# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1992_S48
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

43 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

5. The Synod’s decentralized organization is increas-
ingly effective.

A more detailed report of each District’s activities, pre-
pared by each District President, is presented elsewhere
in this Workbook.

Vice-President Mennicke and I have implemented the
plans announced at the last convention to visit with all
District: Presidents and their staffs on an individual and
regular basis during each District triennium. Visits were

~ completed in 32 districts, with additional visits now sched-
uled for all districts during the current District triennium.
These visits have done much to help strengthen.the bond
of faith, confession, and mission between the Districts and
the national offices of the Synod.

Office Administration

First Vice-President Mennicke, who serves in a full-
time capacity, has given invaluable service and leadership
in a number of important areas. The focus of his respon-
sibilities has been on District and staff relationships. In
addition, he has provided leadership for the 1991 Circuit
Counselors’ Conference, the synodical colloquy commit-
tees, the Planning Council on Mission and Ministry, and
ongoing studies on lay ministry. He has also represented
the President on the Boards of Regents of both seminaries.
In addition, he has had the important responsibility of
monitoring alleged irregularities in the doctrine and prac-
tice of the congregations and professional workers of the
Synod and of assisting and supporting the District Presi-
dents in their supervisory responsibilities in such matters.
The many administrative details and correspondence as-
sociated with the office of the President and First Vice-
President are ably handled by Professor William
Schmelder, Miss Jean Buettner, two secretaries, and a
shared-time clerical helper. Mr. Les Stroh served as as-
sistant to the President until Feb. 28, 1991. Dr. Arthur
Kuehnert, who had provided full-time assistance after his
retirement in 1988, again “retired” at the end of June 1991,
but continues to provide invaluable assistance on various
projects. A number of other staff persone assist by carrying
out various other projects on an ad hoc basis. The St. Louis-
based officers, together with the executive directors of the
Board of Directors, Commission on Theology and Church
Relations, Board for Mission Services, Board for Higher
Education Services, and the Board for Communication Ser-
vices meet on a regular basis as the “President’s Liaison
Team,” in order to provide mutual support, direction, and
planning on a number of administrative activities and
issues.

Vice-Presidents Robert King, Robert Sauer, Eugene
Bunkowske, and Walter Maier have also provided valuable
assistance during the past triennium, especially in the doc-
trinal supervision of a number of difficult cases, as well as
counsel on major issues facing the Synod. They also rep-
resented the President’s office at several of the 1991 Dis-
trict conventions and at a number of other meetings and
events. A more detailed report on the activities of the Prae-
sidium is provided below.

Ecclesiastical Supervision
The Synod has assigned to the President of the Synod

“the supervision regarding the doctrine and the adminis-
tration of :

a. all officers of the Synod;

b. all such as are employed by the Synod;

c, the individual Districts of the Synod;

d. all District Presidents” (Constitution, Art. XI, B).

The Synod has assigned the direct responsibility for su-
pervising the doctrine, life, and administration of pastors
and teachers to the respective District Presidents, who are
also charged with the responsibility of inquiring and ac-
quainting themselves with the prevailing spiritual condi-
tions of the congregations in their Districts (Constitution,
Art. 12, Bylaw 4.73). The Synod haa further assigned ec-
clesiastical supervisory responsibility to the presidents of
our colleges and seminaries. It is the responsibility of the
synodical President, assisted by the Vice-Presidents, to su-
pervise, support, and encourage these supervisors. It
should also be noted that the President always has the
power “to advise, admonish, and reprove,” hut he does not
have the authority to remove people from office. In other
words, supervision of doctrine and practice in the Synod
is highly structured and quite decentralized.

The Vice-Presidents and I have been very careful to
follow through on every complaint, question, or reported
irregularity by asking the appropriate District President
to make sure that the Synod’s doctrine and policies are
being carried out. In addition, my office regularly monitors
all dockets, agendas, reports, and publications of all syn-
odical boards, commissions, Districts, and institutions.
When problems or concerns are of a more general nature,
meetings of the Council of Presidents and other groups
provide opportunities for positive counsel and
encouragement.

District Presidents annually provide the synodical Pres-
ident with a detailed report on activities within their Dis-
tricts. Included in these reports is accurate information on
a number of problem cases being dealt with. In addition,
the Vice-Presidents and 1, on occasion, meet with individ-
ual District Presidents to discuss individual cases and pro-
vide encouragement. In some cases, Vice-Presidents have
joined a District President in meeting with pastors or con-
gregations experiencing difficulties in the area of doctrine
or practice. 1 am pleased to report that our District Pres-
idents have willingly and effectively addressed these su-|
pervisory responsibilities and are conscientiously working
with a number of pastors and congregations at any given
time to correct perceived problems. By their very nature,
such problems need to be addressed privately, personally,
and professionally and cannot be reported in various Dis-
trict or synodical publications. ,

Included in the annual reports of District Presidents
are statistics on the number of pastors on our clergy roster
who have experienced a broken marriage and how these _
cases have been dealt with; the number of congregations
in which women serve as chairman and elders; the in-
stances of congregations in which so-called charismatic
gifts are used publicly and how these issues are being dealt
with; the participation of pastors and lay members in un-
official special interest groups and the impact of such
groups on the attitudes of people regarding the Districts