# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S1189
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

674 INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS

b. To bring to the attention of the P
which in its judgment may req
their part.

c. To represent Lutheran interests in America in ma
require common action, before

1. National and State Governments. .
2. Organized bodies and movements outside the Lutheran
Church.

d. To emphasize the continuing
between Church and State.

e. To further the interests and the work of the Lutheran
Churches in America.

f. To be the National Committee for the Lutheran World
Federation in the United States of America.

g. To undertake and carry on such work as may be author-
ized by the Participating Bodies in fields where ¢o-
ordination or joint activity may be desirable and fe:
such as publicity, statistics, welfare wor
tion, student work, and other fields.

h. To take the necessary steps to meet emergencies Tequiring
common action, each Participating Body to determine the
extent of its co-operation in emergency work. :

i, To undertake additional work
the Participating Bodies.

Article X, Section 6, of the Constitution provides:

A Participating Body may determine the extent of its partici-
pation in the work of the Council; and its non-participation in the
work of one or more Divisions, Departments, Bureaus, and/or
Commissions shall not affect its relationship to the Council, pro-
vided that the Councillors representing a Participating Body shall
not be entitled in meetings of the Council or of the Executive
Committee to vote upon any matter relating specifically to a phase
of the work of the Council in which that Body is not participating.
Article IX of the By-Laws specifies the following fields of work:

American Missions, Jewish Missions, Public Relations, Social
Welfare, Student Service, Service to Military Personnel, Commis-
sion on Younger Churches, and Orphaned Missions,

Article IX, Section 6, of the By-Laws also provides:

Other Divisions, and/or Departments within Divisions, such
as World Missions, Youth Work, Parish Education, Higher Educa-
tion, and/or others, may be added from time to time, as deemed

desirable by the Council, upon approval by the Participating
Bodies.

tters which

importance of a right relation

asible,
k, missions, educa-

with the specific consent of

articipating Bodies Matters
uire utterance or action on

rer:
——nreremaeeta Veaesireta AT asst anpe otc

oo

+. tis the considered opinion of your Committee that the Consti-

INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 875

The National Lutheran Council Constitution in Theory

«on of the National Lutheran Council as it reads contains nothing
tutor ld make it sinful for the Missouri Synod to sign. There
which essions in the Constitution of the National Lutheran Coun-
are eh as “Holy Scriptures’ as the Word of God” (in the
cl able) “common faith” (Article III, a), which are subject to
ane interpretations. It could also be pointed out that the
varsstitution of the National Lutheran Council does not enumerate

0) :
ran Confessions.

a Me oon it would not be fair to interpret such expressions
therwise than they are interpreted by the members 0 a
i" stituent bodies of the National Lutheran Council. Representa- |
te im f the National Lutheran Council with whom we met empha-
seed “that the Constitution of the National Lutheran Council is
an a basis of confession for the participating bodies. To them
thelr Constitution is merely an expression of a common wait
and general unity of spirit sufficient to warrant their working

i i ommon objectives.
EEE eens provision in the National Lutheran Council
Constitution “that a Participating Body may determing the extent
of its participation in the work of the Council wou vet

ssible for the Missouri Synod to become a member o: .
National Lutheran Council and to participate in one or the o er
purely external objective without violating its principles concern
ing unionistic practice. |

The National Lutheran Council Constitution in Practice

However, the National Lutheran Council Constitution on Paper
and in theory and the National Lutheran Council in act =
practice are two different things. We quote from an artick e y
Dr. Lawrence M. Stavig, a member of the National Lu eran
Council, in the Lutheran Quarterly, May, 1949, page 15 ; in which
the National Lutheran Council of today in practice is descri
* Le me first of all point out that we have already developed
within the framework of the National Lutheran Council a retain
ship which constitutes in effect a Federation of Lutheran ° ies.
The evolution of the Council has been very interesting an oe
nificant. It was intended at the beginning to provide ‘ me od
whereby bodies which were not in pulpit and altar fellows ot
co-operate in certain limited activities without imp teat a
fellowship. With the passage of the years it was time an } ag im
discovered -that actual practices outstripped official declarations si
the march toward co-operation and unity. Again and again Lu-

“a