RESOLUTION 8-01 President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)
WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures and the Small Catechism are foundational for our faith and life in Christ; and
WHEREAS, Luther was concerned that “[a]ll the people are supposed to be Christians, have been baptized, and receive the Holy Sacrament even though they do not know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, or the Ten Commandments and live like poor animals of the barnyard and pigpen. What these people have mastered, however, is the fine art of tearing all Christian liberty to shreds” (Small Catechism – Preface); and
WHEREAS, The prefaces to the Small and Large Catechisms enjoin both the teaching and understanding of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, as foundational for the Lutheran ethos in the Christian congregation, home, and school; and
WHEREAS, The Word of God and the Catechism teach us how to receive God’s gifts in the Divine Service, how to pray, how to confess, how to forgive, and how to live where God has called us, with faith in Christ and love to the neighbor; and
WHEREAS, The congregations and schools of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) are bound to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions for the teaching of the faith and the practice of that faith; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of the liturgy and the hymnody of the church is to teach us what we need to know about Christ (Augsburg Confession XXIV); and
WHEREAS, Our Synod has always placed a high value on doctrinally sound hymnals and agendas for teaching the faith (Constitution Article VI); and
WHEREAS, Lutheran Service Book (LSB) is a blessing to our Synod and has been joyfully received in many thriving schools as the basis of their worship and catechesis; and
WHEREAS, The Bible, the catechism, and the hymnal are central to the Lutheran ethos and are God’s gifts to us that we might lovingly and clearly confess the Christian faith to children and families of our schools—believers and unbelievers alike; and
WHEREAS, The increasing presence of non-Lutherans in our schools presents an opportunity to evangelize, calling them to repentance and faith in Christ; and
WHEREAS, For the mission of the Church, it is imperative that we confess the Christian faith before the world in all aspects of our life, especially to those whom God has placed in our charge; therefore be it
Resolved, That all pastors and teachers in the schools of the LCMS daily use the Scriptures and hymnal to create a culture of catechesis and prayer that touches every aspect of the life of the school and the Christian, as Saint Paul exhorts in Col. 3:16–17, acknowledging all the arts and academic disciplines as gifts of God by which children grow up into the full stature of Christ as His redeemed children so that they may use their talents in service to Him and to their neighbors; and be it further
Resolved, That all pastors and teachers in the schools of the LCMS make as their highest priority the use of the Small Catechism in our schools (learning by heart, devotions in the classroom, daily worship and prayer, discussion of contemporary life and culture, the integration of the faith into all academic disciplines, guidance and support to parents and families in teaching the faith at home, etc.); and be it further
Resolved, That all pastors and teachers in the schools of the LCMS actively teach their students 1 to confess their faith in Christ and to model the Christian life to friends, family, and neighbors who do not know Christ; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod in convention encourage parents, pastors, principals, teachers, and staff to work together in establishing this Lutheran ethos in their schools; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod in convention exhort all pastors to take an active, patient, loving role as the shepherds of their parochial schools to these ends; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod in convention encourage all schools of the LCMS lovingly to receive their pastors as God’s gifts to bring them the teaching of His Word; and be it further
Resolved, That the Office of National Mission (ONM) provide guidance to congregations and schools in implementing the above resolutions; and be it further
Resolved, That the district presidents or their representatives visit their parochial schools to encourage them in the implementation of the above resolutions and to assess the Lutheran ethos of their schools; and be it finally
Resolved, That the district presidents and ONM report to the Synod in the next convention what they have done to strengthen the Lutheran ethos of our parochial schools, along with their evaluations and recommendations for further strengthening the Lutheran ethos of our schools.