# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1981_S47 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) co TASK FORCE 47 Three teachers Ten laypersons Three program board chairmen (or a member of each board designated by the program board for the triennium); 2. That no more than 1 of thed parish pastors, or 1 of the 3 teachers, or 1 of the 10 laypersons may be elected from any one District. No person salaried by the Synod or by a District or any other corporation organized by the Synod may be elected as one of the 5 parish pastors, 3 teachers, or 10 lay members of the Board; 3. That the Treasurer of the Synod be appointed by the Board of Directors as a nonvoting member of the board. He shall be a corporate officer of the Synod as required by law and serve as the Trust Officer of the Synod and its various agencies as detailed in the Bylaws; 4. That the other Vice-Presidents of the Synod be advisory members of the board; 5. That the Administrative Officer of the Board of Directors serve in an advisory capacity and that the members of the Council of Administrators who are staff persons be present and available for consultation, except during executive session; 6. That the duties of the Board of Directors be more precisely defined in the Bylaws, especially with refer- ence to prioritization, implementation, and coordination of convention decisions; financial and operating policies; and emergency actions; 7. That the name “Board of Directors” be retained; 8. That the schedule of election to the Board of Direc- tors for parish pastors, teachers, and laypersons be as follows (the Committee for Convention Nominations has been requested to supply a sufficient number of candidates): a. Elected in 1981 for five years: two pastors, two teachers, five laypersons b. Elected in 1981 for two years: two pastors, one teacher, one layperson c. Continuing incumbents until 1983: one pastor, no teacher, four laypersons d. For those who are incumbents the current limited tenure rules shall apply; for persons newly elected and not serving a previous term the new limited tenure rules shall apply; any questionable instances shall be referred to the Commission on Constitutional Matters for decision, which shall adhere as closely as possible to the pattern here set forth. In any event, no one shall be eligible for nomination after having served 12 consecutive years, except the corporate officers (President, First Vice- President, Secretary, and Treasurer). D. Expanded Stewardship Functions Stewardship in the Synod is a “good news—bad news situation.” The good news is that all-purpose giving increases annually, the Foundation is growing rapidly, and Forward in Remembrance appears to be highly successful. The bad news is that the percentage of disposable income our members give to the church has declined from 3.1 percent to 2.3 percent during the last 20 years. If the 3.1 percent level had been maintained, the church (congregations, Districts, Synod) would be realizing an additional $200 million annually in gifts. Related to this is a continuing lower percentage of congre- gation budgets being contributed to the District and the Synod for missions, higher education, Sunday school materials, and other work for and on behalf of the congregations. Thus stewardship, especially the stewardship of treasure, was one of the principal items on the agenda of Task Force II during the past biennium. The Task Force believes the stewardship function must change and be expanded for the Lord’s work to be done in North America and overseas. There is no other way the mission challenges of the ’80s adopted by the last conven- tion can become a reality. There are especially two developments of recent date which are particularly encouraging. The net worth, plus trusts, of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation has increased from $7 million to $33.5 million within the space of six years. Furthermore, the Forward in Remembrance effort, which by mid-February already received $15 million in cash and pledges from just 2,000 donors, seems to be headed toward a very successful conclusion. It has brought home to one and all the realization that our Lord has tremendously blessed the members of our congregations in a material way and that perhaps we have been slow in learning to respond to His great generosity. The predicted success of the Forward in Remem- brance effort is of course attributable above all to the grace of our loving God. Beyond that, however, it is also true that the approaches and the individuals that have been used in this effort throughout the Synod should not be lost to the Synod. Indeed, the effort now coming to aconclusion should not really be regarded as being concluded but should rather be considered as a great beginning of something new that awaits the Synod. Furthermore, the expertise in deferred giving shown by the Foundation and by the structures utilized in the Forward in Remembrance program should be brought together to supple- ment the regular ongoing stewardship programs of the Synod and its Districts. Task Force II is therefore proposing the creation of a department which will unify all of these activities. There has been a growing conviction through the years that the unit of the Synod which is responsible for budgeting and disbursing funds should also have the responsibility forgather- ing the necessary funds. The board which has the former responsibility is the Board of Directors. Task Force II therefore concluded that it would be proper also for all fund-raising activities to be the responsibility of the Board of Directors. In order to accomplish this, the Task Force is reeommend- ing the creation of a Department of Stewardship and Finan- cial Support. A careful reading of the proposed Bylaws indi- cates that the Task Force is very much concerned that the proper Christian motivation permeate all of the fund-raising activities. The important spiritual character of this phase of the Christian life needs tremendous emphasis. It is not easy to learn and to remember that giving is an integral part of the Christian’s worship. Task Force II believes that in its proposed Bylaws it has provided for this all-important factor. To help this expanded stewardship department of the Synod, an Advisory Council on Stewardship and Financial Support is being recommended. This council will consist not only of members of the Board of Directors but also of people who are directly involved in the field, such as District Presi- dents, District executive secretaries, and representatives of various agencies related to the Synod, including colleges and seminaries. The line of responsibility of the department, however, will go directly to the Board of Directors. Our report should not be concluded without a word of recognition to those who over the years have worked in this important area of the Christian life on the synodical and District levels. We think of such pioneers in this field as W. C. Birkner, Martin Piehler, and John Hermann. And they have had worthy successors. Their activities are being recognized in a special way, not only through the fact that this convention has a stewardship theme, but also through the fact that in the revised structure being proposed stewardship, in the estima- tion of the Task Force, will receive greater prominence than it has had before. It is, therefore, in a spirit of thanksgiving to God and in a spirit of prayer that He may continue to bless the efforts of this church body to further His saving cause in the world that Task Force II recommends: 1. That all fund-raising activities of the Foundation and the present Stewardship Department be combined and expanded into a new Department of Stewardship and Financial Support, accountable to the Board of Directors of the Synod; 2. That an Advisory Council on Stewardship and Financial Support be created, including representatives from the Districts and from the various institutions and agencies of the Synod, on a representative basis, assist- ing the Board of Directors and its Department of Stewardship and Financial Support.