congregations; and beit further

Resolved, b) that congregations consider greateruse of the support materials andservices provided by Parish Services;and be it finally

Resolved, c) that we encourage continuedfinancial support of this valuableministry of the synod.


ADOPTED

PROCEEDINGS /32 Prepare

Subject: Synodical struggles

Resolution No. 5

WHEREAS 1) our synod is struggling in the fol-lowing areas:

a. Membership b. Worship attendancec. Lutheran Elementary School (LES)

enrollmentd. Prep enrollmente. Martin Luther College (MLC)

enrollmentf. Sunday school attendanceg. Bible class attendanceh. Number of adult confirmands; and

WHEREAS 2) synodical statistics show the closingof churches and Lutheran elementaryschools; and

WHEREAS 3) the existence of Michigan LutheranSeminary (MLS) is threatened, andthe current level of operation atLuther Preparatory School (LPS),MLC, World Missions, and HomeMissions may not be sustainable; and

WHEREAS 4) Jesus speaks to a church whichhas lost its former zeal yet retainsits doctrinal purity (see Revelation2:1-7); and

WHEREAS 5) Jesus calls it to remember its “firstlove”; and

WHEREAS 6) Jesus desires it to repent and do the“things you did at first”; and

WHEREAS 7) Jesus says, if they don’t, he threatensto “remove its lampstand from itsplace”; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God for all of his graceand blessings to us in the past; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that we thank God for all the min-istries that he is blessing among usby his grace; and be it further

Resolved, c) that all called and laymembersprayerfully assess whether theyhave “forsaken their first love,” andif so repent; and be it further

Resolved, d) that we each take responsibilityfor our part in this present struggle;and be it further

Resolved, e) that we confess our sins where wehave failed

• to be in the Word and prayer,• to be praying for and supporting

the work of WELS and its leaders,

• to be faithful stewards in all areasof our lives (Malachi 3:10); and beit further

Resolved, f) that we as a synod, congregations,and individuals fervently pray thatGod would in his mercy

• forgive us for forgetting our firstlove;

• return us to our first love;• not remove our lamp stand, but

rekindle it among us; and• return us to unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace; and be itfurther

Resolved, g) that we all pray for, respect, andhonor all our brothers and sisters inthe faith and take their words andactions in the kindest possible way;and be it finally

Resolved, h) that we as delegates, member con-gregations, called workers, and thesynod as a whole ask God to pro-duce in us by his Word:

1. Love a. for Christ, b. for the mission of the Church,c. for all our brothers and sisters

in Christ,d. for unity of the Spirit in the

bond of peace, ande. for the souls of all people.

2. Devotion to prayer and theministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-4).

3. Seeking and promoting onlyGod’s agenda for the Church.

4. Commitment to reclaiming ourstraying sheep.

5. Commitment in all areas andlevels of Bible study.


ADOPTED

Subject: Synodical officials

Resolution No. 6

WHEREAS 1) officials of our synod, WELS;Synodical Council (SC); Boardfor Ministerial Education (BME);and presidents of our synodicalinstitutions shared informationconcerning the current situation


of our synod and their respectiveareas of ministry; and

WHEREAS 2) the representatives of the MartinLuther College admissions andmission advancement offices, andthe Area Lutheran High School(ALHS) association representativeshared information pertinent to ourdiscussions; and

WHEREAS 3) our committee has appreciated theirtime and information; and

WHEREAS 4) our committee has been impressedby the dedication and commitmentto their responsibilities; and

WHEREAS 5) our committee believes these menhave been faithfully serving God tothe best of their abilities with theirexperience and wisdom; and

WHEREAS 6) our committee believes the bestinterests of our synod are guidingtheir discussions and decisions; and

WHEREAS 7) our committee has not always unan-imously agreed with their thoughts,

information, or point of view inregards to Michigan LutheranSeminary, BME, ALHS, etc.;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank the Lord for theservice of these individuals, whichwas carried out with diligence; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that we accord these individualsthe respect that comes with thesepositions to which we have calledor elected them; and be it further

Resolved, c) that upon return to our respectiveareas of kingdom work we positivelysupport the efforts of these peoplewith our thoughts, words, andactions (prayers); and be it finally

Resolved, d) that we look forward to the Lord’scontinued blessing on their work onour behalf.


ADOPTED

Promote PROCEEDINGS /35



Subject: 500th anniversary of the LutheranReformation

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) Oct. 31, 2017, will be the 500th yearsince the posting of the Ninety-fiveTheses by Martin Luther on the doorof the Castle Church in Wittenberg,Germany; and

WHEREAS 2) the central truth of the Scriptures,namely, justification by faith, wasreturned to the people as the heartof Christian faith; and

WHEREAS 3) many other blessings resulted,including the study of Scripturein the language of the people,doctrine and practice based onScripture, uplifting music thatspoke to the soul of worship, edu-cational books for instruction ofall ages, marriage of the clergy,tools for parents to lead the spiri-tual life in the home, and com-mentaries and tracts that defendedthe Christian faith; and

WHEREAS 4) God’s blessing of this historic andsignificant anniversary provides hispeople with a special opportunity tocarry out the Great Commission; and

WHEREAS 5) it would be beneficial and properfor faithful Lutheran Christians toobserve the 500th anniversary ofthe Lutheran Reformation; and

WHEREAS 6) it is necessary to review andremember the lessons of ourLutheran heritage drawn fromScripture to chart and guide usand our church body in the presentand for the future; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we as the Wisconsin EvangelicalLutheran Synod celebrate the 500thanniversary of the Lutheran Church;and be it further

Resolved, b) that our church body form a commit-tee to plan for a proper celebration ofthis anniversary; and be it further

Resolved, c) that this observance of 500 years ofLutheranism consist of manyelements, including a study ofScripture, justification by faith,doctrine and confessions, music,worship, education, family life,and the life of called workers; andbe it further

Resolved, d) that this observance of 500 years beespecially marked by an outreachprogram to encourage growth inGod’s kingdom; and be it further

Resolved, e) that this observance of 500 years ofLutheranism be designed to touchthe lives of every member of oursynod and be shared in many wayswith the world; and be it finally

Resolved, f) that the committee report its plan tothe 2009 synod convention and eachsucceeding convention until 2017.

Teacher James Mahnke, ChairmanLayman Mario Isely, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Encouragement to use ShopWELS

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) the Bible instructs Christians to begood stewards of the gifts God hasgiven them; and

WHEREAS 2) the ShopWELS program providesdiscounts on a wide range of officesupplies, school supplies, and tech-nology; and

WHEREAS 3) the ShopWELS discounts canincrease as more volume is pur-chased through the program;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we continue to encouragecongregations, schools, andindividuals to consider usingthe ShopWELS program for thebenefit of the entire synod.


ADOPTED

Promote

PROCEEDINGS /36 Promote


Subject: Technology

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) WELS Technology is improvingthe online presence of WELSthrough www.wels.net,www.whataboutjesus.com,and WELS Internet-basedmedia networks such ashttp://streams.wels.net; and

WHEREAS 2) WELS Technology has increased theefficiency of business functions thatuse synod databases anddocumentation; and

WHEREAS 3) WELS Technology has diligentlyworked to support the technicalinfrastructure, support its end-users,and ensure the security of the net-work and its data; and

WHEREAS 4) WELS Technology continues tofaithfully carry out its mandatefrom the 2005 WELS convention tostrengthen our synod’s infrastruc-ture; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God for the blessingof WELS Technology and encourageits staff to continue serving God andthis synod.


ADOPTED


Subject: Communication Services Commission

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) WELS Communication Servicesexists to direct and coordinate allWELS communications; and

WHEREAS 2) Communication Services takes thelead in helping “to promote theWELS mission, vision, objectives,and plans through print media,video resources, web messages, andelectronic and surface-mail news/information releases” (Proceedings2005, p. 75); and

WHEREAS 3) the synod established the full-timeposition of communications directoraccording to the directive of the 2005synod convention; and

WHEREAS 4) the Lord has allowed us to servethe church and to share the gospel

through various means of commu-nication; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank the Lord of theChurch for the ability to sharethe gospel through these variousmeans of communications; and beit further

Resolved, b) that we thank the Lord that a full-time communications director is inplace; and be it further

Resolved, c) that we encourage the directorof communications to continue“to promote the mission, vision,objectives, and plans of oursynod through print media,video resources, Web messages,and electronic and surface-mailnews/information releases”; andbe it further

Resolved, d) that we encourage the directorof communications to worktoward streamlining commu-nications between the synodadministration and the con-gregations; and be it further

Resolved, e) that we encourage the variousareas of ministry to support theeffort of coordinating communi-cations; and be it further

Resolved, f) that we encourage the congrega-tions, the pastors, and the teachersof the synod to make faithful useof the information provided; andbe it finally

Resolved, g) that we encourage the directorof communications to reporton progress in communicationcoordination efforts to the 2009synod convention.


ADOPTED


Subject: Publication Coordinating Commission

Resolution No. 5

WHEREAS 1) WELS recognizes the need for acommission to coordinate its manydifferent publishing projects; and

WHEREAS 2) the Publication CoordinatingCommission (PCC) continues thedifficult task of reviewing andevaluating publishing proposals

Promote PROCEEDINGS /37

along with awarding funds tofuture projects; and

WHEREAS 3) over the years many projects havebeen approved and completed; and

WHEREAS 4) the hymnal supplement is currentlyunderway with completion markedfor summer 2008; and

WHEREAS 5) WELS needs a reliable source formulti-language publications; and

WHEREAS 6) the interest generated by the moneyof the Publication Fund has been co-mingled together with the interestgenerated by other restricted andnon-restricted funds of WELS result-ing in a loss to the Publication Fund;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we thank God for blessingthe work the PCC has done; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that we encourage every effort bemade to finish the hymnal sup-plement in time for the Worship,Music, and the Arts Conference2008; and be it further

Resolved, c) that we encourage continuedpublication of multi-languagepublications; and be it finally

Resolved, d) that we note with concern the lossrealized by the co-mingling ofinterest generated by various funds.


ADOPTED

Provide PROCEEDINGS /39



Subject: Financial Feasibility Study Committee

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) the Financial Feasibility Study Com-mittee report requested by the 2005synod convention (Resolution No. 2-6) has been reviewed; and

WHEREAS 2) the committee report has answeredthe questions of the original reso-lution; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we accept and concur with theirfindings; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that we forego a fee structure systemas described in Resolution No. 2-6 inthe 2005 Proceedings.

Rev. Joel Voss, ChairmanRev. Kevin Westra, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: $125 million borrowing limit

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) the 2003 synod in conventionestablished a $125 million borrow-ing limit for WELS and its sub-sidiaries; and

WHEREAS 2) the borrowing limit needs to be con-firmed for the 2007-09 biennium;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the total synod borrowing limitfrom all sources including long-termloans be confirmed at a maximum of$125 million as established by the2003 synod convention (ResolutionNo. 12-7); and be it further

Resolved, b) that the Synodical Council beauthorized to allocate up to thisamount to WELS and its sub-sidiaries as it deems appropriate;and be it finally

Resolved, c) that this limit shall remain in effectuntil and unless changed by a futuresynod convention.


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, p. 41;Memorial 2007-03, p. 77; Memorial 2007-06, p. 80; Memorial 2007-08, p. 84;printed financial supplemental reportpp. 2, 3, and 6

Subject: Preserve our chief sources of pastors

Resolution No. 5*

WHEREAS 1) the called workers and all mem-bers of WELS are working andpraying for the time when WELScan resume a program of growth inhome and world missions; and

WHEREAS 2) a growing program of world andhome missions will require morepastoral candidates a year thanour synod has been recently pro-ducing; and

WHEREAS 3) previous studies (such as the 2005Prep School Study Committee–2)have suggested that a prep schoolenrollment of about 800 is neces-sary to produce sufficient numbersof ministerial candidates for a grow-ing program; and

WHEREAS 4) it is unproven that a worker trainingsystem with only one prep schoolwill have the capacity to consistentlyproduce an adequate number of pas-toral candidates; and

WHEREAS 5) our synod should not initiate drasticchanges that are not easily reversedbefore we have done a comprehen-sive evaluation of our future hopesand prospects; and

WHEREAS 6) it is not prudent to downsize provenprograms in vital areas of our work,like the production of pastors, anddepend on programs that have notdemonstrated the ability to producethe results we need; and

Provide

*Resolutions 3 and 4 were withdrawn because other committees presented resolutions on the same topics.

PROCEEDINGS /40 Provide

WHEREAS 7) the amount of subsidy needed tokeep Michigan Lutheran Seminaryopen for 2008-09 will not have asignificant effect on the magnitude ofthe financial problem the synodfaces; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the 2007 synod convention rejectthe recommendation to closeMichigan Lutheran Seminary at theend of the 2007-08 school year.


ADOPTED

Reference: Printed financial supplemental reportpp. 2, 3, and 6

Subject: Intensified stewardship effort

Resolution No. 6

WHEREAS 1) a budget that does not cut Homeand World Missions, that retainsMichigan Lutheran Seminary, andthat makes significant payments onthe synodical debt of $22 millionseems to be beyond the capabilityof anticipated income in the comingbiennium; and

WHEREAS 2) we hope to avoid any major cutsto the proposed 2007-09 operatingbudget; and

WHEREAS 3) short-term measures will not solvelong-term issues; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that special stewardship effortsemphasize long-term spiritualgrowth; and be it further

Resolved, b) that the convention encourage theConference of Presidents to maintainand increase efforts to augmentCongregation Mission Offerings,Individual Mission Offerings,Walking Together, and MissionPartners, thereby maintaining andstabilizing the worker trainingsystem and mission programs; andbe it finally

Resolved, c) that the convention authorize aspecial offering to reduce synodi-cal debt.


ADOPTED

Reference: Memorial 2007-05, p. 79

Subject: Comprehensive, long-term plan

Resolution No. 7

WHEREAS 1) a special offering can provide onlya short-term solution to long-termfinancial problems; and

WHEREAS 2) solutions to our long-term spiritualand financial problems must bebased on a thorough analysis ofour present problems and our futurepotential; and

WHEREAS 3) much analysis and many suggestionshave already been received; and

WHEREAS 4) a thorough analysis should lead to acomprehensive, long-term plan; and

WHEREAS 5) an independent analysis will prob-ably build confidence; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the convention authorize an adhoc commission to conduct such athorough analysis and develop acomprehensive, long-term plan; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that the convention elect the chair-man of that commission; and beit further

Resolved, c) that the chairman and the incom-ing president of our synod jointlyappoint the other members of thecommission; and be it further

Resolved, d) that the 2007 Floor Committee No. 7forward data and documents to thenew chairman and new president;and be it finally

Resolved, e) that this commission report to thepresident, publish a report every sixmonths, and report to the 2008 dis-trict conventions and to the 2009synod convention.

Note: If Resolution No. 7 is adopted, the infor-mation that Floor Committee No. 7 forwardsto the special commission will include, but willnot be limited to, reports the chief financial offi-cer, director of Human Resources, and directorof Christian Giving submitted to the floor com-mittee and studies by John Brug, Curtis Holub,Mike Krueger, Paul Kuske, and Mark Schroederwhich the committee received. We have notadopted these studies; we are passing them onto the commission.


ADOPTED

Provide PROCEEDINGS /41

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, p. 41;Memorial 2007-02, p. 76; Memorial 2007-04, p. 78; Memorial 2007-05, p. 79;Memorial 2007-06, p. 80; Memorial 2007-07, p. 82; Memorial 2007-08, p. 84;printed financial supplemental reportpp. 2, 3, and 6

Subject: 2008-09 budget

Resolution No. 8

WHEREAS 1) the members of the synod desire abudget which preserves a balancebetween all areas of synodical workand preserves the hope of renewedgrowth; and

WHEREAS 2) we prayerfully expect early resultsfrom a special offering and otherChrist-centered efforts; and

WHEREAS 3) the Synodical Council hasconstitutional authority betweenconventions; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the 2007 synod conventionadopt the Synodical Council bud-get with the following changes:

1) add $600,000 to the 2008-09 WorldMissions budget to prevent cuts,and

2) add $2 million to the 2008-09budget for the Board for Minis-terial Education; and be it further

Resolved, b) that stewardship efforts, Con-gregation Mission Offerings, andother offerings be evaluated bythe Support Forecast Committeeby Feb. 1, 2008; and be it further

Resolved, c) that, if the support forecast for 2008-09 is insufficient to support thebudget for 2008-09, the SC makeadjustments to the 2008-09 budget;and be it further

Resolved, d) that, if reduction to the 2008-09budget is required, reduction willprimarily come from MinistrySupport, internal borrowing repay-ment, or Parish Services; and beit finally

Resolved, e) that every effort be made to retainbudgets for the Board for Ministerial

Education, Board for Home Mis-sions, and Board for World Missionsto strengthen and preserve ourgospel outreach through missionsand ministerial education system.


ADOPTED

Reference: Unpublished memorial from NorthAtlantic District

Subject: Associate pastors for district presidents

Resolution No. 9

WHEREAS 1) the responsibilities of the districtpresident are to the point of a full-time position; and

WHEREAS 2) certain districts have a greaterdemand in terms of personnel andcongregations; while other districtshave a greater demand in traveltimes and distances; and

WHEREAS 3) it is still our desire to keep the dis-trict president’s office as that of aparish pastor; and

WHEREAS 4) currently 10 of the 12 districts havefull support from WELS for an asso-ciate pastor to support respectivedistrict presidents; and

WHEREAS 5) the ability of the district presidentto train and teach vicar candidatesis greatly reduced; and

WHEREAS 6) the congregation of the districtpresident is in need of a full-timeshepherd; and

WHEREAS 7) the North Atlantic District hasrequested an associate pastor for itsdistrict president; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that WELS fund an associate pastorfor every district president, if thedistrict so desires it.


ADOPTED

Subsidiaries PROCEEDINGS /43



Subject: Synod archivist

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) the mission of WELS Archives is tocollect, preserve, and make availabledocumentary evidence of the workof the synod and to offer a usefulservice to synod administration,WELS called workers, and WELScongregations; and

WHEREAS 2) the archives of WELS do serve agood and valuable purpose; and

WHEREAS 3) the positions of synod archivistand synod historian have remainedvacant since 1999; and

WHEREAS 4) the financial situation of our churchbody at this time puts constraintson our ability to add administrativepositions; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in conventionpostpone providing a paid, full-time synod archivist and supportstaff until such time as fundingis available.

Layman Charles Caskey, ChairmanRev. Paul Stern, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Church Extension Fund

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) the work of the Church ExtensionFund is beneficial both to congre-gations and individual membersof our synod; and

WHEREAS 2) the Church Extension Fund aidsmission congregations in buildingtheir churches through loans; and

WHEREAS 3) gifts and bequests to the ChurchExtension Fund, which allow itto offer grants to congregations,have greatly declined in recentyears; and

WHEREAS 4) the benefits of the Church ExtensionFund are one of the best-kept secretsof the synod; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we encourage the Church Exten-sion Fund to continue its efforts incommunicating its benefits to indi-viduals and congregations of thesynod; and be it further

Resolved, b) that we encourage individuals andcongregations to utilize the ChurchExtension Fund as an investmentoption; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that we encourage individuals andcongregations to consider gifts andbequests to the Church ExtensionFund so that it may continue to offergrants to mission congregations.


ADOPTED


Subject: Financial Services

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) Financial Services exists to prepareand provide accounting and financialinformation and services that sup-port and serve WELS ministries; and

WHEREAS 2) this is to be accomplished by “pro-viding timely, accurate, and completefinancial statements, reports, andanalyses that facilitate ministry”; and

WHEREAS 3) “the 2005 synod convention invested$1.1 million during the 2005-07 bien-nium for one-time and ongoingexpenses needed to strengthenFinancial Services and related areasas recommended by the 2003 GrantThornton report”; and

WHEREAS 4) it has been stated, “The investmentis beginning to pay off with improvedcontrols and reporting,” and hasyielded the following result so far: “Acomprehensive budget process wasimplemented to enhance the trans-parency and deployment of resourcesfor ministry”; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention thankFinancial Services for their faithful

Subsidiaries

PROCEEDINGS /44 Subsidiaries

efforts that prepare and provideaccounting and financial informationand services that support and serveWELS ministries; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that we encourage Financial Servicesto continue their effort to providetimely, accurate, and completefinancial statements, reports, andanalyses that facilitate ministry.


ADOPTED


Subject: Thanks

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) the Subsidiaries Committee hasreviewed the reports for its assignedareas as published in BORAM forWELS’ 59th Biennial Convention(pp. 63-72); and

WHEREAS 2) it has also reviewed supplementaryreports as published on the WELSWeb site for its assigned areas; and

WHEREAS 3) the specific reports were FinancialServices; WELS Church Extension

Fund, Inc.; WELS Foundation, Inc.;WELS Investment Funds, Inc.;Northwestern Publishing House;Human Resources; and WELSBenefit Plans; and

WHEREAS 4) many reports and encouraging itemsof information were noted; thereforebe it

Resolved, a) that we thank them for their faithfulefforts and ask the Lord’s continuedblessings upon their efforts.


ADOPTED


Subject: Northwestern Publishing House

Note 1

We note with thanksgiving the gift of a copy ofMeditations on Favorite Scriptures provided for eachdelegate attending this synod convention, and thetime and effort used in creating a hymnal supple-ment planned to be ready for the summer of 2008.


ADOPTED

Membership PROCEEDINGS /45


Subject: Convention attendance report

Report No. 1

There were 382 voting delegates in attendance atthe convention this year. The 382 voting delegateswere comprised of 115 pastors, 79 teachers, and

188 lay delegates. There were 48 advisory del-egates and 8 special guests in attendance. Thetotal attendance was 438. One pastor delegatewas excused part-time. One lay delegate wasexcused full-time. Three delegates were absentand unexcused.


Membership

Restructuring PROCEEDINGS /47



Subject: Synod restructuring proposal: name changes

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) recommendations one and twoof the synod restructuring pro-posal (2007 BORAM, p. 44) reflectmore accurate name changes whichdo not alter how ministry is con-ducted; and

WHEREAS 2) the synod in convention in 2005resolved a plan for “timely, flexibleand strategic use of resources,”and recommendation three of thesynod restructuring proposal (2007BORAM, p. 44) will encouragetimeliness by allowing electronicnotification to the members of thesynod in addition to written noti-fication in Forward in Christ; there-fore be it

Resolved, a) that the name of the Commissionfor Communication on FinancialSupport in the synod’s bylaws bechanged to the Ministry of ChristianGiving; and be it further

Resolved, b) that in most sections of the bylawswhere the title “executive directorof support services” is used that thetitle of “chief financial officer” beused instead; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that in most places in the bylawswhere it is stated that the officialnotification to the membership ofthe synod is by way of Forward inChrist that it be amended to allowfor electronic notification.

Rev. Bill Gabb, ChairmanTeacher John Freese, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Synod restructuring proposal: reviews

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) annual reviews of workers, boards,and committees are not only bene-

ficial to the good of the ministry butwould be desired by those serving insuch capacities; and

WHEREAS 2) such reviews are to be supportivetools to identify and achieve objec-tives; and

WHEREAS 3) such reviews can be accomplishedwithout changes to the bylaws;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention rejectrecommendations four, five, andsix of the synod restructuringproposal (2007 BORAM, p. 44);and be it finally

Resolved, b) that the appropriate leaders conductannual reviews for the good of theministry.


ADOPTED


Subject: Rejection of recommendations seven and eight

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) Scripture encourages brothers towork together in unity (Psalm 133:1and Ephesians 4:3); and

WHEREAS 2) the church does not rely on lines ofaccountability the way the secularworld does; and

WHEREAS 3) there is a general perception thatmore authority than necessarywould be concentrated in theSynodical Council if restructuringrecommendations seven and eightwere to be adopted; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the synod in convention notadopt recommendations seven andeight of the restructuring proposal;and be it further

Resolved, b) that the area of ministry administra-tors continue to be called by theirrespective boards and that theycontinue to be accountable to theirboards and to the synod president;and be it finally

Restructuring

PROCEEDINGS /48 Restructuring

Resolved, c) that the synod-elected chairmen ofthe area ministry boards continue tobe accountable to their boards and tothe Synodical Council.


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, p. 55,Section 6.16

Subject: Structure for the Board for World Missions

Resolution No. 4

WHEREAS 1) the 2005 synod in conventionresolved that “the Board forWorld Missions (BWM) continueto streamline and coordinate [its]respective administrative processes”(cf. 2005 Proceedings, p. 70, ResolutionNo. 3); and

WHEREAS 2) the current structure of the boardhinders the decision-making process,particularly in regard to downsizing,as board members are required tobe both advocates for the field theysupervise and yet be objective deci-sion makers about cutting back thosesame fields and others they are notvery familiar with; and

WHEREAS 3) BWM appointed a RestructuringCommittee made up of PastorJon D. Buchholz, chairman ofthe Administrative Committeefor Latin America; Dr. DonaldWhitlock, member of the Admin-istrative Committee for Africa;and Pastor David J. Valleskey,president emeritus of WisconsinLutheran Seminary; to gather data,examine issues, invite feedback,and return recommendations toBWM regarding an administra-tive structure suitable to meet theneeds of our synod’s world mis-sion work; and

WHEREAS 4) the Restructuring Committeeidentified weaknesses with thecurrent structure, such as:

a) decision-making authority isvested in part-time administrativecommittee members, while full-time staff is often powerless torender important decisions in anexpeditious way; and

b) administrative autonomy pre-vents some units from seeing thebig picture, resulting in goals andobjectives that lack a big-pictureperspective; and

c) the current decision-makingprocess is too slow and toosubjective (each administrativecommittee still defends its ownarea and is often unaware of thesubtle potential problems oropportunities in other fields); and

d)only 10 out of 30 administrativecommittee members regularlyattend BWM meetings wherecultural issues and the principlesof church planting are discussedand reinforced through practicalexamples for the fields; and

WHEREAS 5) the proposed structure would allowfor greater objectivity and moreflexible global strategic planning thatwill permit the board to redeployresources from both weaker and/orincreasingly independent fields inorder to pursue promising missionopportunities in other areas of theworld; and

WHEREAS 6) the proposed structure would reducethe size of the board from 13 mem-bers to five members. This wouldresult in greater exposure of theboard’s members to all fields and allfacets of the program; and

WHEREAS 7) some fear that restructuring wouldtake away grass-roots participationin the worldwide mission of thechurch. This proposed structure,however, retains the administrativecommittees and their liaison role,and calls for a greater accountabilityon the part of the administrativecommittees; and

WHEREAS 8) the proposed structure was designedand approved by the BWM. Thecurrent members of the board feltthat this was something they wantedto do in the interest of God’s king-dom; and

WHEREAS 9) the board is in the best position tobe able to match the needs of itsarea of ministry to the qualificationsof administrator nominees; thereforebe it

Resolved, a) that the Board for World Missionproposal (2007 BORAM, Section 6.16


(a), (b), (d), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), and(k)) be adopted as printed, p. 55; andbe it further

Resolved, b) that Section 6.16 (c) of the proposalshall read, “The chairman of theboard shall be a pastor elected bythe synod for a term of four yearsfrom a slate of candidates proposedby the Nominating Committee. Hemay succeed himself twice. He isresponsible and accountable to theboard and to the Synodical Councilthrough the president via the vicepresident for mission and ministry”;and be it finally

Resolved, c) that Section 6.16 (e) of the proposalshall read, “The board calls its ownadministrator, who, as the board’sadvisor, originates policy and bud-get allocation proposals for boardapproval. He also recommends to theboard the appointment of adminis-trative committee members.”


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, p. 56,Section 6.6

Subject: Structure for the Board for Parish Services

Resolution No. 5

WHEREAS 1) the 2005 synod in conventionresolved, “That by November of2005 each area of ministry bringforth its own proposals to stream-line its respective administrativestructure and more effectivelycoordinate and execute its min-istry to the Ministry OperationsTeam” (Proceedings, p. 89, Resolu-tion No. 5); and

WHEREAS 2) Section 6.64 (e) is missing a referenceto Parish Schools being an accredit-ing agency for Lutheran school min-istry; and

WHEREAS 3) the Board for Parish Services pro-poses restructuring changes whichactually reflect the way it is alreadyfunctioning; and

WHEREAS 4) the Board for Parish Services is inthe best position to be able to matchthe needs of its area of ministry tothe qualifications of administratornominees; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the Board for Parish Servicesproposal (2007 BORAM, Sections6.60 (b), (d), (e), (f), and (g); 6.64 (a),(b), (c), (d), (f), and (g); 6.68; and6.72) be adopted as printed; and beit further

Resolved, b) that Section 6.60 (a) should read“There shall be a Board for ParishServices that shall review, coordinate,and prioritize the programs andbudgets of the board and its com-missions. It shall appoint commis-sion members, except the com-mission chairmen, upon the recom-mendation of the commission chair-men and administrator. The boardshall issue calls for all Parish Servicesstaff members, in consultation withappropriate commissions. Calledstaff members shall be accountableand reportable to the Board forParish Services through its boardadministrator and to their com-missions”; and be it further

Resolved, c) that Section 6.60 (c) should read,“The chairman of the board shall bea parish pastor elected by the synodfor a term of four years. The chair-man may succeed himself twice. Heis responsible and accountable to theboard and to the Synodical Councilthrough the president via the vicepresident for mission and ministry”;and be it finally

Resolved, d) that Section 6.64 (e) be amended toread, “WELS Parish Schools shallprovide resources and services thatencourage, support, and accreditLutheran school ministry.”


ADOPTED

Reference: Book of Reports and Memorials, pp. 52, 53,Section 2.65, and supplemental reports

Subject: Revision to proposed Accounting OversightCommittee addition to bylaws

Resolution No. 6

WHEREAS 1) it has been apparent in recentyears that there was a need forassistance in ensuring that appro-priate accounting policies andinternal controls be establishedand executed; and

PROCEEDINGS /50 Restructuring

WHEREAS 2) the 2003 convention adoptedthe “WELS Review of FinancialAccounting and ReportingProcesses” (a.k.a. the Grant Thorn-ton report) which recommendedthat the synod president establish anindependent Accounting OversightCommittee (AOC) as well as theposition of Chief Financial Officer(CFO) (cf. 2003 Proceedings); and

WHEREAS 3) the CFO also desired independentoversight to ensure correct and trans-parent accounting practices; and

WHEREAS 4) the AOC has already been estab-lished by the Synodical Council andis presently operating and function-ing as the Grant Thornton reportrecommended; and

WHEREAS 5) the Independent Panel has alsoreviewed and confirmed the needfor the AOC; and

WHEREAS 6) the Synodical Council currentlyappoints the boards of directors ofsynod subsidiaries (WELS Founda-tion, WELS Church Extension Fund,WELS Investment Funds), and itwould be consistent for the Synodi-cal Council to also appoint the AOCmembers; and

WHEREAS 7) to avoid a conflict of interest, theSynodical Council recommendsthat its liaison to the AOC be a non-voting advisor; and

WHEREAS 8) it is necessary and prudent nowto make permanent what was origi-nally recommended and established;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that Section 2.65, entitled AccountingOversight Committee, be added tothe bylaws of the synod constitutionas presented on pp. 52 and 53 of the2007 BORAM; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that Section 2.65 (c) shall be revisedto read: “The committee shall becomposed of at least four membersbut not more than seven members.The members shall be appointed bythe Synodical Council. One memberof the Synodical Council shall serveas advisory member. The membersother than the Synodical Council’smember shall serve a term of sixyears and may succeed themselvesonce. As far as practical, the termsshould be staggered. The members

shall be independent in fact andappearance from the managementof the synod and its affiliates, shallbe financially literate, and at leastone member shall be an audit com-mittee financial expert as definedby Securities and Exchange Com-mission regulations.”


