Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri

What a relief!  After one hundred pages of administrative reports and details in the LCMS 2010 Convention Workbook, comes this word from Pastor Matthew Harrison:

“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).  It is impossible to adequately express the profound honor, thankfulness, and joy that we at LCMS World Relief and Human Care have and experience as a result of the unfathomable generosity of you, the dear members and congregations of the LCMS.” (p. 102)

These gracious words of Pastor Harrison precede his official report to the synod.  They let us know that, even though he has a lot to report about his department, they could not have done it without our prayers and financial support.  And this thankfulness is not tacked on the end, as an afterthought, but permeates Harrison’s whole report.  The entire report is in the mode of gratitude to the synod, to donors, and to our Lord!

Most impressive in the triennial work of this agency has been their relief “on the ground” for the 2006 tsunami in Asia, the hurricane “Katrina” that devastated New Orleans and the north Gulf Coast, and the gut-wrenching earthquake in Haiti.  In all these cases, synodical congregations and members came through with record-breaking donations, and LCMS World Relief and Human Care was there at the scene, working with partner churches, to give aid and help where it was most needed.

The report of LCMS World Relief and Human Care stretches across ten pages of double column fine print—there is a lot to report here!  The work under Pastor Harrison is divided into these areas:  Health Ministries, Life Ministries, Social Ministry Organizations, Grant Administration, Deaconess Ministry, District and Congregational activities, International activities, Disaster Response, Specialized Pastoral Ministry, Task Force on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, National Housing Support, Elderly Housing Development, and Resources.  Departments that serve these programmatic activities include Communications, Operations, and Fund Development.  You can read the report for yourself here.

Anyone reading this report has to be impressed with Pastor Harrison’s ability to gather together a team of dedicated persons and to lead them through stressful times for the good of the church and for those they serve.  This is an impressive record of service by his “team members,” of financial support by caring Lutherans, and of Harrison’s ability to lead a very complex organization with a $30 million gift income for the triennium.

We hope that the synod will heed the plea of the Board for Human Care and not merge and dilute this work by the passage of Blue Ribbon Task Force Recommendation #18.  We also hope that the synod will seriously consider how Rev. Harrison’s work at LCMS World Relief and Human Care has helped prepare him for the role of synodical president.

The workbook for the 2010 regular convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has just been published.  That means that it’s time for the delegates to begin their work of studying reports and overtures, and reviewing the candidates for the many offices to be filled.

This year, the entire workbook is available online.  The main portion of the workbook can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/2010%20Convention/convention_wb.pdf

Information about the candidates can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/2010%20Convention/synopses_statements.pdf

A copy of the final report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance can be found here:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=15930

This link includes several resources related to the final report, including Appendix 1, which is the very significant document with proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws of the synod.

For delegates:  you will receive printed copies of these books in the mail by early May.  You may share this article and the links above with pastors and lay leaders that you know in your circuit (just copy the web-address of this article into your e-mail message to them).  After they have had an opportunity to read these documents, ask them for their opinions about the candidates and overtures.  This will help you make informed decisions and make your work at the convention much easier. 

May our Lord bless your study and labor on behalf of His church!

Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri

What do congregations, pastors, and other church-workers have to do to remain members in good standing in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod?  Article VI of the LCMS constitution states that they must accept without reservation the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, they must renounce unionism and syncretism of every description, congregations must call in a “regular” manner, church-workers must have a “blameless life,” they must exclusively use doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and catechisms, and their congregation’s constitutions must not contain anything contrary to Scripture or the Confessions.

What about the resolutions that are passed by national conventions every three years?  Must congregations, pastors, and other church-workers comply with all of those resolutions in order to remain members in good standing?  There has been a lot of confusion and debate about this topic in the Missouri Synod, going back as far as the San Francisco convention in 1959.  Making the debate even more confusing is the fact that the synod has 160 years of doctrinal resolutions (see Concordia Historical Institute, “The Doctrinal Resolutions of the National Conventions of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 1847-2004″ [2006], at:  http://chi.lcms.org/doctresorder.htm).  Are all these resolutions binding on congregations and church-workers, or only some of them, and if so in what way?

