LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 47

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TASK FORCE 47

Three teachers

Ten laypersons

Three program board chairmen (or a member of
each board designated by the program board
for the triennium);

2. That no more than 1 of thed parish pastors, or 1 of
the 3 teachers, or 1 of the 10 laypersons may be elected
from any one District. No person salaried by the Synod
or by a District or any other corporation organized by the
Synod may be elected as one of the 5 parish pastors, 3
teachers, or 10 lay members of the Board;

3. That the Treasurer of the Synod be appointed by
the Board of Directors as a nonvoting member of the
board. He shall be a corporate officer of the Synod as
required by law and serve as the Trust Officer of the
Synod and its various agencies as detailed in the
Bylaws;

4. That the other Vice-Presidents of the Synod be
advisory members of the board;

5. That the Administrative Officer of the Board of
Directors serve in an advisory capacity and that the
members of the Council of Administrators who are staff
persons be present and available for consultation, except
during executive session;

6. That the duties of the Board of Directors be more
precisely defined in the Bylaws, especially with refer-
ence to prioritization, implementation, and coordination
of convention decisions; financial and operating policies;
and emergency actions;

7. That the name “Board of Directors” be retained;

8. That the schedule of election to the Board of Direc-
tors for parish pastors, teachers, and laypersons be as
follows (the Committee for Convention Nominations has
been requested to supply a sufficient number of
candidates):

a. Elected in 1981 for five years: two pastors, two
teachers, five laypersons

b. Elected in 1981 for two years: two pastors, one
teacher, one layperson

c. Continuing incumbents until 1983: one pastor,
no teacher, four laypersons

d. For those who are incumbents the current
limited tenure rules shall apply; for persons newly
elected and not serving a previous term the new
limited tenure rules shall apply; any questionable
instances shall be referred to the Commission on

Constitutional Matters for decision, which shall

adhere as closely as possible to the pattern here set

forth. In any event, no one shall be eligible for
nomination after having served 12 consecutive years,
except the corporate officers (President, First Vice-

President, Secretary, and Treasurer).

D. Expanded Stewardship Functions

Stewardship in the Synod is a “good news—bad news
situation.” The good news is that all-purpose giving increases
annually, the Foundation is growing rapidly, and Forward in
Remembrance appears to be highly successful. The bad news is
that the percentage of disposable income our members give to
the church has declined from 3.1 percent to 2.3 percent during
the last 20 years. If the 3.1 percent level had been maintained,
the church (congregations, Districts, Synod) would be realizing
an additional $200 million annually in gifts.

Related to this is a continuing lower percentage of congre-
gation budgets being contributed to the District and the Synod
for missions, higher education, Sunday school materials, and
other work for and on behalf of the congregations. Thus
stewardship, especially the stewardship of treasure, was one of
the principal items on the agenda of Task Force II during the
past biennium. The Task Force believes the stewardship
function must change and be expanded for the Lord’s work to
be done in North America and overseas. There is no other way
the mission challenges of the ’80s adopted by the last conven-
tion can become a reality.

There are especially two developments of recent date which
are particularly encouraging. The net worth, plus trusts, of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation has increased
from $7 million to $33.5 million within the space of six years.

Furthermore, the Forward in Remembrance effort, which
by mid-February already received $15 million in cash and
pledges from just 2,000 donors, seems to be headed toward a
very successful conclusion. It has brought home to one and all
the realization that our Lord has tremendously blessed the
members of our congregations in a material way and that
perhaps we have been slow in learning to respond to His great
generosity. The predicted success of the Forward in Remem-
brance effort is of course attributable above all to the grace of
our loving God. Beyond that, however, it is also true that the
approaches and the individuals that have been used in this
effort throughout the Synod should not be lost to the Synod.
Indeed, the effort now coming to aconclusion should not really
be regarded as being concluded but should rather be considered
as a great beginning of something new that awaits the Synod.

Furthermore, the expertise in deferred giving shown by the
Foundation and by the structures utilized in the Forward in
Remembrance program should be brought together to supple-
ment the regular ongoing stewardship programs of the Synod
and its Districts. Task Force II is therefore proposing the
creation of a department which will unify all of these activities.

There has been a growing conviction through the years that
the unit of the Synod which is responsible for budgeting and
disbursing funds should also have the responsibility forgather-
ing the necessary funds. The board which has the former
responsibility is the Board of Directors. Task Force II therefore
concluded that it would be proper also for all fund-raising
activities to be the responsibility of the Board of Directors.

In order to accomplish this, the Task Force is reeommend-
ing the creation of a Department of Stewardship and Finan-
cial Support. A careful reading of the proposed Bylaws indi-
cates that the Task Force is very much concerned that the
proper Christian motivation permeate all of the fund-raising
activities. The important spiritual character of this phase of
the Christian life needs tremendous emphasis. It is not easy to
learn and to remember that giving is an integral part of the
Christian’s worship. Task Force II believes that in its proposed
Bylaws it has provided for this all-important factor.

To help this expanded stewardship department of the
Synod, an Advisory Council on Stewardship and Financial
Support is being recommended. This council will consist not
only of members of the Board of Directors but also of people
who are directly involved in the field, such as District Presi-
dents, District executive secretaries, and representatives of
various agencies related to the Synod, including colleges and
seminaries. The line of responsibility of the department,
however, will go directly to the Board of Directors.

Our report should not be concluded without a word of
recognition to those who over the years have worked in this
important area of the Christian life on the synodical and
District levels. We think of such pioneers in this field as W. C.
Birkner, Martin Piehler, and John Hermann. And they have
had worthy successors. Their activities are being recognized in
a special way, not only through the fact that this convention
has a stewardship theme, but also through the fact that in the
revised structure being proposed stewardship, in the estima-
tion of the Task Force, will receive greater prominence than it
has had before. It is, therefore, in a spirit of thanksgiving to
God and in a spirit of prayer that He may continue to bless the
efforts of this church body to further His saving cause in the
world that Task Force II recommends:

1. That all fund-raising activities of the Foundation
and the present Stewardship Department be combined
and expanded into a new Department of Stewardship
and Financial Support, accountable to the Board of
Directors of the Synod;

2. That an Advisory Council on Stewardship and
Financial Support be created, including representatives
from the Districts and from the various institutions and
agencies of the Synod, on a representative basis, assist-
ing the Board of Directors and its Department of
Stewardship and Financial Support.