ADOPTED


Subject: Bylaw changes

Resolution No. 7

WHEREAS 1) the synod president is an ex-officiomember of every board, commission,and committee of the synod; and

WHEREAS 2) it is impossible for the president toattend every meeting of every board,commission, and committee; and

WHEREAS 3) the president needs flexibility toassign someone from the praesidiumto attend meetings in his place asneeded; and

WHEREAS 4) the vice president for mission andministry does not operate indepen-dently of the president; and

WHEREAS 5) the bylaws need to reflect currentpractices and to streamline proce-dures; and

WHEREAS 6) matters on inter-church relations arethe duties of the vice president formission and ministry; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that the following proposed bylawchanges on pp. 52-62 be adopted:Sections 2.00 (c), 4.10 (c), 4.20 (e), 4.30(f), 4.40 (d), 4.50 (c), 4.70 (a), 5.00 (f),5.10 (a), 5.70 (k), 6.88 (d); changeSupport Services to Ministry Supportin the heading, in the introductoryparagraph that follows, and in Sec-tions 7.00 (b) and (g), 7.10 (e), 7.20(e), 7.40 (c), 7.50 (d), 7.70 (d), ArticleXVII, Section 2; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that the Committee on ConstitutionalMatters review all the above changesfor accuracy.


ADOPTED



Subject: Constitution for the districts wordingclarification

Resolution No. 8

WHEREAS 1) it is necessary to say in the consti-tution for the districts bylaws whoelects the six coordinators of theBoard for Parish Services; and

WHEREAS 2) it is in the spirit of the wordingof Section 2 that the coordinatorsshall elect their own chairmen;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that district constitution Article XVon pp. 60-62 be adopted as proposedwith the following change in Section2 of Article XV (p. 60): “The coor-dinators shall be the liaisons withtheir respective synodical commis-sions. Each biennium the six coor-dinators shall choose one fromamong their number to serve aschairman of the board.”


ADOPTED

Reference: Sentiments of Floor Committee No. 11:Restructuring

Subject: Recommendations for the future

Resolution No. 9

WHEREAS 1) the Wisconsin Evangelical LutheranSynod (WELS) is blessed with God-fearing leaders who have dedicatedtheir lives to serving him and hispeople with faithfulness and untiringdevotion to the mission and ministryof WELS (Conference of Presidents,Synodical Council, administrators,their boards and synod administra-tion building staff, members of theIndependent Panel, and others); and

WHEREAS 2) WELS is blessed with God-fearingpeople (lay members and calledworkers) who love Jesus and thechurch body he nurtures throughhis Word and sacraments; and

WHEREAS 3) walking and working together,the 400,000 lay members andcalled workers of WELS earnestlyplead for the Lord’s blessing on thegospel ministry of our church andthat he would use us, together, tocarry out his mission of reachingthe lost; and

WHEREAS 4) realizing that structure, unlike thetruth, can change; and

WHEREAS 5) realizing that no matter how ourchurch body is structured, work-ing and walking together requiresmediation and not merely legisla-tion (e.g., restructuring) as to howpeople interrelate; and

WHEREAS 6) a lack of confidence in all levels ofsynod leadership was noted by theIndependent Panel, expressed byindividual delegates attending this2007 synod convention, and byothers; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that all members of WELS, lay andcalled workers, pray for and thankGod for each other as we seek towork as partners in the ministry ofthe gospel; and be it finally

Resolved, b) that the newly elected presidentmeet jointly with the members ofthe Conference of Presidents andSynodical Council to discuss theperceived lack of confidence and todevelop together a clear, unified planwhich, under God, will continue tocarry out the mission of our church.


ADOPTED

Constitutional Matters PROCEEDINGS /53



Subject: Definition changes

Resolution No. 1

WHEREAS 1) we now live in an electronic agewhen information can be continuallyupdated on the WELS Web site; and

WHEREAS 2) the most current rosters of activecalled workers are not always foundin the annually published synodicalYearbook; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we approve and support therecommended changes as proposedby the Committee on ConstitutionalMatters to the bylaws, Section 1.00and Section 2.80 (b).

Rev. Kenneth Pasch, ChairmanRev. Philip Malchow, Secretary

ADOPTED


Subject: Amendment of the WELS Constitution,Article IV

Resolution No. 2

WHEREAS 1) the 2005 WELS convention acceptedthe resolution of the Conference ofPresidents that “ministerial educa-tion (establishing and maintainingtheological seminaries, colleges,academies, schools, and other insti-tutions of learning), mission outreach(establishing and maintaining homeand world missions and such chari-table institutions as it may deemappropriate to its calling), and pub-lications (printing, publishing, pur-chasing, selling, and disseminatingliterature that maintains Lutherandoctrine and practice) receive fund-ing priority as essential ministriesand as the synod’s core work,” (2005Proceedings, pp. 59 and 60, ResolutionNo. 1); and

WHEREAS 2) the 2005 WELS convention did notrank in order of priority the three“essential ministries;” and

WHEREAS 3) an amendment to Article IV of theWELS Constitution has been pro-posed to rank in order of prioritythe subpoints of Article IV and placethe first subpoint at the end of thelist with the other subpoints retain-ing their order (BORAM, pp. 73-74,Addendum); and

WHEREAS 4) all subpoints of Article IV are impor-tant parts of the object and purposeof the synod; and

WHEREAS 5) prioritizing the subpoints of ArticleIV may hinder flexibility in carryingout the objectives of the synod astimes and circumstances change; and

WHEREAS 6) amendments to the WELS Consti-tution should be made only whenabsolutely necessary; therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we reaffirm our commitment tothe three “essential ministries” asproposed in the 2005 resolution; andbe it it further

Resolved, b) that Article IV of the WELS Consti-tution does not prioritize the sub-points; and be it finally

Resolved, c) that we reject the proposed amend-ment to Article IV of the WELSConstitution.


ADOPTED


Subject: Amendment to WELS Investment Funds,Inc., bylaws

Resolution No. 3

WHEREAS 1) the Synodical Council has proposedan amendment to bylaws Section7.30, “WELS Investment Funds, Inc.”(BORAM, p. 38, and supplementalreport Section (g)); and

WHEREAS 2) the proposal originated from andis supported by the directors of theWELS Investment Funds, Inc.; and

WHEREAS 3) this amendment will bring into align-ment the Articles of Incorporation ofthe WELS Investment Funds, Inc.,with the WELS Bylaws; and

Constitutional Matters

PROCEEDINGS /54 Constitutional Matters

WHEREAS 4) this amendment will not changethe operation of WELS InvestmentFunds, Inc., but will facilitate directcommunication with the SynodicalCouncil; and

WHEREAS 5) this amendment will align the WELSInvestment Funds, Inc., with similarreporting procedures of the othersupport services (NorthwesternPublishing House, WELS ChurchExtension Fund, WELS Foundation,WELS VEBA, WELS HistoricalInstitute) to the Synodical Council;therefore be it

Resolved, a) that we accept this amendment in itsfinal form.

Section 7.30 (g)

The current proposed change to theWELS Bylaws reads: “For oversight

purposes, WELS Investment Fundsshall report to the Synodical Council.This oversight shall be accomplishedby the chief financial officer whoshall report to the synod president.”

Based on input from the WELSInvestment Funds directors therevised recommendation would be:“For oversight purposes the corpo-ration shall report to the SynodicalCouncil through the synod presidentvia the chief financial officer.” Thisis virtually the same language foundin the WELS Bylaws describing theoversight of Church Extension Fund,Foundation, VEBA, and the Histori-cal Institute.


ADOPTED

Financials PROCEEDINGS /55

Operating budget

Other5%

FY 2007-08Support: $34.8 million

Gifts from congregations61%

Foundation grants22%

Gifts from individuals

5%

Released from restriction

7%

Parish Services

5%

FY 2007-08Expense: $34.8 million

Internal borrowing

3%

Ministerial Education*

26%

Home Missions22%

Ministry Support23%

World Missions21%

*The operating budget does not include *$1.9 million allocated by the Synodical *Council from Special Funds to Ministerial *Education for increased school subsidies.

Other4%

FY 2008-09Support: $38.3 million

Gifts from congregations63%

Foundation grants21%

Gifts from individuals

5%

Released from restriction

7%

Parish Services

4%

FY 2008-09Expense: $38.3 million

Internal borrowing

6%


26%

Home Missions22%

Ministry Support23%

World Missions21%

*The operating budget does not include *$700,000 allocated by the Synodical *Council from Special Funds to Ministerial *Education for increased school subsidies.


30%

Home Missions19%

Ministry Support22%

World Missions19%

Financials

PROCEEDINGS /56 Financials

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Minutes PROCEEDINGS /57

Mon., July 30, 2007

The opening communion service of the 59th Bien-nial Convention of the Wisconsin EvangelicalLutheran Synod was held at St. Paul EvangelicalLutheran Church, New Ulm, Minn., at 9:00 A.M.on Mon., July 30, 2007. Rev. Donald Sutton servedas the presiding minister. The preacher was Rev.Takeshi Nidaira of Zushi, Japan (see p. 71 for fulltext of the sermon).

The convention convened on the campus ofMartin Luther College. Rev. Karl Gurgel, WELSpresident, declared the convention open in thename of the Triune God at 11:05 A.M.

President Gurgel introduced Mrs. Laneta Nolte,who narrated the presentation of flags by theLutheran Women’s Missionary Society. Flagsfrom countries and mission fields served byWELS were placed on display and brief his-tories for each field were shared. PresidentGurgel thanked the ladies for their presentationand for the support given to mission work bythe LWMS.

Teacher Robert Gruetzmacher, chairman of FloorCommittee No. 9, Membership, reported prelimi-nary attendance figures.

Rev. Mark Zarling, the president of Martin LutherCollege, welcomed the delegates to the campus.

Mr. Joel Hochmuth, WELS communicationsdirector, led a delegate orientation utilizing aPowerPoint presentation.

Teacher Jonathan Roux, chairman of Floor Com-mittee No. 1, Elections, read the bylaw descriptionof the procedure for nominating and electing thesynod president.

Following announcements, the morning sessionwas closed with prayer by President Gurgel.Included in the prayer were the family of Mat-thew Zindars, a WELS serviceman from Water-town, Wis., who was killed in Iraq, and PaulHolzhueter, the Synodical Council memberrepresenting the Minnesota District, who is apatient at the Mayo Clinic.

Following the noon meal, floor committees metto organize and begin their work.

President Gurgel called the afternoon session toorder at 2:15 P.M. Prof. Mark Paustian of the Mar-tin Luther College faculty presented an OldTestament Gospel Gem based on Isaiah 40:1,2(see p. 101 for full text of this devotion). The

devotion closed with prayer, the benediction,and the singing of Comfort, Comfort All My People.

President Gurgel announced a gift of a bookfor every delegate from Northwestern Publish-ing House.

Jonathan Roux, Elections Committee chairman,opened the nominating ballot for synod president.After all ballots were collected, he declared theelection closed.

President Gurgel presented the President’s Report,the State of the Synod.

PowerPoint slides were utilized in giving thereport (see p. 10 for full text of this report).

Mr. Todd Poppe, WELS chief financial officer,was introduced to present the financial statusof WELS (see pp. 55, 56 for financial graphs/charts). Mr. Poppe made reference to the 94pages of financial reports included in theconvention binder.

The presentation was continued by Rev. PeterKruschel, administrator of WELS MinisterialEducation. He referenced PowerPoint chartsthat reflected the budgets of Ministerial Educa-tion and the individual schools.

Todd Poppe resumed his presentation discussingsynod debt ($22,400,000) and the synod’s specialfunds ($48,500,000).

Mr. Jon Flanagan, WELS director of Benefit Plans,was introduced. He presented a report on WELSVoluntary Employees’ Benefit Association (VEBA),using PowerPoint slides.

Jonathan Roux reported for the Elections Com-mittee. Nominees for the position of synod presi-dent are Rev. John Braun, Rev. James Huebner,Rev. Paul Janke, Rev. Mark Schroeder, and Rev.Paul Wendland.

Two individuals were included in the closingprayer led by President Gurgel—Pastor FredFallen, who has been ill, and the Smith family, in-laws of District President Joel Petermann.President Petermann’s mother-in-law passedaway this morning. The afternoon session closedat 4:38 P.M.

At 6:30 P.M. an open hearing dealing with synodrestructuring was held.

Tues., July 31, 2007

President Karl Gurgel called the convention toorder at 8:30 A.M. Professor Mark Paustian pre-

Minutes

PROCEEDINGS /58 Minutes

sented an Old Testament Gospel Gem based onIsaiah 40:3-8 (see p. 102 for full text of this devo-tion). The devotion concluded with prayer andthe singing of the hymn Comfort, Comfort All MyPeople stanzas 3 and 4.

Secretary Robert Pasbrig read the minutes forMon., July 30. It was moved and supportedto approve the minutes. There were two cor-rections. The amended motion carried.

Jonathan Roux was given the floor to conduct theelection for synod president. After all ballots werecollected, the election was declared closed.

Rev. Earle Treptow, associate pastor of Zion Evan-gelical Lutheran Church, Denver, Colo., began pre-sentation of the convention essay, Sanctification: SetApart by God’s Grace to Serve. The convention bindercontained the manuscript of the essay. Rev. Trep-tow completed the first 131/2 pages of the essay.The delegates proceeded to their floor committeerooms to work through “Bible Study—Part 1.”

After a break, the delegates reassembled at 10:50A.M. The floor was given to Elections CommitteeChairman Jonathan Roux. He announced theresults of the first election for the office of synodpresident and conducted the second ballot withthe names of Pastors James Huebner, Paul Jahnke,Mark Schroeder, and Paul Wendland on the ballot.After all of the ballots were collected, the electionwas declared closed.

Rev. William Gabb, chairman of Committee No.11, Synod Restructuring, began the committee’sreport. First Vice President Mueller took the chair.Pastor Gabb referenced p. 44 of the 2007 Book ofReports and Memorials (BORAM). He read Com-mittee No. 11’s first resolution—Synod Restruc-turing Proposal: Name Changes. It was movedand supported to approve Resolution No. 1 ofCommittee No. 11. The motion carried.

Resolution No. 2—Synod Restructuring Proposal:Reviews—was read. It was moved and supportedto approve Resolution No. 2 of Committee No.11. The motion carried.

Resolution No. 3—Rejection of 7 & 8—was read. Itwas moved and supported to approve ResolutionNo. 3 of Committee No. 11. The motion carried.

Page 55 of BORAM, Section 6.16, was referenced.Resolution No. 4—Structure for the Board forWorld Missions—was read. It was moved andsupported to approve Resolution No. 4 of Com-mittee No. 11. It was moved and supported thatthe motion be tabled until the delegates have ahard copy of the resolution. The motion to tablelost. Discussion continued until the conclusion ofthe allotted time. The continued discussion andvote will be tabled until a later time to be deter-mined by the Steering Committee.

Mr. Duane Anderson was given the floor to makea brief report regarding prison work. More than1,000 correctional institutions are now beingserved by mail through the synod’s PrisonMinistry Committee. Currently, a special three-man committee, the Jail Ministry Training Team(JMTT), funded by a grant, is training lay vol-unteers to share the gospel inside correctionalinstitutions. Interested congregations areencouraged to invite the JMTT to make apresentation in their congregations.

Jonathan Roux, Elections Committee chairman,reported that the three candidates for the officeof president are Pastors Paul Janke, MarkSchroeder, and Paul Wendland. The voteswere cast, and after all the ballots were collected,the election was declared closed.

First Vice-President Mueller led the prayer closingthe morning session at 11:57 A.M.

Floor committees met from 1:15-2:15 P.M.

The afternoon session was called to order byPresident Gurgel at 2:32 P.M. Prof. Mark Paustianpresented a Gospel Gem based on Isaiah 40:9-11(see p. 104 for full text of this devotion). The devo-tion included prayer, benediction, and the singingof Not Unto Us.

President Gurgel led the assembly in a specialprayer preceding the election of the new synodpresident. Jonathan Roux, chairman, reported forthe Elections Committee. Two names remain onthe ballot for the election as synod president,Pastors Paul Janke and Mark Schroeder. After thevotes were cast, the election was declared closed.

President Gurgel introduced Rev. John Moldstad,the president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod,who addressed the assembly. President Moldstademphasized the wonderful unity the ELS andWELS enjoy with each other. He made referenceto the unity expressed in Scripture between thecongregations in Colossae and Laodicea. Hespoke of Pentecost Day and noted that God’smethod to add to the numbers of the Churchis, “people praising God,” (note the conventiontheme, “Declare His Praises”). President Gurgelwas thanked for his years of faithful service andfor being such a great friend of the ELS. A copy ofthe book Forget Not All His Benefits was presentedto President Gurgel. A message from retired ELSPresident George Orvick was written on the insidetitle page and was read to the assembly.

President Gurgel introduced Rev. Steven Peter-sen, president of the Confessional EvangelicalLutheran Conference (CELC), who addressed theassembly. President Petersen presented a briefhistory of the CELC, which now includes 20church bodies. He referenced the epistle to the


Colossians. He announced the meeting of theCELC scheduled for next year. He thankedPresident Gurgel for the blessing he has beento the CELC.

Rev. Ken Brokmeier, chairman of Committee No.3, Conference of Presidents, was given the floor.He presented Resolution No. 1 of Committee No.3—To declare formal fellowship with the IgregaLuterana de Portugal. It was moved and supportedto adopt Resolution No. 1 of Committee No. 3,which established fellowship with the IgrejaLuterana de Portugal, the Lutheran Church ofPortugal. The assembly arose and sang togetherBlest Be the Tie That Binds as the vote of accep-tance of this motion.

President Gurgel introduced Pastor Artur Villaresand his wife, Maria Isabel. Rev. Villares, repre-senting the Lutheran Church of Portugal,addressed the assembly. He thanked PresidentGurgel and WELS, especially the Commission onInter-Church Relations (CICR), for the support andencouragement given since the 1990s. He thankedmany by name and quoted Luther’s words urgingus to continue to do what we should do—shareGod’s Word. A cross fabricated in Portugal bytraditional methods was presented to PresidentGurgel to “seal the moment.” A PowerPoint pre-sentation introducing the work in Portugal wasshown. Since Rev. and Mrs. Villares were celebrat-ing their wedding anniversary, President Gurgelled the group in singing Happy Anniversary to You.

The Elections Committee reported the electionof Mark Schroeder as the next president oftheWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.Rev. Schroeder requested time to consider thisdivine call.

Rev. John Braun, vice-president of NorthwesternPublishing House (NPH), presented the NPHreport using PowerPoint. Numerous new prod-ucts from NPH were described. Meditations andChristian Worship reach more people than anyother NPH publication. Since it is the 50th anni-versary of Meditations, each delegate is beingpresented a copy of the book Meditations onFavorite Scriptures with the delegate’s nameinscribed on the cover. Vice-president Braunwas thanked for his presentation.

Michael Klatt, chief executive officer of TheLutheran Home Association, Inc., was intro-duced and addressed the assembly. He spokeof The Lutheran Home’s ministry to the handi-capped and aged and noted the great missionpotential among the handicapped, many of themyoung people.

Rev. Philip Schupmann, chairman, WELS Com-mittee on Relief, was introduced and addressed

the assembly. He mentioned that 700 to 800WELS volunteers have assisted with relief workin Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Thoseinterested in volunteering for relief efforts in com-ing months were urged to speak with Mr. MarkVance, who will be heading up volunteer work inNew Orleans for the coming work season. Avideo, WELS Committee on Relief, 2007, was shown.

President Gurgel noted the 50th anniversaryof WELS mission work in Japan. Mr. MarkWrightsman, the Japan Europe Asia Adminis-trative Committee’s liaison to The LutheranEvangelical Christian Church (LECC), was intro-duced. He addressed the assembly and presentedRev. Takeshi Nidaira of the LECC and Rev. BradWordell, field coordinator for the LECC.

Rev. Nidaira addressed the assembly. Hedescribed the gospel work in Japan usingPowerPoint and thanked WELS for all the synodhas done to aid the LECC for the past 50 years.

Rev. Wordell addressed the assembly. He modeleda T-shirt celebrating the 50th anniversary of mis-sion work in Japan and urged delegates to pur-chase one of these T-shirts as a gift for theirspouse back home. A refrigerator magnet andthree pieces of candy were given to each dele-gate. The magnet could be a daily reminder tooffer prayers for the LECC. He then broughtgreetings from the church in Japan and showeda PowerPoint presentation depicting the coun-try, the religion of the majority of the people, andthe ministry of the LECC. Radio ministry has beenconducted for 40 years. An estimated 180,000people hear that broadcast each week. Currentlythree American missionaries are working in Japan,down from five a few years ago. The assemblythanked God for Rev. Habben and his wife,Margie, as they celebrate their 40th anniversaryof faithful service to the Lord in the LECC. Abanner commemorating the 50th anniversaryof the LECC, designed and constructed by theladies of the LECC, was explained and thenpresented to WELS.

Mr. James Holm, representing WELS Invest-ment Funds, was introduced. He shared a video,WELS Investment Funds, Inc.

Rev. Mark Schroeder asked the delegates for theevening to evaluate his call to serve as the newsynod president.

President Gurgel read a letter of fraternal greet-ings from a sister church.

After announcements, President Gurgel concludedthe afternoon session with prayer at 5:03 P.M.

At 6:30 P.M. an open hearing dealing with the Min-isterial Education budget was held.


Wed., Aug. 1, 2007

President Gurgel called the morning session toorder at 8:30 A.M. Prof. Mark Paustian sharedan Old Testament Gospel Gem based on Isaiah40:25-31 (see p. 105 for full text of this devotion).The devotion included prayer, benediction, andthe singing of four verses of the hymn My Hope isBuilt on Nothing Less. President Gurgel expressedthanks to Prof. Paustian for the devotions he hasshared with the convention.

Rev. Mark Schroeder addressed the assembly.He quoted Isaiah and announced his acceptanceof the divine call to serve as the president ofWELS. President-elect Schroeder mentioned thedifference between happiness and joy. We mayface difficulties and struggles and not feel veryhappy, but we still have joy—joy in the Savior’slove. Rev. Schroeder expressed his determinationto faithfully carry out his duties as the newWELS president.

The minutes of the morning and afternoon ses-sions of Tues., July 31, were read by SecretaryPasbrig. The minutes were approved as read.

Elections Committee chairman Jonathan Rouxread the bylaws dealing with the position ofsecond vice president. The nominating was cast,and after all votes were collected, the nominatingballot was declared closed.

The floor was given to Rev. Earle Treptow, whopresented the second portion of his conventionessay, Sanctification: Set Apart By God’s Grace toServe. First Vice President Mueller took the chair.The reading of the essay was completed at 10:00A.M. The delegates gathered in their committeerooms to discuss a Bible study based on the essay.

The morning session resumed at 10:51 A.M. Rev.William Gabb, chairman, Floor Committee No. 11,Restructuring, was given the floor. Resolution No.4—Structure for the Board for World Missions—was taken off the table. The motion, since itamends WELS bylaws, needed to pass by a two-thirds majority. The vote was conducted by a handcount. The motion to approve Resolution No. 4of Committee No. 11 carried by more than a two-thirds majority.

Elections Committee Chairman Roux came for-ward to conduct the election of the second vicepresident of WELS. Nominated candidates arePastors James Huebner, Paul Janke, and ThomasZarling. After the ballots were gathered, theelection was declared closed.

Rev. Gabb resumed the floor. He referenced p. 55,Section 6.32, in BORAM. Resolution No. 5 of Com-mittee No. 11—Structure for the Board for ParishServices—was moved and supported. The motioncarried by more than a two-thirds majority.

Mr. Ronald Hillman was introduced andaddressed the assembly regarding the ParishAssistance program carried out by WELS ParishServices. He noted that called workers shouldnot be threatened by the thought, “You are goingto evaluate my ministry?” Some members ofinterested congregations can be apathetic if theyare concerned about the work they will personallyneed to do. And, cost is a concern; typically, 50percent of the cost is covered by the congregationand the remainder by the synod. However, theblessings to a congregation can be tremendous.Several examples were shared to support thatevaluation. The speaker noted that he himselfhas been revitalized by his participation withParish Assistance.

Rev. Gabb returned to the podium. After it wasread, Resolution No. 6 of Committee No. 11—Revision to proposed Accounting OversightCommittee addition to bylaws—was movedand seconded. The motion carried by more thana two-thirds majority.

The morning session closed with prayer led byPresident Gurgel at 12:02 P.M.

President Karl Gurgel called the afternoon sessionto order at 1:32 P.M. He introduced Prof. KennethCherney, World Mission Seminary Professor atWisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Prof. Cherneyconducted the first New Testament Gospel Gembased on Romans 5:1 (see p. 107 for full text of thisdevotion). The devotion included prayer and thesinging of the hymn by Paul Gerhardt If GodHimself Be For Me, stanzas 5 and 7.

The Election Committee reported through itschairman, Jonathan Roux. The ballot for theposition of second vice president, with thenames of Pastors James Huebner and ThomasZarling, was cast. After all ballots were gathered,the election was declared closed.

The floor was given to Rev. James Liggett, Direc-tor of WELS Ministry of Christian Giving. HisPowerPoint presentation was printed in theconvention binder.

Jonathan Roux reported the election of Rev. JamesHuebner for a four-year term as WELS second vicepresident. Rev. Huebner was not present at theconvention; he is being contacted regarding thisdivine call.

Teacher Daniel Schmal, chairman of CommitteeNo. 4, Proclaim, was given the floor. ResolutionNo. 1 of Committee No. 4—Support for missioncounselors—was moved and supported. Themotion carried.

Committee No. 4, Resolution No. 2—Publicityof the success of Home Mission efforts—wasmoved and supported. The words “God-given”


were added before the word “successes” inResolved d. The motion, with the added word-ing, carried.

Committee No. 4, Resolution No. 3—Thanks-giving for blessings on World Missions—wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 4, Resolution No. 4—WorldMissions publicity—was moved and supported.The motion carried.

Committee No. 4, Resolution No. 5—Work ofthe Commission on Special Ministries and theCommission on Evangelism—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 4 was thanked for its work.

Teacher James Mahnke, chairman, Committee No.6, Promote, reported for the committee. Commit-tee No. 6, Resolution No. 1—500th anniversaryof the Lutheran Reformation—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 6, Resolution No. 2—Encourage-ment to use ShopWELS—was moved and sup-ported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 6, Resolution No. 3—Technology—was moved and supported.The motion carried.

Committee No. 6, Resolution No. 4—Communication Services Commission—wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 6, Resolution No. 5—PublicationCoordinating Commission—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.


Rev. William Gabb, representing Committee No.11, came to the podium. Committee No. 11,Resolution No. 7—Bylaw changes—was movedand supported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 11, Resolution No. 8—Constitu-tion for the districts wording clarification—wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 11, Resolution No. 9—Recom-mendations for the future—was moved andsupported. (Resolution No. 9 was specificallyidentified as a personal motion from thecommittee.) The motion carried.

At 3:30 P.M. a 15-minute break was declared.President Gurgel called the afternoon sessionback to order at 3:51 P.M. Rev. Joel Voss, chairman,Committee No. 7, Provide; Rev. Donald Patterson,chairman, Committee No. 5, Prepare; and Rev.John Qualmann, Committee No. 2, MinistryDirection, were given the floor. The three chair-men began by each presenting a personal reso-lution urging unity and a cooperative spirit

among the delegates. Resolutions Numbers 5, 6, 7,and 8 of Committee No. 7 were read.

Mr. Charles Caskey, Chairman of Committee No.8, Subsidiaries, presented the committee’s report.Resolution No. 1 of Committee No. 8—Synodarchivist—was moved and supported. Themotion carried.

Resolution No. 2 of Committee No. 8—ChurchExtension Fund—was moved and supported.The motion carried.

Resolution No. 3 of Committee No. 8—FinancialServices—was moved and supported. Themotion carried.

Committee No. 8, Resolution No. 4—Thanks—was moved and supported. The motion carried.

The committee also thanked Northwestern Pub-lishing House for the gift of the book Meditationson Favorite Scriptures and for the work being doneto print a worship supplement in 2008.

The committee was thanked for its work.

Rev. John Qualmann came to the podium to leada PowerPoint presentation about the ChurchExtension Fund. Rev. Kenneth Brokmeier wasintroduced to lead a PowerPoint presentation onthe School of Outreach. Both men were thankedfor their reports.

It was reported that Rev. Huebner would likethe early evening to consider his call as secondvice president. Jonathan Roux was given thefloor to present Ballot A and additional infor-mation included in the “Elections” section of theconvention binder. He also introduced Ballot C.The delegates will have the evening to study theinformation provided.

After announcements, President Gurgel concludedthe afternoon session with prayer at 4:50 P.M.

The Wednesday evening session was called toorder by President Gurgel at 6:31 P.M. The floorwas given to Rev. Joel Voss, chairman of FloorCommittee No. 7, Provide. Chairman Voss notedthe convention theme, “Declare His Praises.”The committee wanted positive direction for thenew synod president while realizing there arerisks either in closing or in keeping open Mich-igan Lutheran Seminary. Resolution No. 5 ofCommittee No. 7—Preserve our chief sourcesof pastors—was moved and supported.

Discussion of the motion was interrupted andPresident Gurgel led a prayer for those involvedwith an I-35W bridge collapse that occurred at6:05 P.M. over the Mississippi River betweenMinneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.


Discussion of Resolution No. 5 continued until7:32 P.M. The motion was tabled until a time to bedetermined by the Steering Committee.

Missionary Bruce Ahlers, who serves in Albania,was given the floor. He presented a video depict-ing the country and the mission work being doneby WELS in that land. He was thanked for hispresentation and his work.

Friendly Counselor John Hildebrant, who servesin India, shared a PowerPoint presentation aboutChrist Evangelical Lutheran Ministries (CELM) inIndia, the fourth largest WELS foreign mission.

Missionary Daniel Kroll, missionary in theLutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA), wasintroduced. He shared a PowerPoint about thework in Zambia. He noted that the work in Malawiis very different from that in Zambia. There aremajor changes taking place and important deci-sions to be made in the LCCA—Zambia.

First Vice President Mueller took the chair. Rev.Kenneth Brokmeier brought a resolution to theconvention thanking President Karl Gurgel forhis 14 years of service as president of theWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Themotion was moved and supported. DistrictPresident Douglas Engelbrecht spoke in sup-port of the motion. He introduced Mrs. BarbaraGurgel, who joined her husband on the dais.President Engelbrecht read the book “This IsYour Life, Karl Gurgel” to the assembly. Aftermajor and minor events in the life and career ofKarl Gurgel were shared with the assembly, thegroup passed the motion unanimously with astanding round of applause.

Live visual and audio greetings were received viathe Internet from Prof. John Lawrenz, president ofthe seminary in Hong Kong. District PresidentJohn Guse led a hymn-sing of some of PresidentGurgel’s favorite hymns. Later, the assemblyjoined in fellowship on the lower level of thebuilding in honor of the Gurgels.

Thurs., Aug. 2, 2007

President Karl Gurgel called the morning sessionto order at 8:30 A.M. Prof. Kenneth Cherneypresented a New Testament Gospel Gem basedon Romans 5:1 (see p. 108 for full text of devotion).The devotion included prayer and the singing ofthe hymn Evening and Morning.

First Vice President Wayne Mueller took thechair. The minutes of the morning and afternoonsessions of Wed., Aug. 1, were read by SecretaryPasbrig. The minutes were approved as read.

President Gurgel resumed the floor. PresidentGurgel extended thanks, by name, to manyindividuals who so greatly assisted in conduct-

ing the preparation for and the operation ofthe convention.

President Gurgel announced Rev. James Hueb-ner’s acceptance of the divine call to serve asWELS second vice president. Rev. Thomas Zarlingwas gratefully thanked for his past service as thesecond vice president and for serving as the con-vention’s parliamentarian. Rev. Huebner asked tobe excused from tonight’s installation service sincehe will be traveling today to be in attendance atthe weekend ordination and installation service ofhis son. His request was granted.

Teacher Jonathan Roux, representing the ElectionsCommittee, took the floor and presented Ballot Aas contained in the convention binder. The namesof each of the individuals presented by the Nomi-nating Committee for each position on Ballot Awere read. There was an opportunity to nominateadditional names from the floor. Rev. CharlesWestra was nominated from the floor for theposition of Chairman, Board for Home Missions.There were no additional nominations, and thenominations for each position on Ballot A weredeclared closed.

