Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 139

2026 Convention Workbook
104 
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
o Partnership with ADF, First Liberty, and Liberty Coun-
sel in various efforts to offer both our two-kingdom 
voice/training coupled with their legal support to the 
issues that beset our churches and schools today. 
	 Challenge: While the LCRL presence has been es-
tablished, the next phase of development needs to 
further establish our unique voice in the cultural/
political issues of the day. Expanding our role on 
committees, expanding our radio voice, and be-
coming a go-to resource for two-kingdom answers 
to the issues surrounding liberty, life, marriage, 
and education are the challenges of the next step 
in advocacy.
•	 LCRL established and has grown the main LCRL website, 
lcrlfreedom.org, the two-kingdom web resource for LCMS 
churches and schools.
o
 Presently the 
site is populated with timely and easy-to-
read resources to inform and instruct our people how 
“to put their temporal liberties to work for the sake of 
the eternal liberties of Christ.” These include the week-
ly Word from the Center, Mom and Pop Two-Kingdom 
Paper, Liberty Action Alert podcasts, Prayer Partner 
Thursdays, and the Champions Advocate Weekly.
	 Challenge: The resources, which are many and 
growing, need to be more known, accessible, and 
more easily investigated for use and application by 
our people. We are working to index these.
	 Challenge: Social media use is a necessity. We are 
presently working to put our information on mul-
tiple platforms for the sake of our churches and 
ministries.
•	 LCRL established a growing Champions for Liberty Net-
work of churches, which are trained not only in two-king-
dom engagement of various issues in our culture, but are 
also trained and equipped to engage this issue in service to 
the mission of the Church, not as political ideologues. Un-
der the leadership of the Rev. Mark Frith, we have digitally 
uploaded our information and our lectures and have created 
a “Champion’s Training Process” that empowers pastors and 
laity to learn to put one’s “temporal liberties to work in ser -
vice to the eternal liberties of the Gospel,” without politiciz-
ing our mission and witness.
o
 Rev. 
Frith is growing the Champions Network, mak-
ing it the support organization for our D.C. presence 
as well as equipping our laity to serve in their home 
communities.
o
 He has 
digitalized our Champions for Liberty educa-
tional process, both lecture and application, to prepare 
and equip Christians for differentiating God’s preserv-
ing and saving work, thus being more effective in the 
left-hand kingdom work in service to the mission of the 
Church—without politicizing the Gospel, as many ad-
vocacy groups are tempted to do.
o
 From 2019 
to present, LCRL conducted over 100 
Champions for Liberty Weekends with churches and 
schools to frame and empower pastoral and lay leaders 
to engage the seminal issues of liberty, life, marriage, 
and educational freedom with a two-kingdom mind-
regard include the webpage LCRLFreedom.org, the Liber-
ty Action Alert (podcast), the Word from the Center, Prayer 
Partner Thursdays, the Champions Advocate Weekly , and 
Mom and Pop Papers.
Alignment with LCMS goals
1. Mission planting: This office exists to protect the pub-
lic voice, the religious liberty of our churches, missions, 
schools, and universities for the sake of mission.
2. Theological education: 
The LCRL is building a network 
of churches who are trained and deployed with a “2KG 
[two-kingdom] Civics” mindset to deal with the issues in 
culture and politics for the sake of the mission of the Church. 
This training program, network of influence, and leadership 
may continue to grow into an academic program, training the 
next generation of leadership for our church as well.
3.
 Collaborate to 
enhance mission effectiveness: The LCRL 
effort will, in all its teachings and literature, emphasize why 
and how “two-kingdom cultural engagement” is vital to ef-
fective missional outreach.
Great Opportunities Seized in 2023–26
•	 LCRL established a growing LCMS two-kingdom citizen -
ship voice in Washington, D.C., including the following ac-
tivities.
o
 Regular member 
participation with various advocacy 
groups, such as the Values Action Team of the House 
and Senate, the National Right to Life, the March for 
Life, the Southern Baptist ERLC group, the Religious 
Liberty Network (RLN), the Religious Freedom Insti-
tute (RFI), the Heritage Foundation, and the Weyrich 
Luncheon, all seeking to undergird religious liberty, the 
sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and educational 
freedom.
o
 Advocacy visits 
on the Hill, including visits and inter -
views with representatives and thought leaders on the 
Hill.
o
 Creating and 
leading 2KG Roundtable Meetings on the 
Hill bringing together political leaders, LCMS leaders, 
and various supporters to enhance our witness on the 
Hill.
o
 Our growing 
D.C. radio program and LCRL podcast, 
The Liberty Action Alert with Greg Seltz (292 programs 
and counting), which both advocates for our positions 
with leaders in the country and informs our congrega-
tions about issues, advocacy, and action in interviews 
with thought leaders on the Hill. Guests include Sen. 
Cynthia Lummis (LCMS), Sen. Steve Daines, Rep. 
Robert Aderholt, Sen. James Lankford, Os Guinness 
(culture), Eric Metaxas (culture), Dr. Victor Davis Han-
son, (culture, politics), John Stonestreet (culture), Fa-
ther Frank Pavone (life), Jeanne Mancini (life), Carrie 
Campbell Severino (judiciary), Mike Berry (judicia-
ry), Kelly Shackelford (judiciary), Mat Staver (courts, 
culture), Katharine Gorka (culture), George Barna 
(culture), Lt. Col. (Ret.) Allen West, Larry Elder, Tim 
Goeglein (culture), George Tryfiates (education), Jami-
son Coppola (education), and Dr. Ben Carson (politics, 
culture, education).