The Synodical President’s office recently mailed to the congregations of the synod a resource titled “This We Believe:  Selected Topics of Faith and Practice in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.”  This is an excellent resource that should be kept in every LCMS pastor’s study and every congregational library.  We also highly recommend that convention delegates obtain their own copy here:  http://www.cph.org/p-17428-this-we-believe.aspx

Delegates will want to have copies of “This We Believe” in order to understand what recent conventions have expressed on these doctrinal topics.  As the book itself notes, “only those topics that have most frequently been discussed and addressed in recent years by the Synod have been included” (p. v).  There is no resolution cited from before 1965.  So you could say that the book is a collection of “Current Issues” facing the synod, both as it confronts questions internal to the church and issues impinging from the society in which we live.

Just because the synod passed a resolution on a current issue, does not mean that said resolution is the “final word” on the subject.  President Kieschnick correctly observes in his preface “The LCMS clearly states that Scripture alone is the final authority for faith and practice” (our emphasis; p. vii).  That is why there is more than one resolution for many of the current issues.  In many cases, subsequent resolutions of the synod revise or correct previous ones.  Therefore the publication of “This We Believe” does not close debate on those topics; rather, it informs the reader of where the discussion currently stands.

Three things need to be said as words of caution about the use of the book “This We Believe.” 

First, convention resolutions are no replacement for our Lutheran confessions.  One might get the impression that since “Scripture alone” is the authoritative standard, therefore the confessions are not a standard at all.  This would ignore what we confess in the Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Rule and Norm, section 10, that our Lutheran confessions are “a single, universally accepted, certain, and common form of doctrine which all our Evangelical churches subscribe and from which and according to which, because it is drawn from the Word of God, all other writings are to be approved and accepted, judged and regulated.”  This certainly means that the Lutheran Confessions are an authoritative standard, as is affirmed by both the Brief Statement (“This We Believe,” pp. 60-73) and the “Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles” (ibid., pp. 74-85).

Second, convention doctrinal resolutions are a way of testing what the majority of congregations and church-workers believe on a given topic.  The proper use of such resolutions is thus to say “this is what the majority of people in our church presently believe about this issue.”  It is also proper for synodical officials and professors to quote these resolutions, when it is asked “What does the LCMS say?”  And these resolutions are binding, in this way, on such officers and professors.  But this is not infallible “divine revelation.”  It may also be in error, as Luther often talked about the problems with the councils of the church (see for example his “On the Councils and the Church”, 1539).

Finally, and very significantly, convention resolutions are not binding, as if they are some sort of authoritative law, upon the congregations of the synod.  This is a basic principle of synodical structure and governance and is defined by Constitution Article VII.  According to that article, congregations must decide for themselves whether convention resolutions, including doctrinal ones, are in accord with the Word of God or applicable to their situations.  Congregations are only bound to the Scriptures, Confessions, and Article VI of the Constitution as stated above.  Our synod has always avoided forcing its congregations to do anything, particularly when convention resolutions are often passed with little serious discussion or debate.

And so we thank the President’s office for making this available to the church and encourage all delegates to read this material.  It is timely and helpful.  We are happy as supporters of Matt Harrison to give credit where credit is due and so want to commend President Kieschnick for doing a good job on this project.

Ironically, this resource underscores one of the reasons we support the election of Matt Harrison to succeed President Kieschnick in office this year.  Rev. Harrison understands and supports the historical LCMS position that convention resolutions are legally binding on officers and professors of the synod, but not on congregations or other church-workers of synod.  President Kieschnick and Recommendation #1 from the “Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synodical Structure and Governance” want to make such resolutions legally binding on congregations with proposed Constitution Article VII.B.2 (Final Report, Appendix 1, page 6).  VII.B.2 would destroy, quash, and eliminate one of the most important features of Missouri Synod’s structure and governance, i.e, the freedom of its congregations and church-workers from synodical interference.  If you appreciate that freedom, call your synodical delegate today and tell him “Vote NO on Blue Ribbon Task Force Recommendation #1.”