The names of each of the individuals nominatedby the Nominating Committee for the positionson Ballot C were announced. Rev. Jeffrey Gunnwas nominated from the floor for the Restruc-tured Board for World Missions, Pastor. Dr.Robert Anderson was nominated from the floorfor the Restructured Board for World Missions,Teacher. There were no additional nominations,and the nominations for each position on Bal-lot C were declared closed. The delegates wereurged to review the biographical informationon each candidate and to pray for the HolySpirit’s guidance. The elections will be con-ducted later today.

The floor was given to Rev. Earle Treptow. Heresponded to comments and questions regardingthe convention essay. At 9:54 A.M. the discussionconcluded, and the assembly extended thanks toRev. Treptow for his excellent presentation.

President Gurgel thanked Wisconsin LutheranChild and Family Service, Inc., (WLCFS) forthe gift of seat cushions to each delegate andfor providing refreshments. The president ofWLCFS, Rev. James Mattek, was introduced.He shared information about the ministry ofWLCFS using PowerPoint, including theirChristian Leadership Training, Christian Coun-seling and Assessment programs, among others.He was thanked for his presentation.

A 15-minute break was declared at 10:07 A.M. Themorning session resumed at 10:28 A.M. A numberof announcements were made. A motion was


made and supported that each speaker belimited to three minutes. The motion carried.

A motion was made and seconded that secretballots be used for the ballots dealing with criti-cal issues. The motion carried.

It was moved and supported that the numbers ofvotes be published. It was moved and supportedto amend the motion adding, “if numbers arerecorded, a unanimous vote be requested.” Theamendment lost. The vote on the original motionwas called. The motion lost.

The floor was given to Committee No. 7. Com-mittee chairman, Rev. Joel Voss, came to thepodium and again asked for unity. Resolutions 5,6, 7, and 8 were read. Prof. John Brug, a subcom-mittee chairman of Committee No. 7, addressedthe assembly explaining some of the committee’srationale behind the committee’s resolutions. Thechairman of Committee No. 5, Prepare, Rev. DonPatterson, came to the podium and read Com-mittee No. 5, Resolution No. 2—MichiganLutheran Seminary.

Rev. Voss returned to the podium. Committee No.7, Resolution No. 5, was taken off the table. Dis-cussions continued. President Gurgel closed themorning session with prayer at 12:13 P.M.

The afternoon session was called to order byPresident Gurgel at 1:30 P.M. Prof. KennethCherney presented a New Testament GospelGem based on Romans 5:1,2 (see p. 109 for fulltext of devotion). The devotion included prayerand the singing of verses 1 and 3 of the hymnWe Are The Lord’s.

Jonathan Roux opened the election for thepositions listed on Ballot A. After all ballots werecollected, the election was declared closed.

“Jacob” (name removed for security reasons)was introduced. He explained the Outreach toMuslims effort. The delegates were urged to“Proclaim the Word of God” also to Muslims.

Rev. Kenneth Brokmeier, chairman of Commit-tee No. 3, Conference of Presidents, came to thepodium. He presented the committee’s Reso-lution No. 3—Great Commission Study—whichwas moved and supported. The motion passed.

Resolution No. 2 of Committee No. 3—Outsidespeakers and “framework of fellowship” —wasmoved and supported. The word “persistent” wasadded before the word “errorist” in two places.The motion carried.

Resolution No. 5 of Committee No. 3—Corpo-rate stewardship of the Wisconsin EvangelicalLutheran Synod—was moved and supported.The motion carried.

Resolution No. 7 of Committee No. 3—Expressions of gratitude—was movedand supported. The motion carried by avote of applause.

Rev. Donald Patterson, chairman of CommitteeNo. 5, and three sub-committee chairmen cameto the podium. Rev. Bryan Schwarz presentedResolution No. 1—Recruitment—which wasmoved and supported. In Resolved b, the word“appreciate” was changed to “express appre-ciation for.” The motion carried.

Resolution No. 3 of Committee No. 5—Financialassistance—was moved and supported. Thecurrent cost to attend MLC for a year is $13,670.Eleven percent of MLC’s current budget is sub-sidized by the synod. The words “staff ministers”were added to Whereas 7. The motion carried.

Rev. Joel Voss led continued discussion of Reso-lution No. 5, Committee No. 7—Preserve our chiefsources of pastors—which was previously movedand supported. It was moved and seconded totable the motion. The motion lost. It was movedand seconded to call the question. The motioncarried. Scantron ballots were distributed, and asecret ballot was cast. After the ballots werecollected, the election was declared closed.

Resolution No. 7 of Committee No. 7—Com-prehensive, long-term plan—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.

Rev. Bryan Schwarz presented Resolution No. 5of Committee No. 5—Synodical struggles—which was moved and supported. The motioncarried.

Resolution No. 6 of Committee No. 5—Synodicalofficials—was moved and supported. Themotion carried.

Chairman Jonathan Roux announced the resultsof the secret ballot for Resolution No. 5, Com-mittee No. 7—Preserve our chief sources ofpastors. The motion carried.

Rev. Joel Voss presented Committee No. 7,Resolution No. 6—Intensified stewardshipeffort—which was moved and supported. It wasmoved and supported to amend the resolutionfrom a special offering of $15,000,000 to a 33percent increase in Congregation MissionOfferings equaling about $7,500,000. It wasmoved and supported to recommit. The motionto recommit carried.

Jonathan Roux conducted run-off elections forseveral positions on Ballot A. The nominationballot was conducted for the convention-approvedAd Hoc Committee. It was moved and supportedthat the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee be alayperson. The motion lost. After the ballots for


both elections were collected, the elections weredeclared closed.

At 4:41 P.M. the afternoon session was closed withprayer by President Gurgel.

At 6:02 P.M. President Gurgel opened the Thurs-day evening session. Rev. Joel Schulz came tothe podium and presented a PowerPoint aboutoutreach in Canada. Rev. Schulz shared hisphilosophy of ministry, which utilizes specialevangelism and outreach efforts. He was thankedfor his presentation.

Jonathan Roux came to the podium. He led theassembly through the names of the nominees forthe positions listed on Ballot C. Additional run-offelections were conducted for several positions onBallot A. The election of the chairman of the AdHoc Committee was conducted. Nominated nameswere Pastors John Braun, John Brug, William Gabb,Donald Patterson, and Joel Voss. After all ballotswere collected, the elections were declared closed.

Rev. Timothy Satorius addressed the assemblyusing a PowerPoint about Spanish outreach in theUnited States. The delegates were urged to praythat “spiritual immigration” into our congrega-tions grow as we “leave the door open” for theseHispanic immigrants.

Missionary Ralph Martens presented a Power-Point describing the Latin American TravelingTheological Educators (LATTE).

Rev. Donald Patterson, chairman, Committee No.5, and sub-committee chairman, Carl Henkel,came to the podium. Rev. Henkel presentedResolution No. 4—Parish Services—which wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.

Rev. Patterson reported on the review of mem-orials assigned to Committee No. 5. A sheetdescribing the committee’s conclusions regardingthese memorials was available. Committee No. 5was thanked for its work.

Rev. Joel Voss came to the podium. CommitteeNo. 7, Resolution No. 9—Associate pastors fordistrict presidents—was moved and supported.The motion carried.

Committee No. 7, Resolution No. 1—FinancialFeasibility Study Committee—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 7, Resolution No. 2—125 milliondollar borrowing limit—was moved and sup-ported. The motion carried.

Chairman Voss reported that Resolutions No. 3and No. 4 have been withdrawn since thanks hadalready been extended by previous resolutions.

Teacher Robert Gruetzmacher, chairman, Com-mittee No. 9, Membership, presented the com-

mittee’s Resolution No. 2—Membership—calledworkers—which was moved and supported. Themotion carried.

Rev. John Qualmann, chairman, Committee No.2, Ministry Direction, came to the podium. Hepresented a printed report from the committee.Committee No. 2, Resolution No. 1—Synodministry direction—was moved and supported.Words were added to Resolved g, “giving to theLord so that the synod’s core work can be carriedout.” The words, “in consultation with the Con-ference of Presidents,” were added to Resolved d.Three words in Resolved i, “in the pew,” weredropped. It was moved and supported to callthe question. The motion to call the questioncarried. The motion was called. After the vote, adivision of the house was called. The division ofthe house demonstrated that the motion carried.


The Elections Committee conducted a run-offballot for the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee.Names on the ballot were Pastors John Braun,John Brug, Donald Patterson, and Joel Voss. Run-off ballots were also conducted for positions onthe Restructured Board for World Missions. Afterall ballots were collected, the elections weredeclared closed.

At 8:22 P.M., President Gurgel adjourned theThursday evening session. The delegates movedto the auditorium for the installation worshipservice.

Fri., Aug. 3, 2007

The Friday session was called to order by Presi-dent Karl Gurgel at 8:15 A.M. Prof. KennethCherney presented a New Testament GospelGem based on Romans 5:1,2 (see p. 109 for fulltext of this devotion). After prayer, the assemblysang Lord, When Your Glory I Shall See. PresidentGurgel thanked Prof. Cherney for the GospelGems he shared with the convention.

The reading of the minutes was postponed dueto time constraints. Rev. Kenneth Brokmeier,chairman of Committee No. 3, Conference ofPresidents, presented Resolution No. 6—Offerings of the convention. The resolution wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 3, Resolution No. 8—Gratitudefor service—was moved and supported. Themotion passed with a standing round ofapplause.

Committee No. 3, Resolution No. 9—Locationof the 2009 synod convention—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.



Teacher Robert Gruetzmacher reported forCommittee No. 9, Membership. Resolution No.3—Membership appointments—was moved andsupported. The motion carried.

Committee No. 9, Resolution No. 1—Member-ship—congregations—was moved and sup-ported. The motion carried.

Report No. 1—Convention attendance report—was moved and supported. The motion carried.


Jonathan Roux presented three run-off elections,the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee and twopositions on the Restructured Board for WorldMissions. After the ballots were collected, theelection was declared closed.

Rev. Kenneth Pasch, chairman, Committee No. 12,Constitutional Matters, came to the podium.Resolution No. 1—Definition changes—wasmoved and supported. The motion passed by agreater than two-thirds majority.

Resolution No. 2—Amendment of WELS Consti-tution Article IV—was moved and supported.An additional “resolved” was added to theresolution by consent of the committee. Theamended motion carried. Resolution No. 3 wasmoved and supported. The motion carried.


Rev. Joel Voss came to the podium. The re-wordedResolutions No. 6 and No. 8 were read. Com-mittee No. 7, Resolution No. 6—Intensifiedstewardship efforts—was moved and supported.It was moved and supported to call the question.The motion carried. The main motion carried.

Committee No. 7, Resolution No. 8—2008-2009budget—was moved and supported. Anamended wording to Resolved a) 2, changing“for MLS” to “for the BME,” was moved andsupported. The amendment to the wordingcarried. It was moved and supported to amendthe resolution to strike Resolved d. The questionwas called on the amendment. The motion tocall the question passed. The motion to amendthe resolution by removing Resolved d lost. Amotion was made and supported to call thequestion on the main amended motion. The

motion to call the question on the mainamended motion passed. The main motionwas called and the motion passed.


Jonathan Roux reported for the Elections Com-mittee, Committee No. 1, the results of all elec-tions with the exception of the chairman of theAd Hoc Committee. A run-off election for thatposition was held. After all ballots were collected,the election was declared closed.

Several announcements were made. PresidentGurgel, although he supported the SynodicalCouncil’s recommendation to close MichiganLutheran Seminary, now pledged to support theresolution to keep MLS open. He noted that forthe second year of the biennium $4,000,000 in newfunding will be needed. President Gurgel offereda prayer prior to the district meetings asking forGod’s blessings. The prayer included a petitionfor a critically ill called worker’s spouse inArizona.

At 10:24 A.M., the delegates from each districtgathered in their district meeting rooms.

At 11:25 A.M, President Gurgel resumed the Fri-day session. There were several announcements.Chairman Jonathan Roux announced that Rev. JoelVoss has been elected as the chairman of the AdHoc Committee. The Elections Committee wasthanked for its hard work.

Mr. Joel Hochmuth, WELS communicationsdirector, came to the podium. He presented anews release dated Aug. 3, 2007. A bulletin insertwill be sent by e-mail by the end of next week.

It was moved and supported to adjourn the 59thBiennial Convention of the Wisconsin Evangel-ical Lutheran Synod, “Declare His Praises.” Themotion passed. President Gurgel banged thegavel in the name of the Triune God to close theconvention and then presented the gavel to thenew synod president, Rev. Mark Schroeder.

President emeritus Gurgel presented a devotionbased on Ephesians 3:8. The devotion included thesinging of Amazing Grace.

Respectfully submitted,Rev. Robert W. Pasbrig, WELS recording secretary

2007 Memorials PROCEEDINGS /67

2007- Corporate steward- Prof. Marcus Committee Supported and See Resolution 3:5, 01 ship of the Wiscon- Manthey, 3, Confer- sent to the p. 25

sin Evangelical Saginaw, ence of floorLutheran Synod Mich. Presidents

2007- Synod stewardship Rev. Philip Committee Considered See Resolution 7:8,02 Malchow, 7, Provide and rewritten p. 41

El Paso, as a commit-Texas tee resolution

2007- Preserving our Mr. Tracy Committee Considered See Resolution 7:5, 03 ministerial educa- Linn, Boze- 7, Provide and rewritten p. 39

tion schools man, Mont. as a commit-tee resolution

2007- Trends in synod Northern Wis- Committee Considered See Resolution 7:8, 04 funding of minis- consin Dis- 7, Provide and rewritten p. 41

terial schools trict as a commit-tee resolution

2007- Funding for synod’s Prof. Marcus Committee Considered See Resolution 7:7,05 core ministries Manthey, 7, Provide and rewritten p. 40; Resolution 7:8,

Saginaw, as committee p. 41Mich. resolutions

2007- The funding of Rev. Spencer Committee Considered See Resolution 7:5,06 synodical worker Biga, et. al. 7, Provide and rewritten p. 39; Resolution 7:8,

training schools Michigan as committee p. 41resolutions

2007- Reconstruction of Rev. Andrew Committee Considered See Resolution 7:8, 07 budget allocations Backus, et. 7, Provide and rewritten p. 41

to emphasize min- al. Michigan as a commit-isterial education tee resolution

2007- Defunding of the Rev. Andrew Committee Considered See Resolution 7:5, 08 synodical schools Backus, et. 7, Provide and rewritten p. 39; Resolution 7:8,

al. Michigan as committee p. 41resolutions

2007- Equitable pension Mr. Gerhold Committee Considered No actuarial or statist-09 payments Lemke, Cedar 8, Subsid- but not for- ical information pro-

Rapids, Iowa iaries warded vided to substantiatethe memorial

2007- 500th anniversary South Atlan- Committee Supported and See Resolution 6:1, 10 of the Lutheran tic District 6, Promote sent to the p. 35

Reformation floor

Memo- SubmittedCommittee

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PROCEEDINGS /68 2007 Memorials

Unpub- Comprehensive Michigan Committee Considered See Report 2:1, p. 21lished synod strategic District 2, Ministry and referenced mem- plan Direction in a commit-orial* tee report

Unpub- Synodical finances Southeastern Committee Considered See Report 2:1, p. 21lished Wisconsin 2, Ministry and referenced mem- District Direction in a commit-orial* tee report

Unpub- To declare formal Commission Committee Supported and See Resolution 3:1, lished fellowship with the on Inter- 3, Confer- sent to the p. 23mem- Igreja Luterana church Rela- ence of floororial* de Portugal tions Presidents

Unpub- Definition of the Mr. Richard Committee Considered See Resolution 3:2, lished expression “frame- Andersen, 3, Confer- and rewritten p. 23mem- work of fellowship” Anchor Point, ence of as a commit-orial* Alaska, et. al. Presidents tee resolution

Unpub- Memorial for full Rev. Marcus Committee Considered See Resolution 7:9, lished subsidy for district Schulz, et. al. 7, Provide and rewritten p. 41mem- president associate North Atlantic as a commit-orial* District tee resolution

Unpub- Our financial prob- Grace Luth- Committee Considered See Resolution 7:7,lished lem needs a spiri- eran Church, 7, Provide but not for- p. 40mem- tual solution Kenai, Alaska wardedorial*

Unpub- The priorities and Rev. Jerome Committee Considered See Resolution 7:7, lished direction of the Enderle, et. 7, Provide but not for- p. 40mem- WELS al. North At- wardedorial* lantic District

Unpub- Funding 2008/ Michigan Committee Considered See Resolution 7:8,lished 2009 synod budget District 7, Provide but not for- p. 41mem- wardedorial*

Unpub- Vote “No” to Synod- Michigan Committee Considered See Resolution 7:5, lished ical Council Recom- District 7, Provide but not for- p. 39 mem- mendation to close wardedorial* Michigan Lutheran

Seminary


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*Unpublished memorials are available online at www.wels.net/jumpword/boram.

2007 Memorials PROCEEDINGS /69

*Unpublished memorials are available online at www.wels.net/jumpword/boram.

Unpub- Establishing a rainy Michigan Committee Considered See Resolution 7:7, lished day fund together District 7, Provide but not for- p. 40mem- with a fund for wardedorial* prudent manage-

ment of special gifts

Unpub- Concerning a bal- Prof. John Committee Considered See Resolution 7:7, lished anced budget Brug, 7, Provide but not for- p. 40mem- oriented toward Mequon, Wis. wardedorial* growth

Unpub- Equitable pension Michigan Committee Considered No actuarial or statis-lished payments District 8, Subsid- but not for- tical information pro-mem- iaries warded vided to substantiate orial* the memorial


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Convention worship PROCEEDINGS /71

OPENING SERVICE SERMON

St. Paul, New Ulm, Minn.Mon., July 30, 2007, 9:00 A.M.

Pastor Takeshi Nidaira

Text: Exodus 15:1-6,11,13,18

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this songto the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he ishighly exalted. The horse and its rider he hashurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength andmy song; he has become my salvation. He is myGod, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior;the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots andhis army he has hurled into the sea. The best ofPharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.”The deep waters have covered them; they sank tothe depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD,was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD,shattered the enemy. Who among the gods is likeyou, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic inholiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?In your unfailing love you will lead the peopleyou have redeemed. In your strength you willguide them to your holy dwelling. The LORD

will reign forever and ever.

Theme: Let us praise the mighty, gracious, andfaithful Lord!

I. The Lord is a mighty God.II. The Lord is a gracious God.III. The Lord is a faithful God.I was a high school student and was not aChristian when I first watched the movie titledThe Ten Commandments. I suppose that manymillions of Japanese watched it and wereastonished at the scene when the Red Sea wasdivided into two and the water stood like awall on both sides. Together with the otherpeople in the movie theater, I shouted, “Oh!” Butthe shout was not to praise God’s mighty power,but to praise the technology of special effects.

Now as I recall the scene, I will not say, “Oh!” inorder to praise the technology of special effects.Rather, together with Moses, the Israelites, and allof you, I want to praise the Lord for his mightywork. Moses and the Israelites had just seen andexperienced God’s mighty power. Because Godcommanded it, Moses stretched out his hand overthe Red Sea once more, and the divided watersrushed together, swallowing Pharaoh’s army so

that none of them survived. The Israelites couldnot help praising the Lord.

First let us see how beautifully Moses and theIsraelites praised God’s power and majesty. Usingbeautiful, poetic words, they called him “mystrength” and “a warrior.” They also said, “Yourright hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Yourright hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.” Ofcourse, because God is spirit, he has no physicalhand. “Your right hand,” therefore, is a symbolof God’s power.

They praised God’s power and majesty furtherand specifically: “The horse and its rider he hashurled into the sea. Pharaoh’s chariots and hisarmy he has hurled into the sea. The best ofPharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.The deep waters have covered them; they sankto the depths like a stone.”

The Lord is mighty, so he could divide the sea. Heused his power to divide it and to save his people.With the same power he destroyed the enemy ofhis people. Even Pharaoh’s army, the strongestand most powerful army at that time, could donothing. They were swept away by the waters ofthe sea. No wonder the people who saw this greatthing were amazed. No one can divide a sea intotwo parts. But it is easy for God to do it becausehe is the one who created the heavens and theearth from nothing by his almighty power. Werecall that Jesus had this same power to calm thestorm (Mark 4:35-41).

The events in Exodus 14 are historic indeed. Morethan that, they sum up the divine acts of deliv-erance. The deliverance of the Israelites from theslavery in Egypt is a model of the deliverance ofhuman beings from the slavery of the power ofSatan, sin, and death. The author of Hebrewswrites: “Since the children have the flesh andblood, he (Jesus) too shared in their humanity sothat by his death he might destroy him who holdsthe power of death—that is, the devil—and freethose who all their lives were held in slavery bytheir fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14,15).

Jesus is the only true God, together with theFather and the Holy Spirit, and he is mightierand stronger than the devil, who is our power-ful enemy. Just as God won the victory overPharaoh’s army and saved the Israelites fromtheir enemy, by his death on the cross andresurrection from the dead, Jesus won the vic-tory over the devil and carried off his posses-

Convention worship

sions (Mark 3:27). I can personally testify to whata wonderful blessing it is to be among those setfree by Jesus and his gospel from the power anddeception of the devil. Together with all thebelievers in Japan I thank the Lord for you andfor moving you to generously give of yourpossessions to send your precious sons anddaughters to share this gospel, which bring to usthe blessings of Jesus’ victory over sin, death, andthe devil. Without the kindness of you, themembers of the Wisconsin Evangelical LutheranSynod, I and my fellow-believers in Japan wouldsurely still be suffering under the devil’s deceptionand power and be bound for hell.

Secondly, let us see how beautifully Moses andthe Israelites praised the Lord’s graciousness.They said in verse 13: “In your unfailing loveyou will lead the people you have redeemed.”Prior to this event, through Moses, the Lordpromised the Israelites: “I am the LORD, andI will bring you out from under the yoke ofthe Egyptians. I will free you from being slavesto them, and I will redeem you with an out-stretched arm and with mighty acts of judg-ment” (Exodus 6:6).

The Lord is the one who redeems his people.Exodus chapters 12 through 14 tell us how Godbrought them out from under the yoke of theEgyptians and how he freed them from slaveryin Egypt. As we learned in the previous section,God did that by his mighty power.

Now we direct our attention to the reason forthat redemption. It is God’s unfailing love. Thehistory of the Israelites was the history of God’sunfailing love or graciousness toward them. Godchose Abraham as the father (founder) of thenation and said to him: “Leave your land, andgo to a land I will show you.” The land whereGod was about to lead him was called Canaan,which is present-day Israel and Palestine. Godgave three promises to Abraham: that he wouldgive the land to Abraham and his descendants,that he would make Abraham’s descendantsmany, and that the Savior would be born fromAbraham’s descendants.

In the time of Joseph, one of Abraham’s great-grandchildren, the Israelites—70 people in all—moved to Egypt and survived the famine. Dur-ing 400 years there, these 70 people became morethan two million—a great nation. In his unfailinglove, God had already fulfilled one of the threepromises to Abraham. In his unfailing love,God now fulfilled another promise. He led theredeemed people to the Promised Land. UnderGod’s help and Moses’ leadership they left Egyptand returned to their homeland. God led themthroughout their entire journey and protected

them from all the nations through which theytraveled. Because the time when God had decidedto lead the people to the Promised Land hadcome, he delivered them out of their slavery inEgypt. God did this in order that a Savior wouldbe born according to his promise, in Canaan, andas a descendant of Abraham.

As you know, the literal translation of the word“LORD” is “I AM.” The Lord is the great I AM.He alone is the God of free and unchangeablegrace who remembers, and who can and doesfulfill all his promises. This surely also willremind [us] of the promises regarding the Saviorand the meaning of his wonderful name, Jesus.The angel declared, “He will save his people fromtheir sins” (Matthew 1:21). Just as promised, ourLord Jesus humbled himself and took on a humanbody. He obeyed God’s law and lived a perfectlife for us. On the cross Jesus suffered the pain ofhell and died. Paul explains Jesus’ death as fol-lows: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of thelaw by becoming a curse for us, for it is written:‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’ ”(Galatians 3:13). Jesus did this all out of love forus sinners. God accepted Jesus’ death as the per-fect sacrifice for the sins of all people. Because ofJesus’ atoning death, God’s holy wrath againstall the sins of all people was removed. God isnot angry with us any more, and we don’t haveto offer any sacrifices to earn the forgiveness ofsins. Dear friends, this is the precious gospelthat sets free; gives salvation, peace, and real joy.Thank you for sharing it and continuing to shareit and for encouraging us with your prayers,words, and support.

Thirdly, let us see how beautifully Moses and theIsraelites praised the Lord’s faithfulness. Theysaid: “In your strength you will guide them toyour holy dwelling. You will bring them in andplant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.The LORD will reign for ever and ever” (Exodus15:13,17,18).

Moses sees the future. God will certainly bringthem into Canaan, though many of them woulddie in the desert. About 430 years have passedsince God gave the three promises to Abraham,but he does not break those promises. He hasnot forgotten the promises since then. He neverforgets what he has promised. These 430 yearswere a time of grace for the people who lived inCanaan, a time to repent of their sins. God saidto Abraham, “Your descendants will be strangersin a country not their own, and they will beenslaved and mistreated four hundred years.But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,

PROCEEDINGS /72 Convention worship

and afterward they will come out with greatpossessions. In the fourth generation yourdescendants will come back here, for the sin ofAmorites had not yet reached its full measure”(Genesis 15:13,14,16). At that time Abraham hadno child, but his descendants—numbering morethan two million—would come back. This reali-zation of God’s promise is really a great blessingfor the Israelites, but it is also a time when Godwould punish the Canaanites who did not repent.God destroyed the Canaanites through the handsof the Israelites. God fulfills whatever he haspromised—blessing or punishment. God’s Wordis totally reliable.

In these things, the Lord is different from earthlyrulers. Even a faithful king like King David couldnot rule forever. He died as the result of sin. Jesus,who would be born from the descendants ofDavid, however, rules forever. On the day of hisreappearance, all those who did not believe inhim will be put into hell, but all those whobelieved in him will live with him in heavenforever. When the Apostle John was exiled to theisland of Patmos as a punishment for preachingthe Good News of Jesus, he saw countless angelsand saints who give praise to Jesus. In the futurewe will join them in their praise.

For all the pastors and members of the LECC[Lutheran Evangelical Christian Church], how-ever, today and throughout this year until nextApril, there are many good occasions to givespecial praise and thanks to the Lord. We, theLECC, are celebrating the 50th anniversary ofGod’s grace. Fifty years ago WELS started mis-sion work in Japan.

Through God’s Word preached by the mission-aries, the Holy Spirit called many sinners to theirSavior and helped them establish a church body.When I examine the history and the spiritualstate of my church body, I cannot help praisingGod, because I know how faithfully he has ledthe walk of the LECC and how he faithfully hasnurtured the members. God called some of themale members to serve his flocks. The blessingsthat, through WELS, God has given the LECCfor the past 50 years are uncountable. But themost precious blessing is God’s Word and hispure gospel. Through the Word and the Sacra-ments, God still faithfully is leading us to ourheavenly home.

God’s kingdom, his church, will always beembattled, never at rest because of the hostileforces arrayed against it. But the faithful Lordwill always intervene to check and crush all

enemies and to give us his victory. Therefore,together with the Israelites, let us joyfully praisethe Lord. Let us joyfully praise the Lord witheverything we have: time, talent, and money.Through and because of Jesus, God has made itpossible for us to do so.

Let us continue to invite people around us andaround the world to praise the Lord. May themighty, gracious, and faithful Lord continue tobless the mission work of WELS, the LECC, andour sister churches around the world. Amen.

Takeshi Nidaira is a national pastor in Japan.

ESSAY

Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn.July 31-Aug. 2, 2007

Pastor Earle D. Treptow

Sanctification: Set apart by God’s grace to serve

Prelude

More than a handful of my former teachers, uponhearing that I had been asked to write an essayon sanctification, must have shook their headsin wonder. Typically, convention leaders chooseknown experts to serve as essayists, to share thewisdom they’ve gained from personal experience.Not this time. That’s why those who watched meas a student must have shook their heads. I can’tblame them. It was no fluke that my report cardsregularly included this evaluation: “Conduct:N. (Needs improvement.)” I serve, then, not asa personal expert in sanctification, but as onewho knows all about weakness and sin and whomarvels at the Lord’s mercy.

Five years ago, Dr. John Brug wrote this in theWisconsin Lutheran Quarterly: “If we are reading,listening beings, we live in a swirl of words andideas which mix and merge and mutate within usand come out again—someone else’s yet now ourown. . . . Most of what we make is such a mix andmash of us and others, of past and present, newand old.”1 Many of “our” thoughts are simplythe amalgams of the ideas of others. This writercertainly confesses the same to be true of himselfand his ideas. The thoughts in this essay are nottruly his. The Lord gave them through parents,pastors and teachers and professors, colleaguesand peers, and through the people that the Lordhas allowed him to serve. By this, the essayist is

111 “Pastors and Plagiarism: Some Thoughts,” Volume 99, page 215. The Quarterly is our Synod’s professional journal, aimed primarilyat Called workers, particularly pastors and professors. The Seminary faculty edits the Quarterly.


112 The list of pastors, teachers, and professors whom I wish I would have more properly honored at the time I was sitting in a classroomis long. I owe a huge debt of thanks to our church body and its three-tiered system of worker training/ministerial education, forthrough it the Lord allowed me to learn from many incredibly gifted men. (Each of them was God’s mask, his tool for my blessing, that I might also be the Lord’s mask in blessing others.) May God instill in us a sense of profound gratitude for the training our Synod provides public ministers of the gospel and help us preserve the system of training through which he has so greatly blessed us!

113 Genesis 11:4. Passages cited will be taken from the New International Version unless otherwise noted. 114 Romans 3:23.115 Ephesians 2:1.116 Dr. Luther, on the basis of St. John 8:34, wrote in the Heidelberg Theses: “Free will, after the Fall, exists in name only.” Luther’s Works,

Volume 31, page 48. The will is not free in spiritual matters except to do evil. 117 We call it “decision theology,” the popular, but not Scriptural, idea that human beings have the ability to choose Jesus as their Savior.

Most of the Evangelical world around us makes sinners at least partially responsible for their own salvation by directing them to “say the sinner’s prayer” and “ask the Lord Jesus into your heart.” It is the Spirit alone who grants faith. The credit belongs to him, not to the person. In no way am I saying that the person who speaks of his decision to come to Christ is not a Christian. I’m rather reject-ing the faulty theology that often leads people to uncertainty as they wonder if they have made a firm enough decision.

118 Theologians refer to this as the “opinio legis.” It is the “opinion of the law” with which all are born: the idea that obedience to rules satisfies the justice of the One who wrote his law on our hearts and gave us a conscience to evaluate our performance in respect to that law. This “opinion of the law” clings to all people to the grave, so that even the reborn child of God must continually fight against that opinion. This faulty opinion shows itself in the lives of God’s people when we live from fear of punishment instead of living from the forgiveness of sins.

119 Isaiah 64:6. 110 Hebrews 11:6.

excusing himself from having to include a foot-note at the end of every sentence. Those sectionsof the essay that capture well the teaching ofScripture have their source in the grace of God.Let him receive the honor! Let honor also clothethose many servants whom the Lord used ashis instruments in that blessed enterprise!2

Those sections of the essay that confuse ratherthan clarify have their source in the weaknessof the flesh.

Our natural incompetence

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a towerthat reaches to the heavens, so that we may makea name for ourselves and not be scattered overtheface of the whole earth.”3 An impressive vision!Let no one question the drive of Noah’s descen-dants. They were determined to leave a legacy.No matter what the cost, including disregard forthe command of God, they were committed tobuilding a tower and a city that had no equal.For one reason: “Make a name for ourselves.”

