The Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan, president of the LCMS Missouri District and newly elected chairman of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Council of Presidents (COP), began the COP’s Nov. 14–16 meeting by noting, “Our pastors gather in their circuits to study Scripture and the Confessions. We gather for the same reason. This is the most important thing we can do.” During their meeting, the members of the COP studied Titus, the second article of the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, and the priesthood of all believers and the Office of the Holy Ministry.
The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, LCMS president, began his report to the COP with a historical review of “confessional” Lutheranism, leading to the essential question, “What is our ecumenical role?” The answer, while simple, is the essence of the LCMS: “It is to bear witness to Christ, to the truth of Scripture, the truth of the Small Catechism. … [It is] to be truly Lutheran,” said Harrison.