Whereas Bylaw 3.1.2 allows the synod president the authority to grant exceptions to circuits for presenting electoral delegates to synod conventions, and

Whereas the irregularity for circuit exceptions has caused problems that have resulted in suspicion, mistrust, and even law suits, and

Whereas such problems besmirch the reputation of the church and are unfitting for the body of Christ, and

Whereas it would be of great benefit to the synod and her president if there were further guidance and more specific regulations regarding the formation of electoral circuits, therefore be it

Resolved that bylaws 3.1.2 (b) , 5.1.1 (a) and 5.1.1 (b) all be eliminated, and

Resolved that bylaw 3.1.2 (a) be changed to read:

“A circuit, which has both electoral and visitation functions, shall consist of from ten to fifteen congregations in geographical proximity. The district in convention shall have the duty to determine the number of circuits and the membership in those circuits by congregations of the district. Prior to each district convention, the district president shall meet with the circuit counselors to determine if and where there is a need for circuit adjustments. If so, he shall forward a proposal for such specific adjustments to the district board of directors, who shall consider it, and amend it (if necessary). The district board of directors then shall present it to the district convention for further amendment (if necessary) and adoption. Delegates of circuits affected by such adjustments shall meet prior to the closing of the district convention to elect the counselors of these revised circuits.

The procedure for circuiting shall start with the largest metropolitan areas in a district. The goal is to produce circuits that are compact, i.e., not elongated along any axis. All circuits shall consist of contiguous congregations. Since unusually large congregations (over 2,000 baptized members) possess an unusually large number of resources, an attempt shall be made to have no more than one of these per circuit, or as few as possible per circuit, while still adhering to the principles of compactness and contiguity. When the metropolitan areas have been circuited, circuits shall be drawn out into the rural areas of the district, using the same principles of compactness and contiguity. Congregations in the outer suburbs of metropolitan areas may be circuited with rural congregations.

If congregations in certain rural areas are so dispersed that driving time to a central location for circuit meetings exceeds three hours oneway, those areas may be divided into two parts for visitation circuits of five to eight congregations. In these cases, two visitation circuits shall be one electoral circuit of ten to fifteen congregations. In each district, when necessary, two rural electoral circuits may also be formed with eight or nine congregations each, in order to accommodate odd numbers of congregations, as well as expansion or contraction in the number of congregations in a district.

Congregations in remote places, such as the Hawaiian Islands or northern Alaska, or where there are less than five congregations in a three hour driving radius, shall be considered as exceptions to these rules. They will be organized as visitation circuits according to the number of congregations in closest proximity (i.e., not limited to groups of five to eight if that is not practical). They shall participate in their electoral circuit meetings via conference call or other electronic means, according to the electoral circuit standard of ten to fifteen congregations.”

Submitted by St Paul Lutheran Church, Chuckery, OH

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

WHEREAS in his response to the Final Report of the BRTFSSG President Kieschnick has pointed out that the national offices are difficult to manage, expensive to operate, and programmatically redundant, and

WHEREAS there are several boards and commissions that perform similar and overlapping functions, and

WHEREAS in the interest of good stewardship of the financial resources God has granted to our Synod it would be prudent to eliminate such redundancy, therefore be it

RESOLVED that the number of Boards and Commissions be reduced, and be it also

RESOLVED that the current Boards and Commissions be consolidated according to the following recommendations:

1. a Board for Higher Education which would include supervision of the seminaries, pre-sem programs, commissioned church worker training programs, universities, distance learning, and continuing education, including the functions of the current Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support;

2. a Board for Missions, which would include supervision over international missions, national ethnic missions and ministries, special needs ministries, campus ministry, and armed forces ministry;

3. a Board for Human Care and Relief, which would include supervision over international and domestic relief, deaconess organizations, coordination of social ministry organizations and RSO’s, and work with human rights organizations;

4. a Board for Parish Services, which would supervise synodical programs in the areas of evangelism, stewardship, fiscal management, lay leadership training, parochial schools, youth, singles, worship (including the current Commission on Worship), and Laborers for Christ;

5. a Commission on Theology and Church Relations, which would combine the current functions of the CTCR with the Commission on Doctrinal Review;

6. a Commission on Constitutional Matters, which would include the current functions of the CCM as well as the Commission on Structure;

and be it further

RESOLVED that the members of these Boards and Commissions be elected by the national convention in the normal fashion, and be it also

RESOLVED that the number of members of each commission be fixed at five members and the number of members for each board be fixed at seven members, and be it also

RESOLVED that where this consolidation eliminates current boards or commissions or reduces them in size, the members of the current board or commission be permitted to remain until the end of their term in spite of a temporary larger size, and be it also

RESOLVED that where this consolidation results in a board or commission that does not have enough members for the next triennium, new members be elected at this 2010 convention based on nominations received from their pre-merged boards or commissions.

