# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S203
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

PROGRAM AND FINANCE 203

managing the ‘same, in ‘accordance with the terms
of the instrument creating such gift and in accordance with the policies of
of-Direetors-of The-Lutheran-Chureh—Misseur-Synedboard

Board for University Education/Concordia University System

4-34

To Encourage Corporate America to Reduce
CEO Compensation

WHEREAS, Capitalism allows the marketplace to set wage rates
and to reward employees with great responsibility and/or great abil-
ities with commensurate pay; and

WHEREAS, A report from the Institute for Policy Studies/United
for a Fair Economy “Executive Excess 2006” (www.faireconomv.org/
reports/2006/ExecutiveExcess2006.pdf) shows that average chief
executive officer (CEO) pay for 350 leading U.S. corporations was
$11.6 million versus an average worker pay of $28,314 for 2005
(pp. 30, 32) and that the CEO-worker pay gap has risen from 42-to-
1 in 1980, to 107-to-1 in 1990, to 411-to-1 in 2005 (p. 1); and

Wuereas, J. P. Morgan, eminent business leader of 100 years
ago, “considered 20-to-1 the appropriate pay gap between workers
and CEOs,” and, more recently, “Peter Drucker, the esteemed
founder of modern management science who passed away last No-
vember, advocated the same 20-to-1 ratio” (p. 41); and

WHEREAS, Business Week already in 1997 “declared executive
pay ‘out of control’” (p. 33), and numerous articles over the last
two decades have reported on excessive CEO compensation; and

Wuereas, While average CEO compensation is up almost 300
percent since 1990, after adjusting for inflation, the average worker
has received less than 5 percent in pay raises over the same period,
and the minimum-wage worker pay has dropped over 9 percent in
real terms (p. 30); and

WHEREAS, Corporate shareholders have been unable or unwill-
ing to control these excessive salaries; and

WHEREAS, Jesus summarizes the second table of the Law with
“Jove your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19:19), and John the Baptist
exhorts, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has
none” (Luke 3:11); therefore, the child of God works diligently “as
working for the Lord,” (Col. 3:23), not hoarding up “treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy” (Matt. 6:19) but working so
he/she has “‘something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28); and

WHEREAS, God’s children are the salt of the earth, letting their
light shine in this dark world; therefore be it

Resolved, That LCMS pastors continue to teach and encourage
biblical stewardship that looks for opportunities to share the bounty
we have in the United States with those in need rather than hoard-
ing up wealth; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod urge its members to speak out pub-
licly as they have opportunity against these corporate excesses; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Synod go on record as encouraging corpo-
rate America to reduce the excessive CEO-worker pay ratio; and
be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod encourage Congress to enact legisla-
tion to help reign in excessive CEO compensation, such as “Rep.
Barney Frank’s Protection against Executive Compensation Abuse
Act, HR 4291, [which] requires that companies put in place plans to
recapture compensation that is inappropriate or based on fraud” (p.
38) and “The Income Equity Act, legislation introduced by Min-
nesota Congressman Martin Olav Sabo,” which “would eliminate
corporate tax deductions on any executive compensation that ex-
ceeds 25 times the pay of a company’s lowest-paid workers” (p. 39).

Circuit 13 Forum
North Wisconsin District

4-35

To Mandate Bylaw Compliance
in Communication Practices

WHEREAS, The Board for Communication Services is directly
responsible, as mandated by Synod Bylaws, to “authorize and su-
pervise the production of the necessary print and broadcast materi-
als for the church and its publics” (Bylaw 3.8.5.2.2 [a]); and

WHEREAS, The Board for Communication Services has identi-
fied many instances of Synod communications services and staffing
(e.g., Web site management and production of printed materials)
being assumed by other individual entities of Synod, thus bypass-
ing the authorization and supervision of the BCS, as mandated by
the Synod Bylaws; and

WHEREAS, Current practices of various entities of Synod that do
not follow the Synod Bylaws with regard to communications are
failing to present our Synod’s message and identity in a unified
manner to the public, as has been noted by independent public re-
lations and advertising consulting firms; and

WHEREAS, Such matters as copyright and trademark monitor-
ing, bulk ordering, and contractual negotiations with communica-
tions firms would best be managed by the professional staff of the
Board for Communication Services; and

WHEREAS, The stewardship of Synod resources could be more
efficiently and effectively managed if resources and expertise were
consolidated under the BCS instead of having each Synod board
and staff engage personnel and purchase materials and services in
preparing its own communication materials; and

Wuereas, All Synod materials with theological content are
cleared with doctrinal review before being made available to the
public; and

WuereEsS, All Synod materials intended to disseminate infor-
mation to the public should be supervised by. the Board for Com-
munication Services, which bears the ultimate responsibility for co-
ordinated and effective communication as directed by the Synod
Bylaws; and

WHEREAS, The realignment of communication and publication
services necessary to comply with the Synod Bylaws—that is, the
coordination, efficient administration, and effective and consistent
production of information and materials under the supervision of
the BCS—needs to be accomplished in an orderly fashion; there-
fore be it -

Resolved, That the Synod in convention instruct all boards and
staffs to bring their communication practices into line with the By-
laws of the Synod during the next triennium.

Board for Communication Services

4-36

To Change Appointment Process for Director of News
and Information Services

WHEREAS, Synod Bylaw 3.8.5.2.3 (c ) currently reads as fol-
lows: “The Director of News and Information Services, who also
serves as executive editor of the Synod’s official periodicals, shall
be appointed by the Board for Communication Services from a list
prepared by that board and approved by the Council of Presidents”;
and :

WHEREAS, The position of Director of News and Information
Services (DNIS) has been vacant since April 12, 2005, a period of
over two years; and

Wuereas, In July of 2005, questions arose concerning “(1) the
conformity of Human Resources policies of the Synod to the Con-
stitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod; (2) the relationship
between policies of an agency of the Synod and the Human Re-
sources policies of the Synod; and (3) the responsibility of agen-
cies of the Synod to follow’ Human Resources policies of the
Synod.” The President of the Synod then took the following action:
“Therefore, in fulfillment of the responsibility of the President of
the Synod to assure that all agencies of the Synod, including the