Matthew Carl Harrison (born March 14, 1962) is the 13th and current president of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

(LCMS). As president, he is the chief ecclesiastical supervisor of the Synod and is responsible for the national program ministries of the LCMS, including the Office of International Mission, which calls and employs some 150 missionaries globally. 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 St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He was elected by a 54–45% margin on the first ballot. 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 . He was elected to a third three-year term in June 2016, having received 56.96 percent of the vote on the first ballot. In June 2019, Harrison was elected to a fourth three-year term with 51.76 percent of the vote on the first ballot. 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. 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 Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, 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. Harrison then attended

Concordia Theological Seminary Concordia Theological Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It offers professional, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy and deaconesses for the Lutheran Churc ...

in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from which he earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 1989 and a

Master of Sacred Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree in 1991. In 2011, he received honorary doctorates from

and from

Concordia University Ann Arbor Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA) is the Ann Arbor, Michigan, campus of Concordia University Wisconsin, a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. As part of Concordia University, it is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. ...

in Michigan.

Ministry

Harrison's first parish was at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Westgate, Iowa, where he served from 1991 to 1995. Harrison served as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, from 1995 to 2001. 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. 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 Kibera (Kinubi language, Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division and neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and also the largest urban slum in all of Africa. The 2009 Kenya Popul ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and in other East African countries. He worked in Asia following the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

and in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in 2005 following

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. He also spent several months in early 2010 coordinating LCMS aid in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

following the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. On February 16, 2012, Harrison

testified Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimony ...

in front of the

United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

in opposition to contraceptive mandates imposed upon

parachurch organizations Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indiv ...

by the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...

Works

As author

*''Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith in Action''. St. Louis, MO:

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly maga ...

, 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

's Kramer Chapel, April 30, 2010. *''Letters from a Pastor's Heart''. St. Louis, MO:

, 2016. *''Why Am I Joy:fully Lutheran?: Instruction, Meditation, and Prayers on Luther's Small Catechism''. St. Louis, MO:

, 2018.

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.'' ercy 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''. ort 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

External links

Lutheran Housing Support

LCMS World Relief and Human Care
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Matthew C. 1962 births Living people People from Sioux City, Iowa 21st-century American Lutheran clergy Presidents of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod Morningside University alumni Concordia Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century American Lutheran clergy