How many in our world, without even knowingit, live with that as their mission statement? Theydesire to set themselves apart from others by thecar they drive, the degrees they attain, or the titlesthey hold. Few aim to be “just like everyone else.”They are eager to set themselves apart. Peoplehave that same desire in spiritual matters.

Scripture, however, says that people cannot setthemselves apart from others spiritually. Everychild born to sinful parents fits Scripture’s assess-ment: “There is no difference, for all have sinnedand fall short of the glory of God.”4 All lack praisefrom God. There is nothing in any human beingborn to sinful parents that God finds praiseworthy

or leads him to say, “I must have that one to bemy own.” By nature, we are just like everyoneelse in the world. Nothing sets us apart from thesinner who lives next door or on the other side ofthe globe.

What sinners have in common is hardly the stuffof which legends are made. St. Paul says that allare by nature dead.5 We’re not just “playing dead,”either. Ask a dead person to do something to sethimself apart from other dead people. Offer himincentives, if you wish. That dead person will dowhat all dead people do: nothing. The spirituallydead can do nothing to set themselves apart. Theycertainly cannot decide, by their so-called “freewill,”6 to believe in Jesus as their Savior.7

Because all are spiritually dead, sinners are alsounable to set themselves apart from other sinnersby their actions. That idea cuts against the grain.All are born with the conviction that human beingscan please God with their actions, and with faithfuleffort, can attract God’s attention.8 God disagreeswith that human opinion. “All our righteous actsare like filthy rags.”9 Human beings may impressthemselves with their works and believe that God,too, is duly impressed. God sees only filthy rags.

Everyone would readily agree that the horribledeeds we read about in the paper and view onthe evening news are like filthy rags. But Scrip-ture doesn’t just call the obvious violations ofGod’s law “filthy rags.” Even “our righteous acts”fit in that category. The writer to the Hebrewssays, “Without faith it is impossible to pleaseGod.”10 All natural man can do is sin. His sinmay be helpful to other people and make theworld a better place in which to live, but it’s stillsin and fails to draw God’s positive attention. In


his theses for the Heidelberg Disputation (1518),Dr. Luther wrote, “Although the works of manalways seem attractive and good, they are never-theless likely to be mortal sins.”11 Because humanbeings, using their natural powers to performdeeds of service, are likely to rely on those worksas a means to set themselves apart from othersand garner the Lord’s attention, those seeminglygood works are actually spiritually deadly. In noway can people set themselves apart from othersinners in God’s sight by their actions. Sin, be it a“good” sin or a “bad” sin, is still sin.

That’s not to say that sinners cannot set them-selves apart from other sinners in the sight ofhuman beings by their upright conduct. Theycan and they do. The Pharisees set themselvesapart by their religiosity and careful living. Withgenerous gifts to charity and active involvementin service organizations, sinners today set them-selves apart. In the end, though, their acts are only“civic righteousness”: Righteous in society’s sight,but like filthy rags in God’s sight. St. Augustinecalled them “glittering vices.” They attract ourattention as something spectacular and glorious.However, in the view of the one who really mat-ters, those attention-grabbing deeds are about asglorious as raping a defenseless child.12

How can it be that God wouldn’t be pleased withobedience to his law? The truth of the matter isthat sinners do not obey his law. The Lord says,“The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does notsubmit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Thosecontrolled by the sinful nature cannot pleaseGod.”13 It may appear to us that a person hasset himself apart by his obedience to God’s law,but he hasn’t. Those controlled by the sinful flesh,and that’s all of us by nature, do nothing but sin.When we do what everyone else is doing, we byno means set ourselves apart from others.

Many people express a desire to live a moreupright life. Isn’t that why the self-help sectionof the bookstore overflows with volumes? Peoplewant to be more honest. They desire to be moreloving spouses and better parents. They wantto kick their bad habits and their destructivebehaviors. Because God wrote his law in hearts,people know when something is not right. They

may not grasp the depth of their problem or theseriousness of the situation, but they sense thatsomething needs fixing. With the insight of how-to books, a liberal application of their willpower,and a bit of help from their friends, they often setthemselves apart from what they were before.They do not, however, set themselves apart fromother sinners in God’s sight.

Only God sets people apart (sanctifies)

Human beings enter the world believing that theway to life with God is through obedience to rules,whether God-appointed or self-chosen. Until Godconvinces them otherwise, they live by the motto:“Try harder and do more.” In other words, theygrasp at straws, foolishly thinking they could graspenough to set themselves apart. Here’s the unfor-tunate truth: The more that sinners endeavor to setthemselves apart, the more they end up meldingthemselves to other sinners. Futility defined.14

Where the way of sinners leads to death, the wayof God leads to life. What man could never dowith all his powers, God does by his grace. Godsets people apart. Let me say that with a biggerword: God sanctifies. “Sanctify” means “to makeholy” or “to set something apart for a specialpurpose.” Without any help or cooperation fromfallen man, all by his lonesome, the God of allgrace sets people apart.

He does that, first, by calling people to faith inChrist. God the Holy Spirit approaches the spir-itual corpse and miraculously raises him fromthe dead! It may not be as obvious as Jesus’ rais-ing of Lazarus. After all, spiritual corpses areconcealed by vigorous bodies, healthy minds,and upright lives. Though less obvious, the mir-acle of spiritual resurrection is no less glorious.Scripture speaks of coming to faith as a resur-rection. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, a time iscoming and has now come when the dead willhear the voice of the Son of God and those whohear will live.”15 The voice of Jesus, the good newsof God’s love for sinners, raises the spiritual deadto life. Through the message of forgiveness, theSpirit peeks his head into the tomb of our heartsand says, “Come out.” From death comes life. The

111 Luther’s Works, Volume 31, page 43.112 This is not to speak against “civic righteousness.” We ought rather to thank the Lord Christ, operating in his kingdom of power, for

leading people to obey God’s law outwardly. Without such “civic righteousness,” inspired in part by God-given conscience and com-manded by God-given government, the world would be a scary place in which to live. Through “civic righteousness” the Lord blesses his people in many ways. We simply need to be on our guard against the idea that, so long as a person lives a good life and helps others, he will have life with God forever. It seems that we sometimes want there to be another way to eternal life, particu-larly for the upstanding people we know that don’t trust in Jesus as their Savior.

113 Romans 8:7,8.114 And you thought futility defined was rooting for the Vikings!115 St. John 5:25.


Spirit called forth something out of nothing. That’swhy Scripture speaks of those who believe as a“new creation.”

“If anyone is in Christ,” the Apostle Paul wrote,“he is a new creation; the old has gone, the newhas come.”16 By using the term “creation,” theLord makes it clear that there was no participa-tion on the part of human beings. He spoke faithinto being; he spoke spiritual life into existence.By his gift of faith, the Lord sets believers apartfrom the rest of the world. They confess what fewin the world would dare to confess: “Jesus Christis Lord.” While most are still clinging to theiraccomplishments and singing their own praises,these new creatures are clinging to Christ’s accom-plishments and declaring his praises. He also setsthem apart by the new desire he implants in theirhearts. Along with trust in Christ as Savior, he fillsthem with love for the Lord and an eagerness tosubmit to God’s will, rather than their own.

The Spirit of God, in bringing people to faith,creates a whole new nature. Jesus told Nicode-mus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, andthat which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”17 WhenMama Sinner and Papa Sinner come together,guess what? Baby Sinner. Their issue is not spi-ritually cute and cuddly, not innocent and pureuntil some age of discretion, not filled withpotential, but utterly sinful. No matter how manyadvances are made in genetics, this birth defect18

will never be eradicated. Baby Sinner does whatthe flesh dictates and only what the flesh dictates.He rebels. He transgresses. He offends. Even as heengages in outwardly pleasing works, he sins.Baby Sinner has one nature: a sinful nature.

In granting a new spiritual birth, the Spirit givesa new nature. That nature is pure and innocent,

filled with potential, eager to do whatever Goddesires. It is this creation of a new man that setsGod’s people apart from sinners, who have justone nature, and who can do nothing but offend aholy God with their deeds. This is the only waythat natural-born sinners could obey God andplease God. He had to give them a new nature,19

one focused on the Lord rather than self, obedi-ence rather than disobedience, submission ratherthan rebellion.

Use of the term “sanctification” in Scripture

Scripture uses the term sanctification in twoways: in a wide and a narrow sense. To thispoint, we’ve focused on the wide sense; that is,everything that the Holy Spirit does to set usapart from the unbelieving world, includingforming faith in our hearts, making us newcreatures, instilling a desire to serve him withour lives, enabling us to fight the good fightagainst our spiritual enemies, preserving us inthe child-like certainty of faith as long as welive, and finally glorifying us at Christ’s return.20

This verse penned by the missionary to theGentiles is an example of the word “sanctifica-tion” being used in the wide sense: “But weshould always give thanks to God for you,brethren beloved by the Lord, because God haschosen you from the beginning for salvationthrough sanctification by the Spirit and faith inthe truth.”21 St. Paul rejoiced at the Lord’s gracein electing to make the Thessalonian Christiansholy (setting them apart) by bringing them tofaith, strengthening them in faith, and commit-ting himself to bringing them to glory.22 If “sancti-fication by the Spirit” referred exclusively to thelives of service offered to the Savior, this versewould contradict the clear teaching of Scripture

116 2 Corinthians 5:17.117 The New American Standard Bible’s (NASB) literal translation of St. John 3:6. Though wooden, it reflects the original more accu-

rately than the NIV’s “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” 118 I know. “Defect” doesn’t adequately express the total corruption of our nature wreaked by the sin inherited from Adam. Don’t press

the analogy too far. 119 In Ezekiel 11:19,20a, the Lord promised a new nature to the exiles returning from Babylon, picturing what he would do for all that he

would bring to faith, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

120 Dr. John Mueller, in his Christian Dogmatics, offers this definition for sanctification in its wider sense: “Sanctification in its wider sense includes every work of God by which He separates a sinner from the lost and condemned world and makes him His own, such as the bestowal of faith, justification, sanctification in its narrower sense, or the inward change in man by which he becomes holy, his preservation in faith to the end, and his final glorification on the day of Judgment.” Page 384.

121 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NASB). The NIV translates giasmov" (sanctification) with “sanctifying work”: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

122 An exegete could argue that the kaiv connecting giasm pneuvmato" (sanctification of the Spirit) and lhqeiva" (faith in the truth) is explanatory and could be translated, “that is” or “namely.” The sense would then be that “faith in the truth” simply defines “sancti-fication by the Spirit.” While compelling (and formerly my position), it seems that the Apostle has more in mind than simply the Spirit’s role in conversion (the bestowal of faith in the promise of forgiveness for Christ’s sake). The following verse mentions shar-ing in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems best, then, to see “the sanctification of the Spirit” as God’s choosing to bring the Thessalonians to faith, preserve them in faith, and ultimately glorify them. (sanctification in the wide sense)


that eternal life is a gift of God’s grace, earned byChrist’s work.

In the narrow sense of the term, sanctificationrefers to Christian living, the believer’s life ofservice to the Savior. In 1 Thessalonians 4, theApostle writes, “For this is the will of God, yoursanctification; that is, that you abstain from sex-ual immorality.”23 In this verse, the Lord is speak-ing directly about the consecrated life that Goddesires in his people. Once he had brought theThessalonians to faith and thus set them apartfrom the world in their confession and attitudetowards self, he wanted their manner of livingto reflect their consecration. The commonly-accepted sexual immorality prevalent in the porttown of Thessalonica did not belong in their lives.Consecrated for the Lord’s service and his will,they couldn’t just “go with the flow.”

Just as Lazarus certainly lived a new life afterJesus raised him to life, so those whom the Lordraises to life spiritually live a new life. TheReformer’s explanation immediately comes tomind: “All this he did that I should be his ownand live under him in his kingdom and servehim in everlasting righteousness, innocence andblessedness, just as he has risen from death andlives and rules eternally.”24

God is the one who sanctifies, whether we arespeaking of sanctification in the wide or the nar-row sense. Any teaching that makes man respon-sible for securing a declaration of righteousnessfrom God, be that crass or subtle cooperationwith God,25 robs God of the honor he deservesand fails to recognize the plight of natural man.Similarly, any teaching that makes man respon-sible for his sanctification (in the wide or narrowsense) robs God of the honor due him and doesnot grasp the wickedness of the flesh.26

God works in us what pleases him

Scripture overflows with testimony that God setsus apart in the way that we live. The writer to the

Hebrews effectively closes his letter with thesewords: “May the God of peace, who through theblood of the eternal covenant brought back fromthe dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd ofthe sheep, equip you with everything good fordoing his will, and may he work in us what ispleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whombe glory for ever and ever. Amen.”27 Those wordsboth teach and bless. They both instruct us onhow Christian living happens and grant thestrength to live as one set apart from the world.

Notice who equips his people to serve. The Godof peace. No subcontracting. No calling on theindividuals to set themselves apart by theirintense effort, dedication, or drive. The God whocreated peace between himself and sinners bysacrificing his Son takes upon himself the taskof equipping his people. The word translated“equip” is elsewhere used for the “binding up ofnets.”28 Fishermen fix holes in their nets so that,next time out, the nets will be prepared to catchfish. God “fixes holes” in his people so that theyare prepared for the work he has chosen for them:holy living.

The one who carefully looks at himself seesan abundance of “holes” needing attention.We cannot fix ourselves, try as we might. And,boy, do we try! We tie strings around our fingersto remind us to say “no” to sin, convinced thatreminders of how we ought to act also give theability. We wear WWJD? bracelets on our wristsso that, in the moment of temptation, we wouldconsider Jesus’ perfect example, thinking thatcontemplation enables imitation. We fill ourshelves with “how-to” books that give us the“Seven Habits of Highly Effective Christians,”intuiting that knowledge invariably transformsand equips. We promise God that we will putour “pet sin” to sleep, assuming that the strengthof our promise will see us through each timeof temptation.

123 Again the NASB translation, this time of 1 Thessalonians 4:4. The NIV translates the noun “sanctification” with “that you should be sanctified.” Here’s the NIV translation: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.”

124 Small Catechism, Explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed.125 Synergism is the false teaching that sees salvation as a cooperative effort between God and sinners. Crass synergism, like natural

man’s work-righteousness or the Semi-Pelagianism of Rome, sees man as the primary actor or at least a true associate with God in spiritual matters. Subtle synergism gives God the vast majority of the credit and makes man responsible only for assenting to God’s promise by means of a decision to accept Jesus as Lord or follow a certain code of conduct. This is the theology of much of Christianity today. It is a doctrinal innovation that has its source in sinful human reason instead of Scripture. Philip Melanchthon, author of the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, ultimately ended up teaching synergism in personal/subjective justification. He suggested three causes in a person’s coming to faith: The Holy Spirit, God’s grace, and man’s will not resisting. The Formula of Concord, in Article II, rejects synergism as contrary to Scripture.

126 Dr. C. F. W. Walther, founder of the Missouri Synod and gifted theologian, emphasized that only “that religion is the true one which in all its doctrines gives all honor to God alone; that is to say, its doctrines are so constituted that through every one of them God’s glory is revealed. On the other hand, all those religions are false which give the honor to any being beside God.” Convention Essays, page 91.

127 Hebrews 13:20,21.128 St. Matthew 4:21. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were preparing their nets when Jesus called them.


God’s assessment? “‘Not by might, norby power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LordAlmighty.”29 While pleased with the desireto live a new life, a desire he implanted withinus in bringing us to faith, God is never pleasedwith our insistence on do-it-yourself thinkingand living. Such an approach does not bring uscloser to the Lord; it ultimately separates usfrom him. Adolf Köberle, in his thought-provoking work, The Quest for Holiness,draws this conclusion:

In its last analysis, that which always givesmen renewed courage and strength to con-tinue climbing these steep paths is the secretproud feeling of satisfaction in being able todevelop and grow by a self-achieved or atleast a cooperative process of sanctification.No matter how hard and difficult therequirements may be it does not matter ifonly we can come to God with full handsand not with those that are quite empty, ifonly we may give something ourselves outof the abundance of our own willing andknowing and being.30

Our sinful flesh wants to do his share, if not inearning a status of righteousness before God,then at least in a demonstration of that statusto others. However, empty hands glorify God;31

full hands don’t.

What is impossible for man is possible for God.The writer to the Hebrews, in the blessing men-tioned above, points us to the tomb in Joseph’sgarden for proof. The Lord who raised the GoodShepherd from the dead is more than able toequip us to live for him. Never stingy in dealingwith his people, the Lord doesn’t just give hispeople a pep talk, like some motivational speakerliving in a van down by the river. What Godcommands, he also enables his people to do.What we couldn’t do on our own, because ourflesh does not and will not submit to God’scommands, the Lord prepares us to do.

Do-it-yourself Christianity is an oxymoron. Itrobs God of the honor he deserves. It deprivesus of the joy God wishes us to have. It alwaysfails. Oh, it may produce a more upright life, butit is nothing more than civic righteousness. It isalso foolish, because God never tells us to findthe strength for sanctified living within ourselves.He sanctifies us all by himself. Professor emeritusJeske said it this way:

To kindle a sanctification response in a Chris-tian, Lutheran theology does not suggestrubbing love and gratitude together like twosticks. Instead of directing people to theirown vacillating resources, Lutheran theol-ogy calls upon people to trust what Godhas done and will do to produce changesin their lives. God is absolutely committedto supplying everything we need to live thesanctified lives he has called us to live.32

The Spirit sanctifies by the gospel of Christ

We are in no position to bind God. We haveno right to tell God to sanctify people byappearing to them in visions or by perform-ing miraculous signs. Nor can we say thatGod can only bring people to faith in one way,as if God were like the paperboy who onlyknows one route by which to deliver the news.“Our God is in heaven, he does whatever pleaseshim.”33 By virtue of his freedom and his omnipo-tence, he can bring people to faith and set themapart for his service in whatever manner hewould like. He could operate directly or indi-rectly, immediately or mediately. He couldchoose to work in plain sight where it is blatantand obvious to everyone that he is the one act-ing. Or, if he wishes, he can hide himself behindnatural processes, means or tools.34 Either way,he is working, whether it’s obvious or not,whether people recognize it or not. He alonesanctifies, but how he will sanctify finally is upto the Almighty’s pleasure.

129 Zechariah 4:6. 130 Page 18, emphasis his. 131 The great Reformer is said to have had a scrap of paper in his pocket when he died that said, “This is true. We are all beggars.” (cf.

page 297 of James Kittelson’s volume, Luther the Reformer, for details.) One also thinks of this line from “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me” (Christian Worship 389): “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” I’d have quoted that in the body of the paper, but my associate thinks that hymns are over-quoted.

132 “The Gospel of Sanctification,” Preach the Word, Volume 1, Number 4, February 1998, page 3. Emphasis his. Preach the Word is a WELS Commission on Worship resource provided gratis to pastors.

133 Psalm 115:3. 134 Think of how God regularly does this in the governance of the world. Instead of knocking on our doors and granting us our daily

bread or causing it to float down from the sky into our waiting hands, he routinely causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall, so that our food grows. He gives us jobs by which we earn money so that we who do not grow our own food can purchase it for ourselves and our families. One could almost forget that God is the provider (and many do), because God is hidden behind these ordinary processes and masks. Though God could miraculously provide food to us by showing up at our doorstep (working directly, or imme-diately, without means), the Domino’s guy comes on God’s behalf (working indirectly, or mediately, through means).


While we cannot bind God, he can most certainlybind us. He is free to tell us how we ought toexpect that he is going to operate. In this matterof sanctification, God does bind us. In his Word,he tells us clearly that he wishes to sanctifythrough the gospel. While wanting us to grantthe possibility that he could work in another way,God does not want us to expect him to do so. Hewants us to act as if the only way he sanctifies isthrough the gospel.

In writing to a congregation living in an area thatworshipped human wisdom, the former perse-cutor of the church wrote, “For since in the wis-dom of God the world through its wisdom didnot know him, God was pleased through thefoolishness of what was preached to save thosewho believe.”35 Human beings, by the use oftheir natural wisdom, can only discern the exis-tence of God. From the creation of the world, froma conscience that testifies to a higher authority,from the religiosity of culture across the worldand over the expanse of time, human wisdom canreach this height: “There must be a god out theresomewhere.” Human wisdom can even recognizecertain qualities of God: his wisdom, kindness,eternity, justice, and power, to name but a few.Dr. Luther calls that a general knowledge.36

But they cannot know God as he is, the one wholoves sinners, desires for them to live in commu-nion with him now and forever, and has rescuedthem from the guilt of their punishment in thelife and the death of his Son. This special knowl-edge37 is hidden to their wisdom.

“Unfair!” men scream. “How can God expect usto know him if he is hidden to us?” God didreveal himself to mankind in the Garden. Adamand Eve knew God. They lived in intimate comm-union with him, in his immediate presence. Whenthey disobeyed God, they lost the right to knowGod. At that point God had to hide himself, lestby his presence he destroy his creatures. The Lordsaid to Moses, “You cannot see my face, for noone may see me and live.”38 One of the conse-

quences of sin’s entrance into the world was thefact that God, in love, had to hide himself. Adam’soffspring, who share in Adam’s sin, cannot chargeGod with being unfair in hiding himself.

Yet God graciously chose to reveal himself to sin-ners in Christ. “No one has ever seen God, butGod the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side,has made him known.”39 Only in Christ Jesus canone know God the way God wishes to be known.God took on flesh in order to disclose his love forsinners and his earnest desire that all live in com-munion with him. Even that revelation was ahiding, for again, God in his majesty is too muchfor mortals. In his wonderful book, Dying to Live,Harold Senkbeil summarizes in this way: “God isdefinitely interested in making Himself known tous. But he certainly doesn’t want to destroyanyone in the process. That’s why He hides.”40

God hid himself in flesh to reveal himself tosinners. He hid himself in a Suffering Servant,that all would know him as the God committedto the salvation of undeserving sinners. By plac-ing himself under the law and submitting to itscommands, though he was outside of the law asGod, the Lord Jesus disclosed God’s faithful lovefor sinners. By taking with open arms the punish-ment of the world’s sins, Jesus revealed God’scompassion for those who deserved to be for-saken. Under Pilate’s notice, “Jesus of Nazareth,King of the Jews,” the King of kings hid himself.For thirty-three years God hid himself in fleshin order to redeem us. It was the only way.“God backed into our world, so to speak, inorder that we could face Him without beingannihilated in our sin. It was his way of beingup front and personal.”41

On a cross outside the Holy City, the Holy Onerevealed God’s love for sinners. But even thatwas hidden. The religious elite gathered at thePlace of the Skull didn’t see God’s love for sin-ners. The disciples who had spent three yearswith him hid in an upper room because thisrevelation of God’s love was hidden to them.

135 1 Corinthians 1:21. 136 Dr. Siegbert Becker, in his outstanding book The Foolishness of God, summarizes Dr. Luther’s thoughts in his commentary on Galatians

regarding general knowledge this way: “The first [this general knowledge] belongs to all men, and according to it they know that there is a God, that he is the Creator of heaven and earth, and that he is the just Judge of all men.” page 45

137 Dr. Luther’s term. Dr. Becker summarizes Dr. Luther’s distinction between general and special knowledge in this way: “The special knowledge of God consists in this that we know ‘what God’s thoughts are towards us, what he wishes to give and do that we might be freed from sin and death and be saved.’ This knowledge men do not have by nature.” Becker, The Foolishness of God, page 45.

138 Exodus 33:20.139 St. John 1:18. The word translated “has made him known” means “to set forth in great detail, expound.” (BDAG) The verb is used

of the disciples on the way to Emmaus who were “setting forth in great detail” what had happened in Jerusalem. Jesus thus declares to us the details about God’s love for sinners. The NASB translates, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

140 Page 34.141 Senkbeil, Dying to Live, page 56.


The world in its wisdom did not know God evenwhen God appeared to them.42

How, then, does one come to know God as heis? It’s not through trips to the Holy Land, help-ful as they might be; not by clasping relics ofChrist’s cross or meditating on the Holy Grailor viewing the Shroud of Turin. All of thoseappeal to human wisdom, for they are tangible.Yet again human wisdom fails. God in his beyond-our-understanding wisdom decided to hide him-self in means in order to reveal himself and thussanctify his people. “God was pleased throughthe foolishness of what was preached to savethose who believe.” Through the gospel, themessage of full forgiveness through Jesus’innocent suffering and death, the Lord sancti-fies his people. Though both the method and themeans invite the ridicule of the world, they areGod’s wisdom. God’s wisdom lies hidden in afoolish word; God’s power lies hidden in a weakword; God’s righteousness lies hidden under animmoral43 word.

Much of Christendom refuses to let God say howhe wishes to operate. In words that supposedlyhonor God’s freedom and omnipotence, “TheHoly Spirit requires no leader or vehicle,”44 theyactually dishonor God. Under a cloak of pietythey effectively dismiss his Word as mereramblings.45 This “enthusiasm”46 directs peopleto find God where God has not promised tobe found, thus damaging souls and hinderingsanctification. In the Smalcald Articles that he

considered his final will and testament, Dr.Luther wrote these strong words in responseto the enthusiasts: “Therefore, we must constantlymaintain this point: God does not want to dealwith us in any other way than through the spokenWord and the Sacraments. Whatever is praisedas from the Spirit—without the Word andSacraments—is the devil himself.”47

We live by the gospel

Frustrated by your “N” in conduct? Rememberhow God operates. He promises to sanctify usthrough the means of grace: the gospel.48 He hashidden himself in the gospel in order to be foundand in order to bless. Instead of chasing after thelatest spiritual fad, or seeking some higher level ofspirituality based on techniques or methods, runto the gospel. Listen to what God says about yoursins: All have been washed away in the innocentblood of your Substitute, the Lamb. Listen to whatGod says to you, by recounting for you Jesus’willing suffering and death: “I love you.” By themessage of his great love, which sounds through-out the Scripture, the Lord strengthens you infaith. In so doing, he sets you apart from sin andenables you to live in a way that pleases him. TheNew Creation lives, breathes, and serves by thatmessage of forgiveness. The Apostle who oncedenied Jesus knew what it meant to live fromthe message of forgiveness. From his personalexperience, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, hewrote: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritualmilk, so that by it you may grow up in your

142 What great miracles of mercy the Lord performed in leading the thief and the centurion to see beyond the outward appearance of the suffering Christ! The Lord revealed to them what remained hidden to others.

143 The message of the cross, it seems to me, is foolish on different fronts. The unspiritual man regards it as foolishness first because it conflicts with reason. It contradicts the natural religion of obedience to laws and rules as the way to receive blessings from God. It simply makes no sense. In that way it is foolish. A second way in which the gospel is foolish is illustrated by a conversation I had with a man in British Columbia who became a good friend. In response to my proclamation of the news that God had declared everyone righteous in Christ and that those who trusted in Jesus as Savior had forgiveness of all their sins, he said, “That’s too easy. People can do what they want, live as they please, and then still be forgiven.” From his perspective, the gospel was immoral. It contradicted his sense of what was right. It battled against proper conduct. He didn’t think it good for society for people to receive a declaration of righteousness from God if they had acted immorally.

144 The position of Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), a Swiss reformer who rejected the idea that the Lord worked through means in creating faith and in empowering sanctified living.

145 This is not meant to bash the “Evangelical” (so-called) world around us. One notes with appreciation their commitment to the Bible as the infallible and inerrant Word of God. It’s a happy inconsistency that churches who officially teach that the Lord does not need to work through means in creating faith or empowering Christian living still spend their time and energy expounding the Word of Truth and encouraging God’s people to be faithful in reading and studying it.

146 A term for any who teach that God does not work through means to sanctify people, either in the wide or narrow sense of sancti-fication. Zwingli, mentioned earlier, was a classic enthusiast. So were some of the men initially involved in the Reformation(e.g. Karlstadt).

147 Smalcald Articles, III, VIII, page 306. (Quotes from the Lutheran Confessions will be from the recently-published Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, unless noted otherwise.) The Reformer also notes that we are all natural enthusiasts: “In a word, enthusiasm dwells in Adam and his children from the beginning to the end of the world. Its venom has been implanted and infused into them by the old serpent.”

148 The word gospel is used in a wide and a narrow sense. In the wide sense, it can refer to everything Jesus taught, both law and gospel. In the narrow sense, it is the good news of forgiveness in Christ. Professor Lyle Lange suggests this definition for the gospel in the narrow sense in his well-written, easy-to-understand Christian doctrine text, God So Loved the World: “the good news of what God has done, is doing, and will do for our salvation.” Page 457.


salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lordis good.”49 God’s people need the unadulteratedgospel, the message of God’s unconditional loveand forgiveness, to live. By that message the Lordcontinually convinces us of our righteousness byfaith. By that message of love the Lord fills ourhearts with love for him and enables us to live forhim. Take that milk away and we die. And deadpeople cannot serve God.

St. Peter pleads with his readers not to tire ofthat message of forgiveness, as if it were just forthe simple, as if “sanctification is the road aheadand justification is something we can leavebehind.”50 Too quickly we wish to turn awayfrom the good news because it’s “old news.”“We’ve heard it before,” we argue. “We wantsomething new. We want to hear strategies forsuccessful living as Christians.” The sinful fleshdesires rules and laws. That’s all he knows andall he wants to know.

Consider what happens when we leave the gos-pel behind as old news and crave rules, laws, andregulations as the means for spiritual reformation.Here’s the first possibility: It works. Our liveschange. We, and others, see a radical transforma-tion. By focusing on obedience to rules, we setourselves apart from our former life and also fromother Christians. Where anger, lust, drunkenness,and slander mark their lives, even though theycall themselves “Christians,” our lives demon-strate our Christianity. We “triumph” over sinand temptation and God is pleased. Is he? Doeshe desire for us to live independently, relyingonly on ourselves? No. He desires that we livein dependence on him, not just for a status ofrighteousness (justification by grace), but a lifeof holiness (sanctification by grace). So, whilecraving laws and rules may “work,” it doesn’twork. Additionally, we find ourselves increasinglyfrustrated with those Christians who do not makethe same kind of progress. We march into thepastor’s office with a ledger book, noting all thatwe have done and how little others have done.Echoes of “God, I thank you that I am not likeother men” sound from our hearts.

Here’s the second possible result of pursuing self-reformation by means of rules and regulations: It

doesn’t work. With an understanding that theLord looks at the heart as well as the actions, wesee that our best efforts still fail. The laws that wecrave just command; they don’t enable. Theyinform; they never transform. They only accuse;they never forgive. We develop this sinkingfeeling that we have blown the second chance51

God gave us when he forgave our sins. Nochances remain. We are finished. All that remainsis for us to throw the thirty pieces of silver intothe temple and hang ourselves, for that’s the waythe story ends with the law.

Aware of the results of law-driven and self-centered sanctification, the Apostle Peter pleads:“Crave the message of forgiveness. Recognizeyour need for it and do whatever you have todo to get it.” (Babies insist on having what theyneed.) Whatever you have to do . . . Set the alarmfor fifteen minutes earlier or lay your head onthe pillow fifteen minutes later. Block out time towalk on holy ground. Turn off the Blackberry andthe TV. Push aside the newspaper. Find a quietplace. Whatever it takes, feast on the Word offorgiveness in Christ. You know how good ittastes. You know how richly your God will blessyou through it, increasing your faith and equip-ping you for a “set apart” life. Never will youregret spending unhurried time at the foot ofthe cross.52 God will see to that, for his word islike the rain that comes down from heaven andshowers blessings on the earth.53 From God’sglorious promises and from his personal experi-ence, Dr. Luther wrote: “The Word is so effectivethat whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard,and used, it is bound never to be without fruit. Italways awakens new understanding, pleasure,and devoutness and produces a pure heart andpure thoughts.”54

On the night before he sacrificed himself for thesins of the world, Jesus told his disciples the keyto sanctified living. “I am the vine,” he said. “Youare the branches. If a man remains in me and I inhim, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me youcan do nothing.”55 Fruit comes from a connectionto Christ. It does not have its source in the indivi-dual’s striving and straining or from a focus onrules and commands. Either God works in us

149 1 Peter 2:2,3. 150 Lange, Sanctification: Alive in Christ, page 57.151 Thank God that he is not the God of second chances, because we would all be doomed! He is the Lord of free and faithful saving

grace who has taken away our sins in Christ. We need forgiveness, not second chances!152 With thanks for the thought to Professor Mark Paustian, who, as Pastor Paustian, presented principles on time management to a

gathering of home missionaries sometime in the mid-nineties. I may not be quoting his words exactly. 153 Isaiah 55:10,11.154 Large Catechism, part I, paragraph 101, page 396.155 St. John 15:5.


what pleases him by his powerful Word or wework what pleases us (and not him) by our so-called strength. We may be able to impress ourneighbors and honor ourselves, but we will nothonor God.

