wfn.org | LCMS Committee Proposes 112 Resolutions for Convention

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

 From The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services

LCMSNews -- No. 46
June 11, 2001

Committees propose 112
resolutions for convention

By the time the last convention floor committee left The Lutheran Church
--Missouri Synod's International Center in St. Louis May 28, the eight
committees had prepared 112 resolutions for consideration at next month's
Synod convention.

That's 14 more resolutions than floor committees prepared for the 1998
convention.  But with 553 overtures from congregations, circuits, districts,
pastors conferences, faculties, boards, commissions and other sources, this
year's panels had a few more than the 526 of three years ago.

As tradition dictates, the floor-committee members gave up the Memorial Day
weekend for the cause. The convention is July 14-20 at the America's Center
(convention center) in downtown St. Louis.

"There are times when we feel that what we think or say or do really makes
little or no difference.  And perhaps more often than not, that is true,"
Synod President Robert Kuhn told committee members at the opening of the
weekend May 25.  "But this is not one of those times.

"What you and your respective committees resolve upon as you go about and
complete your recommendations to the other delegates to the convention in
July may have a very significant effect," Kuhn said.

The proposed resolutions will be printed in the first issue of the daily
convention guide, "Today's Business,"  which is to be mailed to delegates
and congregations this month.  They also are available on the Web through
the Synod convention web site, http://www.lcms.org/convention/.

Here's a summary:

MISSIONS

"Tell the Good News about Jesus," the evangelism emphasis proposed by the
late Synod President A.L. Barry and adopted by the 1998 Synod convention,
would be reaffirmed if this year's convention adopts Resolution 1-01.

That resolution would "wholeheartedly reaffirm the continuation of the
unprecedented outreach emphasis ...."  Responsibility for it would be placed
with the Evangelism Ministry department of the Board for Congregational
Services.

The first three years of the emphasis, now completed, was to have been
preparation for 10 years of concerted outreach.  "Tell the Good News about
Jesus" also is the theme of the convention.

Floor Committee 1 (Missions) also has prepared a number of resolutions that
highlight cross-cultural outreach.  They would, for example:
--urge congregations to reach out to the 600,000 international students at
U.S. colleges and universities and to support International Student
Ministry.
--affirm the Pentecost 2000 cross-cultural initiative of the Board for
Mission Services.
--call for more partnerships between urban and suburban congregations.
--urge election and appointment of more leaders "from other than just male
Caucasian background."
--recognize the need for different outreach approaches for different ethnic
groups.
--"thank God for the rich diversity that He is bringing to our church."

Other missions resolutions urge more passion for the Great Commission, state
the expectation of increased giving for missions, and express appreciation
for Dr. Glenn O'Shoney's 12-year tenure as executive director of the Board
for Mission Services.  Under O'Shoney, who plans to retire Nov. 1, the
number of countries in which the Missouri Synod is working has increased
from 43 to 69, according to the resolution.
Congregational Services

Floor Committee 2 (CONGREGATIONAL SERVICES) proposes that Lutheran school
associations affiliated with both the Missouri Synod and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) be monitored for compliance with Synod
bylaws that govern Recognized Service Organizations (RSOs).  Any
noncompliance would be addressed by a "pastoral plan" developed for each
situation.

The 1998 convention called for a task force to address school associations
with joint affiliation.  The task force last year recommended that such
associations "resolve their dual status" or lose their LCMS affiliation.

The floor committee did not adopt that recommendation.  Rather, its
resolution would allow current dual-status schools to continue their LCMS
affiliation "provided that each meets all other criteria" adopted by the
Board for Congregational Services to govern RSOs.  The resolution would
permit no new dual-status schools, however.

Several resolutions relate to worship, including one that directs the Synod
president and other leaders to continue efforts toward "consensus in
worship," the goal of a 1998 resolution.

