LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 50

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50 MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

also ruled out of order when it was determined that the
delegate had not voted on the prevailing side when the
resolution was adopted.

Orders of the Day

A delegate called for the orders of the day at this
point in the session.

Minutes

Dr. Walter Rosin, assistant secretary, introduced the
Minutes of Session 7 and 8 of the convention. These
Minutes were adopted as printed.

Point of Privilege

Speaking on a point of privilege, a delegate presented
a resolution asking the convention to adopt Res. 3-13,
3-14, and 3-15 as a unit. This procedure was declared out
of order.

Orders of the Day

The chairman informed the delegates of the orders of
the day which would be followed in the evening session.

Theology and Church Relations

Chairman Arthur Kuehnert of the Floor Committee
on Theology and Church Relations introduced Res. 3-12
(TB 67), which called for promotion of a uniform
practice of the Lord’s Supper. This resolution encour-
aged broad and comprehensive study of the Scriptures
with respect to the confessional character of the Lord’s
Supper, encouraged broad and comprehensive study of
the CTCR document relating to this matter, encouraged
congregations to report their findings and reactions to
the CTCR, and encouraged and requested the congre-
gations of the LCMS and their pastors to abide by the
practice of “close” communion. After declining an
amendment to strike the final resolve and agreeing to
cease debate on the resolution, the delegates adopted
Res. 3-12 (TB 67) as presented. They also adopted Res.
3-13 (TB 68), which called for a continued study of the
CTCR’s report on the ministry. This resolution was
adopted as presented after an amendment calling for
the addition of the resolved of Overture 3-19 (CW 103) to
the resolution had been declined. During the discussion,
the Chair ruled that the “Behnken rule” would not be
applied to the amendment. The action of adopting the
resolution as presented was taken after the assembly
had agreed to cease debate on both the amendment and
the resolution.

After adding the words “We honor God and our
neighbor rightly when we” to line 63 (7B 68) and
enclosing the remaining portion of the resolution with
quotation marks, the floor committee introduced Res.
3-14 (TB 68). The convention adopted this resolution
after changing the title in line 48 (TB 68) to read “To
Commend Statements on Human Sexuality.” They also
adopted Res. 3-16 (TB 69) expressing gratitude and
praise to God for the long history of fraternal associa-
tion that the Synod has enjoyed with the Confessional

Lutheran Church of Finland and for the recent decision
of this church to extend the hand of church fellowship
once again to the Synod. By adopting Res. 3-15 (TB 69)
the convention urged the Synod to continue discussions
with the ELCC during the coming triennium with the
prayer that the issues in question between the two
church bodies might be resolved.

Greetings

The Rev. S. T. Jacobson, president of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Canada, was introduced to the
convention. He expressed his pleasure over the fact that
Res. 3-15 had been adopted, since this would help in
carrying out cooperative church work which is so
necessary in Canada. He acknowledged that differences
such as views on women’s ordination and membership
in the Lutheran World Federation and World Council of
Churches existed. At the same time, he pointed out that
the ELCC is facing many of the same concerns and
issues which confront The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod. He expressed his appreciation for the privilege
of being allowed to appear at this time since it would
perhaps be the last convention of the Synod before
which he would appear if the formation of a new
Lutheran church is completed.

Presentation

Dr. William Meyer, head of the editorial division of
Concordia Publishing House, was introduced to the
convention. In his brief remarks he discussed the.
purpose of Concordia Publishing House and then pre-,
sented President Bohlmann with a specially bound:
copy of the book Principles of Biblical Interpretation in
the Lutheran Confessions,” which had been written by
Dr. Bohlmann and had recently been revised. He also;
announced tht Dr. Bohlmann would be available after
the session to autograph copies of the book for those,
who wished to purchase it. ;

Structure and Constitution

Before the introduction of a resolution relating. to
church polity, Mr. Philip Draheim, legal counsel for th
Synod, spoke on the matter of the polity of the Synod
and the various issues which were involved. He pointe
out that it was essential for the Synod to make ifs¢
statement on polity if any legal issues which developed
were to be resolved. Following his presentation, th
Floor Committee on Structure and Constitution intro=
duced Res. 5-10A (TB 179) which called for a reaffirma:
tion of the essential congregational polity of the Synod?
In the resolve it was pointed out that the Synod believ
that the courts should recognize that there are church
polities other than “congregational” and “hierarchical
but that unless and until courts do so, the present statis
of case law compels the Synod to use certain legal term!
nology. After declining to table the resolution ane
agreeing by common consent to strike the word “ete.” 0
line 58 (7B 179) and after agreeing to cease debate b
vote of 653 to 290, Res. 5-10A (TB 179) was adopted b
the convention. ue