Frith installed as Liberty Network director

The Rev. Mark T. Frith (center) shares remarks following his installation as director of the Champions for Liberty Network at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis on Nov. 29. Frith is joined by LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison (left) and Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty Executive Director Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz (right). (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Stacey Egger

On Nov. 29, during daily chapel at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) International Center (IC) in St. Louis, the Rev. Mark T. Frith was installed as director of the Champions for Liberty Network for the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty (LCRL) in Washington, D.C.

In this role, Frith will work to raise up a team of educators and facilitators who will recruit, educate and train laity, church workers and congregations to be advocates for religious liberty.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be called and to serve in this way,” Frith said. “It’s a challenging but amazing opportunity for us to be able to do what the church needs us to do in D.C.”

Previously, Frith served Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) for five years as vice-president of Ministry Solutions. Prior to his time at LCEF, he served as a parish pastor in two congregations, as the LCMS Kansas District’s facilitator for missions and stewardship, and as a program director for Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Frith and his wife, Leigh, live in St. Louis and have two grown children: Aaron, who lives in Louisville, Ky.; and Hannah, who lives in Kansas City, Mo.

At the installation service, the Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, executive director of the LCRL, preached a sermon on Romans 13:11–14.

“Our text today is asking us … how do you deal with darkness so that others can see the light of Christ for them? One way is, you differentiate God’s preserving work from His saving work — we call that ‘Two Kingdoms’ — and faithfully follow His lead in both arenas. … Our LCRL work is to protect the church’s public voice so that she can preach the whole counsel of God without fear of government coercion or manipulation to the contrary.”

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, who served as liturgist for the service, said, “This is a really significant step in building the capacity of the LCRL to do what it needs to do: to be a voice on [Capitol] Hill to various politicians, with a clear Two Kingdoms approach to issues of state and church. It will also build the capacity of Missouri Synod people and congregations to act responsibly as citizens, and to do that with biblical clarity — to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and not give him anything that belongs to God.”

Posted Jan. 9, 2023