# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1983_S197
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUTION 197

The Commission furthermore recommends that the present
provisions of Bylaw5.143 be incorporated into Bylaw 3.73, and
that Bylaw 3.73 itself be divided into two bylaws as follows:

PRESENT WORDING

5.143 Service and Supervision

a. Male lay ministers are licensed, not ordained,
to serve in all areas of the ministry of the Word when
authorized by a local congregation and supervised by
an ordained pastor.

b. Women engaged in this area of the church’s
work are licensed to serve in such areas of the
ministry of the Word as are authorized by a local
congregation and supervised by an ordained pastor,
except in those functions distinctive to the pastoral
office.

c. The President of the District in which a lay
minister is assigned shall be responsible for his
supervision, which, however, may be delegated to
another ordained pastor in the District. If a lay
minister is assigned to a congregation, he shall serve
under the supervision of his own pastor. The District
President shall approve all reassignments of lay
ministers within his District.

d. If a lay minister wishes to accept an assign-
ment in a District other than the one in which he is
serving, his transfer requires the approval of both
District Presidents.

e. Lay ministers may serve as lay delegates to
conventions of the Synod.

3.73 The President as Adviser

Each District President, in accordance with the
Constitution of the Synod, shall supervise the doc-
trine, the life, and the official administration on the
part of the pastors and the teachers of his District and
shall inquire into the prevailing spiritual conditions
of the congregations of his District. Therefore as
often as possible he shall attend the conferences of
pastors and teachers held in his District, advise the
congregations of his District as to the calling of
pastors and teachers, give counsel, and respond to
requests and inquiries. He may call upon Circuit
Counselors to assist him.

R. Standing Committee—BPS—
Congregational Administration

Upon advice of the Council of Administrators, the Commis-
sion on Structure recommends that the responsibilities of this
standing committee be referred back again to the Council of
Administrators. This seems particularly appropriate since
more than one board now serves the parishes instead of the one
board that had been proposed by Task Force II.

S. Standing Committees—Board for Communication Services
(Bylaw 2.405)

The commission endorses the proposal to reconstitute the
standing committees of this board as proposed:

News and Information Services
Program Interpretation
Training and District Services

T. Standing Committee—
Board for Social Ministry Services—
Institutional Chaplaincy Services (Bylaw 2.425)

The whole field of institutional chaplaincy is a demanding
and important service area of the church. This is largely the
responsibility of the Board for Social Ministry Services, as
stated in Bylaw 2.423 a.

In order that this responsibility be adequately discharged,
the Commission on Structure recommends that a Standing
Committee on “Institutional Chaplaincy Services” be added to
the list in Bylaw 2.425.

PROPOSED WORDING

3.73 The President as Supervisor

Each District President, in accordance with Art.
XII, 8 of the Constitution of the Synod, shall supervise
the doctrine, the life, and the official administration
on the part of the pastors and teachers of his District,
as well as other workers who have been trained, certi-
fied, and placed according to the regular procedures
of the Synod. If such a worker wishes to accept a call
or assignment to another District, his transfer re-
quires the approval of both District Presidents.
Therefore as often as possible he shall attend the
conferences of pastors, teachers, and other workers
held in his District.

3.74 The President as Adviser

The District President shall inquire into the pre-
vailing spiritual conditions of the congregations of
the Synod, advise the congregations in his District as
to the calling of pastors and teachers and other
synodically trained and certified workers, give coun-
sel, and respond to requests and inquiries. He may
call upon Circuit Counselors or, if necessary, other
ordained pastors to assist him.

U. Department of Stewardship—Council on Stewardship

The 1981 convention in Res. 12-08A combined all steward-
ship and financial support activities into anew Department of
Stewardship and Financial Support. This department replaced
the former Board of Stewardship and was made responsible to
the Board of Directors for the motivation and promotion in
giving of time, talents, and treasures, including normal weekly
offerings, mission education and promotion, deferred giving,
and special gifts. In the same resolution, the convention also
endorsed the prior action of the Board of Directors calling fora
special Continuity and Planning Study to determine the
detailed structure of the department and its programs.

The convention empowered the board to implement such
structure but only after consultation with the Commission on
Constitutional Matters and the Council of Presidents, and with
prior consultation and approval of the presidents of the
Districts involved, and on the condition that it was within the
parameters of the adopted Bylaws 7.01—7.05; such structure to
be responsive to the results of the Continuity and Planning

tudy.

The study was conducted during the next six months
following the convention. Over 350 people were interviewed,
including the District Presidents and other leaders from every
District—S6 parish pastors, 63 lay-persons, college and semi-
nary presidents and development officers, and 22 members of
Floor Committee 12. A 20-page questionnaire of approximately
100 questions was utilized as a guide in the interviews. Among
the conclusions of the study was a recommendation that the