LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 196

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196 ADMINISTRATION

B. Capital Projects. The board also has the responsibility of
giving formal approval to capital projects, which are usually
recommended by the Board for Higher Education or the Board
for Missions. During the past biennium the following projects
received approvals of various kinds: married-student housing
at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; two apartments in Venezuela
for the Board for Missions; the Martha Boss Memorial Center
in Hong Kong; Portland library and dining-hall facilities;
perimeter purchases for the Portland campus; additional
property for the Milwaukee campus; Seward library; Irvine
residence hall; Austin library and physical-education facili-
ties; science building addition at Seward; Hong Kong Inter-
national School expansion; Bronxville chapel and performing
arts center; Fort Wayne library expansion.

C. Policy Statements. A third major responsibility of the
board is the development of policy statements for its own
governance and also for the other units of the Synod. Such
policy statements are adopted at almost every meeting and are
also shared with the other boards and commissions of the
Synod.

D. Liaison. The board continued to establish liaison with a
few groups where this was needed or requested.

E. Presentations. The President, the First Vice-President,
the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Administrative Officer
reported to every meeting of the board. The board also heard
major presentations or held joint meetings, including meetings
with the following: Mayor James Conway of St. Louis and Mr.
Carl Fox of his staff in behalf of keeping the synodical
headquarters in the downtown area; the Headquarters Com-
mittee; the staff of the Forward in Remembrance program.

F. Concordia Welfare Plan. The board amended the plan to
conform with recent legislation and the actions of the 1979
synodical convention. In the process it approved the new name:
Concordia Health Plan.

G. Forwardin Remembrance. The board officially approved
this name for the $40-million effort voted on by the previous
convention. It also approved the appointment of Dr. Wil Hyatt
as director of the effort.

H. Church-State Relations. The board received the report of
the special committee appointed to study some major issues in
this area. The committee’s recommendations, together with
the paper adopted by aconsultation of the Lutheran Council in
the U.S.A., were referred to an ad hoc committee of the board on
inter-Lutheran work.

I. Convention Minutes. The board approved the minutes of
Sessions 10, 11, and 12 of the 1979 convention.

J. LCUSA. Reports on activities of the Lutheran Council in
the U.S.A. were given regularly to the board.

K. Task Force II. Reports were also regularly presented on
the work of Task Force II. The board at the request of the Task
Force participated in reactions. It appointed a special ad hoc
committee for that purpose.

L. Lawsuits. Some settlements have been made regarding
the case of a parochial school teacher in Detroit; the Grace,
River Forest, issue will undoubtedly be resolved in the courts
before the convention; the question of unemployment compen-
sation tax with respect to our parochial school teachers has
resultedin heavy legal fees, which Districts have been asked to
share, but results have been gratifying and the issue is now
before the Supreme Court; a suit involving Concordia, Mil-
waukee, is still under way.

M. Staff Development Program. The board is continuing
this program on various levels, including the secretarial.

N. Office of Governmental Affairs. The Council of Presi-
dents requested the board to enter into full participation in this
Lutheran Council office in Washington in line with the Dallas
convention resolution. However, the board felt that its action of
purchasing output services sufficiently met the requirements
of the Dallas resolution. But in February 1981 the board
resolved to terminate this arrangement (see paragraph DD).

O. Filing of Form 990. After study the board advised the
Synod’s colleges not to file this IRS form. But eventually the
board advised the colleges to file this form, under protest, and
decided to use one college as a test case.

P. Convention Site. After the board had expressed its

concerns to the mayor of St. Louis regarding safety provisions
at the synodical conventions, the board received assurances of
improved procedures.

Q. Personnel Matters. The board provided for new position
descriptions, performance review forms, and a point system for
determining the relative importance of various positions in the
synodical structure. The Personnel Committee consists of
Treasurer Norman Sell, Administrative Officer John Schuelke,
and Secretary Herbert Mueller representing President J.A.O.
Preus. Salaries are determined by a process involving recom-
mendations of the Personnel Committee to Committee 2 of the
Board of Directors and in turn to the board itself.

R. Springfield. A portion of the Springfield campus was
sold during the past biennium.

S. Constitutional Amendments. The board received the
report that the two constitutional amendments passed by the
1979 synodical convention had been approved by the required
two-thirds of the congregations participating in the balloting.

T. Inter-Lutheran Activities. The board appointed an ad
hoc committee to explore various alternatives for inter-Lu-
theran cooperation.

U. Lake Chabot. It authorized the sale of the Lake Chabot
property, which had been purchased some years ago for
eventual use as acampus. A purchase offer is being considered
but as yet no sale has been consummated. The former owner
(Municipal Utility District) is protesting the sale.

V. Management, Letter, Annual Audit. Necessary steps
were taken to carry out the recommendations of the internal
auditing firm, Ernst and Whinney.

W. Argentine Theological Education. On recommendation
of the Board for Higher Education, the board transferred
responsibility for theological education in Argentina from the
Board for Higher Education to the Board for Missions. The
convention is being asked to ratify this action.

X. Contacts with Government. The board adopted the
general policy for all departments that relations and contacts
with legislative and executive branches of the government
shall be established through the office of the President of the
Synod and shall be maintained through his direct or delegated
supervison.

Y. Foundation Changes. Several proposals calling for
changes in the structure of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod Foundation were discussed over a long period of time
and have now been effected. As a result appointments to the
Board of Trustees were delayed, with incumbents serving until
their successors were qualified. Among the changes introduced
is the general synodical restriction on serving more than 12
consecutive years on a board or commission.

Z. Executive Committees. The board decided to caution all
boards and commissions in the use of executive committees for
the purpose of making decisions in behalf of the board or
commission.

AA. The Lutheran Annual. The Board resolved that the
Secretary of the Synod should serve as a coeditor of The
Lutheran Annual, with special responsibility for editorial
content (roster, listing, directories, etc.).

BB. Listed Service Organizations. This is a new category
created by the 1979 convention. During the past biennium the
Board of Directors was able to give approval to all social
service institutions endorsed by the Synod’s Board of Social
Ministry and World Relief for inclusion in the Annual under
this title.

CC. Hong Kong. It was decided to transfer property
interests in the Mongkok Lutheran School for the Deaf and
Sharon Lutheran School to our partner church, the Lutheran
Church—Hong Kong Synod.

DD. Antiabortion. The board resolved to request the Office
of Governmental Affairs of LCUSA to advocate in behalf of
antiabortion legislation. Later this request was withdrawn.

EE. Saskatoon. Since the establishment of a western
Canadian seminary has been delayed, it was resolved to concur
in the decision of the Board for Higher Education to provide
travel funds to permit western Canadian seminary students to
attend St. Catharine’s in Ontario.