wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Kieschnick responds to report

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>12.17.2009		
>	LCMS News	 	
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	December 17, 2009 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 107

Kieschnick responds to Blue Ribbon Task Force report

>By Linda C. Hoops

Believing that the delegates to next year's Synod convention have a
"right to hear and that I have a duty to share my thoughts,
affirmations, concerns, and recommendations" on the report of the Blue
Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance, Synod President Dr.
Gerald B. Kieschnick issued an eight-page response to the report Dec. 1.

His response and the 50-page task force report, released in late
October, are on the LCMS Web site at http://www.lcms.org/lcmsfuture.

Kieschnick provided the rationale for the formation and work of the task
force in a March 1, 2005, pastoral letter:

"There is a great need for a thorough and fundamental review of what our
Synod is, how it is organized, and how it functions.  What was first
created as an organizational system for a Synod made up of a small
number of congregations (14) now struggles to serve more than 6,150
congregations."

The task force was asked to suggest a philosophy and form of structure
and governance for the decades ahead that is "appropriately
representative, incorporates sufficient checks and balances, and is not
cumbersome or excessively complex. It should facilitate maximum
operating efficiency on behalf of and in support of the members and
congregations of our Synod in accomplishing the mission of our Lord and
His church."

In his response to the final report, Kieschnick thanked the task force
for its "faithful and extensive work over the past four and one-half
years," then evaluated the task force recommendations and indicated his
level of support for each.

One of the major recommendations coming out of the report calls for the
elimination of the Synod's seven program boards and two of its six
commissions.  Stating that the "structure of the national Synod has
evolved over the years into a complex and inefficient system that is
perceived as unresponsive to the needs of the congregations," the task
force report recommends consolidating the eliminated boards and
commissions into two advisory commissions, one for National Mission and
one for International Mission.

The senior staff members in these two commissions would be directly
accountable to a chief mission officer, who would be accountable to the
Synod president.

In his response, Kieschnick cites several examples of problems he has
personally encountered in the current Synod structure, including
budget-management issues and boards working independently of each other
and not collaboratively.

Kieschnick supports the recommendation to eliminate the current boards
and commissions, stating it would solve the problems of supervision and
accountability within the Synod structure.  But he also says that having
the chief mission officer accountable to him "could be seen as
concentration of excessive authority in the office of the Synod
president.  That is neither the task force's intention nor my desire."

Instead, he says a plan that would consolidate the current program
boards and commissions into two boards (the Board for National Mission
and the Board for International Mission), instead of two advisory
commissions, "is worthy of consideration."

"My primary concern in this matter is to improve the system that
currently exists while also ensuring that the task force recommendation
would properly and adequately satisfy my request and the Synod's need
for provision of appropriate checks and balances," he writes.

He also states that "assigning to the president the direct or indirect
responsibility to supervise the day-to-day work of the employees of the
Synod and allowing the president a method of intervention should either
board violate the constitution, bylaws, or resolutions of the Synod,"
should be considered.

Kieschnick expresses support for the recommendations made in the first
three sections of the report, which deal with amending the Synod's
constitution, the voting rights of individuals and congregations, and
the restoration of circuits to the purpose for which they were
originally intended, stating, "Circuits are so important for the health
and well-being of congregations and ministers of the Gospel."

In the fourth section, which discusses districts and congregations, he
cautions that a proposed future study of district reconfiguration "would
need to be conducted with great sensitivity to the tradition and history
of each of the 35 districts of the Synod."

He favors the creation of a separate category for commissioned ministers
to serve as voting delegates to district and Synod conventions that
would not reduce the number of lay or pastoral delegates, but he does
not support a recommendation that would give congregations with more
than 1,000 communicant members two extra votes at district conventions,
stating, "It does not appear to be contributing to a greater spirit of
harmony in our Synod."

Kieschnick supports the task force recommendation in section five that
calls for the establishment of five national regions to provide more
effective representation of congregations across the Synod on the
Praesidium (president and vice presidents) and Board of Directors of the
Synod.

"Only one Synod vice president currently lives west of the Mississippi
River.  He lives in St. Louis, only 20 miles west of that river,"
Kieschnick writes in his response.  "Since regular visitation of all 35
districts by the Synod president is virtually impossible, I support this
recommendation, which would enable congregations to nominate vice
presidents from their region."

In section six of the task force report, Kieschnick views as "excellent"
a recommendation that would allot to each district a proportionate share
of the fixed number of Synod convention delegates based on the
district's percentage of the total congregations and communicants.

The task force had recommended that the number of delegates be reduced
to 650, from the current number of 1,250 voting delegates and 350
advisory delegates.

"While the specific number of national convention delegates recommended
by the task force would result in significant cost savings to
congregations, careful consideration should be given to whether 650
delegates would provide sufficiently broad representation of
congregations to national conventions," Kieschnick comments.

He also supports the task force recommendation for a quadrennial
convention cycle for circuit and district theological convocations and
district and Synod conventions.

In the conclusion to his response, Kieschnick writes, "It is my prayer
that the work of the task force and the decisions ultimately made by the
Synod in convention will result in a system of structure and governance
for our beloved Synod that will result in greater efficiency and
effectiveness in accomplishing the mission our Lord has given His
church."

Linda C. Hoops is a freelance writer and a member of Lutheran Church of
the Resurrection, Sunset Hills, Mo.

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If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
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<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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