Faithful pastors, whether delegates or not, who submitted or tried to submit godly resolutions to the 2007 LCMS convention are to be commended. They did all they could to turn the good ship Missouri. Because she didn’t turn doesn’t mean they failed. Not all the theses ever nailed to a church door resulted in change. We “made war” with the weapon we are to use -the Word – under the system we have agreed to use. Immediately following a strenuous battle is no time to make decisions, despair, or recriminate yourself. Now is the time to rest, reevaluate, and recuperate. Now is the time to return to the Rock from which we were hewen, the Well which gives us new life, the Body and the Blood that is life.
As for those who “fought” by not submitting or trying to submit godly resolutions, as for those who declined to be delegates because they didn’t “feel” like it, as for those who refused to enter the public lists but are bold in private, you have your reward. The best you can possibly say is, “I have not yet begun to fight.” Indeed, you haven’t.