Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 349

2026 Convention Workbook
314 LIFE TOGETHER
Ov. 4-22 
To Reject Racial Quotas and Idolatry  
of Human Characteristics 
WHEREAS, God’s Word calls us to unity in Christ: “Now I 
beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye 
all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; 
but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the 
same judgment … Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:10, 13 KJV); and 
WHEREAS, The world and Satan seek not unity, but division by 
urging some to fall into sinful pride (Prov. 11:2) based upon the 
human attributes with which God has created us (Matt. 3:9), and by 
burdening the consciences of others with “sins” they have not 
committed and for which there can be no absolution; and 
W
HEREAS, The Synod has condemned (2019 Res. 7-02) such 
harmful ideologies, which embrace the Marxist concepts of victim 
and oppressor by appealing to our sinful nature to lord it over one 
another (Mark 10:42); and 
W
HEREAS, The Church must reject false teachings that war 
against God’s unchanging truth and His order of creation; that 
would make us our own gods and deny the fact of His creation of 
male and female (Gen. 1:27); that would assign merit or guilt based 
upon worldly demographic or socioeconomic characteristics; or that 
would define and measure the success or failure of our own 
churches and institutions based upon the superficial appearance of 
our brothers and sisters therein; and 
W
HEREAS, It should disturb us that any educational institution of 
the Synod would, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America’s 1993 social statement, Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, 
and Culture, adopt explicit numerical racial quotas or “goals” for 
students or faculty in the carrying out of its mission, as though a 
sister or brother is more or less welcome based on (God-given) skin 
color, and that we have met our “goal” and can declare victory based 
on achieving some minimum or token number of a particular  skin 
color or ethnicity, when the Lord of the harvest calls us to reach all 
nations; and 
WHEREAS, The Church must faithfully proclaim the Word of 
God, which is living and active (Heb. 4:12), to all nations and trust 
the Lord of the harvest to provide the increase, rather than go 
beyond what God says and into the realm of worldly sociological 
discourses (see 1995 Appendix R3-01A, Cameron A. MacKenzie, 
Ken Schurb, James W. Voelz, and Norman Nagel, “Racism and the 
Church: A Dissenting Opinion,” Workbook , 62–64; 1995 Res. 2 -
05A, “To Commend for Study the CTCR Document Racism and the 
Church,” Proceedings, 112); therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod reject and condemn disturbing 
ideologies of race and ethnicity-based goals and quotas (cf. Rev. Dr. 
Matthew Harrison, “President Harrison denounces disturbing 
ideologies,” Reporter Online , Feb. 21, 2023, 
reporter.lcms.org/2023/president-harrison-denounces-disturbing-
ideologies), and direct its institutions not to teach, advocate, or 
adopt any such policies; and be it further 
Resolved, That this resolution not be construed to limit outreach 
to or the production of resources for language groups, which is a 
non-racial characteristic; and be it finally 
Resolved, That the Synod affirms that God has created all the 
nations and all of our varied attributes, of which no one should be 
ashamed, rejoices in His good gifts of creation given to each of us, 
and calls upon all people to glory only in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:2–11) 
and their baptismal identity in Christ as redeemed children of God 
(Rev. 7:9–17). 
St. Paul 
Brookfield, IL 
Ov. 4-23 
To Amend Bylaws to Reinstate  
Commission on Worship 
Rationale 
The Word of God and the Sacraments are the means by which God 
has promised to deal with us ( SA III VIII 10). It is by these means 
that justifying faith is obtained (AC V). In order to obtain this faith, 
the ministry of purely teaching the Gospel and rightly administering 
the Sacraments was established and continues in the Church, 
serving as the marks of the true Christian Church and its unity (AC 
V; VII). 
The public teaching of God’s Word and administration of the 
Sacraments in Christian congregations is commonly referred to as 
“worship.” Such worship is the essential and necessary public 
activity for every Christian congregation. In faithful public worship 
the following common purposes of the members of the Synod 
(congregations and individual ministers) are enacted: to conserve 
and promote the unity of the true faith ( Const. Art. III 1), to 
strengthen one another in giving bold witness by word and deed to 
the love and work of God (Const. Art. III 2), to educate and nourish 
Christians of all ages (Const. Art. III 5) and to recognize, promote, 
express, conserve, and defend confessional unity in the true faith 
(Const. Art. III 6). “Worship” necessarily encompasses a variety of 
faithful church practices and customs. Holy Scripture does not 
require precise uniformity in these. Neither is the true unity of the 
Church to be found by outward uniformity (AC VII 2). 
Nevertheless, the S ynod from inception has consistent ly affirmed 
that a recognizable uniformity of order and church practice is 
desirable and worthy of pursuit (Const. Art. III 7). 
In fact, the Synod has found this pursuit of recognizable uniformity 
and faithfulness of such importance that it has conditioned 
membership in the Synod concerning the prayers and rites, songs 
and hymns used in worship. The Synod requires (based on the 
confessional basis of Const. Art. II) that its members “exclusive[ly] 
use … doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and catechisms in 
church and school” (Const. Art. VI 4). 
Furthermore, we have the clear teaching of Holy Scripture 
regarding being united by God’s Word in worship. For example, 
Scripture teaches that we are to “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] 
richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, 
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in 
[our] hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). The unity we have in God’s Word 
(John 17:20–21; Eph. 4:11–13) finds expression in our worship. 
To assist its members in these things, the Synod adopts official 
hymnbooks and agenda and gives attention to the conduct of rites, 
preaching, administration of the Sacraments , and music by her 
members (e.g. , 2016 Res olution 4- 04A). Recognizing the vital 
importance of worship, the Synod maintained a Commission on 
Worship from the 1930s until 1981, although it  was first 
acknowledged in Synod bylaws in 1960. After a brief hiatus, the 
Commission on Worship was reinstated in 1983 and continued until 
the Synod’s restructuring in 2010. The Commission on Worship