Another would approve a field-testing plan for orders of worship, new hymns,
hymn changes and rites in the new LCMS hymnal and agenda, currently in
development.  A third would ask that "appropriate materials" from This Far
by Faith, the African-American Lutheran hymnal supplement, be included in
the new Synod hymnal.  It also urges congregations that use the Black
hymnal, developed jointly with the ELCA, to evaluate its contents on the
basis of Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, a report that was prepared by
Dr. A.L Barry and guidelines being prepared by the Commission on Worship.

Other resolutions would seek peaceful resolution of conflicts between
congregations and their professional church workers and encourage the
removal of a clergy requirement for some Synod and district positions -- an
effort to make more pastors available for service to congregations.

Still others would encourage congregations to minister to homosexuals and
their families; return the Stewardship Department to the Board for
Congregational Services from the LCMS Foundation, to which it recently
moved; revise bylaws relating to the congregational services board; commend
the use of Concordia Publishing House materials; and thank God for the
ministry of Dr. Bryant Clancy Jr., who plans to retire in January as
executive director of the Board for Black Ministry
Services.

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Three years ago, Committee 3 (Theology and Church Relations) had to address
the most overtures, 151.  This year, it ran a close second to Committee 7
(Structure, Planning and Administration) -- 137 overtures to 144.  It
developed 22 resolutions for convention consideration.

Four of them would declare church fellowship with four overseas Lutheran
church bodies --in Latvia, Lithuania, Sri Lanka and Haiti.  The churches in
Sri Lanka and Haiti were begun as a result of LCMS and LCMS-related mission
work.  The Lutheran church bodies in the two Baltic states date back to the
Lutheran Reformation of the 16th century.

A fifth resolution says that the Synod increasingly has found agreement in
doctrine and practice with fellow Lutherans in the former Soviet Union,
Central Europe, Africa and elsewhere.  It would have the Synod president
"work to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with these church bodies as
expeditiously as possible."

The lengthiest single resolution from Committee 3 is the latest to address
the need for Word and Sacrament ministry in specialized situations, notably
among non-English speakers and in small, remote congregations that cannot
otherwise support a pastor.

The 1989 Synod convention sought to address the problem by authorizing
district presidents to license lay workers to perform pastoral functions
within defined parameters and under supervision of an ordained minister.
The 1995 convention required these licensed lay deacons to complete a
seminary program for ordination.  Now, Committee 3 proposes to rescind both
resolutions, to call for a revised DELTO program (Distance Education Leading
to Ordination), and to direct the Synod's seminaries to work with districts
to provide alternate-route programs to train pastors for "special ethnic and
linguistic groups."

The resolution specifically declines the recommendation of a task force,
called for by the 1998 convention, that a new ordained office (most recently
called "assistant pastor") be created to replace lay deacons.

Three resolutions address the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  One
would commend continued joint human-care endeavors with the ELCA but make
clear that LCMS pastors are not to participate in joint worship services
associated with such work.  A second would declare an end to any "joint
pastoral ministry" with the ELCA -- including ministry to the armed forces,
international Lutheran congregations, and campus ministries.  The third
would affirm the late Dr. Barry's judgment that "we cannot consider them
[the ELCA] to be an orthodox Lutheran church body."

Other resolutions from Committee 3 would:

--thank God for Barry's ministry, remember his "Tell the Good News about
Jesus" emphasis, and recall his encouragement, "Keep the message straight,
Missouri!  Get the message out, Missouri!"
--encourage baptism of infants as soon as possible after birth.
--encourage private confession and absolution.
--encourage that no substitute for wine be used in the Lord's Supper.
--direct the Commission on Theology and Church Relations to complete any
remaining portions of its study on women in the church in time for
consideration at the next Synod convention, in 2004.
--ask that Renewal in Missouri (RIM) disband.  RIM, an organization within
the Synod that is involved in the charismatic movement, has been in
discussions with the Synod since the late 1980s.  Synod and RIM
representatives have met three times since the 1998 convention.

PROGRAM AND FINANCE

By contrast to Committees 3 and 7, with their lengthy lists of overtures to
consider, Committee 4 (Program and Finance) had the fewest by far.
Beginning with eight overtures, the committee developed three resolutions,
including an "omnibus resolution" that declines four of those overtures.

