As we as The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod prepare for our 2010 Convention, I think it is wise to remember words from J.A.O. Preus, the 9th president of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. These words come from his presidential report to the delegates of the 1977 Convention.
As a church we have been known and are still known as people who are vitally concerned that the Word of God be preached in its truth and purity, that the entire program be based upon God’s holy, inspired, inerrant, and powerful Word. The Word brings the church into being, and the Word is truly our rule and norm for faith and life in all the activities that we carry on. We cannot yield one jot or tittle of God’s holy Word. And the Word is the means for carrying out our mission. It is all we have. It is all we need.
We have emerged from a serious doctrinal controversy, in which we are probably the only Christian church in America and probably the only Lutheran Church in the world which seriously and earnestly confronted the issues raised by modern historical-critical methods of Biblical interpretation and honestly and forthrightly dealt with them…
The strength of our beloved Synod has always been a unique blend of concern for a pure doctrine which has brought about our strong confessional stance, coupled with the overwhelming desire to carry out the Great Commission. 1
1) Quoted from A Seminary in Crisis by Paul A. Zimmerman, available from Concordia Publishing House.
HT: Issues, Etc – Web Extra: Profiles in Presidential Leadership in the LC-MS