Journal outlines ‘ecumenical and mission opportunities’

By Adriane Heins

The September issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission, according to LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, “shows how the Missouri Synod has been blessed and what tremendous opportunities exist around the world to walk alongside churches who seek to be faithful to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.”

A follow-up to the mission-related resolutions adopted at the Synod’s convention this summer, this issue of the journal takes a look at what Harrison deems the “ecumenical and mission opportunities” that led the LCMS to enter fellowship with six church bodies while continuing to work with other churches interested in fellowship with the Synod.

Articles range from discussing how Lutheranism was established in Belgium to whether the Church should be “always reforming” or “always repenting,” to a response to the Lutheran World Federation’s recent release titled “The Self-Understanding of the Lutheran Communion.”

The Rev. Dr. Berhanu Ofgaa’s explanation of persecution in the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus; a joint statement from the LCMS, Lutheran Church—Canada and the North American Lutheran Church; a handful of book reviews, offering the pros and cons of a variety of mission-related releases; and other articles round out the issue.

The journal, which will be released by early September, can be found here.

Those interested in joining an ongoing conversation regarding mission work both at home and around the world may search for the “Journal of Lutheran Mission Discussion Group” on Facebook.

“On the one hand, as Western society and the world in general seek to limit and restrict the message of the Holy Scriptures, the Church at-large seeks conversation and fellowship with those groups who remain faithful to the Holy Scriptures,” Harrison reminds readers in the upcoming issue of the journal. “This presents an incredible opportunity.”

Adriane Heins (adriane.heins@lcms.org) is managing editor of The Lutheran Witness and the Journal of Lutheran Mission with LCMS Communications.

Posted September 13, 2016