Day 1: SED Convention “One Name, Jesus”

The SED Convention of the LCMS opened today in Norfolk, VA.

President John Diefenthaler has been re-elected by the convention to serve another three-year-term.

Of note, Pres. Diefenthaler is proud of the mission work being done in the district and the growth being shown. However, he reiterated that mission work begins with the congregation. Something we at Trinity are very mindful of.

We also heard from LWML and Lutheran Hour Ministries/Lutheran Laymens League.

LWML reiterated that 3/4 of donations stay for mission work within the district. They also reported that all of LWML contributed $80 million to the LCMS. They suggested there be a “mitebox” Sunday every quarter.

LHM/LLL brought forward a very interesting statistic regarding families attending church. If it is the child that is interested, 3% of families attend. If it is the wife that is interested, 17% of families attend. If it is the husband that is interested, 93% of families attend. I’d be interested to know where they found that statistic and what constitutes attendance, etc.

Chesapeake Community of Hope is now, officially, a new congregation! Congratulations! They were one of three to be introduced.

Rev. Thomas Zhender of Lutheran World Mission reported on the Ablaze! movement. What interested me was in addition to what you might consider traditional mission work in Asia, South America and Africa, there is also mission work here at home and in Eurasia. The Eurasia work is being done to bring folks back to their Christian heritage and tradition.

Personally, I am sitting at a table with some lovely folks from NC, MD, and VA. Altogether, there are three laypersons, myself included, and four pastors.

We were led today in worship (which included the election of president), by LCMS president Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick. Perhaps the greatest thing I recall from his proclamation is that even in great difficulty and tragedy, calling on the name of Jesus as our salvation provides us refuge and strength. It was truly a spirit-filled message.

One of the things that strikes me about this convention is the wonderful mix of music between traditional hymns and contemporary praise. All for the Glory of God. The two forms can definitely be mixed.

Finally, I am being introduced to “Listening Prayer.” What it does is help focus and direct decision-making. Hopefully, I can learn enough about this and we can implement it at our own council and voters meetings. It’s very powerful. From what is reported by the district, they use it at district meeting and it does not slow meetings down, but actually speeds things up because more folks allow the Holy Spirit to guide them and bring clarity to their decisions. Having only just briefly been exposed to this, I can say the I believe it.