# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1979_S22 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 22 MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION tion and Credentials reported that no formal objections challenging registered delegates had been received. Standing Rules Dr. Herbert Mueller, Secretary of the Synod, pre- sented the proposed special standing rules for the convention to the delegates. They appear on page 8 of Today’s Business. After hearing them, the delegates adopted these rules as presented and as attached to the official copy of the minutes. Greetings Dr. Herbert Mueller reported that greetings had been received from the Lutheran Church of Finland. Constitutional Matters Chairman Arnold Kuntz of the Floor Committee on Constitutional Matters presented Res. 5-01, 5-02, 5-03, and 5-04 (7B117—118) to the delegates. By adopting the resolutions, the congregations of Gloria Dei, Escondido, Calif., Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, Minn., Shepherd of the Desert, Page, Ariz., and Zion Evangeli- cal Lutheran, Whitehall, Mont., were received into membership in the Synod. President’s Report President Preus began his report by pointing out that the first section of it had been presented to the floor committees at an earlier meeting and was printed in the first issue of Today’s Business. He continued his report by giving thanks to all those who have served the Synod in any way, since the church lives by the collective work of all of its members rather than simply by the work of a few. He expressed special thanks to Dr. E. C. Weber, First Vice-President of the Synod. Dr. Preus pointed out that in his opinion, based on observations, the morale of the Synod appears to be better than it has for a long time. The desire to enter open doors is greater than it has ever been. During the past biennium 217 congregations have elected to leave The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and have been accompanied by 350 pastors. Dr. Preus expressed regret for anything which may have wrongly caused them to leave and asked for their forgiveness. On the other hand, over 6,000 congregations have explicitly or implicitly said they would remain with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Much of this is due to at least three factors. First, during this period of time 55 pastoral conferences sponsored by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations were attended by over 50 percent of the pastors of the Synod. These conferences were instrumental in bringing about a unified understanding. Second, the 1978 District elections were an important factor. Third, after a period of stress the Synod seems to have overcome its identity problems. Continuing his report, President Preus pointed out that this convention is to be a missions convention. That means it is not simply to be passing pious resolu- tions and then to go home. More must be done. He complimented the Floor Committee on Missions for its resolutions with challenging goals. The accomplish- ment of these goals will cost money, and therefore a proposal has been made that The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod should raise $40 million for this purpose. Dr. Preus expressed the hope that the resolution regard- ing this special offering would pass unanimously. Con- tinuing his report, Dr. Preus pointed to the achieve- ments but also the work which remains to be done in the areas of Black mission work, the Hispanic program, -work among Orientals and native Americans. Changes which are taking place in the Church Extension Fund were referred to as well as the fact that the Church Extension Fund program is now moving into the foreign area, helping partner churches establish such programs. Delegates were urged to support the resolutions dealing with the structure of the Church Extension Fund. In his report Dr. Preus referred to the work in social ministry, an arm of the church which must reach all people in any need in word and deed, to the youth work which is being carried on and to the youth convention which will be held in Colorado next year, to the area of parish services, which reports the highest number of persons attending Bible classes in 135 years, and to Concordia Publishing House, which will be celebrating its 110th anniversary of existence. In the area of stewardship finance and planning, Dr. Preus stated that there is good news and bad news. Last year over $400 million was gathered for all purposes. This is good. However, there is a distribution problem. Since 1965 giving has increased 104%, but each year the funds which remain within congregations and Districts increase. At the present time there is a synodical deficit of $2.9 million. The ‘delegates were asked to consider remembering Synod when their congregational budgets are established and to determine their priorities. In the area of higher education it was reported that two colleges have achieved four-year status during the past biennium and that there are record enrollments at the seminaries. However, there is a need for increasing the salaries of professors at higher educational institu- tions and for filling the colleges and seminaries, which have 9,000 student stations but only 6,000 enrolled. He asked each pastor and delegate to serve as a one-man recruiting team to fill all student stations. The delegates were urged to adopt the hymnbook which is being presented to the convention. A report was also given on inter-Lutheran relationships and discussions being carried on with various church bodies. Dr. Preus urged that the present relationship with The American Lutheran Church be continued, as well as the membership in LCUSA. Delegates were asked to sup- port resolutions for the development of an indigenous Lutheran Church of Canada and partner-church status for the Brazil District. Dr. Preus closed his report by pointing out that God has opened doors for us. The question is, Do we have the spiritual and moral fiber to enter those doors? He stated that there are two things which he feels need improve- ment. First, we must learn the forgiveness of sins and its importance. Second, there should be less criticizing and ee a ee j |