# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S348
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

348

VIII. RES. 11-10 TASK FORCE ON SYNOD NOMINATIONS / ELECTIONS PROCESSES

school, and many blended forms of these) from corporate Synod,
the Concordia University System, the seminaries, and the Church
body at large. Lutheran education impacts the lives of children with
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, connects congregations with their communities and engenders a sense of vocation in church and world.
The Lord of the Church is at work in powerful ways in our schools.
The success and growth of our national church body can be closely
aligned with the work being conducted in our schools. Christian
education is our heritage and our future.

•

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently,
lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen,
and lest they depart from your heart all the days of
your life. Make them known to your children and
your children’s children—[T]he Lord said to me,
‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear
my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the
days that they live on the earth, and that they may
teach their children so.’” Deuteronomy 4:9–10
(ESV)
•
R64

VIII. Res. 11-10 Task Force on Synod
Nominations / Elections Processes
The task force was formed by 2016 Res. 11-10 (Proceedings, p.
203) to “review existing nominations bylaw procedures [Bylaw
section 3.12] in the interest of combining them into a comprehensive process with appropriate time frames to facilitate convention
preparations.”
The initiating resolution established the membership of the committee as follows: the Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer
of the Synod; representatives of Commissions on Handbook (Rev.
Dr. Dale Sattgast) and Constitutional Matters (Rev. Dr. George
Gude); chairmen of the 2016 Convention Committees for Convention Nominations (Rev. Dr. Ron Garwood) and on Elections
(Rev. Gregory Walton); one district secretary (Rev. Luke Zimmerman) and one district president (Rev. John Hill) appointed by the
Council of Presidents; and Mrs. Barb Below, Rev. Dr. Raymond
Hartwig, and Mrs. Kathy Schulz, appointed by the Board of
Directors.

•

A presentation by Dr. Hartwig, drawing on his considerable experience administering the nominations and
election processes of the Synod and noting significant
changes to the same by 2016 Res. 11-03A, “To Change
Bylaws re District Convention Attendance as Prerequisite for Voting for Synod President”; Res. 11-05, “To
Revise and Enhance Nominations and Election Process
for Regional Board Members”; and Res. 11-14, “To
Clarify Function of Committee for Convention Nominations in Interim between Issuing Final Report and
Convention.”

2019 Convention Workbook

For President, First Vice-President, and Regional
Vice-Presidents: Candidates are selected numerically from congregational nominating ballots,
with no floor nominations possible.

b)

For Secretary and for at-large and regional
positions (the latter, newly integrated into this
process by the 2016 convention) on the Board
of Directors and other boards and commissions
of the Synod: Nominations are received from
agencies, officers, congregational and individual
members, and members of member congregations; at least two candidates are selected for
each position by the Committee for Convention
Nominations (CCN), with floor nominations possible.

An overview by Secretary Sias of process changes already made or being implemented (within the flexibility
of existing bylaws) designed to improve the function
and coordination of existing nominations and elections
procedures, including:

Revision of communication plans (print publications and calls for nomination, congregational
postcards, email and Internet announcements)
to coordinate timely reminders of convention
processes

Membership

The task force met electronically on March 29, 2017, reviewing
and discussing:

a)

Forms, procedures, and planned electronic voter
registration (later delayed until after the 2019
convention for technical reasons) for the election
of the President

Charge

First Meeting Set Direction

An overview by Secretary Sias of the positions, processes, and timelines of the remaining two modes of
nomination and election to be implemented for the 2019
convention:

Revision of forms and procedures to incorporate
regional positions and “supplemental nominee
information” (related to Concordia University
System board of directors and board of regents
positions) into simplified and consolidated nomination forms
Design of fillable PDF forms and automation mechanisms, to improve the efficiency of the whole
process within existing timetables
The task force noted that the scope of its assignment, as understood from its initiating resolution, was to coordinate existing
processes into a suitable and efficient timeline. Having considered
the material presented, the task force noted that the 2016 convention had already enacted significant steps toward coordinating and
consolidating Synod’s nominations and elections processes, and
that it would await updates from the Office of the Secretary on
the implementation of indicated process and technology improvements and any perceived need to adjust bylaw timelines.

Updates
Secretary Sias provided formal updates to the task force on June
22, 2018, and on December 10, 2018. The first update included the
forms (extensively revised and consolidated) and procedures to be
used for the two modes of nomination and election noted above.