LCMS ‘simply the best thing going’: Harrison calls Synod in convention to love and unity

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the LCMS, stands with his family during the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Phoenix on Sunday, July 19, 2026. LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford

By Rachel Bomberger

PHOENIX — “Alleluia! Christ is risen!”

With this boisterous Easter greeting, LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison opened his July 19 report to the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, held this week in Phoenix.

Harrison, newly elected to his sixth term in office, based his remarks on a text from the same chapter as the convention theme verse (1 Cor. 15:20–22): “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Throughout his third and final report to the 2026 convention, Harrison stressed the joy of the resurrection; the hope of the Gospel; and the need for repentance, forgiveness and unity in the church’s life together. He also reemphasized “two main goals” that have been foundational throughout his 16-year tenure: retaining “our clear confession and practice” and “urging and training for witness and outreach.”

Challenges

Grounding his remarks in the sure reality of the empty tomb and the fact that “what happened there is delivered to us today” through Word and Sacrament, Harrison also frankly acknowledged long- and short-term challenges facing the Synod, including ongoing patterns of demographic decline.

“The LCMS enjoyed 150 years of growth, and now it has experienced 50 years of decline. No Synod president, no program, no district president (no matter how missional), no board of directors, no band of pastors (no matter how zealous) has been able to reverse that trend.”

Speaking more directly into current controversies, Harrison also addressed the recent downsizing of Concordia University Ann Arbor, tension between those who support the Synod’s two residential seminaries and those calling for a fully online Master of Divinity program, and the disproportionate growth of the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program.

“Forgiveness and charity [are] needed throughout this convention on all these issues,” said Harrison.

‘Good things’

Despite the challenges, Harrison also highlighted a number of positive developments in the LCMS, especially the return of adult confirmation rates to pre-COVID numbers:

“The LCMS has one of the highest rates of adult conversions — 30% — of all denominations,” he said. “We also know that the LCMS has a larger core of young families producing children than any other mainline denomination. We know that our adult retention rates are much higher than evangelicals. We know that young men and families are showing up in our congregations in increasing numbers, as reported to me across the nation.”

The financial state of the Synod, Harrison reported, is also strong — a $115 million swing from 16 years ago, when deficit spending was routine and the national offices of the Synod were responsible for $65 million in debt.

“Today, not long after the Board of Directors [LCMS BOD] set a 10-year goal of having one year of operations cash on hand, we are nearing the goal,” he said.

“We have no debt. We are not responsible for the debt of any other entities. Kudos to the Synod BOD, BOD chairman Christian Preus and especially to our diligent, Gospel-loving, hardworking, hard-charging International Center staff.”

Other “good things” mentioned in Harrison’s report include:

The Million Dollar Life Match, which has “energized” congregations, life ministries and Recognized Service Organizations and brought practical help and Gospel comfort to “some 670,000 women and children in crisis.”

Stronger partnerships with sister churches around the world, several of which “have left or are leaving the heterodox Lutheran World Federation” and many of which look to the LCMS as “the leading force for global Book of Concord Lutheranism.”

The adoption of the church worker recruitment initiative Set Apart to Serve by all 35 LCMS districts; the largest total enrollment at LCMS seminaries in a decade; and a rise in Concordia University System (CUS) church work students to pre-COVID levels, “despite school closures and the unlawful removal of Concordia University Texas.”

A renewed emphasis on church planting both nationally and internationally, with 100 new church plants in process.

Robust efforts toward “All Nations” ministry involving 527 different ministries and related groups.

A thriving Concordia Publishing House and record numbers of grants from Lutheran Women in Mission (LWML) for the work of the LCMS Offices of National and Internation Mission.

A suggested procedural change

While Harrison generally refrained from referencing specific convention business in his report, he did explicitly endorse one resolution before Floor Committee 9: Resolution 9-18, “To Amend Bylaw 3.12.2 to Elect the Synod President at Convention.”

Since 2010, the LCMS has relied on remote electronic voting to elect the president in the weeks prior to convention. Harrison has now strongly recommended a return to the older method of electing the president through in-person voting at the convention, despite the fact that, as he said, “I have no dog in this fight. I will not stand again.”

Harrison cited several reasons for recommending this procedural change, including persistent technical challenges, a failure by many eligible voters to register, the politicization of a process now often accompanied by “shameful online activity and vitriol,” and “the grueling process for the candidates.”

Harrison also commended by name the incumbent vice-presidents of the LCMS: the Rev. Peter Lange, the Rev. Benjamin Ball, the Rev. Dr. Scott Murray (retiring at the end of this term), the Rev. Nabil Nour, the Rev. Christopher Esget, and the Rev. Dr. Eric Skovgaard.

“The decision is yours,” said Harrison. “I would deeply appreciate serving my final term with these brothers.”

‘Therefore, my beloved brothers’

Looking ahead to the work of the convention, Harrison anticipated vigorous debate on many of the resolutions under consideration and issued a call for love and unity among both the delegates on the floor and those following the convention from afar:

“‘My beloved brothers and sisters.’ That is you! You are loved. Love should reign among us too. No rancor or public squabbling, or every guy who has two cans of Schlitz and an internet connection spouting uncharitable, unconscionable, unloving, anonymous rancor, invective and nonsense! Why do we as a Synod stand for this? Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!”

Yet even as Harrison acknowledged the reality of political wrangling on the convention floor, he also emphasized the power of forgiveness, his love for the LCMS, and his gratitude for the Lord’s blessings:

“We will sin against each other this week. We will become impatient. We will take offense. And we will forgive. We will all see the Synod, warts and all. Despite all that, and all the nonsense that leads up to these events, I am of the unwavering, determined conviction that the LCMS is simply the best thing going. At the end of the week, we will thank God for His wonderful blessings.”

Election certified

Harrison’s reelection to the Synod presidency was formally announced and certified during the July 19 afternoon session. He was joined on the convention stage by his wife, two sons, daughters-in-law and three young grandchildren as he accepted and offered a brief response to the election results.

“I’m so blessed. I’m a blessed man. And I realize that the greatest blessings come through the greatest crosses at the same time.”

Speaking both to the convention delegates and to his wife, Kathy, with whom he celebrated 45 years of marriage on June 18, he concluded, “I’ll do my best to serve you in these three years to come. God bless you all.”

2026 LCMS Convention

Under the theme “Christ Is Risen Indeed,” the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod met July 18–23, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix.

There are several ways to get convention news, including:

Web

• lcms.org/convention/national

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• lcms.org/convention/national/livestream

Audio

• kfuo.org

Social media

• facebook.com/lcmsconvention

Email

• lcms.org/reporter-signup

Posted July 19, 2026