Submitted by St Paul Lutheran Church, Chuckery, OH

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

WHEREAS in his response to the Final Report of the BRTFSSG President Kieschnick has outlined several concerns regarding the LCMS National Offices, and

WHEREAS those concerns include “greater expenditures than revenue by amounts totaling millions of dollars”, “travel budgets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars”, budget management and revenue coordination that is “quite complex”, a difficulty of “collaboration between and among boards”, and an excessive amount of time spent by the executive directors in “dealing with commission matters rather than accomplishing the work they are called to do”, and

WHEREAS the BRTFSSG has proposed as a solution to this problem wherein the national offices are eliminated and replaced with an office of National Mission, International Mission, Seminaries, and Communication, and

WHEREAS these new offices would be placed under the supervision of a new officer, the Chief Mission Officer (“CMO”), and

WHEREAS the Chief Mission Officer would not be accountable to the synod but would rather be accountable only to the President of the Synod, and

WHEREAS the Synod has always maintained a concern that the national presidency in the Synod “might precipitate and even initiate a power that, instead of promoting true unity of spirit, might turn into a spirit of servitude” (Fredrick Wyneken, “Can We Divide and Remain Unite?”), and

WHEREAS the duty of the Synod President as defined by our current constitution is to represent the synod to other church bodies, oversee doctrine and ecclesiastical practice, the working of the district presidents and represent the synod to national and international authorities, and

WHEREAS the creation of a new area of oversight would make the office of the Synod President too large and complex for one man, and

WHEREAS the only given duty of the First Vice President of the synod is to be Chairman of the Colloquy Committee, therefore be it

RESOLVED that the First Vice President of Synod be given the administrative task of overseeing the program boards and commissions, as well as their executive directors, and be it also

RESOLVED that the First Vice President be given the responsibility to ensure that the program boards and commissions are mutually cooperative, efficient, and fiscally cooperative with the Synod’s CFO and the Board of Directors, and be it also

RESOLVED that in the event that a given executive director fails to adequately perform his duties, the First Vice President shall adhere to the following procedure:

1. Take private counsel (and if necessary private reprimand) with such executive director.

2. If step one fails, report to the respective board.

3. If step two fails, bring official report to the synod via the Convention Workbook.

Submitted by St Paul Lutheran Church, Chuckery, OH

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

BACKGROUND STATEMENT

The present structure of the LCMS does not seem to be working efficiently or with proper checks and balances and has resulted in much dissension throughout the synod.  Too much responsbility and authority is in the hands of the president.  A structure that is efficient and has sufficient checks and balances is desirable.

BE IT RESOLVED that the LCMS be governed by a Board of Directors serving also as a National Consistory under the authority of its supreme legislative body.  The Board and National Consistory would be composed of an equal number of well qualified pastors and laymen.  All would be elected by ministerial officers and laymen of self-sustaining congregations of the synod.  The president of synod would preside over the group without the right to vote except in case of a tie.  All officers of synod, commissions, boards, councils, divisions, colleges, seminaries, and all other synodical entities would serve under the authority of the Board and National Consistory.  All appointments would be made by the Consistory after receiving nominations from appropriate entities and their own members.  The national officer operating team would include the president, secretary, chief administrative officer, and chief financial officer.

Submitted by Saint John Lutheran Church, Aurora, IN

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

BACKGROUND STATEMENT

Since the LCMS is a membership organization, it is important that all members participate in the major elections of the synod.

