# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1975_S86 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) ME SE AE ET AE RESIN LI ET REE EEN ELIS SETI IEEE LEME NPE, : | 86 RESOLUTIONS Holy Spirit people may come to know and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior; 2. Resolved, That we recognize that responsibility and responsiveness in mission is motivated by the love and redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, who loved us and gave Himself for us; 3. Resolved, That we reaffirm the Scriptural truth that in the proclamation of the Gospel the verbal and/or written witness is indispensable; 4. Resolved, That we reaffirm the Scriptural truth that deeds of love which flow from the Gospel at work in the lives of God’s people are an indispensable part of the church’s mission; 5. Resolved, That responsible mission planning and activity includes a loving response to the needs and wills of our sister churches and mission fields and requires a genuine partnership and mutual sharing with co-workers throughout the world to foster an aggressive, growing mission in order that more people may learn the saving Word of Jesus Christ; 6. Resolved, That such partnership as we live it out within our Synod is possible only as we uncompromisingly remain faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions; 7. Resolved, That we as the Synod reaffirm that the Holy Spirit moves us to be of one heart and mind, “walking together” joyfully under Christ in the confes- sional unity of our faith; 8. Resolved, That our “walking together” by definition commits us to honor and uphold the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod; 9. Resolved, That in such “walking together” we recognize the responsibility of the Board for Missions to the Synod and the need for the unfailing support of the Synod to the Board for Missions as the Synod’s primary agency in mission as it follows the Mission Affirmations under the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions as determinants and guides; 10. Resolved, That in such “walking together” we recognize the role of the President of the Synod as the chief ecumenical officer of the Synod as indicated in Bylaw 2.27h, which states: “The President shall repre- sent the Synod in official contacts with all sister churches by aiding, counseling, and advising them and strengthening the relationships with and between them”; 11. Resolved, That in such “walking together” we recognize the role of the CTCR in the church’s mission as stated in Resolution 3-03 of the 1971 convention of the Synod, which states in its eighth resolved: “That the LCMS specifically assign the CTCR the responsibility of assisting the President in carrying out the Synod’s theological and church relations responsibilities toward her sister churches”; and finally 12. Resolved, That with the help of Almighty God, we confess our sins and weaknesses to Him, put our human differences behind us, and thus united and with the power of the Holy Spirit, move confidently forward in His mission. Action: Adopted (4). (The committee replaced its tentative Res. 2-01 with Res. 2-01A. A motion to amend the resolution by striking Point 8 as contrary to Article VII of the Constitution failed. The con- vention declined to consider a substitute motion. At one point a motion to close debate failed of the required % majority, 594 to 417. A later call for closing of debate was approved by the delegates, who then declined a request for a division. After a point of order had been raised stating that there is a difference between a call for division of the house and a call for a count, the chair placed before the assembly once again for a standing vote the question of closing debate. The chair ruled that the required % vote had been achieved. A motion for a count was declined by the assembly through a voice vote. The resolution was then adopted.) To Conclude the Work of the Mission Study Commission RESOLUTION 2-02A (Replacing Res. 2-02) Report 2-04; Overtures 2-13A—2-14 (CW, pp. 29-31, 33) Wuereas, It has been a decade since the new Board for Missions was created and evaluation is thus in order at this time; and Wuereas, God in His wisdom has permitted the Synod to experience painful tensions within its mission pro- gram; and Wuereas, The Board of Directors of the Synod, in an attempt to resolve these tensions, appointed a special Mission Study Commission; and Wuereas, The Mission Study Commission has sub- mitted an extensive report and recommendations to the Board of Directors; and Wuereas, The Board of Directors is in the process of acting on the following recommendations: 6, 7a, 7b, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, and 24 (CW, pp. 29-31); and Wuereas, The Board of Directors is distributing the report and recommendations of the Mission Study Com- mission to the Board for Missions, the District presi- dents, District mission boards, and sister churches; and Wuereas, There has not been enough time for these individuals and groups to respond to the report and recommendations; and Wuereas, Some of the recommendations of the Mis- sion Study Commission concern themselves with changes in the administrative structure of the Synod; and Wuereas, Bylaw 8.07a (1973 Handbook, p. 173) lists “Functions of the Board” (that is, Board for Missions) as follows: “The Board shall formulate, recommend, review, and supervise the mission policy of the Synod, direct and adopt planning in keeping therewith, establish and su- pervise budgets, review organizational effectiveness, effect the correlation and coordination of the synodical mission endeavors with other boards, agencies, and aux- iliaries of the Synod, and do all else necessary to provide for an aggressive and united mission effort for the Syn- od”; therefore be it Resolved, That the Mission Study Commission receive response to its report and recommendations from the District presidents, District mission boards, and sister