# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S222
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

222 SYNODICAL ADMINISTRATION

and reports shall be published in the Lutheran Witness Re-
porter.

11.83 Publisher, General Supervision, Publishing Agency
a. These periodicals shall be published (owned and oper-
ated) by The Lutheran Church — Missour? Synod.

b. General supervision of the publishing of the official
periodicals shall be exercised for the Synod through a Board
for Official Periodicals. This board shall be composed of nine
members appointed by the President of the Synod after con-
sultation with the Vice-Presidents. The members of the
board shall serve for terms of 4 years in such manner that
the terms of four members shall alternate with the terms of
the other five members. The board shall meet at least quar-
terly, its executive committee in the intervening periods.
A Vice-President of the Synod appointed by the President
shall be his official representative at meetings of the board
and its executive committee.

c. The official periodicals of the Synod shall be printed
and distributed by Concordia Publishing House as publishing
agent for the board.

11.85 Responsibilities
a. The Board for Official Periodicals shall —

1. Appoint and shall have the right to terminate the ap-
pointment of the editors and other staff members and to de-
termine their compensation. Before an editor is appointed.
the board shall prepare a list of candidates for the position(s)
to be filled and submit such list to the Council of Presidents
for approval. Members of the board shall be ineligible to
serve as editors or staff writers.

2. Determine the editorial policies for each of the official
periodicals of the Synod and be responsible for the content
of each.

3. Be responsible for —
a) the performance of the editorial staff;

b) all other matters (e.g. format, frequency, inserts,
advertising, production, promotion, distribution,
subscription prices, and general finances) related to
publishing the official periodicals.

h iy As publishing agent, Concordia Publishing House
shall —

1. print and distribute the official periodicals of the
Synod;

2. render general advisory services to the board as de-
sired by it;

5. perform such other services as may be requested by
the board.

11.87 Doctrinal Review

Matters relating to doctrine shall be approved under the
prescribed procedure for doctrinal review before publication.

WILLIAM E. WEsSLER, Secretary

Report of a Minority of Special Committee
for Review of the Synod’s Editorial
and Periodical Policies

The undersigned, a minority of the committee ap-
pointed to review the Synod's editorial and periodical
policies, not agreeing with the majority, desire to ex-
press their views in the case:

The four undersigned members hold that restructur-
ing Concordia Publishing House as the majority desires
will achieve no useful end. On the contrary, the re-
structuring may harm the work of the Synod and affect
the stewardship of its resources. It may result in the
opening of doors to any other group so minded to ac-
quire for itself the power now sought by the sponsor-
ing group.

The Synod is a church body doing the Lord's work.

It has constituted itself with many service arms de-
signed for specialized work within their proper sphere
and competence. In the area of publications, the appro-
priate service arm — an arm created for this purpose a
century ago and one that through the years has acquired
many specialized competencies — is Concordia Publish-
ing House.

The main question which the special committee
studied is whether Concordia Publishing House shall
retain the responsibility for production, distribution, and
management of the Lutheran Witness, the Lutheran
Witness Reporter, and Der Lutheraner or whether these
publication functions shall be turned over to the Synod's
Editorial Commission for Official Periodicals.

The committee report advocates a shift. This mi-
nority report urges the Synod to continue to assign these
functions to Concordia Publishing House. We have
reached this conclusion because no valid arguments
have been advanced which would now make it advisable,
practical, or economical to shift management responsi-
bility.

In Support of CPH as Synod’s Publisher

The signers of this report hold that their position
makes for corporate propriety and efficiency with re-
spect to publishing the Synod’s official periodicals. It
asks: Is the Synod proceeding properly and efficiently
when it adds to its body a second publishing arm to
execute responsibilities of the fully developed, compe-
tent, and experienced publications arm it already pos-
sesses in Concordia?

Looking at the wider implications of this issue, this
alternative report asks further: Is the Synod disrupting
its own ordered household when it sets precedents for
any synodical group to become its own publisher, thus
duplicating, overlapping with, and even competing with
the publishing ministry committed to Concordia Pub-
lishing House?

On the side of economy this further question must
be raised: Is the Synod prepared to underwrite the
proposed business activities of the Commission for Offi-
cial Periodicals? These activities include “inserts, ad-
vertising, production, promotion, distribution, subscrip-
tion pricing, and general finances.’ To be added is the
inevitable engagement of salaried personnel to adminis-
ter these business affairs.

What “Publisher” Means

One aspect of the problem as to whether CPH or a
periodicals commission shall control the three publica-
tions centers in the meaning of “publisher,” as dis-
tinguished from “printer,” “printing agent,’ or even
“publishing agent.” Concordia, by its very name, by
history, and by competent services performed is the
publishing arm of the Synod.

Its name is Concordia Publishing House in behalf
of the Synod, not Concordia Printing House, not Con-
cordia Publishing Agency. As the Synod’s publisher
Concordia is more than printer and mailer; it is pro-
ducer, manager, and distributor performing all the re-