One of the two remaining resolutions would encourage congregations to
support the work of the Concordia Historical Institute through a special
"thank-offering" in 2002, the Institute's 75th anniversary year.

The other would revise Synod bylaws to reflect transfer of Capital Funding
Services from the LCMS Foundation to the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.
CFS provides consulting services "to promote ministry enhancement, sustained
giving and capital improvements ...," in the words of the resolution.
Higher Education

Attention to cross-cultural ministry is not to be found only under
"Missions."  One resolution prepared by Committee 5 (HIGHER EDUCATION)
maintains, "Education for missions begins with the colleges, universities
and seminaries" of the Synod.  Church workers, it says, "need to be educated
in the culture, history and language of various countries."

The resolution calls for "the teaching of history, culture and languages" in
the Synod's academic institutions; additional offerings to train church
workers "to understand and teach Spanish as well as other languages"; and
LCMS colleges, universities and seminaries to make it a budget priority to
offer "the language and history of the various cultures of the world
for the purpose of extending the mission of Jesus Christ."

A number of resolutions would amend the Synod's bylaws that address matters
of higher education.  They propose to:
--permit the Board for Higher Education (BHE)/Concordia University System
Board, with the consent of the Synod's Board of Directors and the Council of
Presidents, to close a college or university, if necessary.  The change
would not apply to closing seminaries, which would continue to require
convention action.
--amend bylaws regarding faculty tenure.  Included would be a mandate for
more frequent and formal performance reviews of faculty.
--make more accessible the colloquy courses that uncertified teachers must
take in order to be certified by the Synod to teach in LCMS schools.
--return to three-year terms and a limit of nine years consecutive service
for members of college and university boards of regents.  The 1998
convention adopted six-year terms and a 12-year maximum.
--make changes to remove certain barriers, notably language barriers, to
being synodically certified as a rostered deaconess.

Other resolutions would provide for deaconess training at LCMS seminaries;
urge congregations and individuals to increase their support for church-work
students; and increase to 1995 levels subsidies to the seminaries.  The two
seminaries received $1.6 million in Synod subsidies in 1995 and $711,000 in
the current fiscal year, according to BHE Executive Director William Meyer.

Still others would ask the Council of Presidents and seminary faculties to
study the process for certifying pastors; encourage organizations that
address issues of pastoral leadership to work cooperatively with the Synod's
theological faculties; and ask the BHE to develop and implement a plan for
training and certifying Lutheran counselors "who know the importance of the
proper distinction between Law and Gospel, the means of grace, God's Word
and Sacraments ... ."

HUMAN CARE

For decades, the Missouri Synod has had one of the strongest pro-life
positions of any American church body.  This year's convention will be asked
once again to reiterate that position, especially as it relates to abortion.

And, delegates will be asked to establish a "Sanctity of Life Ministry"
standing committee under the Board for Human Care Ministries.

The introduction of the abortion drug RU-486 and other drugs and procedures
is one reason for a resolution reaffirming the Synod's pro-life position.
The resolution also would ask the Synod president to ask the president of
the United States for a "thorough review and reversal" of the Food and Drug
Administration's approval of RU-486.

The resolution calling for a standing committee on Sanctity of Life Ministry
would give it "responsibility for providing resources, programs and
encouragement to the members of the Synod regarding all appropriate
applications of the principle of the sanctity of every human life from
conception to natural death."  The standing committee would replace a more
ad hoc President's Commission on the Sanctity of Life.

U.S. President George W. Bush would be commended by another resolution for
his "Faith-Based and Community Initiative" blueprint, which includes helping
children of prisoners, improving inmate rehabilitation, supporting
"second-chance" maternity group homes and supporting more after-school
opportunities.  The proposed resolution also encourages maintaining
government support of present services and urges congregations and others to
make use of the opportunities that arise out of Bush's initiatives.

Persecuted Christians around the world also have attracted the attention of
Floor Committee 6 (Human Care).  Noting that more Christians have died for
their faith in the past 100 years than in all previous Christian history,
the resolution encourages congregations to participate in the International
Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, held one Sunday in November, and
that they "remind members of the reality of persecuted Christians around the
world and encourage ongoing prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters."