We connect to Christ where Christ tells us we canfind a connection to him—in his gospel. By thedeclaration of righteousness in Christ, by themessage of forgiveness full and free for all whobelieve, the Lord continually reforms us. He leadsus to trust his love and forgiveness for our failuresin sanctified living and inspires in us new love forhim and new lives of service to his name.

The Spirit sanctifies by the visible Word56

of Baptism

Rich in mercy, the Lord chooses to reveal himselfand his love to his people, not just in the Word,but also in the Sacraments. In Holy Baptism, Godtakes center stage. Though many in Christendomwish to view Holy Baptism as a sacrifice (some-thing man does for God), it is a sacrament (Goddoes everything for man). Mercifully, the Lordhides himself in water and the Word connectedwith it. The holy Lord, who hates sin and hatessinners,57 approaches a sinner at the font. “To bebaptized in God’s name,” Luther notes, “is to bebaptized not by men, but by God Himself. There-fore, although it is performed by human hands, itis still truly God’s own work.”58

One would not expect a positive outcome of ameeting between a holy God and a sinner at thebaptismal font. Spiritual opposites do not attract;they repel. God cannot wink at sin or act as if he’s

unaware of the sinfulness of the one he meetsat the font. The Lord draws near that preciouslittle baby, the joy of her parents, dressed in thatbeautiful white heirloom gown, in midst of alovely ceremony, and does something shocking.That cute little baby he kills. Just as the waterof the flood put the unbelieving world to death,so the water of Baptism puts the old Adam todeath. Just as the water of the Red Sea drownedPharaoh’s army, so the water of Baptism drownsthe sinful flesh. We witness a death every timewe witness a Baptism. Call it a mercy killing, butit remains a killing. St. Paul says it this way:“Know ye not, that so many of us as were bap-tized into Jesus Christ were baptized into hisdeath? Therefore we are buried with him by bap-tism into death.”59 In the flood of water, thoughit be but a sprinkle by earthly measure, the Lordburied the sinful flesh.60 Dr. Gene Edward Veith,in his excellent little book, The Spirituality of theCross, says it well: “We must not sentimentalizeBaptism. It is not a mere naming ceremony. For allthe good feelings enjoyed by the parents, relatives,friends, and the congregation, for all the cutenessof the baby in its little lacy robe, in Baptism thechild sacramentally dies.”61 At the hand of God.

Yes, the Lord draws near to the sinner to put todeath. By no means, however, is his work finishedat that point. He also draws near to give life. Justas the water that destroyed the world saved Noahand his family, so the water of Baptism saves.62

Just as the water of the Red Sea that destroyedthe Egyptians rescued the people of Israel fromdeath, so the water of Baptism rescues. This divinewater63 is the agent of death to the old Adam and

156 I am using the term the way St. Augustine did, as a term for the sacraments. St. Augustine used this expression for Baptism with these words: “The word is added to the element, and there results the Sacrament, as if itself also a kind of visible word.” (The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Volume VII, page 344.) The church father Irenaeus referred to Christ as the Visible Word. Since the Sacraments convey Christ, they are rightly called the “visible Word.”

157 Psalm 5:4,5. “You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.” In his law God teaches that he hates sin and he hates sinners. Conscience also testifies to that fact. The Lord’s other word, the gospel, reveals an amazing truth: the Lord loves sinners. That’s why you’ll sometimes hear, as a shorthand distinction between law and gospel: “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” That could be understood properly, but it might be better to say, “God hates the sin and God hates the sinner. But, by his mercy, he also loves the sinner.” Not as clever or catchy (agreed!), but more complete.

158 Large Catechism, part IV, paragraph 10, page 450.159 The KJV translation of Romans 6:3,4a. 160 Too bad, isn’t it, that we must, for the sake of confessing the freedom that God has given us, generally baptize by pouring or

sprinkling instead of immersion? Though the beauty of the Sacrament is not in the symbolism, what a clear testimony of what God does in Baptism. He doesn’t give a mere bath. He kills.

161 Page 45. One caveat about this otherwise excellent, thought-provoking book: God has ordained the public ministry of the gospel and given us freedom regarding the forms that we might employ. Thus, we have, for example, pastoral ministry, teaching ministry, and staff ministry. The President of our Synod, for example, serves in the public ministry of the gospel though he does not serve as a pas-tor of a congregation. The author seems to hold that the only divinely-instituted ministry is that of the parish pastor.

162 1 Peter 3:20,21. This passage emphasizes that Baptism is a Means of Grace, by which the Holy Spirit gives, offers, and seals the gifts of the Father’s love toward sinners. Baptism doesn’t just picture deliverance; it actually saves, because God is the actor, man the passive recipient.

163 Not that the water itself is better than other water, but that God’s Word sanctifies the water. (Read Dr. Luther’s Large Catechism on Baptism.)


the agent of life for the new man.64 The very wordof forgiveness that calls for faith actually createsthe faith for which it calls. In so doing, the Lordraises from the watery grave of Baptism a newcreature that trusts God’s love and desires todemonstrate that love. In his Flood Prayer, Lutherbeautifully captures the Lord’s activity of puttingto death and raising to life, asking the Lord to dowhat he promises to do in Baptism: “Set him apartfrom the unbelieving world and hold him safeand secure in the holy ark of the Church.”65 Theancient church fathers referred to Baptism as bothtomb and womb, a place of death and life.

God’s people rise with Christ to newness of life.Sin no longer rules; righteousness does. That’snot to say that sin stops acting like it’s king; sinsimply possesses no real authority. Just as a deadperson no longer must submit to the law of theland, so we who are dead need no longer submitto sin. In Baptism we die to sin. We also rise withChrist. “Just as Christ was raised from the deadthrough the glory of the Father, we too may lifea new life.”66 Jesus did not stay in the tomb. Theglory of the Father, that is, the declaration of theFather’s pleasure with the work of his Son, raisedJesus to life. The glory of the Father, the declara-tion of the Father’s pleasure with us because ofthe work of his Son, raises us to walk in newnessof life.

Unconditional adoption

The Lord draws near in Baptism to adopt the onehe has raised from the dead. When the adminis-trant of Baptism says, “I baptize you in the nameof the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit,” the Lord stakes his claim. That childbelongs to him. The Lord derives no benefit fromthis transaction. He does not adopt because he’slonely or needs something a human being couldoffer him. Only the adoptee benefits. And how!More important than the name given by hisparents is the name the Heavenly Father givesto the one baptized: child of God. With St. John,we marvel, “How great is the love the Father haslavished on us, that we should be called childrenof God!”67 By this act of his love, the Lord removesall concern about where we stand with him. Whatthe Father said about his Son in the River Jordanhe also says of each of his sons washed in Bap-

tism: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him Iam well pleased.”68 The children of God need notfrantically seek his approval with their spiritualachievements. They have his approval already.When the Spirit leads us to believe that the Lorddelights in us, he also frees us from a burden tooheavy for anyone to carry. He frees us to serve theSavior, with the assurance that God is alreadypleased with us as his sons.

This was no conditional arrangement, asking therecipient to meet certain codes of conduct beforethe adoption would be finalized. Nor was this alimited term warranty, covering just five yearsor 60,000 miles, whichever came first. He boundhimself to us forever in Baptism, promising tobe faithful to his promise of forgiveness throughfaith in Christ. Never does he instruct us to “moveout,” as if he were a parent frustrated by his 35-year-old’s dependence on him. To the contrary,the Lord desires above all else that we live independence on him, not only for the forgivenessof sins, but for the strength to live as children ofGod. Senkbeil writes,

“You and I are not left here in this world tostruggle on as best we can, rising above thesorrow and the heartaches of life by our ownsheer determination. For we are not abandonedorphans, left here on the doorstep of this sinfulworld to live the holy life as best we can. We aresons of God.”69

By Baptism the Lord created in his children thedesire to serve him and fans that desire into flame.Every time that we reflect on our Baptism, welearn anew that God does not base his love forus on our performance and our achievement, butonly on his mercy. By assuring us of the Father’sunconditional love, the Spirit enables ourChristian living.

Clothed with Christ

The Lord draws near in Baptism to clothe withrighteousness the one he graciously adopts. Writ-ing to the Christians in Galatia, the Apostle Paulsaid, “You are all sons of God through faith inChrist Jesus, for all of you who were baptizedinto Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”70

Lacy robes and baptismal necklaces handed downfrom generation to generation cannot compare to

164 Senkbeil, Dying to Live, page 64.165 Two translations/adaptations of the Sintflutgebet are included as an appendix to this essay. 166 Romans 6:4.167 1 John 3:1.168 St. Matthew 3:17.169 Dying to Live, page 138.170 Galatians 3:26,27.


this. Jesus covers us with himself. That’s finallywhat it is to be a Christian—to be clothed withChrist. Jesus’ perfect obedience to every com-mandment, his implicit trust in the Father in allsituations, his selfless love for others at all timesis the clothing God gave us by the visible Wordof Baptism. He doesn’t take it away for use byothers in another generation, as if we needed itonly for that one day. Christ’s righteousness fitsevery season of life.

Do you see why the Lord would have us recallour Baptism on a daily basis? He’s not directingus to pull out the scrapbook pages highlightingthe day of our adoption and say, “Boy, did Godlove me then! Look at how beautiful I was onthat day before the dust and dirt of sin started toaccumulate.” The righteousness given in Baptismdoes not belong to the Christian’s past. It is hispresent. His future, too. The child of God still seessin and weakness everywhere he looks in his life.However, the Christian who reflects on his Bap-tism each day remembers that his eyes can’t betrusted. He must instead listen to what God says,71

that he is righteous by faith in Christ. With hisinitiating love, the Lord equips us for service tothe Savior, leading us to offer the parts of ourbodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord.72

Past, present, and future forgiveness

The Lord draws near in Baptism to forgive thesins of his adopted children. On Pentecost, theapostles’ spokesman told those who recognizedtheir sin, “Repent and be baptized, every one ofyou, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgive-ness of your sins.”73 This is no mere sign orsymbol. Through Baptism, the Lord forgives sin.On the day that the water connected with theWord splashed on our heads, God forgave oursin. He washed away the sin with which wewere born, the sins we had committed in ourmother’s womb, and the sins that marked thedays and weeks (or months and years) precedingour Baptism. That’s not all. He forgave the sinsthat we would commit in the future. He blottedout the transgressions that would repeat them-selves in our lives. You name the sin and God

forgave it in Baptism. That sin of which you areso embarrassed, the one you’ve done over andover again, even after you promised the Lordthat you would put it aside . . . God forgave it.According to the calendar, Baptism is an eventfrom the past. According to Scripture, Baptismbelongs to the present and the future, for it coversthe sins we will still commit. Before we haveever confessed our sins to God and sought theassurance of his forgiveness, God has alreadyforgiven them. He is constantly forgiving us.74

Dr. Luther gave this counsel for all who aretroubled by their failures in holy living: “Whenour sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthenourselves and take comfort and say: ‘Neverthe-less I am baptized. But if I am baptized, it ispromised me that I shall be saved and haveeternal life, both in soul and body.’”75 Forgive-ness has never been, and will never be, basedon our success in obeying his commandments.Forgiveness comes from his grace. That gloriousforgiveness, as the Spirit enables us to believe it,changes our approach to life. We serve the Saviorin freedom, for he has already forgiven all oursins and we don’t have to show ourselves deserv-ing of that forgiveness.

In Baptism, God demonstrates his love for usindividually. He condescends to come to usby a visible means, and to approach us one byone. By his personal attention and by his lavishmercy, he says unmistakably, “I love you.” It isthe Lord’s strong, clear, beautiful “I love you,”spoken at the font and through the font, thatcauses the new creature coming out of the waterto say, “And I love you.”

The Christian life is an “ongoing dailyBaptism”

If your congregation uses the order for HolyBaptism included in Christian Worship youregularly recite these words: “Baptism meansthat the old Adam in us should be drownedby daily sorrow and repentance, and that all itsevil deeds and desires be put to death. It alsomeans that a new person should daily arise tolive before God in righteousness and purity

171 God would have us listen alone to his Word, not to the opinions of the world or our feelings. Only his Word can be trusted. Dr. Luther offered this clear instruction: “So close your eyes and shut your mouth and open your ears and listen alone to the mouth and word of Christ.” Quoted in a book that deserves to be read over and over again, Dr. Becker’s The Foolishness of God, page 157.

172 Romans 12:1,2.173 Acts 2:38.174 I offer the following illustration of Baptism not because it is particularly good but because I know some of God’s people have found

it comforting: Picture a white board on which tallies are being placed to mark each sin we commit. That’s often what we see and feel: God is keeping track of all of our sins. But the Lord promises that through Baptism all our sins have been washed away. So, picture water continually washing off those tallies. Before they can ever be written on the board, they are washed away. That’s how God wants us to see ourselves because of Christ and the forgiveness given in Baptism.

175 Large Catechism, Part IV, Holy Baptism, paragraph 44, page 453.


forever.”76 Each day, as we reflect with sadness onour rebellion against God’s law, we returnto Baptism. As the Lord leads us daily to con-fess the hard truth—that selfishness and self-centeredness is at the root of our transgressions—he takes us to the water that served as our spir-itual tomb. There we drown the sinful flesh thatstill clings to us. We do not coddle the flesh orwhisper sweet nothings in its ear. Rather, weexpress our hatred for anything that couldrespond to God’s goodness with such wicked-ness. The Lord pushes it under the water of Bap-tism and leads us to say, “You are dead to me.”

That tomb is also the womb. The one whohumbles himself the Lord lifts up. With hismessage of forgiveness, that what Christaccomplished at the cross has been creditedto us through Baptism, the Lord raises us fromthe depths. We find with joy that God has notwavered in his commitment to us or changedhis estimate of us. We are still his children. Hisforgiveness fills our hearts with such joy that anew life inevitably results. “Baptism not onlyillustrates such a new life, but also produces,begins, and exercises it.”77 By leading us tolive in repentance, the Lord enables us to livefor him and serve him.

The outward ceremony teaches an importantspiritual truth. In the Reformer’s words,

“These two parts, to be sunk under the water anddrawn out again, signify the power and operationof Baptism, which is nothing else than putting todeath the old Adam, and after that the resurrec-tion of the new man, both of which must takeplace in us all our lives, so that a truly Christianlife is nothing else than a daily Baptism, oncebegun and ever to be continued.”78

The Spirit sanctifies through the word ofabsolution

Some of those who stood with Dr. Luther in theearly years of the Reformation thought he didn’tgo far enough. They wanted to form a new sect;

Luther simply desired reformation. That’s whyhe refused to throw the baby out with the bathwater. That which could be retained he kept.Thus he didn’t destroy images or forbid vest-ments or dismiss practices because they were “tooCatholic.” While the sacrifice of the Mass had togo, Confession didn’t. The founding document ofthe Lutheran Church rejects mandatory confessionand the required enumeration of all sins, but itconcludes with these words, “Nevertheless, onaccount of the great benefit of absolution, andbecause it is otherwise useful to the conscience,Confession is retained among us.”79

In his “Exhortation to Confession,” the Reformerlamented the fact that many misinterpreted free-dom to mean that there was no need to confessto their spiritual shepherd. From Luther’s per-spective, to go to confession was simply to be aChristian.80 A Christian desires to be rid of his sinand have a clear conscience before God. Privateconfession and absolution provide what theChristian desires.

Luther notes two parts in confession: mine andGod’s. My part is lamenting my sin and desiringforgiveness. God’s part is declaring me free ofmy sin through the Word he has placed in themouth of his representative. On my part I placelittle value; God’s part I hold in great esteem.“We should not proceed as if we intended toperform and offer Him a splendid work, butsimply to accept and receive something fromHim.”81 What a gracious God, who gives to hispeople Called servants, through whom he for-gives their sins, comforts them in their uncer-tainty, and frees them for service!

The one who can’t shed his guilt finds greatblessing in confessing his sins to God’s servant.The blessing is not in the “getting it off hischest,”82 as if the reciting of sins is spirituallycathartic all on its own. After all, Judas confessedhis sin, too. The blessing comes from the moreimportant part of confession, hearing the wordsof forgiveness that God speaks through his mes-

176 Christian Worship, page 12. This is Dr. Luther’s explanation of the meaning of Baptism for our daily life included in the Small Catechism (Fourth of Holy Baptism).

177 Large Catechism, Part IV, Holy Baptism, paragraph 75, page 456.178 Large Catechism, Part IV, Holy Baptism, paragraph 65, page 749 (Concordia Triglotta).179 Augsburg Confession, Article XXV, paragraph 13, page 71 (Concordia Triglotta).180 Large Catechism, Part V, An Exhortation to Confession, paragraph 32, page 470. “When I urge you to go to Confession, I am doing

nothing else than urging you to be a Christian. If I have brought you to the point of being a Christian, I have thereby also brought you to Confession. For those who really desire to be true Christians, to be rid of their sins, and to have a cheerful conscience already possess the true hunger and thirst.”

181 Large Catechism, Part V, An Exhortation to Confession, paragraph 18, page 469.182 Harold Senkbeil, in Dying to Live, page 85, says it this way: “Confession of sins is not the same thing as unloading a burden

on a friend. And absolution is not the same as good advice. For when we come face to face with sin, we don’t need advice. We need forgiveness.”


senger: “Because of the promise of our SaviorJesus, I forgive you all your sins. Be assured thatyou are a dear child of God and an heir of eternallife.”83 The one who struggles to hear God’smessage of forgiveness over the devil’s ceaselessaccusations discovers joy in confessing to hispastor. The guilt lifted, the servile fear of God setaside, the forgiven child of God walks on air, withthis thought in his heart: “If God has forgiven methis sin, and he has, then his love for me is not atall based on what I do for him.” Convinced of theunconditional love of God, he sets out to serveGod with his life. No one needs to tell him toserve; he wants to and he will.

Martin Chemnitz, one of the writers of the For-mula of Concord, encouraged frequent use ofprivate confession with these words: “Moreover,private absolution also effects this, that I haveno need to dispute anxiously and with concernwithin myself what God thinks or decides aboutme in heaven, inasmuch as I can become the moresure about that matter through private absolutionhere on earth, so that I ought not doubt at all thatit is valid in heaven also.”84

What would the Martins write today? Has thiswonderful gift of private absolution been rele-gated to the closet as “too Catholic”? It certainlycan’t be that there is less need for it now than in aprevious generation. Maybe pride is the culprit.We don’t want the pastor to think less of us or toview us as spiritually needy or weak.85 We want tocontinue to view ourselves as good people who,if necessary, could make it to heaven on our own.Perhaps fear is to blame. Calling the pastor andsaying, “I’d like to talk to you about a sin withwhich I am struggling,” seems awfully difficult.Or the fear of the unknown: We’ve never doneit before, so we wouldn’t know where to begin.Knowing the grace of your God, who has pro-vided a shepherd for your soul, put aside thosefears and run to private absolution. You’ll be gladyou did! Freedom from guilt is freedom to serve.

The Spirit sanctifies by the visible Word ofHoly Communion

The Pharisees, desperate to discredit Jesus, kepttheir eyes peeled for “questionable” behavior.When Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath,they were quick to take people’s attention awayfrom the miracle by labeling him a rebel and a

rule-breaker. When Jesus regularly gathered withthose the Pharisees regarded as the dregs ofsociety, the Pharisees and the teachers of the lawuttered their greatest slur: “This man welcomessinners and eats with them.”86

Intended as an insult, the Pharisees’ words elo-quently capture the grace of the Lord Jesus.Though the Jews despised the greedy, swindlingtax collectors and that segment of society that didnot religiously observe the ceremonial laws (sin-ners), Jesus loved them. He loved them, notbecause of the potential he saw in them orbecause his heart broke for them as victims ofprejudice. His love found its source in himself.He loved because he is love. Love moved him towelcome sinners and eat with them.

Old habits die hard. The Lord Jesus still welcomessinners and eats with them. He invites them tojoin him at his holy table for a meal unlike anyother. He beckons them not for scraps, but to afeast for which he spared no expense. Thoughhidden from us, the Savior is truly present at thismeal we so regularly celebrate. It doesn’t look likemuch of a meal, true enough. A tiny chunk oftasteless bread served with a sip of Mogen Davidhardly constitutes a feast. We wouldn’t even con-sider inviting someone to our home and offeringthem such a meager meal, especially if it were inour power to offer more. One would think that theAlmighty could certainly put on a better spread,even if it were just for sinners.

Oh, but he couldn’t! “Take and eat,” Jesus saidof the unleavened bread, “this is my body, whichis for you.”87 Of the wine, Jesus said, “Drink fromit, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant,which is poured out for many for the forgivenessof sins.”88 In a supernatural way, the Lord offersthe most glorious meal: His body and blood.With the visible elements, he offers the verybody he sacrificed on Calvary’s cross and thesame blood that flowed from his wounds.Nothing about the bread reveals its true charac-ter, not even the imprint of a crucifix; nothingabout the wine indicates that it is the vehicle ofthe blood of Christ.

A gift beyond compare

Here is the glorious fact of Holy Communion:Under the bread and wine, the Bread of Life, the

183 These are the words of absolution from the Order of Private Confession included in Christian Worship, page 155. 184 Chemnitz, Ministry, Word, and Sacraments: An Enchiridion, page 135.185 Many pastors would say that they have greater respect for those who give up the charade and come to confess their sins. 186 St. Luke 15:2.187 St. Matthew 27:26 and 1 Corinthians 11:24.188 St. Matthew 26:27,28.


Almighty God, gives us himself. Not just spiri-tually,89 so that we must reach up to heaven tograsp his body and blood by faith, but orally. Heoffers no mere symbol meant to excite our imagi-nations and call to mind his death on the cross.Much more. Jesus gives us himself. Could therebe a greater testament of his love for us sinners?A 35,000 square-foot mansion, a vintage Rolls-Royce, and a 103" plasma TV90 all seem, in com-parison, like the twenty-five cent “treasures”purchased from a candy machine on the wayout of the supermarket.

By giving himself to us, by coming to us asindividuals and placing his body and bloodinto our mouths, he says in unambiguousterms: “I am all yours. I love you (singular).I told you in myWord that I love the world,(and that does, indeed, include you), but Iwant you to be absolutely certain of my lovefor you.” So overwhelming is the Lord’s giftof himself in the Sacrament that every doubtabout his love for us melts away like a snow-ball meeting August in New Ulm. No longermust we live by the law as if the pressure wereon to attract the Lord’s attention or make our-selves lovable. His love for us finds its origin inhim and not us.91

Freed from the burden of chasing after the impos-sible, we approach life differently. Our questionis no longer that of natural man: “What must Ido to earn God’s love?” In spiritual freedom, weask this question: “What do I want to do, sinceI don’t have to earn his love?”92 He freely giveshimself to us, and we, in response, gladly giveourselves to him. St. Paul writes, “And he died

for all, so that they who live might no longerlive for themselves, but for him who died androse again on their behalf.”93 A whole new lifeaimed at service to the Savior opens up beforeus. We live for him, not ourselves.

Striking, isn’t it, that Jesus used these words inhis invitation: “for you” and “for the forgive-ness of sins”? He did not say, “I need you tocome to the table for me and my benefit.” Thushe establishes this meal as a sacrament, not asacrifice. In Holy Communion, Jesus gives andwe receive, not vice versa. In no way does ourparticipation benefit him, as if he needed any-thing from us. Coming to the table is not our“act of obedience” or a demonstration to othersof our willingness to submit to the Lord’s com-mand.94 Actually, those who come to the tablein a worthy manner by that action confess theirsinfulness and inability to do what pleases Godon their own. They confess their need for whatthe Lord offers there: forgiveness by which theylive. Those who come to the Lord’s Table bur-dened with guilt and longing for peace withGod, do not go away sad.95 The Lord neverfails to comfort those who mourn. The forgive-ness he won at the cross he distributes at thismeal. We may not sense or feel the forgivenessof sins as we receive it. That matters not, forwe have Jesus’ words, in his last will and tes-tament, “for the forgiveness of sins.” No fineprint about the type or quantity of sins covered;no legal speed talker following that pronounce-ment with provisos, exceptions, conditions, andstipulations; no mention of it having to be feltin order to be had. Just, “for the forgiveness ofsins.” In this Sacrament he actually forgives our

189 John Calvin (1509-1564) taught a spiritual reception of the body and blood of Christ by believers. Because it conflicted with reason, he rejected the idea that Jesus actually gave his body and blood in, with, and under the bread and the wine. Much of Christendom today allows reason to be their master in this matter, teaching that it is only a faith-reception. Dr. Luther’s response to the arguments that bread and wine cannot be the body and blood of Christ? “I know that all spirits and scholars are not as wise as is the Divine Majesty in His little finger. Now here stands the Word of Christ.” (Large Catechism, Part V, paragraph 12, page 458).

190 Available on the internet, by the way, for the low price of $69,995. Shipping is free.191 Luther calls our love for the Lord a “borrowed love.” We find our reason to love God in God and what he has done for us. God finds

his reason to love man not in us but in himself. His is the initiating love, ours the responding love. The last of the Heidelberg Theses says this: “The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through that which is pleasing to it.” (Luther’s Works, Volume 31, page 56.)

192 Forde, Justification by Faith—A Matter of Death and Life, page 56.193 The NASB translation of 2 Corinthians 5:15 seems to capture the purpose clause better than the NIV’s translation: “And he died for

all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (emphasis mine) While a legitimate translation, the NIV gives a more “legal” slant than the intended “evangelical” proclamation. Luther’s translation also avoided the translation “should. The New Evangelical Translation (NET) offers this good translation: “And He died for all that those who live would no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose for them.”

194 One could grant that we please the Lord by receiving the Sacrament properly. He does command us to participate. However, that is secondary. He, by his glorious invitation, changes our hearts and makes us eager for that which we would have avoided at all costs. The Evangelicals tend to picture Holy Communion as an act of obedience on the part of Christians instead of an act of grace on God’s part.

195 A person may remain emotionally sad after receiving the forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament. Spiritually, however, the Lord’s full and free forgiveness removes the sadness of offending God and creates joy, whether that translates into an outward expression of joy or not.


sins96 and, by that forgiveness, leads us to graspmore firmly our righteous status as his children.That forgiveness rouses the new man and equipshim to live for the Lord.

A nourishing feast

The Sacrament offers holy food for holy people,that they might be strengthened thereby to live aholy life. This holy food nourishes and strengthensthe new man that the Lord formed in us in Bap-tism. The new life the Lord created he also sus-tains. Dr. Veith finds several points of comparisonbetween physical food and this spiritual food:“Without food, we would starve to death. Wehave to eat to fuel our physical life; otherwise,we grow weak and waste away. The only foodthat can sustain our bodies comes from the deathof other living things. Whether we are nourishingourselves from a bloody steak or ripped up plantsin a vegetarian casserole, there can be no life, evenon the physical level, apart from the sacrifice ofother life. What is true for physical life is true forspiritual life—we can only live if there has been asacrifice. And we can only live if we have contin-ual nourishment.”97

The Lord has provided for our continual nourish-ment in the Holy Supper. Jesus has not, for thesake of conserving forgiveness, established restric-tions on the use of this holy meal. Instead, he says,“Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembranceof me.”98 In contrast to the once-a-year Passoverfestival, which the Supper replaced, Jesus said,“Often.” The Lord wanted this feast celebratedregularly. Not for his benefit, but for those wholive only by the forgiveness of sins. “The Sacra-ment is given for daily pasture and sustenance,that faith may refresh and strengthen itself.”99 Astrengthened and refreshed faith, clinging moretightly to the forgiveness of sins, rejoices in itsfreedom. Freed from sin’s mastery, faith says“Yes!” to God’s will and “No!” to sin. Freed from

the compulsion of the law, faith says, “I want todo what God wants me to do, and I know he’llgive me the strength, according to his promise.”

Forgiveness never comes to us empty-handed.“For where there is forgiveness of sins, there isalso life and salvation.”100 By forgiving the sinsthat condemned us to death and leading us totrust his promise, the Lord has given us everlast-ing life. Our bodies may die, but by Jesus’ promisewe will live forever. That’s why the first centurychurch father Ignatius called it the “medicine ofimmortality and the antidote which prevents usfrom dying.”101 The Lord sustains our souls, thatwe might body and soul, live with him in the newheavens and the new earth. Professor emeritusArnold Koelpin describes the Sacrament in thisway: “The Holy Supper’s chief function, therefore,is to be our new tree of life. The fruit of Jesus’death is the promise that partakers of the sacra-mental meal have life everlasting. The hungry eatof this tree of life and live righteous and wholebefore God for Jesus’ sake.”102

Is it any wonder that Jesus desires that we dinewith him regularly? This meal is food for thesoul; it is the tree of life; it is the medicine ofimmortality; it is fuel for service. Apart fromChrist we can do nothing; but, engrafted by thiscommunion as branches in the Vine,103 we willbear much fruit. Receiving the Savior’s body andblood regularly will change our hearts and alterour lives. We may not see it or feel it, but Godpromises it. So, let Naaman complain aboutwashing in the Jordan!104 Let the world scoff atsomething that appears “unspiritual” at best orritualistic at worst! We will gladly enjoy fellow-ship with the friend of sinners. We will come,weary and burdened, with empty hands,105 andfind rest for our souls. We will sit with him at hisfeast, revel in the blessings he gives, and trust himto work in us what pleases him. Getting up fromthe table, renewed and refreshed, strengthened

196 In his essay to the 2005 Synod Convention, Pastor Jon Buchholz encouraged clear speaking about the power of the Sacrament. Holy Communion doesn’t just remind us of the forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross. To speak in that way “comes dangerously close to the Reformed notion of powerless, ineffectual ordinances that are only reminiscent of past reality. The gospel, as it is preached, taught and offered in the sacraments and keys, not only announces the forgiveness of God; it effects the forgiveness of God in Christ.” (page 7, emphasis his).

197 The Spirituality of the Cross, page 53.198 The NASB translation of 1 Corinthians 11:25. “As often as” seems a better translation than “whenever.” The KJV and Luther

translate in a similar way. 199 Large Catechism, part V, paragraph 24, page 460.100 Small Catechism, Second of Holy Communion.101 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I, page 57.102 Lord’s Supper: The Lamb’s High Feast, page 78.103 Chemnitz, Ministry, Word, and Sacraments, page 129.104 2 Kings 5.105 Though the primary reason behind receiving the bread in the hand may be something else, isn’t it a beautiful reminder of the way

we approach the Lord’s Table? We come with nothing and the Lord fills us up! Could we even use that practice as a teaching tool?


in faith, we are ready to serve. No instructionneeded.106 Faith does what faith will do: serve.“O, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, thisfaith. It is impossible for it not to be doing goodworks incessantly. It does not ask whether goodworks are to be done, but before the question isasked, it has already done them, and is constantlydoing them.”107

Preaching and teaching by which the Lordsanctifies his people

Maybe you’ve heard this evaluation of Lutheranpreaching and teaching: “Excellent on justifica-tion; poor on sanctification.” Other denominationsappear to offer much more practical direction andadvice on the life of service to difference in thelives of their hearers. Lutheran preachers, how-ever, seem to do nothing more than speak aboutJesus. They do teach that the law serves as a guidefor the Christian, but it rings hollow, because theypresent little practical instruction on how a Chris-tian ought to live.

