# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S242 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 242 HIGHER EDUCATION WHEREAS, There is therefore a serious need for strong and sound in-depth biblical and confessional theological expertise to be in included in the highest levels of leadership not only in our seminaries but also in all of our colleges and universities; and WHEREAS, It is highly important that our colleges, universities, and seminaries all be on the same theological “page” so that there can be good communication and coordination between all twelve institutions and that thus they may all “be perfectly united in one mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10), in the training of future pastors, primary and secondary educators, deaconesses, missionar- ies, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach, future professors, etc.; and WHEREAS, In the present shortage of pastors in our Synod, it would be a benefit if there was better coordination between our seminaries and our colleges and universities in the Synod’s re- cruitment and preparation of young men for pre-seminary training; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Handbook of the Synod be amended to allow for each seminary faculty to elect one of its professors, associate professors, assistant professors, or professors emeriti to serve as a voting member on each college or university board of regents (i.e., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to elect a total of ten of its fac- ulty—one to each of the ten college and university boards of re- gents—and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, to elect a total of ten of its faculty—one to each of the same ten college and university boards of regents—so that there will be two semi- nary professors, one from each seminary, on each college or uni- versity board of regents); and be it further Resolved, The Handbook of the Synod be re-written in such a way that the Synod, in convention, shall always elect at least the majority plus one of the members of each of the boards of regents of its colleges and universities in order that every synodical col- lege or university may truly remain under the control of the church body as a whole. Pilgrim Louisville, KY 5-58 To Equip Hispanic Lutherans for Multiethnic Ministries WHEREAS, Hispanic people in the United States of America, ac- cording to the last census, are reported to be 37 million strong; and WHEREAS, An article in the Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, 2002, ti- tled “Hispanics Embracing English as Language of Success,” re- ported that, in spite of a number of Spanish television channels and controversies over bilingual education, recent surveys show His- panics are assimilating into our American culture and embracing English as a key to success; and WHEREAS, Many Hispanic young people in the United States prefer English as their primary language; and WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has a strong commitment to share God’s Word with Hispanic people and with other ethnic groups, to fulfill our Lord’s Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20); therefore be it Resolved, That the convention of the Northern Illinois District encourage The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Board for Higher Education to take into account these new realities of the Hispanic population and to seek new ways and means to equip His- panic Lutheran workers for a multiethnic ministry, to enable them to minister to Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the United States. Northern Dlinois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6, Northern Dlinois District 5-59 To Encourage Training of Christian Writers WHEREAS, There is great need to bring the Gospel to the world; and WuereEas, C. S. Lewis was a tremendous’ apologist and evan- gelist for the faith through his fiction and other writings; and WHEREAS, In our day such books as the Left Behind series have brought an interesting brand of the Christian faith to the American public; and WHEREAS, There is great need to clearly communicate the real Gospel to a lost world; and WHEREAS, There is need to do this through the writing of sound fiction, novels, and other written media; therefore be it Resolved, That our Synod encourage and promote through its university system courses and degree programs of writing that are designed for apologetics and evangelism using fiction, nonfiction, and other written media. St. Paul Waseca, MN 5-60 To Leave Responsibility for Continuing Education with Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support WHEREAS, The Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support (CMGS) has since its creation endeavored to support the blessings of the church’s workers by providing “opportunity for the continu- ing education and vocational growth of the church’s workers, to advocate and facilitate care and counsel for the church’s workers to support them in the performance of their official duties, and to ad- vocate and facilitate support for the personal well-being of the church’s workers and their family members” (Bylaw 3.913); and WHEREAS, The CMGS has taken a wholistic approach to pas- toral formation and support with continuing education being one aspect of that task; and WHEREAS, The CMGS believes that voluntary continuing edu- cation is consistent with our theology of church and ministry and will benefit the church most effectively; and Whereas, Among other efforts, the CMGS has successfully de- veloped and implemented the Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support initiative (PALS), which involves considerable continuing education activities but also includes other aspects of support for new pastors and their families and has seen voluntary participation levels of about 70 percent; and WHEREAS, The long-term research (with surveys done in 1990, 1996, 2000) measuring continuing education done by the Synod in- dicates that this approach has been effective in increasing the an- nual amount of time pastors and all commissioned workers spend in continuing education activities and significantly increasing the amount of time and money being set aside by congregations for that purpose; and WHEREAS, The CMGS has sought to work to coordinate the ac- tivities of all in the Synod who seek to support all of our workers, including pastors, as described in the Bylaws: “It shall develop, sponsor, and coordinate continuing educational and vocational growth and personal well-being initiatives among the entities of the Synod whose work impacts the church’s workers and their fami- lies” (Bylaw 3.915 e); and WHEREAS, The CMGS has, through its Growth in Excellence in Ministry initiative (GEM), assisted both Concordia University Sys- tem schools and our two LCMS seminaries to develop further their church-worker continuing education initiatives; and WHEREAS, It has been proposed that continuing education for pastors be placed exclusively under the Board for Higher Educa- tion, which up to the present time has overseen the strictly acade- mic institutions of the. Synod; and