Care of church workers also was part of the committee's work.  It is
proposing resolutions that would seek to ensure that church workers are
adequately compensated and that would improve retirement benefits for church
workers and their survivors.  Another "strongly" encourages ministers to
participate in Social Security.

STRUCTURE, PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION

A proposed revision of the Synod's Handbook, nearly two years in the making,
will be sent back to the commission that drafted it if a resolution from
Floor Committee 7 is adopted by the convention.

Convention delegates received with the Convention Workbook another volume
nearly as large: Proposed Handbook, which includes a proposed new text of
the Synod's Bylaws prepared by an ad hoc Commission on Structure and the
current Handbook with notations.  An earlier version was sent to Synod
congregations last summer for comment.

The resolution says that the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM),
which must review any amendments to the bylaws, "has only partially reviewed
the report ... and has noted some concerns."  It would ask the CCM to finish
its review and send its concerns to the ad hoc Commission on Structure,
which would prepare a new report and send it to the 2004 convention.

Even without the Handbook revision, Floor Committee 7 (Structure, Planning
and Administration) had the most overtures to review (144) and developed the
most proposed resolutions (31).  One would create a permanent Commission on
Structure (a panel that was eliminated in 1992 with the advent of the
now-defunct Council on Mission and Ministry).

Among the committee's other proposals are resolutions that would:
--reaffirm, in the face of concerns raised about some of the Synod's
agencies, that all Synod officers, staff and agencies shall adhere to the
Constitution and Bylaws "and assume only those powers granted to them."
--phase out "Consecrated Lay Workers," a nonrostered category of worker.
--place directors of parish music and directors of family life ministry on
the Synod's roster as ministers of religion-commissioned.
--reaffirm Dr. C.F.W. Walther's book, The Position of Our Church on the
Question of Church and Ministry _ originally adopted by the 1854 convention
_ as "the definitive statement of the Synod's understanding on the subject
of Church and Ministry."
--promote study of Art. VII of the Constitution and Bylaw 2.39, both of
which refer to the relation of the Synod to its members.
--"clarify" an opinion of the Commission on Constitutional Matters to the
contrary and "affirm the right" of district conventions to submit to Synod
conventions expressions of dissent regarding the Synod's doctrinal
resolutions.
--transfer the functions of the Commission on Organizations to the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations, which has been providing staff
services to the Commission on Organizations for the last eight years.
--adopt a bylaw governing the removal of board members.  The resolution says
interest in such a procedure has been expressed by boards of regents of the
Synod's colleges and universities.
National/District Synod Relations
Floor Committee 8 was created especially to handle recommendations from the
Task Force on NATIONAL/DISTRICT SYNOD RELATIONS.

The 1998 convention called for a task force "to study the Synod as it exists
and relates to itself on the national, district and circuit levels, the
manner of electing delegates, the role of the Council of Presidents, as well
as other issues."  The panel issued a draft report last summer and a final
report this spring.

Among resolutions prepared by Floor Committee 8 are proposals that would:

--amend the bylaws to direct district presidents, who may be assisted by
circuit counselors, to make an official visit at least once every three
years to each congregation in their districts.
--continue to have all Synod vice presidents elected Synodwide, rather than
regionally as the task force had proposed.
--end the requirement that districts have boards and staff that parallel the
Synod's national structure.
--continue the current process of having vicars assigned by the Council of
Presidents.  The task force had recommended having vicars assigned by the
seminary faculties "acting jointly and in consultation with the respective
district presidents."
--call for a study of "more equitable representation" at Synod conventions.
The resolution cites concerns regarding the disparity in size of
congregations, districts and circuits; that commissioned workers and
professors cannot be voting delegates; and that some congregations are
under-represented because of the bylaw formula for the selection of voting
delegates.
--celebrate the centennial of the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches,
which joined the Missouri Synod 30 years ago as the nongeographic SELC
District.

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