“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (ESV) Concordia Publishing House (CPH) continues to serve as the publishing arm of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, equipping congregations, schools, pastors, teachers, and all Christians with tools to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the past four years, CPH has experienced significant leadership changes, with the death of Executive Director of Editorial Rev. Paul Mc Cain in 2020 and the retirement of President and CEO Bruce Kintz in May 2021. At that time, the CPH Board of Directors appointed Jonathan D. Schultz, CPH’s then Vice President and Corporate Counsel, as Interim President and CEO. Mr. Schultz was elected CPH’s ninth President and CEO and was installed on March 11, 2022. Like every ministry in the LCMS, CPH was deeply impacted by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by God’s grace, we maintained our staff and have continued producing resources to equip the Synod. During the pandemic, CPH offered free subscriptions to Lutheran Service Builder to the congregations of the Synod to help them minister to their members through online services. Through all these changes, we have continued to provide resources to support biblical literacy efforts in congregations, encouraging people to read the Bible and prioritize time in the Word.
The Tree of Life: God’s Promise of Salvation Church Resource Kit provides a complete package of resources for a congregation to dig into the Scriptures together (from the oldest to the youngest). CPH has been honored to enter publishing agreements with partner organizations throughout the Synod. We have an ongoing partnership with Concordia Historical Institute on the Concordia Historical Monograph Series (with three volumes in print and more in development). Additionally, partnering with the Lutheran Leadership Development Program has allowed us to publish specific textbooks for those enrolled in the program. We have also worked with the Center for Church Music to produce two books and with a mission foundation to produce a translation of a Swedish theologian.
In partnership with the LCMS Office of Youth Ministry, we help publish resources for leaders influencing the next generation. Since the last convention, we have released one youth ministry book, Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry, with another one in development. In partnership with the LCMS Office of the President, we have released significant collections of essays on the theology of the two kingdoms and Law and Gospel proclamation. These resources help pastors and seminary students focus their sermon preparation and delivery and help keep Bible classes centered on God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We have also published a number of resources to meet the challenges posed by our culture. These products reach all ages on a range of vital moral issues that challenge the church to respond in loving and faithful ways to our neighbors. Examples include faith during the pandemic, support for caregivers, grief, vocation, gender and sexuality, addiction, divorce, anxiety, suicide, abortion, cults and other religions, and dealing with stress. Our scholarly publications remain a priority. We continue making progress on our Concordia Commentary series. In the past four years, we have published eight volumes: (James W. Voelz and Christopher W. Mitchell), (Timothy E. Saleska), Micah (Jason R. Soenksen), Zechariah (R. Reed Lessing), James (Curtis P. Giese), Deuteronomy (Adolph L. Harstad), (William C. Weinrich), and Joel (Thomas P. Nass). This brings our total of published volumes to forty-four, with thirty-three volumes remaining to complete the series. Also important to us are historical documents that we continue to translate and publish. Since 2019, we have released three new volumes of Luther’s Works. Of note is the first of two volumes of Luther’s academic disputations, which includes for the first time in English all the Anti no mian theses and disputations. In addition to other stand-alone writings, volume 61 includes Against King Henry and Report to a Good Friend concerning Both Kinds in the Sacrament. Finally, volume 63 provides the first new Old Testament exegetical material in the new series: Luther’s sermons on Exodus. An additional four volumes of Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces are now available. Most notably, as we wrap up work on this series, we have released Gerhard’s commonplaces on the “Last Things”: resurrection, the last judgment, the end of the world, hell, and eternal life. Forthcoming are the final two volumes, which address the commonplace “Death” in two parts. We remain committed to providing resources faithful to our Lutheran Confessions and have released several products for all ages and interest levels to make these important confessions approachable at every stage of life, even for readers normally intimidated by the Book of Concord. These publications include My First Catechism; Luther’s Small Catechism for Kids; Lutheranism 101, third edition; Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions audiobook; What Are the Lutheran Confessions?; The Formula of Concord: Epitome; and The Augsburg Confession and the Apology. New resources for pastors include our Advent and Lent series, which offer resources for worship and family devotions each year. Concordia Seminary professor Dr. David J. Peter has written an important book called Organizing for Ministry and Mission: Options for Church Structure. Dr. Peter helps pastors and congregations improve their organizational design and administrative practices to maximize their ministry. Another book, Navigating Ministry Challenges, offers advice to pastors and covers a variety of top-ics including working with lay leadership, congregational relations, serving multi point parishes, leading church schools, financial leadership, and utilizing digital tools for ministry. In the past four years, we have completed a religion curriculum called Enduring Faith® Religion Curriculum for Lutheran school grades Pre-K through eighth grade. Our resources for families cover all ages. Our children’s books include Arch Books Treasury: Life of Jesus. Family resources include Jesse Tree: Family Activity Kit and Wise Men Seek the Savior: Family Advent Activity Kit. Resources for youth include Courage That Defies Death: A Bible Study for Youth and Words of Strength and Promise: Devotions for Youth. We also have developed a number of mental health resources in the past four years, including Equipped: The Armor of God for Everyday Struggles; Emotions and the Gospel: Created for Connection; and Getting Through Grief and Getting Through Grief for Youth. We continue to offer a wide range of materials for worship and the church’s musicians. In the past four years, we have published Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns and Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Services, there by officially marking the completion of the Lutheran Service Book resources that we promised the Synod in 2004. Based on customer inquiry, we also published Lutheran Service Book: Large Print Edition. We also published a new children’s hymnal, One and All Rejoice, for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. In the fall of 2019, we launched a digital music subscription service, which now has several thousand instrumental, choral, liturgical, organ, piano, and handbook titles available. With an annual subscription, musicians have unlimited access to download and print as many copies as needed for congregations. At CPH, we thank God for enabling us to strengthen and aid member congregations in their proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with products that are faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. All to the Glory of God. Jonathan D. Schultz, President and CEO
Investments The laddered fixed income portfolio as of Dec. 31, 2022, totaled $437.4 million, with an interest yield of 2.11 percent compared to a yield of 1.70 percent a year ago. The long-term reserve portfolio (consisting of fixed income, equities, and other non correlated investments) totaled $96.1 million. Net market value losses for the period ending Dec. 31, 2022, totaled $10.4 million, with laddered fixed income losses of $11.4 million offset by long-term portfolio gains of $1 million. Inclusive of the investment income as of Dec. 31, 2022, the total return for the laddered portfolio was 0.39 percent. Within the long-term portfolio, the equity, alternative, and limited liquidity portfolios earned a total return gain (losses) of 4.37 percent, 3.62 percent, and 0.69 percent, respectively. The total return on the long-term portfolio was a gain of 3.27 percent.
Loyal investors continued to provide funds to enable LCMS ministries’ financial resources, which support their efforts to expand God’s kingdom.
LCEF was pleased to share earnings distribution with member districts and Synod. While there was no distribution in 2020 due to net losses, LCEF was able to significantly support its impaired borrowers during the pandemic and provide a $1 million grant to support church workers through the Soldiers of the Cross–Amplified program. In 2021, due to strong net income, LCEF provided the normal distribution and included an enhanced distribution, which allowed member districts and Synod to receive a double portion for specific mission extension work.