|
What About The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod?
Dr. A. L. Barry
President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
May 2000
What
About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod?
When you unfold this pamphlet, you will
find a poster illustrating our church's fivefold vision statement. By God's
blessing, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is committed to being strongly
in the Word, Christ-centered and people-sensitive, reaching out boldly with
the Gospel, faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, and marked
by peace and unity in the Lord. This pamphlet will help you better understand
what The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is all about.
A
peace that passes all human understanding
In the fullness of time, the Son of God
descended to earth and became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In Jesus,
God Himself was with us on earth. Jesus was not only with us, but for us. He
came into this sinful and dying world to fight our enemies: sin, death, and
the devil. He came to set us free. He defeated these enemies by laying down
His own life.
Through
His perfect life and by His death on the cross, Jesus paid the full debt of
sin for all people. He rose again and gives us a new life, a life that has meaning,
purpose, and direction, a life filled with hope and confidence, even during
times of sorrow and trouble. Jesus Christ is with us. He loves us and cares
for us, giving us the peace that truly passes human understanding.
A
Family of Christian Believers
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a
family of 2.6 million Christians, gathered in more than 6,000 congregations
throughout the United States. Our church body was founded more than 150 years
ago by a small band of immigrants in America who were dedicated to preaching
and teaching the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins through Christ alone. Many
of the founders of our Synod were from Missouri, hence the word "Missouri" in
our church's name.
Our
congregations are united in an association of Christian fellowship called a
"Synod," which means "walking together." Every congregation is self governed
and unique. We believe and teach the same Biblical truths, but our congregations
also reflect the diversity of the people we serve. Some are located in rural
areas, others in inner cities. Some are large, others are very small. Most use
English, but some offer worship services in Vietnamese, Spanish, Laotian, and
other languages. We are a family gathered from all nations, united in the wonderful
truth that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
Strongly
in the Word
The voice of Jesus calls sinners to repentance,
and comforts the brokenhearted through the preaching and teaching of His Word
from our pulpits and in our classrooms. We are a church that honors the Bible
as the written Word of God—the very voice of Jesus, our Good Shepherd. God
the Holy Spirit, through this Word, creates and sustains trust in Jesus Christ.
Through this living and powerful Word, Jesus Himself rebukes, comforts, forgives,
and guides His people through the perplexing, difficult, and confusing questions
and decisions we face in our lives.
We
believe strongly that Jesus is with us and that He still rules His church today
through His Word. Therefore, we are committed to reading, studying, and growing
in the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Our church's deeply spiritual and reverent
liturgical worship is filled with the Word of God, through which Jesus blesses
us with His presence and peace.
Christ-Centered
and peoplesensitive
We treasure the special means by which Jesus
Himself dwells among us with His forgiving grace. Therefore, our Synod is very
much Christ-centered. Our focus is on Jesus Christ and His presence among us.
We
believe that Jesus is present among us through the life-giving waters of Baptism,
a sacrament that unites us with Jesus' death and resurrection, washes away our
sins, and brings us into the body of Christ, the Holy Christian Church. We rejoice
in the gracious presence of Jesus in the sacrament called the Lord's Supper.
It is the true body and blood under bread and wine given to Christians to eat
and to drink. In this sacred meal, Jesus feeds us and sustains us with the forgiveness
of sins, strengthening us for a life of service to Him in this world, and preparing
us for life forever with Him in heaven.
As
the people of the Missouri Synod, we rejoice in Christ's presence, not only
in our public worship assemblies, but also in our daily lives. Whether our place
of service is small or great, humble or exalted in the eyes of the world, it
is a holy calling in which we serve the Lord Jesus Christ with joyful hearts.
Together
and individually, we strive to follow the example of Jesus who loved us and
cared for us when we had no strength. Through our church's relief programs,
our Synod is present with material and spiritual resources to care for those
who suffer from natural disasters and tragedies in the world. We have built
and help to maintain a large network of Lutheran hospitals, nursing homes, and
human-care agencies to serve the sick, the elderly, the victims of abuse, those
struggling with addictions, and many others coping with difficult situations
and transitions in life.
The
Missouri Synod has been a strong voice in America in defense of the sanctity
and value of all human life from the unborn to the handicapped to the elderly.
Because we are people-sensitive, we want to serve others as God has loved and
served us in Jesus Christ.
Reaching
Out Boldly with the Gospel
The Bible calls Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Having paid our debt with His blood,
Jesus rose from the dead and returned to the heavenly Father to reign over all
things. He gave His disciples the command to go into all the world to baptize,
teach, and observe all that He commanded. He promised that He would continue
to be with them through the ages.
Through
congregations, and our regional and national offices, we strive to carry out
our Lord's command to make known His love and forgiveness to the whole world.
The LCMS operates a worldwide mission program, sending more than 400 missionaries
into nearly 70 countries around the world. These missionaries bring the good
news of Jesus into places where His Name is not yet known and help to strengthen
existing churches. Because each Christian is a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ,
it is our duty and privilege to tell the good news of Jesus to our family, friends,
neighbors, co-workers, and all the people God puts in our lives.
The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a respected leader in the field of Christian
education. We place great emphasis on instruction in the Word. We recognize
this as one of the most effective ways of reaching out boldly with the Gospel.
Therefore, we administer the largest Protestant school system in the United
States, operating more than 2,000 preschools, elementary schools, and high schools
serving more than 250,000 students. We also value higher education, operating
10 colleges and universities. Our Synod's schools are not merely private alternatives
to public education, but Christ-centered, Word-saturated havens of God's Spirit.
To
maintain the high quality and spiritual direction of our schools, we educate
a large number of Lutheran school teachers in our universities. These teachers
are dedicated servants of the Lord who are able to lead students into the love
of Christ. To fill our church pulpits with mature men of God who know the Scriptures
and are able to proclaim and apply the Word, we operate two seminaries.
Faithful
to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions
Martin Luther, the great Christian Reformer
of the 16th century, boldly proclaimed the Bible's most important message: that
Christ came into the world to save sinners, and lived among us to defeat our
enemies—sin, death and, the devil. Luther believed and taught that Jesus' sacrificial
death on the cross washed away the sins of the whole world, and that those who
place their trust in Him are forgiven. They are declared righteous and are reconciled
to God.
What
Luther began in 1517 reached its culmination in 1580, when the official statements
of Lutheran belief (the Lutheran Confessions) were gathered together in what
is known as the Book of Concord. We place great value in retaining and advancing
the cause of the Lutheran Reformation. We see in the Reformation movement the
hand of God working to preserve the truth of His Word and the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Therefore, we are committed to genuine, historical Lutheranism.
Marked
by Peace and Unity in the Lord
Finally, we are united, not by our color,
or our occupations, or our social and economic status, but by our union with
the living Lord Jesus Christ and our common confession of the truths of His
Word. We rejoice and live in the faith that God has given us. We are eager to
share that faith with many others, so that all may come to know Jesus Christ,
the one who brings us real peace, deep joy, and life forever.
Welcome
to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod!
To
locate an LCMS congregation near you or to receive more information about us
. . .
Call:
1-888-THE-LCMS (1-888-843-5267)
E-mail:
INFOCENTER@LCMS.ORG
Fax:
1-888-LCMSFAX (1-888-526-7329)
Write:
LCMS Information Center, 1333 South Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63122-7295
Internet:
www.lcms.org
| 
