Mission and confession are not competitive. They are complementary and collaborative. Two sides of the same coin. Balancing, catalyzing, proclaiming and sending. This is the way it's always supposed to be. The Gospel must be preached. Eternities are at stake. We need more proclaimers. Pastors and marketplace leaders united in a common confession to let the world know, "Jesus is LORD!" Somewhere along our way the LCMS started to pit these two words against each other. Tribes such as "missional" and "confessional" began to form. "Confessional" pastors virtue signal through collars and chanting, smells and bells. "Missional" pastors virtue signal through casual dress and drums. Maybe tribalism is the way it's always been in the LCMS. Maybe so, but that does not mean it is the way it should be. I certainly don't have to like it. I know Jesus doesn't. "Mission" is why the church exists. God wants all of His rebellious kids back. God is radically, and even ridiculously, in love with us. Jesus is proof. "Confession" is what we preach. Pastors preach. The royal priesthood also boldly proclaims. Christ crucified. Christ risen. Christ ascended and reigning. The Holy Spirit descending. For you. For me. For the world. Priorities matter. Values matter. Unfortunately, the values in the LCMS have shifted. We've prioritized protecting the faith over advancing the mission of making Jesus known. When "what and how" gets in the way of "why" any organization exists, trouble and petty power plays will be the end result. Hello, LCMS culture in 2025.
