Matthew Harrison (minister)

Matthew Carl Harrison (born March 14, 1962 in Sioux City, Iowa) is the 13th and current president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). He was first elected to the presidency on July 13, 2010 at the synod's 64th regular convention in Houston, Texas. Harrison officially took office on September 1, 2010, and was formally installed in a service on September 11, 2010, at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.[1] He was elected by a 54 - 45% margin on the first ballot.[2] He was elected to a second three-year term following a first ballot victory in the church body's first online presidential election in July 2013 .[3] He was elected to a third three-year term in June 2016, having received 56.96 percent of the vote on the first ballot.[4] In June 2019, Harrison was elected to a fourth three-year term with 51.76 percent of the vote on the first ballot.[5] In June 2023, he was elected to a fifth term with 52.32% of the first ballot vote. He is the first LCMS president elected to a fifth term since 1947.[6]

For other people named Matthew Harrison, see Matthew Harrison (disambiguation).

The Reverend

Matthew C. Harrison
President
Matthew Harrison in 2010
ChurchLutheran Church–Missouri Synod
ElectedJuly 13, 2010
InstalledSeptember 11, 2010
PredecessorGerald B. Kieschnick
Orders
Ordination1991
Personal details
Born (1962-03-14) March 14, 1962
Sioux City, Iowa
SpouseKathy Harrison ('nee Schimm)
ChildrenTwo sons
Previous post(s)Executive Director, LCMS World Relief/Human Care
Alma materConcordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (M.S.T., 1991), (M.Div., 1989)
Morningside College, Sioux City (1984)

Harrison had previously served as the Executive Director of the Department of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, and as founding president of the LCMS Housing Corporation (also known as Lutheran Housing Support).

Early years

Harrison was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 14, 1962. He was baptized at Bethel Lutheran Church in Lawton, Iowa, and 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.[7] Harrison then attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from which he earned a Master of Divinity in 1989 and a Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1991.[7][8] In 2011, he received honorary doctorates from Concordia Theological Seminary and from Concordia University Ann Arbor in Michigan.[9]

Ministry

Harrison's first parish was at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Westgate, Iowa, where he served from 1991 to 1995.[10][11]

Harrison served as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1995 to 2001.[11] 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 the 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.[12][13]

In Harrison's role as head of LCMS World Relief beginning in 2001, he made several trips to work with those in need 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.[14]

Works

As author

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, Letters to Lutheran Pastors. Ed. With Charles Evanson, W. Gawrisch, Ralph Gehrke, Fred Kramer, Rachel Mumme, Norman Nagel, Paul Peters, Peter Petzling, E. Reim, J. Michael Reu, David P. Scaer, Charles Schaum, Andrew Smith, Holgar Sonntag, Paul Strawn, W. Wegner, trans. 3 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2013-15.
  • 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.
  • Closed Communion?: Admission to the Lord's Supper in Biblical Lutheran Perspective. With John T. Pless, eds. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 2017.

References
  1. "Media Gallery". Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  2. "Election Results". The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Archived from the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  3. "Harrison elected to second term as LCMS president". Reporter Online. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. July 6, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  4. "Harrison re-elected to third term as LCMS president". Reporter Online. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  5. "Harrison elected to fourth term as LCMS president". Reporter. June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  6. Magness, Cheryl (June 21, 2023). "Harrison elected to fifth term as LCMS president". Reporter. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  7. "Sioux City native new LCMS president". Sioux City Journal. July 17, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  8. "Find a Worker — Dr Matthew Carl Harrison". Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  9. "Presidential Bios — Matthew C. Harrison" (PDF). The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  10. "Sioux City native new LCMS president". Sioux City Journal. July 17, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  11. "Presidential Bios — Matthew C. Harrison" (PDF). The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  12. Rodriguez, Rosa Salter (July 15, 2010). "New Lutheran synod boss is ex-city pastor Helped to revamp Hanna-Creighton, led Zion Lutheran". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.
  13. Leininger, Kevin (July 14, 2010). "Ex-city pastor new leader of Missouri Synod Lutherans". Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  14. "LCMS responds to birth control mandate". Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
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