Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 138

2026 Convention Workbook
103
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
This void is now filled by the growing and expanding voice of 
the LCRL for the betterment of the country and in opposition to 
any movements, views, or legislation that would harm the right of 
religious freedom in the public square.
The LCRL office offers advantages.
•	 It maintains a direct presence of the LCMS and like-minded 
Lutherans in the nation’s capital.
•	 It enables the LCMS to monitor and communicate impend -
ing legislation, infringement on religious liberty, and other 
matters of concern to LCMS members, congregations, rec-
ognized service organizations, and other LCMS institutions.
•	 It provides a venue and a process through the Champions for 
Liberty Religious Network to engage, encourage, and equip Lu-
therans of all ages to exercise their vocations as part of God’s 
preserving work through government or political engagement.
•	 It offers proximity to a growing list of partner organizations 
and offices to help build coalitions, thus strengthening our 
First Amendment voice in Washington, D.C.
Four Primary Tasks
1. Advocacy and Encouragement on Capitol Hill: Through 
our active presence on Capitol Hill—including advocacy 
meetings (Values Action Team meetings with Senate and 
House), direct engagement with members of Congress and 
the Executive Branch (personal as well as via radio), and 
our expanding broadcast outreach through The Liberty Ac-
tion Alert—we work to ensure that the concerns of LCMS 
churches, schools, and universities are faithfully represented 
before civil authorities. We also encourage and support those 
who labor in public office to uphold religious liberty and the 
God-given rights of the Church.
2.
 Education and Assistance
a.  Through its expanding body of r
esources, the LCRL 
equips Synod laity with a faithful understanding of major 
cultural and legal challenges, the Lutheran doctrine of vo-
cation (especially Christian citizenship), and the theology 
of the two kingdoms. In this way, believers are prepared to 
serve their neighbors in the civil realm while supporting 
and preserving the Church’s Gospel mission.
b. 
 Through trusted partnerships 
(with Alliance Defending 
Freedom [ADF], First Liberty Institute, Liberty Counsel, 
and the Becket Fund), the LCRL assists Christians and 
congregations in securing legal support and critical re-
sources when they face opposition, litigation, or govern-
ment action for confessing and living according to Holy 
Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. 
3.
 Advocacy, 
Training, and Support: Through our Cham-
pions for Liberty Network, the LCRL provides advocacy 
training, strategic coaching, and ongoing support for Synod 
congregations, schools, and universities. This work equips 
laity to live out their Christian vocation in God’s left-hand 
kingdom with clarity, courage, and confessional faithfulness.
4.
 Publication and Communication: In partnership 
with 
like-minded organizations and public leaders, the LCRL 
communicates an orthodox Lutheran, two-kingdom perspec-
tive on cultural, legal, and public policy matters to govern-
ing authorities, ensuring that a clear and faithful Lutheran 
witness is maintained in the public square. Resources in this 
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) two-kingdom, 
First Amendment organization in Washington, D.C., is to ignite and 
advance a distinctly Lutheran response to increasing government 
intrusions into the life of the Church, while educating, encouraging, 
and equipping LCMS members and organizations to take informed 
action in defense of religious freedom for the sake of the Gospel 
ministries of our churches, schools, and universities.
Purpose and Services
The Synod, through the LCRL, monitors and protects the 
church’s First Amendment rights—guaranteed by the U.S. Con-
stitution—in the public square so that our churches, schools, and 
universities can continue to boldly preach Christ crucified as the 
power of God for salvation without government coercion or inter-
ference. The LCRL will equip Lutherans and Lutheran organiza -
tions to
1.
 engage federal 
and state officials through advocacy and de-
fensive legal strategies;
2. educate 
future generations about serving God through voca-
tions in government, law, and public policy; and
3. connect with 
Lutherans involved in government affairs. 
Where the government, the culture, and faith conflict, Lu-
therans can and must speak up and out in support of religious 
liberty.
Why This Matters
We are living in a time when Christian values and morals are 
under attack culturally, legally, and politically, with cultural and 
political forces throughout society committed to
•	 aggressively chipping away at Americans’ most basic re-
ligious liberties, despite the protections guaranteed by the 
First Amendment;
•	 rapidly deconstructing and redefining, through law and liti -
gation, the biblical understanding of marriage and the family, 
the foundational building block of our culture;
•	 discarding as inconsequential, despite the defeat of Roe v. 
Wade, the lives of more than 67 million preborn Americans;
•	 politically and legally targeting Christian schools and pre-
schools, in defiance of constitutional protections, because of 
their biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality; and
•	 politicizing and demonizing the public expression of the 
Christian faith, including its central proclamation of “Christ 
alone crucified,” in an effort to silence any faithful public 
witness to the whole counsel of God—the very heartbeat of 
our Lutheran identity and calling.
An evaluation of current faith-based entities and think tanks in 
Washington, D.C., indicates a plethora of groups and institutions 
that support the protection of religious liberty. However, none of-
fer the distinctly confessional Lutheran understanding of Luther’s 
two-kingdom theology:
One is the kingdom of this world. Into it we are born; in it we 
sustain our bodies and do our work. The other is the Christian 
Church, in which we have become members by faith. In it we 
do our spiritual tasks; in it we pray, serve the Church, and do 
mission-work. This is the purpose for which we have been 
placed on earth. (Dr. Theodore Graebner, “Christian Citizen-
ship,” essay for the 1937 English District convention)