Rev. Matthew Harrison was elected president of the Missouri Synod today. He defeated the incumbent, Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, 643-527, on the first ballot.

Afterward, Rev. Herbert Mueller, Jr., was elected first vice-president.

President-elect Harrison is currently the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. He is the author of “A Little Book on Joy,” the editor/translator of “At Home in the House of My Fathers,” and translator of numerous writings of Lutheran dogmaticians. Rev. Mueller is the president of the LCMS’s Southern Illinois District.