Some in our circles might wear the charge as abadge of honor: “I’d rather be in a church bodythat excels in justification preaching than one thatjust constantly talks about what I’m supposed todo.” However, the Lord never tells us to preachjustification and neglect sanctification. Otherswould agree with the evaluation and set out todo something about it: “We need to get morepractical; we need to get past the basics andmove on to God’s expectations for us. Let’s keeppreaching the gospel, but let’s move past that,too.” Maybe that’s not the proper response, either.Since a Christian lives by the forgiveness of sinswon by Christ, and not by “steps” and “keys”and “habits,” the Lord would not have us givethe gospel short shrift.

This writer would contend that excellent justifi-cation preaching is also excellent sanctificationpreaching.108 But first a definition. Only that canbe called excellent justification preaching whichfaithfully announces the two things God has tosay to sinners: law and gospel. Preaching the lawmeans revealing the specific sins that surface in aperson’s life,109 tracing those transgressions to theperson’s wretched sinfulness,110 and declaringGod’s sentence on sinners. God has us preach thelaw, not for the sake of getting a person to changehis actions, but to expose him as helpless andhopeless in relation to God. Preaching the gospelmeans proclaiming, to those who know theirhelplessness, Christ’s perfect obedience as thesinner’s substitute in that specific area of sin,111

his willing death for all people and every sin,God’s declaration of righteousness on the basisof that sacrifice, and his promise of forgiveness toall who believe. God has us proclaim the gospel,not for the sake of informing the sinner, but ofhaving the Spirit transform him by that message.Dr. Walther offers this encouragement to preach-ers hoping to see a change in people’s behavior:“Even the most corrupt congregation can beimproved, however, by nothing else than thepreaching of the Gospel in all its sweetness. Thereason why congregations are corrupt is invari-ably this, that its ministers have not sufficientlypreached the Gospel to the people.”112

When teachers and preachers announce the for-giveness of sins and proclaim the greatness ofGod’s love to the sorrowing sinner, the Spiritstrengthens faith. Strengthened faith is a living,busy, active, mighty thing, always engaged inservice to the Savior. Thus excellent justificationpreaching, because it refreshes the new man,strengthens faith, and enables a life of service

106 The Lutheran Hymnal suggests that, in dismissing the communicants, the minister may say, “Depart in peace.” How appropriate! It is to say, “Here God has fed you. Here you have received his blessings. Depart knowing where you stand with God.” Would it perhaps be best to allow God’s people to leave this meal in peace, without telling them what they ought to do in response? When, for example, the presiding minister says, “Go now and serve the Lord,” do God’s people leave in peace? Don’t they rather say in response to that direction of the law, “Oh, I haven’t served him!”? By no means am I speaking against the law, but it is the gospel that produces service to the Lord. The person who has just received the forgiveness of sins wants to serve and doesn’t need to be toldto serve.

107 Luther’s Works, Volume 35, “Prefaces to the New Testament,” page 370. 108 The converse is also true. Weak justification preaching is weak sanctification preaching. When we do not clearly proclaim the two

doctrines of God’s Word or we brush over them with clichés, we hinder sanctified living.109 “We all make mistakes” and “We’re all sinners” do not qualify as specific law preaching. God directs us to expose specific sins so that

a person can find no comfort at all in his guilt. “We’re all sinners” actually offers a perverse comfort: “I’m not alone.”110 In Romans 3:20b, St. Paul writes, “Rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” The law gives us precise and accurate knowl-

edge, not only of the sins we have committed, but of our utter sinfulness by nature. Grieved by what we have done, we go searching for a reason for our actions. The law reveals it to us: we are sinful through and through and can do nothing but sin by nature.

111 The sorrowing sinner needs to hear that Jesus’ story is his story, Jesus’ righteousness his righteousness. And that not just in a gen-eral way, but specific to the sin that has been uncovered in preaching or teaching or counseling. For example, if I am bothered by my sin of failing to honor those in authority, I need to hear that Jesus perfectly honored his parents and others in authority. By faith, that perfect obedience is mine.

112 The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, page 388.


to the Savior, is also excellent sanctificationpreaching. The Christian who heard the lawproclaimed to him to reveal his sin now seesthat law with new eyes. He sees it as a guide:“As the Spirit enables me, I can serve the Lordby avoiding the sin mentioned or adopting thatattitude presented.”113 Forgiveness fuels Chris-tian living, not laws.114

Convinced of God’s love for us, we live in love

The Spirit’s intent is ever the same as heapproaches us in Word and Sacrament. Hismission? Disabuse us of the opinion that Godloves only those who have by their obediencemade themselves worthy of love. Through themessage of Christ’s sacrifice for sinners, theSpirit frees us. Obviously I can’t save myself, ifJesus had to enter the world and suffer such adeath. Clearly I don’t need to save myself, forJesus has done that. “If I don’t have to keep thelaw to save my skin, the pressure’s off!”115 TheLord has lifted a thousand-pound gorilla off ourbacks. No longer do we need to live in stress orfear, focused only on ourselves and our accom-plishments in getting into God’s good graces.Natural man serves God not for God’s sake, butfor his own. The new man serves God for God’ssake, not his own, because God has served himin Christ.

The Father’s unconditional love, demonstrated inChrist’s willing service and brought to us by theSpirit through the Means, inspires both heartfeltlove for him and the desire to show him our love.Cognizant of the desire of our hearts, the Lordprovides outlets for our love. Not just in certainplaces or on particular days, but everywhere andall the time. St. Paul wrote, “Be imitators of God,therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a lifeof love, just as Christ loved us and gave himselfup for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice toGod.”116 As children of God, loved by the Fatherunconditionally, we want to follow in his foot-steps. We want to live in love, where love (andlove alone) drives everything we do.

What exactly does it mean to “live in love”?Though Hollywood would have us think of loveas an intense emotion accompanied by shootingstars and stirring music, Scripture speaks other-wise. Love is a commitment. Love concerns itselfnot at all with self, but exclusively with the needsof the other. Love never asks, “What’s in it forme?” but rather, “What do you need? What’s inyour best interest?” Love shows itself in action.Jesus handed himself over to his enemies onbehalf of his enemies. It was in Jesus’ best interestto come down from the cross; it was in sinners’best interest that he stay. So he stayed. That’s love.Tending to the needs of others, without regard tocost to self and without consideration of possiblebenefit to self, is love.

Love for God takes form in love for others

What, then, of the first table of the Law, withits command to love God? How exactly do wetend to the “needs” of God? He has not a one.Our love for God cannot take concrete action inaddressing his needs. But that’s not to say thereis no way to demonstrate love for God. Goddoes have concrete needs for us to address inthe people that he has placed all around us. Lovefor God, then, takes form in love for those in need,whatever that need may be. Behind those needypeople the Lord hides, saying, “Their needs aremine; therefore, I am hungry, I am thirsty. I amsick.117 Love me. Tend to my needs, regardless ofthe cost to self.” We rightly pray for the abilityto recognize what is hidden to our sight: “In thehurting eyes of the lonely, in the pained eyes ofthe sick, and in the searching eyes of the lost,help us to see your face, O Jesus, and to serveothers as we would serve you.”118

As the Spirit continues to increase our under-standing of God’s love for us, he changes ourattitude toward our neighbors. Natural man seesthose around him as existing for his benefit, tomake his life more enjoyable. The new man, cer-tain of God’s love for him and his unshakablestatus as a child of God, sees those around him

113 As an example, consider a sermon on the Lord’s command to protect my neighbor’s reputation. The preacher, who must have had a recorder hidden in my home, points out that when I talked about how ignorant or arrogant others were I sinned against God’s commandment and showed myself to be a sinner worthy only of punishment. When I hear that God has forgiven those sins in Christ and credited Christ’s righteousness to me, my new man says, “I can serve God by not talking about others behind their backs. I can serve God by defending other’s reputations.”

114 As little as a map enables a vehicle to travel to a destination, so little do laws enable us to serve the Lord. As gasoline fuels a vehicle, so the message of forgiveness fuels our holy living.

115 Schultz, “The Scriptural Foundation for our Christian Freedom,” page 10.116 Ephesians 5:1,2. What the NIV translates as “Live a life of love” could more simply be translated, “Live in love.” The verb has behind

it the idea of “walking around.” The Greek word forms the source of the English word “peripatetic.” The Christian “walks around in love,” imitating the Father.

117 The thought of St. Matthew 25:34-40.118 Christian Worship, page 129, part of the responsive prayer for the mission of the church.


differently. They do not exist for him, but he forthem.119 He is thankful for their existence becausethey and their needs provide a concrete way forhim to show his love for God.

Freed from the idea that we must do somethingfor God, we move away from the home of theflesh (the world of self) into a new home (theworld of others).120 By his unconditional love,the Lord drives out the concern that if we don’tlook out for ourselves, no one will. We need notworry about someone taking advantage of us orthinking less of us, because the Lord has providedfor our souls and has declared us his dear chil-dren. “The faith born of the unconditional prom-ise finds a new world opening up—in whichGod’s creation is given back as sheer gift—theworld of the other, the world of the neighbor,where ‘great and genuine’ works are to be donebecause it is God’s will.”121 This brand new worldexcites the child of God, for everywhere he lookshe sees another person to love and serve.

Opportunities for love abound

The Christian life thus becomes an exciting adven-ture, because there’s always something new to doin service to the Savior by serving our neighbors.Who knows what needs the Lord may give me theopportunity to address? It might be a person con-templating suicide whom I can talk down fromthe top of a building as God gives me the words.Maybe it will be a little old lady whose attacker Icapture and hand over to the police. It could betraveling as a Kingdom Worker to a third-worldcountry to help drill a bore hole that will provideclean water to a village. The possibilities arelimitless and exciting to ponder.

The Lord may well use you as a blessing toothers in the ways just mentioned. Count your-self blessed to be able to serve in those excit-ing ways! Most of us, however, won’t see suchadrenaline-inciting adventures. That frustratesus, because our hearts are just bursting withthe love of Christ. We want to do great thingsfor the One who loves us. We want to help peoplein their distress and need, but our lives in PunkinJunction122 are rather humdrum and ordinary.It’s off to the same job each morning, back to thesame house and family each night, and to thesame church on Sunday. Exciting opportunities

are few and far between. Or so it appears. ButGod teaches us this perspective-altering truth:Appearances are not always realities. In fact it isin the ordinary, boring, work-a-day world thatopportunities for love abound. Köberle notes that

Lutheran ethics has maintained the principlethat love for one’s neighbor must be exer-cised in what ‘lies close at hand,’ nor is thatdirection superfluous. For just as asceticism,regarded as protection against temptation, isprevented from using all arbitrarily chosen,exaggerated forms of mortification, so by thesame rule, love is prevented from becomingan ineffective and voluble sentimentalityabout needs afar off.123

Charity begins at home

When the freed-from-self-interest Christian goesto work, he encounters people in need. The needmay be something significant. His co-worker’swife was diagnosed with terminal cancer andhe’s struggling to maintain his focus. There achild of God sees a need and an opportunity toshow love, whether that’s by lending an ear,taking over a task, or offering a meal. The Chris-tian rejoices in that opportunity to serve. Moreoften, though, the needs he encounters at workseem insignificant. The lunchroom microwaveis dirty, in spite of the instruction on its front:“Please clean after each use.” There, too, is aneed. There is an opportunity to serve, to dowhat one is not required to do. To be sure,cleaning microwaves would make no one’s TopTen list of “Activities Sure to Bring a Thrill.”God calls that boring activity “an act of love.”

Returning home from work, the Christian mustonly be conscious to find needs to be met. Justlike yesterday and tomorrow, his spouse is inneed. She needs help with tasks around thehouse. She needs stimulating conversation aftera long day with the children or a difficult dayat work. Above all else, more than affection andencouragement, she needs him. All this at a timewhen the remote and the recliner top his list ofneeds. There’s an opportunity for love, to engagein that which addresses the need of another.Hardly exciting stuff, because it calls for sacrificeand earns no trophies. No one would look at atired husband carefully listening to his wife and

119 Köberle, The Quest for Holiness, page 200.120 Gerhard Forde explains it this way: “The commandments of God do not lead one on a quest for personal holiness and virtue, but

precisely into the world of the neighbor.” (emphasis his) Justification by Faith: A Matter of Death and Life, page 58.121 Forde, Justification by Faith: A Matter of Death and Life, page 58.122 Generally considered a fictitious place, but recent research suggests that Professor emeritus Daniel Deutschlander may have

founded a village with that name near Podunk. 123 Köberle, The Quest for Holiness, page 197.


say, “He must really love God to do that!” Exceptthe Lord.

The children are also in need. They need theirfather to serve as priest in the home, to lead hisfamily to the Word and in prayer. But he doesn’tthink he knows enough to serve in that way. Thethought of reading and commenting on the Word,or even reading from a devotion book, makes himuncomfortable. Freed from self-interest and self-preservation by the working of the Spirit, the childof God steps forward to serve.

Does not Jesus alter our perspective on everythingwe do with his description of Judgment Day inSt. Matthew 25? As evidence of his judgment thatthose on his right were righteous by faith, theKing will point to their works. The deeds he citesseem none too impressive: “I was hungry and yougave me something to eat, I was thirsty and yougave me something to drink, I was a strangerand you invited me in, I needed clothes and youclothed me, I was sick and you looked after me,I was in prison and you came to visit me.”124 Nomention is made of turning stones into bread forthe hungry, making water flow from a rock forthe thirsty, healing the one who was sick, or giv-ing a stranger a million denarii to see him on hisway. Just ordinary, unspectacular deeds. But Jesusexalts them by remembering them.125 It is in theworld of those ordinary deeds, addressed to thosein need, that we glorify God and become a bless-ing to others.

Dr. Luther, in his outstanding exposition of theTen Commandments in the Large Catechism,makes the same application in nearly every com-mandment: There is no need to dream up spec-tacular works to be done in service to God.126 Thecommandments have more than we could ever do.Additionally, the works for which they call havethe advantage of being pre-approved by God. Thesimply, ordinary works done by a child of God to

address the need of others, without any attempt togain attention for self, Jesus remembers.

All distinctions disappear

Jesus doesn’t distinguish between feeding thehungry brother and visiting him in prison. Onedoesn’t offer more convincing evidence of faith orprovide greater pleasure to God. Thank God thathe doesn’t rank works, for if he listed one as thegreatest, we would focus our energies on that oneand despise the others. Life would be all aboutpursuing those “upper-echelon” works. We’d robourselves of the joy the Lord wishes us to haveand place ourselves firmly under the law. Listen tothis freeing statement that classes all workstogether: “And whatever you do, whether in wordor deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,giving thanks to God the Father through him.”127

Only this verse from the book of Hezekiah dis-tinguishes between works: “Greater by far is theservice rendered in the church than that offered inthe regular conduct of life.” There is no book ofHezekiah.128 Yet the idea persists. Some publicministers of the gospel129 act as if tasks they doin the name of the congregation and for the con-gregation rank higher than helping their childrenwith homework or cleaning up the house. Somemembers can’t shake the feeling that they could bedoing something more useful for the Lord “downat church” than what they’re doing in the home. Isthis the problem? We often find greater satisfac-tion in “church work” than the works God hasplaced before us at home or work. We feel likewe’re contributing to something important atchurch; therefore, we are important to the Lord.That’s a problem. The Lord has never instructedus to find our value in what we do for the Lord,but on what he has done for us. When we dis-tinguish between works, when insecurity leadsus to base our importance on our achievementsas Christians, we are falling prey to the devil, who

124 St. Matthew 25:35,36.125 Note that Jesus forgets the glittering vices of the unbelievers and remembers the humble daily service of his people. 126 Perhaps this comment on the Fifth Commandment could serve as a good example: “If this could be thoroughly impressed on

people’s minds, we would have our hands full of good works to do. But this would be no preaching for monks. It would too greatly undermine the “spiritual estate” and infringe upon the holiness of the Carthusians. It would be practically the same as for-bidding their good works and emptying the monasteries. For in this teaching the ordinary Christian life would be considered just as acceptable, and even more so. Everybody would see how the monks mock and mislead the world with a false, hypocritical show of holiness, while they have thrown this and the other commandments to the winds, regarding them as unnecessary, as if they were not commandments but mere counsels. Moreover, they have shamelessly boasted and bragged of their hypocritical calling and works as ‘the most perfect life,’ so that they might live a nice, soft life without the cross and suffering. This is why they fled to the monasteries, so that they might not have to suffer wrong from anyone or do anyone any good. Know, however, that it is the works commanded by God’s Word which are the true, holy, and divine works in which he rejoices with all the angels. In contrast to them all human holiness is only stench and filth, and it merits nothing but wrath and damnation.” (Tappert, Large Catechism, paragraph 196)

127 Colossians 3:17.128 A former associate used to say, “I’ve always wanted to preach on a text from the book of Hezekiah, just to see how long it would take

for someone to notice.” 129 I know one pastor in particular who thinks like this. He denies it, but his actions betray him.


regularly asks us, “Did God really say . . . that heloves you unconditionally?”

Here’s another consideration. We unwittinglyencourage such thinking with our “ranking”statements: “There is no greater work than tell-ing others about Jesus.” “We are here for onereason: to declare God’s praises.” “Nothing couldbe more important than supporting the ministryof the gospel with our offerings.”130 Intended toencourage the works mentioned, those commentsactually end up demeaning and discouragingother works. I can’t help but conclude, forexample, that giving my employer my best effortpales in comparison to telling him about Jesus.I’m given to feel that “personal evangelism isthe only activity that can really justify a humanlife. The rest is a matter of marking time until anopportunity arises to tell someone about Jesus.”131

I’m left to think that providing for my familyreally doesn’t please God the way my offeringenvelope does. Consciences need not be burdenedand joy need not be doused. Either we stop withthe “ranking” statements or, if we insist on sayingthat nothing is greater than proclaiming peacethrough Jesus, then we better also say at the verysame time, “There is also no greater work thanto diaper my child.”132 The Reformer wrote, “Itseems to me that we shall have our hands fullto keep these commandments, practicing gentle-ness, patience, love toward enemies, chastity,kindness, etc., and all that these virtues involve.But such works are not important or impressivein the eyes of the world. They are not unusualand pompous, restricted to special times, places,rites, and ceremonies, but are common, everydaydomestic duties of one neighbor toward another,with no show about them. On the other hand,those other works captivate all eyes and ears.Aided by great pomp, splendor, and magnificentbuildings, they are so adorned that everythinggleams and glitters. There is burning of incense,singing and ringing of bells, lighting of tapers and

candles until nothing else can be seen or heard.For when a priest stands in a gold-embroideredchasuble or a layman remains on his knees awhole day in church, this is considered a pre-cious work that cannot be sufficiently extolled.But when a poor girl tends a little child, orfaithfully does what she is told, that is regardedas nothing.”133

The new man, taught by the Spirit to see allworks done in faith as equally pleasing to God,does not bother searching for the “greatest”works. He simply rejoices in the multitude ofopportunities the Lord has given him to serveothers.134 The flesh, however, loves rankings andlongs to do the “greater works.” The flesh sparesno effort in performing those “greater works,”not for the benefit of others, but for itself. Fromthe perspective of the flesh, those works lift himabove others and demonstrate his greater valueto the Lord. With journal in hand, the incurablyproud old Adam carefully records each greatwork performed.

How differently the new man behaves! Hedoesn’t keep careful track of his works. The bookhe carries with him includes nothing of his works,but only page after page of Christ’s works andChrist’s obedience. The works he does he forgetsabout completely.135 He forgets because he knowshe doesn’t need them to receive a righteous ver-dict from God. He forgets because they didn’tglitter and gleam; they simply met a need. OnJudgment Day, the believer will say in all seri-ousness, in response to the evidence of faith theLord cites, “I don’t remember that. I did nothing;you did everything.”

God declares our works good

The truth of the matter is that the works of abeliever and an unbeliever have something incommon. They are sins against God. The Teacherwrote, “Surely there is no righteous man on earth

130 While not specifically attributed, all have been written or said in our circles. The essayist is among those who has, in the past, offeredsuch “ranking statements.” The comments in this essay are meant as constructive criticism. We need to speak carefully, so that God’s people can rejoice in the work the Lord allows them to do, whether it is directly related to proclaiming the gospel or not.

131 Cherney, “Uncovering our Calling,” page 16. This essay presented at the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Symposium in September 2006, available at the Seminary website (www.wls.wels.net) under Continuing Education, is worthy of careful and prayerful reading by all. So, too, are the other essays presented at that Symposium on Vocation.

132 With thanks for the clear manner of expression to Pastor Phil Hirsch, who actually topped Dr. Luther in his “earthiness.” 133 Large Catechism, paragraphs 313 and 314. (Tappert)134 In the Table of Duties Dr. Luther included with the Small Catechism, we find an abundance of opportunities for service in our God-

given roles. Professor emeritus Deutschlander writes in his to-be-published The Theology of the Cross—Reflections on His Cross and Ours: “This whole concept of roles, given to us by God, helps us to understand the special goodness of God to each of us. For in our station in life God gives each one ways of serving him right here, right now. Our God-given roles also help keep us from being overwhelmed at the enormity of our assignment. The assignment is that we should live to serve our neighbor. And who is our neighbor? Everyone is! But it is humanly impossible to carry everybody else’s burden. The Table of Duties tells us where to begin. Serve where you are. Love according to your station in life.”

135 Forde, Justification by Faith—A Matter of Death and Life, page 55.


who will do good and will not sin.”136 Becauseevery man born of sinners retains a sinful flesh,everything that man does is, on its face, a sin. Theone who is righteous by faith still has a sinful fleshthat corrupts everything he touches. He sins, then,not just when he blatantly breaks God’s law, buteven when he obeys God commands. His sinfulflesh participates in every action and contaminatesevery work.137

Isaiah testifies that “all our righteous acts are likefilthy rags.”`138 No exceptions. In explaining histhesis that “a righteous man sins in all his goodworks,” Dr. Luther wrote: “But a godly Christianought to learn and know that all his good worksare inadequate and insufficient in the sight of God.In the company of all the dear saints he ought todespair of his own works and rely solely on themercy of God, putting all confidence and trustin him.”139 Not only are the works inadequate, inthat they have been handled by the unclean oldAdam,140 they are also insufficient. We don’tperform as many as we should.

The believer’s works are not “good” on their ownmerits. Then why would we even bother usingthe term? The Apostle Peter writes, “You also,like living stones, are being built into a spiritualhouse to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritualsacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”141 The Lord who incorporates us into his Churchthrough faith does not judge our works on theirown merits, but on the perfect merits of Christ.That changes everything. The sin in each workthe Lord forgives for Christ’s sake. By the faith heworked in our hearts, the Lord covers every work

with the righteousness of Christ. Those acts thatwere sin on their own become spiritual sacrificeswhich please God.

Though God does not need our works, he acceptsthem. More than that. He delights in them.Because he delights in his people142 and the faithhe has worked in their hearts, he delights in theirworks. Is that not a marvel? He takes pleasure inthat which, on its own, is sinful.143 He delights inwhat he himself enabled and moved us to do.

Our role in sanctification

Finally, to the good part of the essay! At last weget to talk about the role we play in Christian liv-ing. To this point we’ve emphasized God’s role inbringing us to faith, creating and sustaining thenew man, instilling a desire to serve, providingopportunities for love, enabling us to take advan-tage of those opportunities, and promising todelight in our works because he delights in us.Call it full service! We dare never act as if justifi-cation is God’s business and sanctification ours.Both are God’s. It is the glory-hungry flesh, likea three-year-old desperate for recognition, thatwants to shout from the rooftops, “Look at me!Look at what I can do!”

The Apostle Paul emphasizes the Lord’s role inour sanctification in these words: “For we are hisworkmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do goodworks, which God prepared in advance for us todo.”144 Just as there is no such thing as a self-madevase, there is no such thing as a self-made Chris-tian. We are not our own workmanship. We did

136 My translation of Ecclesiastes 7:20. Luther’s translation seems to agree: “For there is no man so righteous on earth that he would do good and would not sin.” The NIV offers, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” The NIV’s translation suggests that there isn’t a perfectly blameless person in the world. The verse says more than that.

137 Lyle Lange uses this illustration in Sanctification: Alive with Christ: “It has been said that the Christian is like a child who has eaten a chocolate bar on a hot summer day. After eating the bar, the child walks through the house. Everything the child touches gets smeared with chocolate. In a similar way, every work a believer does is still corrupted by the sinful flesh.” Page 145. Dr. Luther offers this comparison in his explanation of the Heidelberg Theses: “If someone cuts with a rusty and rough hatchet, even though the worker is a good craftsman, the hatchet leaves bad, jagged, and ugly gashes. So it is when God works through us.” Luther’s Works, Volume 31, page 45.

138 Isaiah 64:6. Literally, filthy rags are “a garment of menstruation.” That speaks powerfully to us still today. Add to it that menstrua-tion made a woman unclean and the picture is even more powerful. The works that the arrogant Old Adam thinks make him beautiful before God are not just morally neutral. They make the person unclean.

139 Luther’s Works, Volume 32, page 83.140 Some might suggest that our motives are always mixed and that’s why our works are sinful. That is almost invariably true, whether

we are cognizant of our mixed motives or not. However, Scripture speaks even more strongly. If we managed to have completely pure motives, not at all self-driven, the work would still be sinful. It’s not just the motivation that is the problem, it’s the sinful flesh.

141 1 Peter 2:5.142 Psalm 147:11 says, “The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”143 One of the more useful illustrations I have seen of this truth is a cartoon Professor emeritus Ted Hartwig used in a class on the

Augsburg Confession. The cartoon pictures a mother with a smile on her face and a tear in her eye as she views her son’s work. Written on the wall, perhaps with lipstick, is a big heart with the words, “Mom, be my valentine.” The child sinned in what he did, but the mother, because of her love for the child, delighted in his expression of love. The Lord delights in our works, though they have no intrinsic value and are actually sin.

144 Ephesians 2:10. The first ten verses of this chapter exalt God’s grace. St. Paul marvels at the Lord’s grace both in rescuing sinners from the punishment they deserve and enabling them to live to the Lord’s glory.


not form ourselves into spiritual dynamos, eagerand able to obey God’s commands. God formedus. If we do anything that is good in the sight ofGod, it is because God himself led us to do it.Born anew by the Spirit, we say in response totheflesh’s desire for attention: “Look at God!Look at what God can do through me, in spiteof me!” Through Christ, who strengthens me, Ican do all things.145

But we do have a role. The parts of our bodiesparticipate in the work. Our hands help the per-son who has fallen; our feet rush to the aid of onewho is hurt; our mouths offer comfort to the onestruggling with life. The Lord creates the desire,provides the opportunity, grants the ability, andworks through us for the benefit of others. We getto play a role! Perhaps minor from the perspectiveof the flesh, it is an incredible privilege. God doesnot need my hands in order to help the one whohas fallen, but he chooses to use them. He couldspread his gospel without my offerings, but heopts to work through my gifts of love. He couldhave people hear of Jesus without my mouth, buthe chooses to use it as his instrument. In what isoften called his “Sacristy Prayer,” Dr. Luther offersa petition that every Christian could daily takeinto his mouth: “Use me as your instrument inyour service. Only do not forsake me, for if I amleft to myself, I will certainly bring it all todestruction.” The works we do are not truly ourworks, but God’s.146 The Lord works them in us,using us as his means of blessing others.

Much of modern-day Christianity, with its “Youcan do it!” theology, badly misses the mark. Theyallow God to be the justifier (sort of),147 but theysuggest that man is the primary sanctifier, withsome help from God. It’s up to the Christian toarrive at greatness by committing himself to theapplication of certain purpose-filled principles.

St. Paul wrote, “Work out your salvation withfear and trembling; for it is God who is at work inyou, both to will and to work for His good plea-sure.”148 The clearer passages of Scripture help

shed light on the challenge of the first part of thepassage. In no way has the Apostle of faith aban-doned the way of faith for the way of works. He israther encouraging God’s people to recognize thegreat blessings they possess and the dangeroustimes in which they live. As we would hold withtrembling hands a fragile object worth millionsof dollars, so we hold to the blessing of Christ’srighteousness and forgiveness. The strength tohold on to Christ and to live for Christ comes notfrom self, but from God. He is the one who ener-gizes149 us, constantly working in us through hisgospel to strengthen us in faith and equip us forservice. He is the one who causes us to live forothers and not self.

One can speak of the Christian’s cooperation insanctification, so long as the cooperation is notseen as anything remotely resembling equalparticipation.150 Night and day the Missionaryto the Gentiles labored for the gospel, often goingwithout food or sleep. But note what he saysabout his labors, “By the grace of God I am whatI am, and his grace to me was not without effect.I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, butthe grace of God that was with me.”151 He tracedeverything back to God’s grace. The real forcebehind his life was not his willpower but theLord’s mercy. He cooperated in sanctification inthe sense that he made use of the power givenby the Holy Spirit. That’s how we participate.With the Spirit’s strength we do what God placesbefore us to do.

Picture a three-year-old who wants to play base-ball. His father doesn’t engage in a conversationabout the proper stance or the importance of fullarm extension at the point of impact. The fatherrather puts his arms around the child, helps thechild hold the bat, and when the pitch comes,swings the bat with the child. The child hits theball and screams for joy at what he has done.Every illustration limps, but that may captureour cooperation in good works. God really doesit all; but we get to do the work. God works in us

145 Philippians 4:13.146 Dr. Luther uses that expression in the sixth of the Heidelberg Theses: “The works of God (we speak of those which he does through

man) are thus not merits, as though they were sinless.” Luther’s Works, Volume 31, page 45.147 With their emphasis on decision theology, however, even that they do not reserve for God. 148 The NASB translation of Philippians 2:12b, 13. The NIV translation is good, but the NASB captures that the Lord is the one who works

in us to work for his good pleasure. It’s the same root word. 149 The Greek word translated “work” is the root of the English word “energy.” 150 The Formula of Concord speaks of our cooperation in sanctification in these terms, from the Solid Declaration, Article II, paragraphs

65 and 66, page 562: “As soon as the Holy Spirit has begun His work of regeneration and renewal in us through the Word and holy Sacraments, we can and should cooperate through His power, though still in great weakness. This cooperation does not come from our fleshly or natural powers, but from the new powers and gifts that the Holy Spirit has begun in us in conversion. . . . But if anyone would take St. Paul’s words in this sense—the converted person cooperates with the Holy Spirit the way two horses draw a wagon together—this could not be allowed in any way without damaging the divine truth.”

151 1 Corinthians 15:10.


and through us, but we are the ones who “hit theball.” With that child we have reason to scream forjoy that the Lord would allow us to do anythinggood. That he would allow us to declare hispraises or support the spread of the gospel isa gift of his grace. “We have the honor of being co-workers with our heavenly Father in provid-ing for the needs of the neighbor. No need toworry about our public image; we are agents ofthe Father’s love.”152

The Christian life as a struggle

The Lord never promised his people that theywould enjoy success and a life of ease. Jesus saidonly, “If anyone would come after me, he mustdeny himself and take up his cross daily andfollow me.”153 Nothing about a life of ease, justthe cross. Because we are Christians, we willface persecution, difficulties, and struggles. Partof that cross is the struggle against sin and self.

It’s a cross we’d like to put down. Sometimesit’s because sin is so alluring. Our enemy paintssin in such a beautiful light that we feel ourselvesrobbed of pleasure by God’s commandments.Perhaps more often we want to run from the crossbecause of our frustration. We want to do whatGod directs, yet everywhere we look we see oursin. Even after making faithful use of the Meansof Grace, sin remains. Dreams of a life filled withgood works disappear, replaced by the nightmareof repeated sin. Giving up seems the only sensiblething to do. One can only smash his head into thewall so many times before the thought dawns onhim: “This isn’t working.”

We forget that we still live in this world, carryingaround a sinful flesh that refuses to give up thefight. We forget that the time of perfect sanctifica-tion has not yet arrived. “We do not yet live in thenew aeon but are still in that peculiar, tense timeof transition, when the new life is indeed present,and is growing secretly, and is making its way,but when at the same time the very real old manis also present with all the power of his opposi-tion, dislike and slothfulness directed against the

good will that God has worked in us.”154 Yet Godgraces this struggle with a blessing. Through it,he lifts our eyes to the day of redemption drawingever nearer. When the Savior returns, he willglorify our bodies and we will serve the Lordperfectly in body and soul.

