Matthew Carl Harrison (born March 14, 1962 in Sioux City, Iowa) is the 13th and current President of the Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod. He was elected to the presidency on July 13, 2010 at its 64th regular convention held in Houston, Texas. Rev. Harrison officially took office on September 1, 2010, and was formally installed at a service on September 11, 2010 at Concordia Seminary St. Louis.[1] He was elected by a 54 - 45% margin on the first ballot.[2] On 6 July 2013, the LCMS announced his election to a second three year term following a first ballot victory in the church body's first online presidential election.[3]
Rev. Harrison previously served as the Executive Director of the Department of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, and founding president of the LCMS Housing Corporation (also known as Lutheran Housing Support.)
Early years
Matthew Harrison was born in Sioux City, Iowa on March 14, 1962. He was baptized at Bethel Lutheran Church in Lawton, Iowa. He grew up in Sioux City, where his family belonged to Redeemer Lutheran Church. He graduated from Sioux City East High School in 1980 and Morningside College in 1987.[4] Harrison attended seminary at Concordia Theological Seminary at which he earned a Master of Divinity and, in 1991, a Master of Sacred Theology degree.[5] In 2011, he received honorary doctorates from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Concordia University—Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ministry
Matthew Harrison's first parish was in Westgate, Iowa.[5]
Harrison served as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana during the 1990s. During his ministry at Zion, the urban decay around the church moved him to join with St. Peter Catholic Church and community leaders to revitalize the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood. This joint effort recruited investors to clear many dilapidated homes, restore others and build new ones in that ten block area. The effort was a success and led to the construction of a new branch of the Allen County Public Library and an office for the Fort Wayne Urban League in the neighborhood. This initiative continues in the City of Fort Wayne's Renaissance Pointe project.[6]
In his role as head of LCMS World Relief beginning in 2001, Rev. Harrison made several trips to work with those in need in among the slums of Kibera, Kenya and in other East African countries. He worked in Asia following the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami and in Louisiana in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. He also spent several months in early 2010 coordinating LCMS aid in Haiti following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
On February 16, 2012, Harrison testified in front of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in opposition to contraceptive mandates imposed upon parachurch organizations by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[7]
Works
- Works Available from Concordia Publishing House
As author
- Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith in Action. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008.
- In the Beginning: A Collection of Essays and Bible Studies on the Sanctity of Early Human Life. With Charles P. Arand and James Lamb. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007.
- It's Time: LCMS Unity and Mission: the Real Problem We Face and How to Solve It. n.p., 2008.
- A Little Book on Joy: the Secret of Living a Good News Life in a Bad News World. Lutheran Legacy, 2009. Re-published by Concordia Publishing House, 2011.
- Sanctification and Charitable Works in Lutheran Theology. Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Board of World Relief and Human Care, 2006
- Sermon on John 14:1-14 at Concordia Theological Seminary's Kramer Chapel, April 30, 2010.
As translator and editor
- Gerhard, Johann. Meditations on Divine Mercy: A Classic Treasury of Devotional Prayers. Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2003.
- Löhe, Wilhelm, Holger Sonntag, Adriane Dorr, and Philip Hendrickson. Löhe on Mercy: Six Chapters for Everyone, the Seventh for the Servants of Mercy, 1858-1860. [Mercy insights series]. St. Louis: Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, World Relief and Human Care, 2006.
- Sasse, Hermann. Christ and His Church: Essays by Hermann Sasse. With Ronald R. Feuerhahn and Paul T. McCain. Office of the President of the LCMS, 1997.
- Sasse, Hermann. The Lonely Way: Selected Essays and Letters. With Ronald R. Feuerhahn, eds. and trans. 2 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 2001.
- Sasse, Hermann. Union and Confession. With Ronald R. Feuerhahn and Paul T. McCain. Office of the President of the LCMS, 1997.
- Walther, C.F.W., Friedrich Wyneken, H. C. Schwan, Franz Pieper, Friedrich Pfotenhauer, W. Sihler, and Theodor Julius Brohm. At Home in the House of My Fathers: Presidential Sermons, Essays, Letters, and Addresses from the Missouri Synod's Great Era of Unity and Growth. [Fort Wayne, IN]: Lutheran Legacy, 2009.
- Women Pastors?: The Ordination of Women in Biblical Lutheran Perspective: a Collection of Essays. With John T. Pless, eds. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 2009.
References
- http://www.lcms.org/pages/default.asp?NavID=602
- Jump up^ http://www.lcms.org/pages/convention_internal.asp?NavID=17027.
- Jump up^ http://blogs.lcms.org/2013/harrison-elected-to-second-term
- Jump up^ "Sioux City native new LCMS president" Sioux City Journal (July 17, 2010).
- ^ Jump up to:a b Sioux City Journal
- Jump up^ Rosa Salter Rodriguez, "New Lutheran synod boss is ex-city pastor Helped to revamp Hanna-Creighton, led Zion Lutheran." Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (July 15, 2010)
- Jump up^ "LCMS responds to birth control mandate". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
External links
- LCMS World Relief and Human Care
Kevin Leininger, "Ex-city pastor new leader of Missouri Synod Lutherans: The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison pastored Zion Lutheran Church." Fort Wayne News-Sentinel (July 14, 2010).
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gerald B. Kieschnick |
President Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod |
Incumbent
|