Dr. John H. Tietjen, president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, through the early 1970s and prominent in the Synod’s doctrinal controversy at that time, died Feb. 15 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, of complications from cancer. Tietjen, 75,…

The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) is recommending that this summer’s Synod convention declare the Synod to be in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya. The resolution of support for fellowship with the…

The Center for U.S. Missions in Irvine, Calif., sponsored its first workshop on “behavioral interviewing” in January.  The event was so successful the center is considering offering it again, if enough people are interested. The three-day seminar was led by Dr.…

By David L. Mahsman The Synod’s Board of Directors and Council of Presidents (COP) had plenty to talk about when they met in St. Louis Feb. 6 and 7. Each group had asked independently to meet with the other.  The…

Subscribers to LCMS e-News now have five more newsletters from whichto choose on the free, Web-based LCMS e-News subscription service: “Lutheran Women in Mission,” produced by the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, communicates the work and mission of the LWML to…

The Library for the Blind, a ministry of Lutheran Blind Mission, St. Louis, offers free, on loan, audio-cassette materials, including 1,394 books on tape; 1,482 Lutheran Hour sermons; and eight magazines. As noted previously in Reporter, the library also offers thousands…

Lutheran “singles” — never married, divorced or widowed — are invited to attend a get-together sponsored by International Lutheran Single Adults (ILSA) July 10 in St. Louis, the opening day of the Synod’s national convention there. The gathering will begin at…

Membership among Lutheran churches in the last two years increased by 570,000, bringing the number of Lutherans worldwide to nearly 66 million by the end of 2003. Regular statistics provided by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) indicate an average .9…

“Conflict in the Bylaws” and “Funding National Ministries and Administrative Functions” are the titles of the latest installments of “Board Briefs,” an online question-and-answer feature from the Synod’s Board of Directors. “Board Briefs IV” once again addresses questions raised in…

With re-issue of the movie “Luther” already booked for almost 100 locations this winter, it will continue “in theaters as long as there is a demand,” said Dennis A. Clauss, the film’s executive producer. Clauss, who also is church and…

By Paula Schlueter Ross The good news:  More than 900 cross-cultural ministries have been started by Missouri Synod Lutherans since LCMS World Mission launched its “Pentecost 2000” initiative in 1999. Even better, information about all 900-plus ministries is listed on the P2K…

The 20-member Next Generation Task Force has found that only one in three of the 18,000 teachers in schools operated by Synod congregations are Synod-certified.  The task force is recommending steps to increase that ratio. The task force, appointed by…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. The Synod’s Board of Directors says it will withdraw two resolutions declaring eight opinions of the Commission on Constitutional Matters to be “of no effect” if the commission withdraws those opinions, “so as to allow the…

An “Open Arms” Leadership Conference, focusing on starting congregations with childcare ministries, will be held April 30-May 2 at Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church in Alpharetta, Ga., site of the Synod’s first “church-planting-with-childcare” model. This year’s conference, sponsored by the…

Meditations on Divine Mercy, new from Concordia Publishing House, offers a contemporary translation of Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard’s Daily Exercise of Piety. Written in the early 1600s, Gerhard’s work is a collection of more than 40 prayers written to comfort…