# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1975_S160 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 160 RESOLUTIONS Wuereas, The office of the President of the Synod is charged with “the supervision regarding the doctrine . . . of the Synod” (Constitution, Art. XI, B, 1); and Wuenreas, The President of the Synod carries out his responsibility of supervision of doctrine through the biennial appointment of doctrinal reviewers (69 persons have served in this role during the past biennium); and Wuereas, Proposed publications of the Synod’s boards and commissions and Concordia Publishing House are not permitted to be published without certification by a doctrinal reviewer that the content of the items is “in agreement in their doctrinal content with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions” (Handbook 11.157 c); and Wuereas, This program insures careful scrutiny of all materials to assure agreement of their doctrinal character with Scriptures and the Confessions and has provided to the Synod a steady flow of reliable and valuable materials for the upbuilding of the saints; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod reaffirm its determination to continue the practice of having all of the material published by its boards and commissions read carefully by presidentially appointed doctrinal reviewers to insure that these materials are in agreement with Scripture and the Confessions; and be it further Resolved, That congregations and members of the Synod accept as their continued responsibility to send evaluations of the doctrinal content of published materi- als to the President, the Board of Doctrinal Review, and the sponsoring board or commission; and be it finally Resolved, That the Synod reaffirm its desire to have the President appoint to the position of doctrinal review experienced persons of good judgment who are well grounded in the Scriptures and the Confessions. Action: Adopted (9) (The assembly declined a motion to recommit. An amend- ment to add “and doctrinal resolutions of the Synod” to the 4th and 5th whereases and to the 1st and 3d resolveds was ruled out of order. The delegates declined to add to the last resolved the words “and who are reflective of all established doctrinal views in the Synod.”) - To Encourage Publication of “New Life in Christ” Sunday School Materials RESOLUTION 7-25 Report 7-01, V, D; Overture 7-19 (CW, pp. 364, 390) Wuereas, Not all congregations in the Synod have been able to use the Mission:Life curriculum in the Sunday school; and Wuereas, Concordia Publishing House and the Board of Parish Education have conducted research among the current users of the “Life in Christ” curriculum to iden- tify strengths and weaknesses of that series; and Wuereas, The Board of Parish Education reports (CW, p. 364) that a survey of “Life in Christ” users has been conducted, that a need is expressed for a thorough revision and updating of the “Life in Christ” materials, and has reported that it has begun work on another Bible-story-based, easy-to-use, elementary-level curricu- lum for Sunday schools that will in effect be a continua- tion of the “Life in Christ” series, and has scheduled this curriculum for initial use in the fall of 1976; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod support the Board of Parish Education and Concordia Publishing House in their plans to introduce a “New Life in Christ” curriculum based on Article II of the Constitution of the Synod and the Scriptures; and be it further Resolved, That congregations seeking an alternative to the Mission:Life curriculum be urged to consider the “New Life in Christ” curriculum rather than programs produced by groups not affiliated with our Synod. Action: Adopted as amended (12). (By common consent the words “based on Article Hl. . . Scriptures” were added to the first resolved and “consider” was substituted for “utilize” in the second resolved.) To Support Establishment of Lutheran Schools RESOLUTION 7-16 Overtures 7-22, 7-23 (CW, pp. 390—391); N.O. Res. 7-06, 7-12, 7-17 Wuereas, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has consistently supported all agencies of Christian edu- cation; and Wuereas, Lutheran secondary education is in a pe- riod of expansion and growth across our country with additional plans for community high schools; and Wuereas, Great enthusiasm for Lutheran elementary education seems to be lacking in many communities; and Wuereas, There have been few evidences of growth within the Synod in the area of new elementary schools; and Wuereas, The sound foundation of the Great Com- mission supports the fervent work of our church body in all agencies of Christian education with the words “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”; and Wuereas, Many young congregations that are blessed with many children of both elementary and secondary levels usually are also experiencing lack of the financial strength necessary for the establishment of full-time educational endeavors at any level; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod and all of its Districts establish a vigorous program of support for the establish- ment of elementary schools; and be it further Resolved, That the Synod and all its Districts study the possibility of utilizing methods employed in the establishment and support of new mission congregations to help congregations where feasible to establish elemen- tary schools by a system of direct financial support by the District or the Synod gn a decreasing scale leading to self- support; and be it finally