LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 124

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4. ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

4-02
Report of First Vice-President

As were my immediate predecessors, Dr. Edwin Weber and
Dr. Roland Wiederaenders, I have been honored to serve my
Lord and the Synod on a number of boards, councils, commis-
sions, and committees, including the following: the Synod’s
Board of Directors; Board of Regents, Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne; Council of Administrators; Council of
Presidents; Commission on Theology and Church Relations;
Colloquy Committees for the Pastoral Office, the Teaching
Ministry, the Deaconess Ministry, and the Lay Ministry; and
the Synodical Convention Arrangements Committee.

Most of my time has been taken up with the colloquy
program for pastors, a review of which appears in the report of
the Board for Professional Education Services. In addition, it
has been my privilege to represent the synodical President on
several occasions such as at District conventions and in
various other assignments. Among these the President
requested me to monitor the dual membership situation and
seeming violations of the Synod’s position on unionistic
practices.

As the synodical President’s representative, I have also
assisted in the formulation of the contents of Lutheran
Worship; Lutheran Worship, Altar Book; and the forthcoming
Lutheran Worship Agenda, all of which were assigned to the
former Comission on Worship by the Synod in 1979 and 1981
respectively. This particular assignment has given me much
joy because of my previous work in church music and liturgics.

The Lord has blessed me with excellent health, a wonderful
wife and twin daughters, and a consecrated secretary, Mrs.
Joan Kohlmeier, without whose competence and administra-
tive abilities my work would have been seriously hampered.
For this and for all His blessings I thank Him who meets all our
needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To Him
be glory forever and ever. Amen (Phil. 4:19-20).

Robert C. Sauer, First Vice-President

4-03

Report of Secretary of Synod
I.

From the very beginning the Synod included in its Consti-
tution the Office of Secretary, listing it immediately after the
President and Vice-President. Together with other constitu-
tional officers, the Secretary is a servant of the congregations
of the Synod.

Shortly after the turn of the century the position had
become, for all practical purposes, a full-time position. For that
reason the clergyman who held the position was given assist-
ance in the form of a full-time vicar and secretary.

The Survey Commission, in its 1962 report, concluded that
the position should indeed be made full time and should be
located at synodical headquarters. After the present incumbent
had completed his first four-year term in 1969 on the previous
basis, serving also as a parish pastor in Dundee, III., it was
concluded in 1969 that the change should finally be made. The
resolution implementing that recommended change stated:
“The office of the Secretary should remain a separate and
distinct office and not be a staff position.”

This decision of the Board of Directors asking the incumbent
to move the office to St. Louis was subsequently reviewed and
approved by the Milwaukee convention in 1971.

Il.

Since the Secretary of the Synod operates mainly as a “back
room” officer and is usually not up front before the public, it is
not generally understood what his functions are. Under the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod the synodical Secretary
fills essentially four secretarial positions:

125

1. Secretary of the Synod. This involves the customary
duties of a corporation secretary with respect to the develop-
ment and custody of documents, the handling of much corres-
pondence, telephone calls, etc. Many hours arespent consulting
with other officers and with staff at synodical headquarters
and with others in the field, particularly District Presidents.
Involved in this function are also the extremely detailed
responsibilities with reference to the biennial conventions of
the Synod. The Secretary is in charge of all preconvention
registration procedures, functions as editor of the Convention
Workbook, edits Today's Business, is deeply involved in struc-
turing the agenda of the convention, serves in the customary
capacity of a secretary during the convention, takes care of
letters of notification of election and other correspondence
flowing from convention actions, and edits the Convention
Proceedings. He is designated as an advisory person to con-
vention planning committees. He also has the responsibility of
being a channel for official notices in the official periodicals.

2. Secretary of the Board of Directors. In this capacity the
Secretary is of course responsible to the Board of Directors. The
board now meets on a quarterly basis with an agenda which
usually fills a large-size ring binder plus additional materials.
Minutes are extensive. Some 75 letters must be sent after each
meeting, together with several hundred carbon copies, to those
most directly affected by the actions taken by the board. One of
the ongoing responsibilities is that of keeping current the large
manual of policy statements adopted from time to time by the
board. Additions and revisions are transmitted after almost
every meeting of the board to all boards and commissions of
the Synod and also at times to Districts and to other entities
when they are involved in such statements.

3. Secretary of the Commission on Constitutional Matters.
This important assignment given by the Synod in the Hand-
book is a logical assignment since the secretary of an organiza-
tion is usually expected to be very familiar with its Constitution
and Bylaws. In this capacity he prepares the agenda, takes the
minutes, relays the actions of the commission, maintains
copies of and indexes all opinions, which now fill several file
drawers, carries on correspondence between meetings on the
basis of past opinions of the commission, and bears the
primary share of work and responsibility in revising the
Handbook every two years to incorporate the changes intro-
duced by the convention. This is one of the most important
responsibilities of the Secretary.

4. Secretary of the Council of Administrators. The council
consists of the officers and chief administrators at the synod-
ical headquarters. In addition to the keeping of minutes and
some correspondence, the principal responsibility here is one of
long and frequent meetings. He is also charged with developing
the agenda for the approval of the President. The council meets
at least once each month; the morning is usually devoted toa
joint meeting with all senior staff members.

The President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Admini-
strative Officer of the Board of Directors, and other individuals
are charged with far-ranging responsibilities. At times all of
these individuals may appear to the casual observer to be
involved in some conflict of interest. But closer examination
will usually reveal that this is not a conflict of interest, but
rather a congruence of interest. There are certain responsibili-
ties which are simply a natural part of the responsibilities of
the various offices.

Ill.

In addition to his fourfold secretarial responsibility, the
Constitution and Bylaws place further responsibilities on the
Secretary of the Synod.

It is perhaps only natural that the Synod has resolved that
the synodical Secretary should be a member of the Board of
Governors of Concordia Historical Institute, which serves as
the archives and as the memory of the Synod.