We wish to put aside the cross because we oftenforget what we are. We are sinners. We are saints.Not one or the other. Not occasionally Dr. Jekylland more often Mr. Hyde.155 Both at the same time.You may discipline yourself to spend hours eachday in Word and prayer, but you will remain bothsaint and sinner.156

None of us has any difficulty grasping the factthat we are sinners. Our biting words and hurtfulactions make it obvious to us and others. Thatwe are righteous . . . that’s far more difficult tograsp. That righteousness lies hidden to the worldaround us. The people in the supermarket do notstare at me in wonder as I walk past. They do notrush for my autograph or fall to their knees. Thosewho know me well treat me the same way, forthey’ve seen my sinfulness. What people aroundme think doesn’t matter. God has declared me justin Christ. What God says is true, even if the worldshould appeal God’s judgment.

The righteousness of faith is not just hiddento the people in the supermarket. I can’t see iteither. I do things I know are contrary to God’swill and I can’t stand myself for my weakness.“How could I do that? I’m supposed to be a childof God!” Sin crushes down upon me with suchforce that I am convinced that I am just like everyother sinner from whom God would have to keephis distance. Never does the Lord tell me, how-ever, to consult my feelings or my track record tofind out who I am. He points me to his word offorgiveness and says, “You are my child, not onthe basis of your conduct but my mercy. You arerighteous in my sight. That it’s hidden to youdoesn’t make it less true.”

As God gives us strength by his word offorgiveness, we learn to believe what we can’t see.We are saints and sinners at the same time. If it

152 Senkbeil, Dying to Live, page 177.153 St. Luke 9:23.154 Köberle, The Quest for Holiness, page 162.155 Senkbeil, Dying to Live, page 176. He notes, “We’d rather have it one way at a time. Sinner or saint, slave or free, Old Adam or new

man, dead or alive. We keep thinking we’re like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde: one person with multiple personalities that take over at dif-ferent times. The ugly truth is that we’re good and evil, saint and sinner, all at the same time.”

156 The expression comes from Dr. Luther, who wrote: “Thus a Christian man is righteous and a sinner at the same time,” holy and profane, an enemy of God and a child of God. . . We . . . teach and comfort an afflicted sinner this way: ‘Brother, it is impossible for you to become so righteous in this life that your body is as clear and spotless as the sun. You still have spots and wrinkles (Eph. 5:27), and yet you are holy.’ . . . ‘But how will I be liberated from sin?’ ‘Run to Christ, the Physician, who heals the contrite of heart and saves sinners. Believe in Him. . . . And the sin that still remains in you is not imputed but is forgiven for the sake of Christ, in whom you believe and who is perfectly righteous in a formal sense. His righteousness is yours; your sin is His.’” Luther’s Works,Volume 26, pages 232, 233.


takes a miracle of God’s grace for us to believethat (and it does!), it also take a miracle to believethat to be true of our fellow believers. Their sinsare legion. They do not treat others and us theway we deserve to be treated. They say all theright things, but they just fall back into their oldsinful habits. We decide that it’s time to move onto another congregation that won’t be filled withsuch unloving, “unsanctified” people. Of course,it will be, and not because of Murphy’s Law ofchurch membership, but because God’s people,so long as they live in this world, are ever andalways saints and sinners at the same time. Thistruth we do well to impress on our memories:“The resurrection life of believers is veiled just asChrist after His ascension vanished from viewinto the hidden glory of God. Weakness, sin andhealth are visible in all those parts of the lives ofthe disciples that come into our view. And yetthat we are risen with Christ is a truth and not adelusion; rather ‘everything that would concealthis truth is a delusion.’”157

We naturally expect that people will be patientwith us, because of our dual natures. God helpus to be patient with our fellow saint-sinners!158

Professor emeritus Daniel Deutschlander suggeststhat there are two alternatives in dealing with ourneighbors, and even our fellow believers: “Eitherwe live for others expecting disappointment andthen being pleasantly surprised when disappoint-ment is replaced with appreciative acceptance; orwe live expecting appreciation and end up retreat-ing in bitterness when we discover that mostpeople are just as sinful as we are and not afraidto prove it.”159

In that regard we need to keep in mind thelesson Jesus teaches in the Parable of the Soils.Even in the good soil, representing those whohear and understand the Word, there are differ-ent results. Sometimes the Word produces ahundred times what was sown, sometimessixty, sometimes thirty.

For example, moved by the Lord’s mercy, onemember may offer 15% of his income to the Lord,to be used for the ministry of the gospel. Another,

in church and Bible class just as often, may offeronly 3% of his income. If we do not heed thelesson of the Parable of the Soils, we may findourselves frustrated by the one who isn’t “doinghis fair share.” A member, thankful for the Lord’slove, might print her name on nearly every sign-up sheet posted in the narthex, while anothernever does. Forget the Parable of the Soils andwe may become upset with the person’s laziness.Instead we rejoice in the Lord’s mercy and honorhis freedom in working in different hearts indifferent ways.

Each spring we look forward to the bloom of thelilac bushes in our yard, both for their beautifulcolor and their incomparable fragrance. We hadnever been disappointed. Until this year. For somereason,160 there were only a few blooms that lastedbut a short time. So it is with the Christian life,both in ours and others.161

St. Paul’s tongue-twister in Romans 7 hits the nailon the head. We know exactly what he meanswhen he writes: “I do not understand what I do.For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hateI do.”162 The Old Man never loses his hatred forGod’s will. He never stands silently by, allowingthe new man to do as he pleases. Instead he insistson having his way. As a result, the Christian endsup engaging in activities he hates.

With our fellow saint-sinners we cry out, “Whata wretched man I am! Who will rescue me fromthis body of death?”163 No use in sugarcoating thematter. Let’s say it the way it is. We can’t conquersin and we can’t save ourselves. Our botchedattempts to live in a way that pleases God revealour sinfulness and our need for the Lord’s for-giveness. To our knees we go, day after day. Lord,have mercy on me, a sinner.

To such wretched sinners, sick and tired of theirflesh, the Lord speaks his word of peace. He hasrescued us. He has won the victory through ourLord Jesus Christ. It was never our job to win thevictory. That’s Christ’s work. His victory is ourvictory! His life is our life! All is well and all willend well in Christ.

157 Köberle, The Quest for Holiness, pages 118, 119.158 How often preacher and member alike think, “I hope Miss Such and Such was listening to the sermon today! She really needed to

hear that!” Is the sinful nature of others more apparent to us than our own? How could that be? We live with ours. We see its hor-rible fruits. Patience says, “I understand what it’s like to have a sinful flesh. I could see myself doing the same thing. In fact, truth be told, I’ve done worse.”

159 The Theology of the Cross—Reflections on His Cross and Ours, to be published by Northwestern Publishing House. 160 Perhaps the never-ending winter had something to do with it, I don’t know. Colorado’s climate is wonderful, but snow may fall at

nearly any time. And this past winter it did. 161 A thought borrowed from an essay by Roger Sommer entitled “Sanctification” in The Abiding Word, page 287. 162 Romans 7:15.163 Romans 7:24.


A closing thought

Our “N” in conduct God removed, and dailyremoves, in Christ. By his grace he will continueto set us apart for service. He will strengthen usthrough his gospel. He will work in us whatpleases him. He will enable us to live for himby serving others. All the way to the end! “Nowto him who is able to do immeasurably morethan all we ask or imagine, according to hispower that is at work within us, to him be gloryin the church and in Christ Jesus throughout allgenerations, for ever and ever! Amen.”164

Soli Deo gloria!

Earle Treptow is pastor at Zion, Denver, Colorado.

Appendix

Dr. Martin Luther’s Flood PrayerLuther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 53

Almighty eternal God, who according tothy righteous judgment didst condemn theunbelieving world through the flood and inthy great mercy didst preserve believingNoah and his family, and who didst drownhardhearted Pharaoh with all his host in theRed Sea and didst lead thy people Israelthrough the same on dry ground, therebyprefiguring this bath of thy baptism, andwho through the baptism of thy dear Child,our Lord Jesus Christ, hast consecrated andset apart the Jordan and all water as a salu-tary flood and a rich and full washing awayof sins: We pray through the same thyboundless mercy that thou wilt graci-ously behold this N. and bless him withtrue faith in the spirit so that by means ofthis saving flood all that has been born inhim from Adam and which he himself hasadded thereto may be drowned in him andengulfed, and that he may be sundered fromthe number of the unbelieving, preserveddry and secure in the holy ark of Christen-dom, serve thy name at all times fervent inspirit and joyful in hope, so that with allbelievers he may be made worthy to attaineternal life according to thy promise; throughJesus Christ our Lord. Amen.165

Christian Worship: Occasional Services

Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father,through your stern judgment the unbeliev-ing world was destroyed by the flood, butaccording to your great mercy, you saved Noah

and his family. You engulfed stubborn Pharaohand his army in the waters of the Red Sea butled your people through those same waters tosafety on dry land. In the waters of the Jordanyour own Son was baptized and anointed withthe Spirit. By these signs you foreshadowedthe precious, cleansing bath which you give usin Holy Baptism.

Clinging to your command and promise,we ask that you would look with favoron ________ . Through this water of Bap-tism, drown in him all sin inherited fromAdam and any other evil he may do. Set himapart from the unbelieving world and holdhim safe and secure in the holy ark of theChurch. Keep him always fervent in spiritand joyful in hope so that he may honoryour holy name and at last receive, togetherwith all you people, the promised inheri-tance of eternal life, through Jesus Christour Lord.166

Select Bibliography

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_______ The Foolishness of God. Milwaukee: NorthwesternPublishing House, 1982.

Bivens, Forrest. “Spiritual Renewal as Expressed in theChristian’s Life.” Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary EssayFile; presentation place and date unknown.

Braun, John A. “The Gospel is the Power God Gives Us to DoHis Work.” Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Volume 103,Number 2, 2006.

Buchholz, Jon. “Justification Expounded in Scripture.” An essaydelivered at the 58th biennial WELS Convention. NewUlm, Minnesota, July 26, 2005.

_______ “Justification in Mission and Ministry.” An essaydelivered at the 58th biennial WELS Convention.New Ulm, Minnesota, July 27, 2005.

Chemnitz, Martin. Ministry, Word, and Sacraments. St. Louis:Concordia Publishing House, 1981.

Cherney, Kenneth A. Jr. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Luther’s Doc-trine of Vocation.” Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly,Volume 98, Number 4, 2001.

_______ “Uncovering our Calling: Luther’s Reformation Re-emphasis on Christian Vocation.” An essay deliveredat Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Symposium onVocation. Mequon, Wisconsin, September 18-19, 2006.

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Eds. Paul McCain, RobertBaker, Gene Veith, and Edward Engelbrecht. St. Louis:Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

Concordia Triglotta. Tr. F. Bente and W. Dau. St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House, 1921.

Deutschlander, Daniel. The Theology of the Cross—Reflections onHis Cross and Ours. To be published by NorthwesternPublishing House.

164 Ephesians 3:20,21.165 Luther’s Works, Volume 53: Liturgy and Hymns. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1965, page 97.166 Christian Worship: Occasional Services. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publlishing House, 2004, page 9.


Forde, Gerhard O. Justification by Faith—A Matter of Death andLife. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982.

Köberle, Adolf. The Quest for Holiness. Minneapolis: AugsburgPublishing House, 1938.

Koehler, Edward A. A Summary of Christian Doctrine. St. Louis:Concordia Publishing House, 1952.

Koelpin, Arnold J. Lord’s Supper: The Lamb’s High Feast.Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2007.

Koester, Robert J. Gospel Motivation. Milwaukee: NorthwesternPublishing House, 2006.

Lange, Lyle. Sanctification: Alive in Christ. Milwaukee:Northwestern Publishing House, 1999.

_______ God So Loved the World. Milwaukee: NorthwesternPublishing House, 2005.

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Volume 26. St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House, 1963.

_______ Luther’s Works, Volume 31. Philadelphia: FortressPress, 1957.




Meyer, John. Studies in the Augsburg Confession. Milwaukee:Northwestern Publishing House, 1995.

Mueller, John Theodore. Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis:Concordia Publishing House, 1934.

Paustian, Mark. “Unleashing our Calling: Today’s ChristiansFind Fulfillment in Their Vocations.” An essay deliv-ered at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Symposium onVocation. Mequon, Wisconsin, September 18-19, 2006.

Pieper, Francis. Christian Dogmatics, Volume III. St. Louis:Concordia Publishing House, 1953.

Preus, Daniel. Why I Am a Lutheran. St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House, 2004.

Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James; Coxe, A. Cleveland:The Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume I: Translations of theWritings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325. Oak Harbor:Logos Research Systems, 1997.

Sasse, Hermann. We Confess Jesus Christ. St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House, 1984.

Scharf, Erwin. “The Holy Ghost, His Person and His Work, withSpecial Emphasis on Sanctification.” An essay deliv-ered at the WELS Nebraska District Convention.Hadar, Nebraska, January 9-12, 1968 (sic).

Schultz, Michael. “The Scriptural Foundation for our ChristianFreedom.” An essay delivered at Wisconsin LutheranSeminary Symposium on Christian Freedom.Mequon, Wisconsin, September 24-25, 2001.

Senkbeil, Harold L. Dying to Live. St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House, 1994.

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Zarling, Mark. “Where is the Font?” An essay delivered atthe Central Conference of the WELS WesternWisconsin District, presentation place unknown.January 15, 2001.

BIBLE STUDY PART 1



In the first part of the essay, we noted that Godsanctifies his people through the Means of Grace.By the gospel in Word and Sacrament, the Lordgraciously sets his people apart and gives them anew life. This Bible study takes us to a chapter ofScripture that speaks most powerfully and beauti-fully of the Lord’s sanctifying work in Holy Bap-tism. May the Lord grant us an ever-increasingappreciation for the blessings he bestows throughthis sacrament of initiation!

Opening worship

Baptized into your name most holy, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,I claim a place, though weak and lowly,Among your saints, your chosen host,Buried with Christ and dead to sin.Your Spirit now shall live within. (Christian Worship 294)

To the Word

Romans 6:1-14

Use verses 1-4 to answer the person who says,“Baptism is an outward ceremony reflective ofan inner obedience and commitment.”

The last phrase of verse 4 might be moreliterally translated, “so also we might walkaround in newness of life.” In what sense dothe baptized children of God “walk around innewness of life”?

How do verses 6 and 7 remind us that Bap-tism is not just part of the Christian’s past, butof his present and future?


Evaluate: The key to Christian living is tothink of ourselves as drowned corpses.(verse 11)

Dr. Luther described the Christian life as a“daily Baptism, once begun and ever to becontinued.” What do you think aboutdescribing the Christian life as an “ongoingcoup d’etat”? (verses 12-14)

Explain, and apply to sanctified living:Through Baptism, we enjoy the ultimatefreedom. (verses 12-14)

In Baptism, the Lord who adopted us intohis family also anointed us as priests. Whatevidence of that do you see in verses 12-14?

How does this section of Scripture emphasizethat sanctification (in both wide and narrowsenses) truly is God’s business, not ours?

From word to life

Evaluate: If I become convinced that I do nothave to do anything to be forgiven, then I willlive as I please.

How can we recall the present blessings ofBaptism each day? What could we do to helpour brothers and sisters in Christ to recallthose same blessings?

A closing blessing

Hebrews 13:20,21 (NIV)

L: May the God of peace, who through the bloodof the eternal covenant brought back from thedead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd ofthe sheep, equip you with everything good fordoing his will,

G: And may he work in us what is pleasing tohim, through Jesus Christ, to whom be gloryfor ever and ever. Amen.

BIBLE STUDY PART 2



The second part of the essay focused our attentionon the Spirit’s work in leading us to live in love.God’s boundless love for us inspires the love forhim we demonstrate in love towards others.Today we turn to the section of Scripture whichset the theme of our convention and reminds usof what the Lord means to do through his people.May the Lord lead us to recognize the wondrousprivilege we have to be the Lord’s instruments ofblessing to others!

Opening worship

Take my life and let it beConsecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days;Let them flow in ceaseless praise.Take my hands and let them moveAt the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them beSwift and beautiful for thee.(Christian Worship 469)

To the Word

1 Peter 2:9-12

The Apostle Peter addressed this letter toChristians who had been scattered bypersecution. How would each of thedescriptors in verse 9 (“a chosen people, aroyal priesthood, a holy nation, a peoplebelonging to God”) have comforted them?

Compare and contrast the priesthood in theOld and New Testaments. (cf. 1 Peter 2:5;Romans 12:1,2)

Evaluate: Christians declare the praises ofGod (literally “excellencies” or “exceptionalvirtues” of God) without ever opening theirmouths.

Why would the Apostle Peter refer to hisreaders as a “people” and not as individualChristians? (verse 10)


What summary of sanctified living does theApostle offer in verses 11 and 12?

How does verse 12 widen our scope of serviceto the Savior?

Agree or disagree? A Christian’s godly lifemay lead others to faith in Jesus. (verse 12)

From word to life

Reflect on your service as a priest from thesetwo perspectives: 1) “I get to” and 2) “I haveto.” Which more accurately captures the truthof Scripture?

Maybe you’ve heard this phrase: “Only onelife, ‘twill soon be past, Only that which isdone for the Lord will last.” How might thatbe used improperly? Properly?

What advantages are there in a Christianremembering that he is a priest whereverhe is?

A closing blessing

1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 (NIV)

L: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctifyyou through and through.

G: May your whole spirit, soul and body bekept blameless at the coming of our LordJesus Christ.

L: The one who calls you is faithfulG: And he will do it.

DEVOTIONS

Old Testament Gospel Gem #1Professor Mark Paustian

Mon., July 30, 2007, 2:15 P.M.

Text: Isaiah 40:1,2

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to herthat her hard service has been completed, that hersin has been paid for, that she has received fromthe LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

Theme: Good news for Jerusalem—a glimpse intothe very heart of God

They never took their father seriously enough—nothis guidance or his promises, not his pleading, nothis threats. Most of all, they underestimated hisgrief, that he had lost their hearts and minds; thatthere was nothing he wouldn’t do to have themback. And when the spanking finally came, it camehard. And these sons, they cried bitter tears in spiteof themselves. And the father retreated to his ownroom, to a place they were not allowed to follow,not for a long time. But he left the door ajar, andthe youngest son caught a glimpse through thecrack in the door—the father sitting on the side ofthe bed with his head in his hands. What is this?He called the other sons and they all looked in.Then the father met their eyes, held his arms out,eyes pleading: “Come here, boys!” He knew theywon’t, not most of them, but still: “Come to me,boys! Come know me again. Know my heart! Letme comfort you!” One by one they walked away,except the youngest son who hesitated at the door.

The backdrop to Isaiah chapter 40 is critical. It isthe time Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel,got spanked. Imagine! Sons of Abraham drivenlike cattle across the Arabian desert to Babylon.If we say nobody had ever lost more than thispeople, it was because no one had ever hadmore, or treated it so shabbily—God’s Word, hiscovenant, his grace. They had driven him fromtheir midst, and was it not the sound of Godslamming the door behind him, when word cameto those already in Babylon that the temple backin Jerusalem had fallen.

One of my colleagues comments that the longerhe studies the Old Testament, the more he isstruck by the terrible significance of this one eventthat is described more often and in more detailthan any other in the Old Testament, when Godwiped his own worship center, the symbol of hisspecial presence, off the face of the earth; whenthe beacon to the Gentile nations, so speciallysituated in Israel, he snuffed out; when the sac-rifices, the blood of bulls and goats and lambs thatalways cried out, “Ah, don’t be afraid, God has away” were ended. And they said it no more. It canhardly be overstated, the devastation! What now?Oh, what now? Isaiah chapter 40-66 is called theBook of Comforts, but how, if there is no sorrow,how unless conscience is suddenly awake andappalled at ourselves, with the fresh knowledgeof what we deserve from God, no less than they.For we are unacceptable. We are unworthy. Andso often so much like the world—just think of thelast week or the last day. We have sinned againstHoly God. This is a Book of Comfort, but how ifthere is no sorrow.


You should understand that the ministry of Isaiahactually took place some 100 years before theBabylonian captivity. Though his ministry waslong past, by the miracle of prophesy it is as ifhe lives among the captives, stands among thepeople in Babylon in the latter half of the captivity.And if they just have the heart to open the oldscroll of Isaiah, then the voice of God rings outacross the devastation: “Comfort, comfort mypeople,” says your God.

The LORD tears his very heart, and the words pourout onto all the fears they hide inside, tendercomfort until the heart can hold no more. Who arewe now that God has cast us out? “My people” —that casting out had seemed so final and lasting,but he had never stopped being—“your God.” But,what about Babylon? “Your hard service is over!”But we have sinned! ”Your sin is atoned for.” Inthe Lord’s mind it was already done. But what dowe look forward to now? “Glory!” “I myself willmake all things new.” (And there is the summaryof the entire 27 chapters—your hard service isover, your sin is paid for, and I will make allthings new.)

And that is the beauty of it and the grace of it, thatwhen God comes to them now in their nothing-ness and shame, it is utterly without demand,only, “Come . . . know my heart . . . and becomforted.” And if such troubles have to fall onthe Church, if Jerusalem had to fall for theircomplacency to be stripped away, let it fall, ifthat’s what it took, that there should at least be aremnant that knows him and is found in him.

As glorious as it was that the people returnedfrom their captivity—who ever heard of sucha thing that a people should go off and be lost,and then somehow to be brought back. As glori-ous as that was, these words reach beyond,centuries beyond.

You remember an old man scanning the crowd inthe temple courts, searching; his whole lifesummed up this way—he was waiting for “theconsolation of Israel.” And then came Mary andJoseph, and Simeon took his comfort in his twoarms, the baby Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.“Ah, Sovereign Lord, my eyes have seen yoursalvation.” And when he spoke to Mary about thesword that would pierce her soul; it takes us tothat New Testament event written at such detail,more than any other, the great crushing of the Sonof God. He was crushed in our place.

“Comfort my people,” says your God. The Wordof God says, “Take this, this is for you.” And so,just as in Babylon—when God is most hidden inshame and weakness and apparent failure, thereis God most revealed. Standing under the cross,faith sees to his very heart, and is let in. Martin

Luther commented on this text, “The devil oftenscolds me for thinking the Christian faith can becontained in so few words. Ah, but to have thisin our heart and our mind, that ‘God is mercifulto me, for Jesus sake’ . . . ah, to live in that thought. . . and be made new in it.”

“Comfort, comfort my people.”

And lastly Martin Luther wrote about the waythese words resonate throughout the ChurchAge. I’m thinking of a young man whom we asa synod trained, we trained him to, you know,speak the law as if there were no gospel, and thento speak the gospel as if there were no law. Tospeak it tenderly, winsomely, like God wants.We trained him, that’s what synods do. And itdoesn’t happen in a day. And then we sent himto Siberia, synods do that too. And the churchthere struggles, which is what the church doesalways in this world. Always.

A few months ago I was privileged to sit with 20or so people in an overheated room. It was a deafclub, so the translating went from sign language toRussian to English and back, so that what theywanted to say to us representatives of WELS camephrase by phrase: “We were all atheists . . wefought all the time and hated each other . . . ”They motion toward the minister, and say, “Nowwe have peace.” And they all nod their heads:“Yes, we have peace.” If only you could havebeen there!

“Now we have peace.”

But the same thing happens wherever peoplegather in under the shadow of death in this world.And what a thrill, when one stands up to speak,not having to wonder what to do or say. For theyhave it in their hearts and in their minds.

Comfort, comfort my people, in the living LordChrist. Your warfare is over. Your sin is paid for.Your present suffering is not worth comparingwith the glory to be revealed. Amen.


Tues., July 31, 2007, 8:30 A.M.

Text: Isaiah 40:3-8

A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare theway for the LORD; make straight in the wilder-ness a highway for our God. Every valley shall beraised up, every mountain and hill made low; therough ground shall become level, the ruggedplaces a plain. And the glory of the LORD will berevealed, and all mankind together will see it. Forthe mouth of the LORD has spoken.” A voice says,“Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “Allmen are like grass, and all their glory is like theflowers of the field. The grass withers and the


flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blowson them. Surely the people are grass. The grasswithers and the flowers fall, but the word of ourGod stands forever.”

Theme: Good news for mankind—the glory ofChrist is revealed

An ironic little story: the old Jewish rabbi wasbeing tormented by drunken Nazi soldiers. Theyhave him naked in the street, and as they beathim, they’re laughing, and they chant: “A blowfor Abraham. . . . A blow for Isaac. . . . A blowfor Jacob.”

Someone says, “Let’s have a sermon, Rabbi.”And wasn’t it just so comical when he asked fora covering for his head.

“It is our Sabbath,” he said, “and today I wasgoing to read, ‘In the image of God he madethe man.’”

So what happened? Of course, as we say, mankinditself has a past. That verse takes us back to thebeginning, when our first parents were still good,gaping at the luminous joy of creation, as themorning stars sang together, and everything waswhat it was supposed to be. And then the originalslap, the ancient shame; you can think of it all dayand still not get it. How could they do that? Howcould they just rebel like that. Of course, the waywe sin doesn’t really make any more sense thantheir sin. Sin is with us every day, though youcannot explain it, much less excuse it. And eventhough we come by ours naturally, born into it,we’re just as guilty. It was our Fall, too, just asmuch as theirs. And when the curse came, it leftno one out.

A former colleague used to, “You know, the evilwe’re capable of, we each have done.” You don’tget credit for not being one of those Nazis. Youdon’t get some kind of credit for not taking partin a holocaust just because you didn’t have theopportunity to, or the stomach for it, or wouldlost sleep over it or whatever. No, we have eachdone the evil we were capable of. The apple thatwas within our grasp, we reached and we tookit—hateful things, hateful thoughts, hatefulwords. And God is holy.

And the problem is what we are, not just what wedo. “We were by nature objects of wrath,” Paulsaid. It doesn’t get any worse than that. (There issuch a thing as God’s wrath.) And so Romans5:12, “By one man, sin came into the world, anddeath by sin, and so death passed upon all men,for all have sinned.” There it is.

A voice says, “Cry out,” and I said, “What shall Icry?” “All flesh is grass!” All humankind is grass.And all their glory, their most crowning achieve-

ment, their best, is like flowers in the grass. Thegrass withers, the flowers fall, because the breathof the Lord blows upon them. The righteousjudgment of God still blows and blows acrossthe earth, “Return to dust, you sons of Man.”

All flesh is grass!

When liberal theologians cannot seem to graspthat Jesus Christ, and his kingdom, the kingdomof God, is the heart and soul of Old Testamentprophesy (preeminently Isaiah’s “Book of Com-forts,” Isaiah 40-66), perhaps it starts right here.What they haven’t grappled with is Isaiah’s,“Surely, the people are grass.” They haven’t fullygrasped that Isaiah has lost all faith in Israel.That Isaiah has despaired of the people, as such,for he knows them all too well. His prophesyingso transcends any merely human dreams or sillynationalistic hopes for Israel. Listen to him: theLORD himself was coming! The LORD was comingto do something flat out wonderful, and to do itentirely without Israel’s help, something more.And the glory of the Lord would be revealed insuch a way that all flesh, all of humankindtogether will see what glory is.

And so understand that when the captives returnfrom Babylon, when Israel is renewed (the pointof the first part of the Book of Comforts), under-stand that when it happens, the wonderfulhistorical event, this itself becomes a type, anassurance, a lesser event promising that thegreater will surely follow. There would come agreater renewal and greater deliverance still, thatis, the kingdom of Christ. That’s the first of thethree parts of Isaiah chapters 40-66. And a newheaven and new earth, the home of righteousness,that and nothing less than that is what Isaiah seesand describes at the end of this book of comfort.So what happens in the middle?

You may know that Isaiah 40-66 is a crowningliterary achievement, with a deliberately craftedstructure. It has three main parts—we’ve men-tioned that— and each part has three parts in it,nine in all. Now, what do you image we find inthe center of the center? What is perched up onthat literary peak? What is this all about? What isthe jewel in the crown?

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,nothing in his appearance that we should desirehim. He was despised and rejected by men, a manof sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like onefrom whom men hide their faces he was despised,and we esteemed him now. Surely he took upour infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet weconsidered him stricken by God, smitten by him,and afflicted. But he was pierced for our trans-gressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the


punishment that brought us peace was upon himand by his wounds we are healed. We all likesheep have gone astray, each of us has turned tohis own way, and the Lord has laid on him, theiniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53).

We thought we knew what glory was. But then thevirgin gave birth to a child. And even as the childwas born, a Son was given. And he will be called,“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, EverlastingFather, Prince of Everything-the-way-it’s-supposed to be. (A little girl dies and he simplysays, “Talitha Koum”—“little girl get up”—andshe does.)

Faith looks up and sees: a blow for Abraham, ablow for Isaac, a blow for Jacob, a blow for you,and a blow for me. This is the glory of the Lord,the only one we can bear in the world, the gloryof Christ suffering for us. This—his glory—willextend to the ends of the earth, and all mankindtogether will see.

But for some, it will be too late. If they won’t seethat “all flesh is grass,” if they can squeeze theireyes to a thing so obvious as that, they will neversee that Christ crucified is our joy and our verylife. That grass would not have been the last word,but a new heavens and a new earth, are God’s giftto us in Jesus Christ, where everything is as it’ssupposed to be—no death, no mourning, no cry-ing, no pain. For the mouth of the Lord hasspoken it, we have his Word, and the foundationsof the universe are not so solid as this. That any-one will miss it is as sad as it gets.

But there still is room. Remember another oldman, not Simeon this time, but Zechariah, headtilted back, singing a beautiful song over his littleboy. The boy is John, and the old priest sings,“And you my child, will be called a prophet of themost high.” So John the Baptist is the voice callingin the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord;make straight in the wilderness a highway for ourGod.” So John the Baptist is that voice. And in ourway, and in our time, so are we. Amen.


Tues., July 31, 2007, 2:30 P.M.

Text: Isaiah 40:9-11

You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on ahigh mountain. You who bring good tidings toJerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift itup, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,“Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign LORD

comes with power, and his arm rules for him.See, his reward is with him, and his recompenseaccompanies him. He tends his flock like a shep-herd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and

carries them close to his heart; he gently leadsthose that have young.

Theme: Good news for the Church—God is amongus as a Shepherd

A bunch of us college guys got all dressed up andtook in a performance of Handel’s Messiah at thePerforming Arts Center in Milwaukee. It was justas the soloist was standing up for her solo, draw-ing in her breath, that the sounds of sirens andhorns exploded outside the building—as astream of emergency vehicles drove by wailingand lamenting, obnoxious horns complaining atthe traffic. And for most people I suppose themoment was ruined. You think, well at least, letthe woman belt out her verse to be heard abovethe racket, but she refuses. She sings softly andsweetly. Better that we lean forward and strainto catch the words. She sings, “He shall feed hisflock like a shepherd, and he shall gather thelambs in his arms . . . in his arms.”

Outside, the sounds of disaster.

Inside, the Word of God.

“Though the earth give way,” so the Psalm goes,“and though mountains fall into the heart of theseas, there is a River whose streams make glad thecity of God, the Holy Place where the Most HighDwells. God is within her. She will not fall.” Doyou see? So much trouble in the world; how thenations rage and stamp their feet . . . “but he willlead his flock like a shepherd.”

To think that as long as there have been prophe-sies about a Savior, there have been prophesiesabout the saved. “Look at the sky, Abraham. Soshall your offspring be.” God made a promise toAbraham, one that had no condition: “I will beyour God, you will be my people . . . and in yourseed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. “Period. There it is. And you who believe like hebelieved are Abraham’s descendants. Imagine.You are the stars in Abraham’s sky; you are thesand at his feet.

Gospel Gem #3 concerns prophesies of the Churchand the blessings she alone knows. “He shall tendhis flock like a shepherd.” If there is a shepherd,there will be a flock. He will see to it. And it’s justso heartening. In difficult times, when we aretempted to judge by what our eyes can see, howfragile the church looks, just ready to fall apartany moment now, this thing made up of the likesof us. If left to us it really would all come to ruin.