BE IT RESOLVED that the President, First Vice President and all members of the Board of Directors be elected by laymen and associate members of self-sustaining congregations.  Each congregation would be given one vote for its pastor and one vote for its Voters’ Assembly or equivalent.  Congregations having over one thousand communicants would be allowed one extra vote from its Voters’ Assembly.  Commissioned members from each district would collectively elect representative voters equal to the number of extra congregational lay voters from the large congregations in their district, thus assuring an equal number of associate member and lay voters in each district.

Nominations for these offices would be made by the congregations as is done now for the president.  The two nominees receiving the greatest numbers of nominations for each position would be on the email ballot sent to each congregation.  All ballots would have to be signed by the President and Secretary of each congregation and notarized.

Submitted by Saint John Lutheran Church, Aurora, IN

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

BACKGROUND STATEMENT

Most organizations refer to their supreme legislative and policy making bodies with phrases like “House of Delegates” or “Delegates Assembly.”  The phrase “Synod in Convention” is not very specific.  It implies that related organizations such as mission societies, women’s groups, alumni associations, etc. could be involved in the decision making process, if they were present at the convention.  It is important to be accurate and specific when referring to the group making decisions and doing the election.

BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase “LCMS House of Delegates” be substituted for “Synod in Convention” in all formal documents and communications of the LCMS when referring to the supreme legislative and policy making body.

Submitted by St John Lutheran Church, Aurora, IN

PDF of overture for passing by your congregation

Many people wonder how the recent proposals of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synodical Structure and Governance would affect their congregation if adopted.  Here are some things we have identified so far:

1. Your congregation will be required to comply with all synodical resolutions (Recommendation #1). Under the present Constitution, synodical resolutions are advisory, and your church has to decide whether or not they are in agreement with the Word of God OR applicable to their situation, before accepting or declining them.
2. Your congregation will be obligated to confess a new creed about solus Christus and sola fide together with the rest of synod (Recommendation #1; proposed Constitution Article II.A).  Also, the use of the term “confessional basis” in proposed Article II.B is confusing.  It comes from Article VI, where it refers to the “confessional basis of membership.”  This is a different meaning from the proposal, where “acceptance” of the Scriptures and Confessions is to be the “confessional basis” for “believing, teaching, and confessing” the new creed.  This is a change in Missouri Synod’s theology, even if unintentional. 
3. Your congregation will no longer be required to use only doctrinally sound hymnbooks, agenda, and catechisms, and your pastor may participate in ecumenical services (Recommendation #1).
4. Your congregation will no longer be able to nominate your circuit counselor. Only your district president will be able to do that, although floor nominations will be allowed at the circuit forums where they will be elected (Recommendation #3).
5. Your congregation might be in a non-geographic circuit, which might mean your pastor and lay representatives may have to drive to the other side of the state to meet with their circuits (Recommendation #3).
6. Your congregation will no longer be able to elect your synodical delegate through your circuit meetings (Recommendation #10). That will happen, instead, through caucuses determined by the district board of directors at the district convention. That means that, instead of the synod convention being representative of the local area congregations (circuits), it will be representative of arbitrary caucuses, probably arranged by district presidents, by some as yet undetermined criteria.
7. If your congregation has less than 1,000 communicants, then it will have relatively less authority than those with more than 1,000 communicants at district conventions (Recommendation #6).
8. If your congregation is in a multi-congregation situation, each congregation in the “parish” will be able to send a church-worker and a layman as delegates to your district convention (Recommendation #6). Currently, only one church-worker is allowed per “parish,” with one laymen per each congregation.
9. If your congregation is in a vacancy situation, it will be able to send a church-worker and a layman (Recommendation #6). Currently, a vacancy cannot send a church-worker.
10. Your congregation may elect to send a teacher or deaconess or other commissioned minister, instead of a pastor to district conventions (Recommendation #5).
11. Your congregation, together with the other 6,000+ congregations in the synod, will only be able to affect the programs and policies of the synod by the election of the synod president (Recommendation #18). Under the current bylaws of the synod, congregations direct the programs and policies of the synod by electing members of the Board of Directors, program boards, and commissions, and by passing resolutions giving specific orders to these synod officers.

The bottom line, then, is that the synodical programs, policies, operations, and officers will be much less accountable to the congregations they are supposed to serve; and the same congregations will have much less influence on the synodical conventions and anything proceeding from them.