# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1973_S168
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

168 SYNODICAL ADMINISTRATION

Board of Directors to ask the Secretary to prepare for each
meeting a digest and layman’s translation of the minutes of
the standing committees of all divisions and departments of
LCUSA, a time consuming and often frustrating task.

He was appointed a member of the committee called into
being by the previous convention to have certain subjects
explored jointly by the Commission on Constitutional Mat-
ters, the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and
the Commission on Mission and Ministry in the Church.
He participated in the ad hoc committee to study the future
role of the Commission on Architecture. His presence was
also requested on the committee which brought into being
and fostered in its early days the cassette program “Clergy”
issued by Concordia Publishing House.

When the American Association of Theological Schools
imposed probation on our St.Louis seminary, the Secre-
tary was appointed to the task force which was to study
this whole area to see what could be done to safeguard the
interest of the Synod and at the same time to retain accredi-
tation.

During the past biennium the Board of Directors also
asked him in his spare time to undertake a search for policy
statements which had been issued during the years and
which needed to be reviewed, rewritten, or replaced. A pol-
icy book had never been brought into being in the past and
consequently there is no central file of these documents.
This project is not yet completed, although more than 100
of these statements have now been re-affirmed or re-drafted.

This last assignment dovetailed with a permissive assign-
ment given by the Milwaukee convention. It resolved that
the Board of Directors could authorize the Secretary to de-
velop a manual of operations which had been proposed and
rejected several times in the past. The Board suggested that
it might be well to determine whether it was necessary to
develop a manual governing internal administrative proce-
dures. It was discovered in the process, after contacting all
operating departments, that this was not necessary, that
these directives were updated and put into use day after
day. lt was felt furthermore that the manual of operations
should not reach into the area of the synodical Handbook:
if Bylaws were to be changed this should not be done simply
through the introduction of a manual of operations. Finally,
it was concluded that the objectives which those persons had
in mind who had suggested the development of a manual
of operations could best be achieved through the policy book
which the Board of Directors is even now in the process of
bringing into being (see above). This policy book will be
shared with all those who are in a position to make impor-
tant decisions.

A report should, however, also look forward. We have
come to the conclusion that the Synod might well begin to
give thought to the creation of a secretariat, in which still
additional support functions now scattered throughout the
administrative structure might be brought together into a
logical and coherent unit. In this respect we may well learn
from the Lutheran Church in America and the American
Lutheran Church which have developed this concept quite
extensively.

If we have gained one impression over the past 8 years
it is simply that the days and weeks are not long enough.
We have learned that when people ask "What does the Sec-
retary do?” just to smile and relax. It takes too much time
and effort to explain.

And even though the work is done quietly, without the
stimulus of crowds of people. public attention, and junkets
to glamorous places, it is done in the realization that also
such supportive services are essential if a great church is
to fulfill its mission and live up to the potential with which
a gracious Lord has invested it. We may well assume that
all of us who have been asked to assist the Synod have long
since learned to say, “We serve the Lord Christ!” Everything
else finds its proper place. Herbert Mueller, Secretary
4-04

Report of Synod’s Board of Directors

I. Administration
The Board of Directors met every other month during the
past biennium.
At its first meeting after the Milwaukee convention the

board elected President J. A. O. Preus as chairman and Mr.
Harry Barr as vice-chairman. By Bylaw stipulation the Sec-
retary of the Synod, Herbert Mueller, also serves as sec-
retary of the Board of Directors.

The board adopted the same internal committee structure
as in the previous biennium and made the following commit-
tee assignments:

1. Committee on Program and Project Evaluation: Ger-
hardt Nitz, Rupert Dunklau, Robert W. Hirsch, Guido Mer-
kens, T. F. Nickel, Ernst Stahlke.

2. Committee on General Administration and Personnel:
Harry Barr, Gus Melde, Alvin W. Mueller, Herbert Mueller,
Walter Steinberg, Paul Streufert (replaced later by W. Harry
Krieger).

3. Committee on Financial Management: Walter Hinck,
Milton Carpenter, Carl Muhlenbruch, Ed Weber, R. P. Wie-
deraenders, William Zehnder Jr.

4. Executive Committee: J. A. O. Preus, Gerhardt Nitz,
Harry Barr, Walter Hinck, John Schuelke (advisory).

The board decided to reappoint Mr. Ray Rauscher as
Controller for that portion of a 4-year term which extends
to the last day of the year in which he reaches retirement
age. The appointment of Mr. Erwin Wesche, Assistant Trea-
surer, was extended for an additional year.

As the culmination of a long study process involving sev-
eral committees and extending back beyond the New York
convention, the Milwaukee convention resolved to abolish
the office of Executive Director. In recognition of 10 years
of faithful service as Executive Director, the Board of Direc-
tors granted Dr. Walter F. Wolbrecht an honorarium equal
to his previous salary for 6 months from and by reason of
the abolishing of the position by the Synod in convention on
July 15, 1971. While the board was developing a position
description and conducting a search for candidates to fill
the new office created by the Milwaukee convention, Dr.
Wolbrecht accepted appointment as president of the Lu-
theran School of Theology in Chicago. The contribution
which Dr. Wolbrecht made to the life of the Synod especially
in introducing new administrative policies and procedures
are recognized by the board.

In the interim Dr. Roland Wiederaenders rendered ad-
ministrative services to the board.

After a vigorous search the board appointed to the new
position of Administrative Officer of the Board of Directors
a layman from the Chicago area, Mr. John Schuelke, who
had considerable corporate management experience. He was
installed Nov. 30, 1972, to fill the office until Dec. 31, 1973,
when according to Bylaw provisions the appointment, which

‘. can be renewed, expires.

Since the Milwaukee convention had failed to act on
a resolution involving the designation of a chairman for the
Council of Administrators, the Commission on Constitutional
Matters ruled that the Board of Directors should appoint an
interim chairman until the convention is able to act.

The board made, ratified, or concurred in (depending on
the specific Handbook requirements) a long list of other ap-
pointments, which are detailed in an appendix to this report.
(See Appendix A)

Il. Milwaukee Convention Directives

The Milwaukee convention gave the Board of Directors
quite a number of directives. Actions taken are reported
below.

A. Board for Evangelism (Res. 1-19). As instructed by
this resolution, the board appointed the initial Board for
Evangelism. (See Appendix A for personnel)

B, Resources for Missions (Res. 1-20). This resolution in-
structed the Board of Directors on the basis of careful fore-
casting of total income and total needs to give the Board for
Missions prior to each year a firm dollar commitment from
regular budget sources. The responsible committee of the
board came to the conclusion that circumstances do not per-
mit any evaluation of the success of the procedures sug-
gested in the resolution to be made at this time.

C. General Editor (Res. 2-20). (See recommendations)

D. International Theological Conference (Res. 3-04). The
Board included $8,000 in the 1972 budget of the CTCR for
this conference to fulfill the request of this resolution and
carried this amount as well as an additional sum forward to