But listen. “He will tend his flock like a shepherd.”

Of course, the shepherd image itself reachesback to King David, who knew a thing or twoabout taking care of sheep, finding them, feedingthem, and if necessary taking your place in the


gap between the lion and the flock. He knowsabout that. He knows a thing or two about sheep.And one day the inspiration of the Spirit is there,and he thinks, “The Lord is my shepherd! Every-thing I was to the sheep, he is to me . . . and more.And will not goodness and love follow me all thedays of my life!”

“The Lord is my shepherd.”

But how sweet and tender it is especially tohave the image revived here in Isaiah. WhenJerusalem is wrecked and abandoned, all herchildren stripped away, carried off—and weare not to forget what it looks like for God togive his people what they deserve. But whenJerusalem is ruined, eyeing her future with suchblank despair, she is to look up and suddenly seethem, streaming over the rise—her captives, herchildren—ransomed, returned.

The captives in Babylon were to know thattheir Lord would be among them again, stillas a shepherd. He would come to restore hiscovenant. He would bring them home. He hadnot forgotten his promise, how he had giventhem his Word, but he would remember. Andsuch a tender image! The shepherd who knowsnot to drive the sheep too hard. Those who can-not keep up? He carries them close to his heart.“His reward is with him.” I think that means thepeople themselves and his joy at having them andthe holy pleasure of doing such good for them.

So the captives returned as a fact of history. Forthe most part, by his severe mercy, God hadfinally purged the old idolatries out of Israel.We don’t hear about her whirring after falsegods anymore. The temple was rebuilt, and itwas nice . . . if you didn’t think too hard aboutthe one before and start crying. And the point is,is “glory” the word you think about to describeIsrael in the days that followed . . . under Romefor example? And the point is that once again wesense that the prophesy came true, and yet stillheld something else, something more wonderfulyet with it.

That the Lord himself would be in their midst,God himself would plant human feet on MountZion, and would claim his title—I am the GoodShepherd—and wear it perfectly in every way.And “Woe to you, Jerusalem”—this is his rod.And, “Come to me all you who are weary” —this is his staff. And his face shining like the sun,and him leaning over Matthew’s booth saying,“Follow me,” this is the shepherd finding hissheep. And, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, forthere is the kingdom of God”—this is Jesus feed-ing them. And is not the cross that place wherethe Good Shepherd laid his body down between

the flock and every enemy there is! And we areto remember the way he suffered. And he didn’tsay, “It is finished!” until it was, and world wasredeemed. And he who laid his body down took itup again, alive! And Peter wrote in his first letter,“When Christ, the Chief Shepherd appears, youwill receive the crown of Glory that will neverfade away.” And we’ll enter the joy, the joy ofJesus presenting us his prize to the Father: “Herethey are, Father. Not one is missing!”

“Here they are, Father. Not one of them ismissing.”

And so, while we wait for him, we the Churchhave found our calling and our vocation: “Youwho have good tidings for Zion, go up on a highmountain. You who have good tidings for Jeru-salem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up.Do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, ‘Hereis your God.’ ”

The Church finds her vocation. She is a preacherby birth. She has her calling. It is to bless God’sworld with the Word. That the news is good! Andthough she seems so fragile and so small, thoughshe struggles in this world, yet she always gathersaround the water and the Word, the bread and thewine. She bends down. And forgiveness itself isher sustenance and her warmth. And then shestands up, and still smiling, she enters her world.Still smiling, she is to climb up to the highestplace she can find, she is to set all hesitation aside,and then for the pure joy of it, she is to shout it tothe world: “Here is your God! Here is your God!”She promotes God alone, not herself. To him bethe glory, not to us. For her, everything is Christ!

“Here is your God!”

So let the last word come from the apostle Paul.He said, “In a wicked and depraved generation,you shine like the stars as you hold out the Wordof Life.” The louder things get out there and thedarker, the more the Church has the opportunityto be the Church, and to shine. “You shine likestars, as you hold out the Word of Life.” Amen.


Wed., Aug. 1, 2007, 8:30 A.M.

Text: Isaiah 40:25-31

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is myequal,” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes andlook to the heavens: Who created all these? Hewho brings out the starry host one by one, andcalls them each by name. Because of his greatpower and mighty strength, not one of them ismissing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain,O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; mycause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not


know? Have you not heard? The LORD is theeverlasting God, the Creator of the ends of theearth. He will not grow tired or weary, and hisunderstanding no one can fathom. He givesstrength to the weary and increases the power ofthe weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, andyoung men stumble and fall; but those who hopein the LORD will renew their strength. They willsoar on wings like eagles; they will run and notgrow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Theme: Good news for the weary—the Lord himselfis your hope

This is God’s Word . . . and it reminds of a storyI’ve told before about a man who had a horse. Thehorse broke down the fence and ran away. Theman’s neighbors came to say, “Oh, what a badthing happened, your horse ran away. Terrible.”And the man said, “Do we know what’s bad orgood? You say too much. Only say that my horsehas run away.” Well, the next day the horse cameback leading 11 wild horses with it, right into thecorral, and the neighbors came to say, “Now wesee what you mean, how good that your horseran away!” The man said, “You say too much. Wedon’t know what’s bad or good, only say that nowI have 12 horses.” And when the man’s son wasbreaking those horses he broke his own leg, andthe neighbors came to say, we finally understandyou, “Those horses are bad,” and the farmer said,“Always, always, you say too much. Only say, myson has broken his leg.” And of course the countrywent to war, and all the young men had to gofight except the ones with broken legs, and theneighbors came and—the man said, ”Ah, ah, ah.Don’t say too much!”

Let the captives in Babylon say, “This is not ourhome!” True enough. Let them say, “Jerusalem isfallen” and “the temple is destroyed.” They mayeven say, “And it breaks our hearts.” Well itshould. But, “Why do you say, O Jacob, andcomplain O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from theLord, my cause is disregarded by my God.’”There, right there, they say too much. They say,“Clearly it can only mean that he doesn’t even seeus any more, that he doesn’t care.” They say toomuch, and it brings a strong rebuke.

There’s a bit of a “Who do you think you are?”in these words. We and our blasphemous selves,claiming God’s qualities as our own, as if weknow things we cannot possibly know, likewhat the next five minutes will bring. We can-not imagine what good he brings out of whatevil, or what dangers would come to our souls ifwe got everything we thought we wanted.

And in these verses there’s even a little somethingof a “So what? You wanna step outside?” If youinsist on judging by what your eyes can see, step

out in the dark, lift your eyes and look to theheavens, to stars of incomprehensible size and fire,and to the unthinkable spaces between. Hmmm.Who do you suppose made these? And he madethem, but not with cold intellect. Even the starsare personal to him. He calls them each by name.And it is an unimaginable power and an under-standing you cannot fathom with which he holdsthem all in place. His is timeless, and he nevergets tired and . . . is any of this ringing a bell?Please tell me you’ve heard it before, that “TheLord is the everlasting God, the Creator of theends of the earth.”

“To whom will you compare me?” thunders theHoly One, “Or who is my equal?” The only Godis God. And the truth is, there is a sweetness inhumility; in true humility, not the sniveling kind.True humility is not altogether unpleasant.Namely, to be put in our place by him, and tocome back to that verse that is always like cominghome: “Be still and know that I am God.” Think ofall that we know of him in Christ! Think of Christcrucified for us, and think of Christ raised, andthink of how the New Testament pours its powerinto the old. “Be still and know that I am God.”

So, there’s a necessary rebuke here: “I don’t seeyou, Israel? Jacob, I don’t care? You can say thisto me?” But it’s a gentle rebuke as well. Theseare terms of endearment. His purpose, clearly, isthat having unveiled his plans for captive Israel,having unveiled to them his very heart, and allwe’ve talked about since verse 1, well, now hewants them to believe it. He wants them to trusthim. He wants them to hope in him. He wants hispeople to take heart. He wants them to wait onhim, and wait for him to act, and to do every lastthing that he said he would do. He wants themto draw the strength they need from him. It’s thesame reason he shows Christ to us, that we wouldtake our strength from him. We need strength tolove our neighbors in every need, strength toendure, strength to say, “Your will be done” everyday, for every day brings something that is not aswe would have wanted it to be. We need thestrength to say, “God is good!” and to call goodwhatever comes from his hand. There are all sortsof strengths we need . . .

. . . because we are tired in more ways than one.As to captive Israel, now I’m thinking about howthat captivity would last 70 years. I’m thinking ofall the people who were there that got old waiting,and perhaps weren’t really up for the big returnhome any more. “Even youths grow tired andweary, and young men stumble and fall”—youngmen turn into old men, and it happens veryquickly. It happens day by day. Remember Isaiahcrying out, “All flesh is grass, all their beauty is


like the flowers of the field. The grass withers,the flowers fall”—it happens to us all. But thenyou think about the apostle Paul. He said, “Out-wardly we are wasting away; inwardly we arebeing renewed day by day.” The Lord gives hisstrength to the weak.

Now think of your dear ones, old saints in nurs-ing homes, getting weaker and weaker, more andmore tired . . . getting stronger and stronger, theWord of God in their laps. They have no fear inJesus. As to going home, oh, they’re up for it. It’sa longing, and it’s a strength. “He renews thepower of the weak. Those who hope in the Lord,renew their strength, they mount up on wingslike eagles.”

The thing about eagles is that if you can catchsight of one soaring in the sky, it may be that inthe short time you can see it, you may not see itflap its wings at all. Just so, our faith flies to God,and in the presence of God, we do not work. Weonly receive all he has to give—all his righteous-ness, all peace, all love.

Faith has wings.

And, “In my Father’s house are many mansions”is a kind of wind.

And even now, you soar. And one day you willride, you will fly his promises all the way home.In a flash, in a twinkling, we shall be changed, forwe shall see him as he is.

What is good? This is good, God says—youhoping in me! You, found in me by faith inJesus Christ.

So do not say too much. Fix your eyes on Jesus!Set your hearts on things above, where Christis seated at the right hand of God. Let’s not settoo much. But let all of our thinking—abouteverything—work backwards from this, fromthe sound of singing on the other side, from thefact of us all standing there shouting: “God hasdone everything well!” And, “God is good!”“Who is like the Lord!?” And, “At last we arehome.” Only say, “Amen. Come quickly LordJesus. Amen.”

Mark Paustian is a professor at Martin Luther College,New Ulm, Minnesota.

New Testament Gospel Gem #1Professor Kenneth Cherney Jr.Wed., Aug. 1, 2007, 1:30 P.M.

Text: Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified throughfaith, we have peace with God through our LordJesus Christ.

Theme: Justified through faith

The Fiestas de Santa Fe celebrations have been heldin Santa Fe, N.M., every year since 1712. But theFiesta is most known for a more recent tradition,and that is the ritual burning of Zozobra, “OldMan Gloom.” Zozobra is a 50-foot-tall puppetmade of wood and cloth. He’s white, has greeneyes and bright yellow hair, and has a huge scowlon his big red lips. During the fiesta, as he standsthere awaiting his doom, he snarls and waveshis arms up and down; and thousands of peoplegather around him and chant, “Burn him! Burnhim!” Finally, Zozobra explodes in a blaze offlames and fireworks; and a great cheer goes upfrom the crowd.

They cheer because Zozobra represents all thesadness and disappointment and gloom of thepast year. In fact, he doesn’t just represent sad-ness and gloom—he’s made of sadness andgloom. Inside, Zozobra is stuffed with paper,and the paper traditionally comes from docu-ments volunteered by the people of Santa Fe,the kind of documents that we all have and thatwe never want to see again. Old traffic tickets.Divorce papers. Eviction notices. Letters fromthe IRS. Bad report cards. They’re all there, insideZozobra, and when he burns and the fireworks gooff, those documents disappear in a glorious flashof fire and light.

And I don’t know if it’s intentional, or just deli-cious irony, that Zozobra gets torched on thefirst weekend after Labor Day, right around theday of the Festival of the Holy Cross. The peopleof Santa Fe make Zozobra to be disappointmentsand failures. On the Holy Cross, “God made him,who knew no sin, to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians5:19). With Zozobra, the people of Santa Fe burnall the pieces of paper that judge and condemnthem. On the Holy Cross, God immolates his ownSon. And with his Son, God shreds and burns thewritten code that stood against us, the subpoenathat we appear in God’s court on the charge ofsin, of which we were guilty as sin. Long ago thecrowd shouted, not “Burn him!” but “Crucifyhim!” and they did. And as they did, our sindisappeared in a mesmerizing display of thetrue glory of God, the glory that is revealed inthe forgiveness of sins.

And when it’s over, we stand justified. The recordof our sins is nothing but ashes that fall like snowall around us. The court pronounces us sinless,innocent, free to go. The evidence against usseems to have disappeared and all charges havebeen dropped. We have not failed God at all. Wehave not disappointed him at all. We are fineupstanding citizens, free to walk the streets ofheaven with no fear and no shame whatsoever. Itis now easier to put Zozobra back together than itwould be to try us again on a charge of sin.


Our devotions this convention will focus on thisfact of our justification before God; a fact that theapostle Paul states for us in Romans chapter 5. Hethen goes on to explain the other gifts that ourjustification brings us in its train. But as we moveon to those other gifts, please remember that theyare all results from our justification—from the newstatus God has conferred on us; the new attitudethat God takes toward us; the new first thoughtthat comes to God’s mind when he looks at us.

For that new thought in the mind of God is thegreatest gift of all. That new thought is, “Justi-fied.” And with God’s gifts, it truly is the thoughtthat counts.

New Testament Gospel Gem #2Professor Kenneth Cherney Jr.Thurs., Aug. 2, 2007, 8:30 A.M.

Text: Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified throughfaith, we have peace with God through our LordJesus Christ.

Theme: Peace with God

To the vast majority of mankind, this verse isprobably meaningless. The majority of mankindimagines itself at peace with God already, quiteapart from Jesus Christ. God—if he exists at all—is the nameless and faceless force behind theuniverse. God is the sunrise and the stars in thenight sky and the first cry from a newborn baby;he—it—is the cosmos. And the last thing that thecosmos—this nameless, faceless God—would everdo is to get in the way of our enjoying all ourpleasures and living all our dreams.

Those ideas come from repressed, neurotichuman beings, not from God. God wants us tobe happy; he wants us to be at peace. And to beat peace, just imagine yourself at peace. Think ofyourself as at peace with God, and your thinkingwill make it so.

This is spiritual insanity, but even crazy peoplehave their moments. And even a person whothinks he can make peace with God by thinkingit is so has his moments when he wonderswhether it’s really quite that simple. For instance,if I’m at peace with God already, then why do Iget so uncomfortable when people start talkingabout God around me? Why won’t the memoryof that rather shabby thing I did a few years backever go away? If God meant for life to be nothingbut the pursuit of one pleasure after another, whydo so many pleasures turn to ashes in my mouth?“Oh, well—better not go there.” And there areplenty of ways—from bottles to pills to toys tocable TV—to keep the disturbing questions away,at least for awhile.

Brothers and sisters, to someone who is spiritu-ally sleepwalking through life, the statement “wehave peace with God” is going to be meaningless.Therefore, although I know they say you’re notsupposed to do this, the first thing we have to dois to take these sleepwalkers and wake them up.That’s exactly what Paul does. The gospel gems inRomans come only after Paul has laid down thelaw. In his first two-and-a-half chapters, Paulpours a bucket of shockingly cold water on theheads of his readers. And our society and we,ourselves, need that cold shower too.

In the first place, we need to know that God isreal. God exists, not as what we think he is, butas what he knows himself to be. God does not livein a little corner of our mind, right next door toSanta Claus and Paul Bunyan, ever so gratefulwhen we direct a thought or two his way so thathe can stay alive. No, God is vastly more real thanyou and I; and this will come as a shock to manypeople, but God is singularly uninterested in ouropinion about how he ought to do things. What’smore, God has issued a list of demands, and theydo not include a commandment that we have funand live our dreams. What God demands is thatwe acknowledge him as God with our everybreath and serve him with our every movement,our entire life long.

And here’s the worst news of all. We haven’t doneit. Not only haven’t we; we can’t. Realize that, andthe picture of God as a beautiful sunset or a gig-gling baby will vanish from your mind veryquickly. What you will see before you in yourminds eye will be very different—a hostile,accusing finger pointed directly at you, and thenwaving you away toward the open doors of hell.

Can you see that finger? Can you see those doors?If you can, now—and only now—are we ready totalk about peace. Now you are ready to hear aboutthe impossible, illogical, makes-no-sense thing thatGod has done, in justifying us by faith.

What has God done? He has taken every cause ofour hostility—our sin—and charged it to his Sonand not to us. He has swept the record clean sothat those sins no longer exist. He has taken theonly possible foundation for peace with him—theperfect righteousness of Jesus—and credited it tous. With that done, and only because that has beendone, God withdraws his accusing finger andreaches out a gentle hand. By faith we grab thathand, and we hold on for dear life.

And we go through life hand and hand with God,at peace with God. This is the real God. Not a fig-ment of our imagination. Not a nameless, faceless,force; but the one whom Jesus called Father, andwhom now we may call Father too. And becausethis is a real God, this is also a real peace. Not a


nice, calm state of mind we have thought our-selves into, but a new standing with God in whichGod loves you and wants you near and thinks ofyou as the fulfillment of his dreams and as every-thing he could have asked for. This is not justpeace—it’s peace through Jesus. Nothing is morereal. And nothing is more meaningful. Amen.

New Testament Gospel Gem #3Professor Kenneth Cherney Jr.Wed., Aug. 2, 2007, 1:30 P.M.

Text: Romans 5:1,2

Therefore, since we have been justified throughfaith, we have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ, through whom we havegained access by faith into this grace in whichwe now stand.

Theme: Access by faith into this grace in whichwe now stand

Were you ever treated like a VIP? Did youever get to flash your backstage pass and walkright through a crowd that was trying to pushtheir way in to see the band—and the securityguards parted the crowd for you and wavedyou through with a smile? Were you ever sentright past a long line of people who had beenwaiting forever, because the manager saw youstanding in the lobby and decided that you wereso important he needed to take care of you per-sonally and right away? Did you ever get tostand in the short line to check in, wait in theVIP lounge, board the plane first, and sit in oneof the wide, leather seats?

Were you ever treated like a VIP, and how did itfeel? It probably felt nice—and you probably felta twinge of guilt, too. Part of you was enjoyingthe experience. Part of you may have been saying,“This really isn’t right. I’m no better than all thoseother people who have been waiting forever.What entitles me to this kind of treatment?”

Having been justified by faith, Paul says, wehave received peace with God—and along withit, “access by faith into this grace in which wenow stand.” What entitles us to this kind oftreatment? Nothing in us or about us; it is purelyand only the redemptive work of Jesus—thesinless life, innocent death, and victorious resur-rection of the Son of God. This does not just meanthat, when we approach the throne of grace, wehave a pass that will get us in. It means that anytime we approach, Jesus himself walks at ourside, his hand on our shoulder; and he says tothe angels at the gates as they draw their flamingswords, “It’s all right—he’s with me.” Jesus comesand goes here freely. And by faith we are as athome here as Jesus is, and we receive the same

treatment Jesus receives. Free admission. The redcarpet. Royal treatment. Access.

Into what? “To this grace in which we nowstand.” Brothers, this has to be one of the mostcomforting pictures in the entire New Testament,and here’s why. In my ministry I have metpeople—and I’ll bet you have, too—who thinkof God’s grace as a commodity. They think of itsort of like medicine; like anti-venom that cancelsthe poison of sin. And so, they conclude, eachtime the serpent bites us, we need another littleshot of grace to take the poison away. A shotof sin, then a shot of grace; a shot of sin, thenanother shot of grace, back and forth and onand on. The most important question of lifethen becomes, “Which did I get last—sin orgrace?” An even more important question:“When I die, which will I have gotten last? Ihope it’s grace, but what if it’s not?”

God does not give us his grace that way. He doesnot measure it out to us in little doses, and hecertainly does not sit back and wait for us to sinso that he can give us another little piece. Grace isthe undeserved kindness and mercy and love ofour God, and Paul says here that it’s not like alittle dose of medicine. It’s more like a shower ofwarm sunshine or cool water, and under thisshower we now “stand.” God destined us for itfrom eternity. He brought us in under gracethrough Jesus Christ. And now grace pours downon us daily, constantly, healing us and soothing usand washing us clean. Oh, we could choose towalk away from under it, and become sick anddirty again. But we can’t turn the shower off, anymore than we can stop the sun from shining. Forit is the nature of our God to be gracious; andeven “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful,for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

Relax. Stand under the shower. Bask in thesunshine. Stand in grace. Amen.

New Testament Gospel Gem #4Professor Kenneth Cherney Jr.

Fri., Aug. 3, 2007, 8:15 A.M.

Text: Romans 5:1,2

Therefore, since we have been justified throughfaith, we have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ, through whom we havegained access by faith into this grace in whichwe now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of theglory of God.

Theme: Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God

In the year 592 B.C., six years before Jerusalemfell to the Babylonians, the prophet Ezekiel hada vision in which he was lifted up by his hair andcarried into the temple. There he watched as the


glory of the LORD—that blazing, radiant cloud thattold you that you were in the presence of the LORD

of heaven and earth—raised itself up with a flashand a roar from between the cherubim on top ofthe Ark of the Covenant, and the Glory flew awayto the threshold of the temple. Then, it mountedthose strange winged creatures that Ezekiel saw,and the Glory flew to the east gate. From there,the Glory took off once again and left the cityaltogether. The temple of the LORD was empty;and after that, when the Babylonians tore thetemple down piece by piece, as horrible as thatwas, it was almost anticlimactic. What good is atemple if God doesn’t live there any more? Goddidn’t live in this one anymore. The glory of theLord was gone. The sin of his people had finallydriven it away.

Has anybody seen the glory of the LORD in thistemple? At times, I confess, I’m not so sure; andmaybe you aren’t either. The evidence that God iswith us “as he was with our fathers” is mixed atbest. We try to walk together, but there’s no pillarof fire to lead us, and at times we don’t seem toknow where we’re going. When we do know, wecan’t seem to find what we need for the journey.And so we grumble and complain. We’re small,and harassed, and helpless. It looks like our templeis in ruins—and we want to ask, “Ey chabod? Whereis the glory? Have our sins finally driven it away?”

No, they have not. In Jesus Christ we have nosin; we have been justified by faith. No, they havenot; for we have peace with God, and though inthis world we stand under a cross, still we standalways in grace. Justified by grace, at peace withGod, we have hope—and this is not the world’skind of hope. This isn’t somebody’s proud visionfor the future or a beautiful dream or a wish upona star. “Hope” in Scripture is a confident expecta-tion that something we can’t see, but that isalready ours by faith, will appear one day for allto see. And what is that hope? Our hope is theglory of God.

Actually, if we were a bit more perceptive, wemight have noticed that the glory of God hasnever left us. The true glory of this Temple isnot the beauty of its buildings or the bulge inits treasury or the stunning success of all weplan and do—as if the God who lives here reallyneeded any of that! The real glory of this Templeis in water, and bread and wine, and in the wordof the gospel. And brothers and sisters, that gloryhasn’t gone anywhere! In water, and bread andwine, and the Word, our crucified God lives righthere among us; and surely he will be with usalways, until the very end of the world.

What then? Then—the glory of the Lord, likenothing we have ever seen before. Then—the

return of Jesus in glory, and all creatures inheaven and on earth and under the earthdropping to their knees in awe; and comingand bowing down before us and acknowledg-ing that he has always loved us. Then—our lowlybodies transformed to be like his glorious body;then, we shall be like him, for we shall see himas he is; then we shall know fully, even as we arefully known. We’ll lay down the cross, and takeup the crown, and sit with the Lord on his throne,just as he overcame and sat down with his Fatheron his throne.

In that hope, we rejoice. We rejoice no matter whatcomes our way in the meantime. We rejoice nomatter how the work is going, because our joydoes not depend on how the work is going but onhow the work went, and that work—the realwork, the work of Christ—is finished. We rejoicein the hope of glory. The glory with which Jesusshines like the sun. Glory with which we willshine like stars, forever and ever. Amen.

Ken Cherney Jr. is the world mission seminaryprofessor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon,Wisconsin.

CLOSING SERVICE SERMON

Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn.Thurs., Aug. 2, 2007, 9:00 P.M.

Pastor Peter Naumann

In Christ Jesus, fellow redeemed, dear brothers,

Tonight I feel a certain affinity to that greatAmerican statesman transplanted last centuryfrom South Dakota to Minnesota. Shortly beforehis death Hubert Horatio Humphrey addresseda joint session of congress. You may recall hisopening, “Oh, how I’ve wanted to stand here!When he gives his State of the Union address, thisis where the President stands.” I’ve been to nineconventions as a delegate or advisor, more asvisitor. Yet I’m still not elected . . . to anything!!

You’ve been on a mission, sent by your con-ferences and congregations, doing the Lord’swork. Like the 72 disciples, we learned a lot anddid many big things this week. Some might sayalmost miraculous things. The synod is a bigoperation. We designated a lot of money, elected anew president, authorized some new programs/activities, and kept a school open.

Why did you volunteer to come as a delegate? Isthis a week of your vacation time? Was it all worthit? Several very important issues faced us beforeconvention, potentially divisive issues. Did youwin at this convention? Did you lose? Is the jury


still out? There are no winners and there are nolosers either.

What was most important this week, aboveeverything else, is Jesus’ message to us. TonightJesus tells his disciples and us what is absolutelymost important every day and every year . . .

Text: Luke 10:17-20

The seventy-two returned with joy and said,“Lord, even the demons submit to us in yourname.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like light-ning from heaven. I have given you authorityto trample on snakes and scorpions and to over-come all the power of the enemy; nothing willharm you. However, do not rejoice that the spir-its submit to you, but rejoice that your namesare written in heaven.”

Theme: Your name is written in heaven

I. You are equipped for serviceII. Remember the goal

Let’s quickly review the context, this chapter.Jesus is at the midpoint of his earthly ministry.He stands just past the highpoint of his propheticministry, the Transfiguration. Now he is headedfor Jerusalem and focused on the cross. The dis-ciples need to know this. They need to understandthe cost of discipleship. They need some “hands-on” training to be the first missionaries of theNew Testament Church. Following their tripLuke closes this chapter with the parable of theGood Samaritan, instructing us to live our faith,and the account of Mary and Martha, which tellsus to focus on the Word.

Jesus sent out 72 disciples in pairs of two. Noticethat this is after the mission of the 12 apostles;every member is to live and speak for Jesus. Jesusgave them instructions or resources. His present-ing purpose: “The harvest is plentiful; ask theLord of the harvest to send out workers.” Travellight, I will take care of you through my people:“The worker deserves his wages.” “Nothing willharm you,” Jesus promised. Saying this, he lit-erally piled up the negatives, “Nothing, nonothing!” Neither life nor death nor the verygates of hell could stop their message (Matthew16:18; Romans 8:38). They were given the abilityto back up their words with healings.

All of this supported the message, “The kingdomof heaven is near.” And Jesus assured them, “Hewho listens to you, listens to me; he who rejectsyou rejects me, and him who sent me.”

By any measure the visitation was very blessed.The six-dozen witnesses returned filled withexcitement. Their main report: “even the demonssubmit to us.” This ability really impressedthem. Though they add “in your name,” they

say nothing of their joy at being called, thewarm reception they received, or the messagethey proclaimed.

Were they the first to be tempted to turn charis-matic? Being tempted by numbers, buildings,charismatic speaking, worldly promises—is notgood. Perhaps that is why on another occasionGod did not enable his disciples to perform anexorcism (Mark 9:28). We all need to be careful.False, unbelieving prophets can imitate the visible;Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light(2 Corinthians 11:14). They use the same archi-tecture, symbols, book, words, money, andaccounting methods, etc. But false prophetscannot and will not preach the gospel!

Jesus closes this chapter, “Mary has chosenwhat is better.” Remember the “better,” thatgospel of full and free forgiveness by Jesus:amid your disappointments; when a bumpercrop comes in; when gasping for air on yourdeathbed; when perfecting the breast stroke;retiring above your current pay grade; whenreflecting on this week, reporting back home,and preparing for next week.

Mike Holmgren admitted he had some “demons”to exorcize: playing in domes, on turf, and againstDallas. But he knew these were just steps to thereal goal, Superbowl.

Does Jesus share the excitement of the 72? Heresponds, “I saw Satan [himself!] fall like light-ning from heaven.” Is this a mild rebuke, ineffect, “That’s no big deal”? No, this is not one-up-manship; Jesus didn’t play the game “Mydad’s stronger than your dad.” Jesus is directingthem to what is most important for them, thegreater miracle and ultimate goal.

Jesus encouraged, “rejoice that your namesare written in heaven.” They are in the Bookof Life (Revelation 21:27). They are also engravedon the hands of God (Isaiah 49:16). That is great.“Rejoice!” Jesus says, because your names shouldnot be there. Period! Until the Spirit convinces youof that, you are not saved, and you have no partto play in the Church. That our names are there inheaven, that anyone’s name is there, that is themiracle. That is the message we proclaim. Eternallife with our Savior is the goal.

Remember and confess why you should not beheaded for heaven. We were born sinful, borndead, stillborn. We have broken all the command-ments. We haven’t used God’s name properly, butwe surely have misused it. We disregard God’sWord as much as other people. We are usuallymore interested in the kid’s T-ball batting averagethan the future of the synod. Pick your sin.


It’s easy to force people to do things, just laydown the law. If God laid down his law, we wouldall be damned forever. Justly. For God to condemnus all, that would be easy and that would be theright thing to do. We deserve it. We come into theworld damned enemies of God.

But to save, now that’s a miracle! You couldn’tdo it. All the world’s wealth couldn’t do it. Thescreaming and gnashing teeth of hell don’t moveGod’s heart. To save, to drive Satan, every demon,and to drive you from your sinful soul, that’s amiracle: an independent act of God impossible toman. Death and hatred replaced with life and lovefor others, that’s a miracle.

What is the basis of this good news? How didit happen?

It happened because Jesus died. “Your nameshave been written in heaven.” That is a perfecttense: it has been done, it is complete, salvationis accomplished. That is also a passive voice:our names were written for us, by someone else,by Jesus. Our names have been recorded withthe very blood of Jesus, of God himself. Theyhave been carved in Jesus’ body. “Thomas, lookhere; see and feel your name” (John 20). Evennow Jesus appears in heaven, “A Lamb, lookingas if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Scarredforever, for you.

Remember also, your names have been recorded“in heaven,” not here on earth. There is nota single word of aggrandizement in Jesus’instructions or his response to the report. Herather tempers their earthly excitement bypointing to the goal, to heaven, salvation.

This is a good point to remember when youget home. The crowd will be smaller. It maybe hard to share and kindle your enthusiasmin others. You will be tempted to forget whenchallenges, sickness, and death come. Amid allthat, may the Savior speak to you again: “yourname is written in heaven.” Because Jesus diedfor you.

That is both our consolation and our strength.Jesus did not remind them of this to knockthem down a notch, not to soothe some futureloss, any more than he taught them to pray,“Thy will be done,” with reluctant resignation.We do not offer that petition, “Well, it’s too bad,but God’s will be done.” We pray with confi-dence, “Thy will, will be done!” That is howJerome translated, Fiat voluntas Tua! That is howLuther explained it, “God’s will is done whenhe breaks and defeats every evil plan and pur-pose of the devil . . .”

My name is written in heaven. Because Jesus lovesme. That is amazing! That helps me understandRomans 9 and 10. “Written in heaven” explainsPsalm 91:10, “No disaster will come near yourtent.” That allows me to sing with gusto, “WhatGod ordains is always good!”(Christian Worship429.) That gives me life and incentive. “Your nameis written in heaven.” That gives me purpose andenthusiasm. That opens my purse, my arms andmouth, to pray and help and witness. Thanks andpraise to God alone! Amen.

Peter Naumann is president of the Dakota-MontanaDistrict.


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WordPress.com · 2009. 8. 5. · TABLE OF CONTENTS WELS’ 59TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION