Convention Greetings

On July 27 I brought greetings to the convention of the International Lutheran Laymen's League on behalf of President Harrison and my role as LCMS Liaison to the LLL Board of Directors.

I am privileged to bring you greetings this afternoon from President Matthew Harrison and the six thousand plus congregations of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.  He regrets not being with you today, but after thirty-five LCMS District conventions with some twenty-five in June and July, he has been busy.  The mayor of Saskatoon mentioned his American “cousins” in his welcome this morning. I am one of those returned home.  My grandmother was born in Blind River, Ontario.  I have several generations of French-Canadian ancestry in m family tree. My family roots go further back in Canada than in the United States.

Since 1917 the International Lutheran Laymen’s League has been a vital partner with the Synod as one of its two auxiliaries.  Bringing Christ to the nations and the nations to the church remains the mission of Lutheran Hour Ministries through its signature broadcast under its dynamic speaker Greg Seltz.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.  What was said of the British Empire at its zenith can be said of the Holy Christian Church and Lutheran Hour Ministries.  The sun never sets on the work of the International LLL. Lutheran Hour Ministries serves worldwide with offices on six continents. The twenty-first century is shaping up to be the one where the global south receives the Gospel with joy and gladness.  The southern hemisphere shows tremendous potential for the Christian church in the coming decades. Walk the streets of Saskatoon and visit its stores and eateries.  The world is coming to Canada too.

North America remains a challenging mission field.  No county in the United States has shown growth regarding the percentage of Christians to population in the last twenty years.  Apathy and apostasy are real barriers to the Gospel.  Cafeteria style spirituality where individuals select parts of various beliefs that appeals to them undermine the church’s catechetical efforts.  Still, the words of Jesus remain true.  He builds His church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.  The Holy Spirit brings people to faith where and when He will in those who hear the Gospel.

Lutheran Hour Ministries is an evangelistic arm of the Synod. The materials are excellent and award winning.  Encourage your pastors to take a new look at LHM publications and productions as tools for local ministry.  From its inception the Church has grown from faith to faith, person to person, an individual at a time repenting of their sins and being born from above through baptismal waters. LHM materials can be a catalyst for this to begin and for a person to be assimilated into the church.

It is easy to lament the decline of Christianity, and well we should.  However, this is not a time to wring our hands, weep and abandon the faith as irrelevant.  Jesus, the great I AM is always relevant, always practical, always appropriate for any situation or circumstance.  Neither the Church nor its auxiliaries will benefit from jettisoning the faith once delivered to the saints.  No, the preaching of the Word, the clear, consistent proclamation of the truth is needed more than ever.  The grass withers and the flowers fall but the Word of the Lord endures forever.  This is the Word that has been preached to you.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is the name above all names and the only name under heaven by which we must be saved.  The LCMS, the LCC and LLL/LHM will never go wrong in bringing Christ to the nations and the nations to the church.  From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.  So shall it be eternally.  Thank you for your partnership in His mission. May the Lord bless our work together in His name.