# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S9 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SYNODICAL REPORTS 9 our church workers has led to misunderstanding and confusion. The generic phrase “minister of religion’ is used by the IRS to de- scribe Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu clerics, as well as min- isters of every other Christian denomination and non-Christian cult and group in the country. Our committee discovered that our Synod is the only major church body in the country that uses IRS lan- guage to describe its church workers. The committee could find no evidence that other Christian bodies do this, including the largest two, the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptists. No other Lutheran churches in our country use IRS vocabulary to de- scribe their church workers, from the largest Lutheran body, the ELCA, to smaller Lutheran churches, like the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Thus our committee believes that it is important for our Synod to use nomen- clature that is a faithful reflection of our scriptural and confessional theology, and not merely reflective of governmental tax regula- tions. Other Observations As the NSC did its study several issues came to the commit- tee’s attention that are important for the Synod to consider. The NSC’s survey revealed a significant misunderstanding among some of our church workers. It would appear that many teachers, and some pastors, believe that God has not instituted a specific and concrete office of the ministry, that is, the pastoral of- fice, but merely general functions of ministry, which for the sake of good order, are handed over to called ministers of various descrip- tions (pastors, teachers, DCEs, etc.). Although there are smaller Lutheran bodies in the United States that do advocate this or simi- lar points of view, this is not the teaching of the Holy Scriptures or the Lutheran Confessions and thus not the position of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The NSC was also concerned when it leamed how few courses in theology our Synod’s colleges and universities require as a min- imum of those preparing to be teachers and other workers in the Synod. Unless a student chooses to major in theology, very few classes are required, and there is only a bare minimum of instruc- tion in our Synod’s theology required. This is most evident in the teacher-education programs of our Synod’s colleges and universi- ties. The NSC found this to be quite troubling. No doubt this will have an increasingly negative impact on the Synod’s day schools and congregations, as persons serve who are not thoroughly grounded in biblical and confessional Lutheran doctrine and prac- tice. How many of our Synod’s church workers—who are required to subscribe and pledge themselves unconditionally to the Lutheran Confessions—are actually required to read and study the Confes- sions in some depth? Little evidence was found to support the hope that the Lutheran Confessions are required reading of all prechurchwork students, and that these are thoroughly tested on the contents of the Confessions at each of the Synod’s colleges and universities. The NSC was deeply saddened by the number of teachers in the Synod who do not feel adequately appreciated and, as a result, view themselves as “second class citizens” among the Synod’s church workers. The NSC was made keenly aware of concerns many teachers have with pastors who tend to treat them, not as co-work- ers, but as mere employees of the congregation. Teachers are also frustrated by the fact that they have no right of vote at synodical conventions since they, like all college and seminary professors, District and synodical executives and all assistant pastors are advi- sory members of the Synod, not voting members. Although these concerns lie outside the assigned task of the Nomenclature Study Committee, the members of the committee believe these to be of serious consequence to the ongoing and God- pleasing work of our church and therefore respectfully encourages the Synod to address these concerns in a responsible and timely manner. Roger Pittelko, Chairman R1-8-03 150th Anniversary Celebration In the written report to the 1995 convention of the Synod, mem- bers of the 150th Anniversary Committee appointed by President Barry were listed. In addition, the anniversary logo was described, and it was emphasized that the anniversary would challenge us to grow in the Word, grow in outreach, and grow in stewardship, and that the effort would also include an Anniversary Celebration Of- fering. Included in the presentation to the convention itself were a video titled Standing on the Shores of Tomorrow, encouraging words from Mrs. Tom (Oanh) Heiser, who was responsible for the original design of the anniversary logo, and Dr. Barry’s Presidential Proclamation, designating 1995-98 as an “Anniversary Jubilee Tri- ennium.” At several points in the convention delegates had the op- portunity to test their knowledge of synodical history through the use of trivia questions. 150th Anniversary staff included the undersigned and Dr. Charles W. Fieker, technical assistant and Ms. Mary Jackson, ad- ministrative assistant. Visits with more than 900 people in the Districts of the Synod indicated that God’s people wanted celebration plans to be: * congregationally-based—shaped individually by each congrega- tion to meet its own needs * simple * Gospel-centered, Christ-glorifying * aimed to induce growth in the three areas mentioned above * focused on celebration—“fun in the Lord” * directed not only to past blessings but also to present opportuni- ties and future challenges. All congregations received an introductory video for local showing—closed captioned for the hearing impaired and open cap- tioned for the Spanish-speaking—and six workbooks for parish leaders. Three of these workbooks (only about 12 pages in length) gave direction for efforts toward growth in the Word, outreach, and stewardship. Another, about the same in length, provided helpful suggestions for the anniversary offering. Another provided more than 300 suggestions for local celebration, and the final workbook gave guidelines for the use of the logo in congregational publica- tions. National and District staff provided valuable counsel in the preparation of these materials, which were field-tested by our peo- ple and were also made available in both Braille and Spanish. Other materials offered to all churches included ¢ three Bible study courses; * sermon outlines; ¢ 13 bulletin inserts; * 52 “Did You Know....” paragraphs for Sunday bulletins; ¢achildren’s song, Here We Are Now; ¢a children’s comic book on our history; * orders of service for special services; ° “Prayer Partner” materials, with one prayer suggestion for each day of the month; * memorabilia, including a beautiful anniversary medallion, de- signed by Rev. Scott Blazek. Distribution of these items was handled by District Chairmen of Congregational Celebration under the leadership of Rev. Nor- man Groteluschen, President emeritus of the Mid-South District. The District leaders spent several days in two meetings in St. Louis and participated in several regional conference calls during the tn- ennium. We owe these men, as well as the Circuit and congrega- tional chairmen, a large debt of gratitude for their dedicated efforts. Among the items most requested, a video depicting the history of the Synod was prepared for the anniversary. Still available from Lutheran Visuals (800/527-3211) the video is 24 hours in length and comes with a study guide for use in Bible classes and confir- mation instruction. The 12 chapters describe the history and work of our church from the days of the Reformation to the present.