LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 135

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ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION 135

K. Staff Development Program. The board is continuing
this program, now also on the secretarial and clerical level.

L. Constitutional Amendments. The board received the
report that the constitutional amendments passed by the 1981
synodical convention had been approved by more than the
required two-thirds of the congregations participating in the
balloting.

M. Video. The board took steps to explore with the AAL the
possibility of a parish/family based video communications
program.

N. Council of Administrators. As provided for in the
Bylaws, the board appointed various members of the council to
represent boards and commissions not directly represented on
the council.

O. Unempioyment Compensation. The board requested the
Board of Managers of the Worker Benefit Plans to study the
possibility of some type of unemployment compensation
program for workers in the church.

P. Special Emphasis Days. Considerable concern was
expressed that special Sundays were interfering with the
liturgical calendar of the church. The board decided that
instead of Sundays being designated as special Sundays, the
device of special emphasis should be employed. It adopted a
calendar for such special emphases both for 1982 and 1983.

Q. Foundation. On several occasions during the biennium
the voting members of the Board of Directors met as the
members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Founda-
tion. A separate report is being submitted by the foundation.

R. Synodical Insurance Program. The question of introduc-
ing a Synodwide insurance program was pursued and progress
made during the past two years.

S. Child Evangelism. A special children’s effort to raise the
necessary funds to develop another “This Is the Life” episode
focusing on child evangelism was authorized.

T. Church Work Student. Together with the Board for
Professional Education Services, the Board of Directors
struggled with defining more precisely ‘church work student”
status at our colleges and seminaries.

U. Orientation. In view of the major restructuring of the
Synod, orientation sessions were held following the 1981
convention for the various elected boards in September and the
appointed boards in January. This may become a regular
procedure in view of the benefits achieved.

V. Loans from Forward in Remembrance. A resolution was
adopted that, upon recommendation of the FIR steering
committee, the Board of Directors authorize loans from FIR to
the Synod for the operating deficit, if needed, without interest,
subject to annual review, while the Synod’s stewardship
programs are being developed and implemented.

W. Special Appeal. The board authorized the hiring of a
qualified firm to conduct a study assessing the feasibility ofa
special financial appeal for the training of church workers, for
improved benefits for certain retired workers, for the elimina-
tion of the synodical debt, for the construction of the Inter-
national Center, and for other programs of ministry of the
Synod. A report and recommendation may be available at the
time of the convention.

X. National Lutheran Parent Teachers League. This organ-
ization was granted “‘listed service organization” status. The
Ongoing Ambassadors for Christ had already been granted
this status.

Y. Social Ministry. In response to our government’s appeal,
the board supported a call to the church for a renewed
dedication to social ministry.

Z. Housing Assistance for New Staff Members. Since this is
a pressing problem at the present time, the board considered
various approaches and took some limited actions.

AA. Concordia, Milwaukee, Campus. In a major action the
Board of Directors purchased for $7,100,000 from sources
outside the operating budget a developed property in Mequon,
Wis. for use as its campus by Concordia College in Milwaukee
and for other uses. Studies for the utilization of the complete
plant are still under way.

BB. Irvine. The Board of Directors accepted with thanks a
very generous gift of $300,000 for a chapel at Irvine.

CC. Legal Relationships. The board authorized the legal
counsel to conduct a study in depth regarding legal relation-
ships with component parts of the Synod and vulnerability in
salary administration policies and in other matters.

DD. Nehemiah Project. The Board of Directors authorized
interest free loans from sources outside the operating budget
totaling $1 million for the Nehemiah Project in East Brooklyn,
N.Y., a unique project designed to undergird the Gospel witness
of our congregations in that blighted urban area. These funds
will be repaid. Other churches have contributed similar loans
to create a total loan fund of $10 million to keep construction
costs down while the city of New York itself has set up an
interest-free loan fund of $12 million for the benefit of the
purchasers of these single family dwellings. The project is
regarded as a model and will be watched closely by many civil
authorities as well as church leaders.

EE. Inter-Lutheran Activities. The board endorsed the
concept of Dr. Bohlmann’s proposal for a new inter-Lutheran
association.

FF. Treasurer. In keeping with its Bylaw responsibility the
Board of Directors resolved to nominate Dr. Norman Sell as
Treasurer of the Synod; additional nominations may be made
from the floor.

GG. Policy re Full-Time Church Workers. A major study will
be initiated to determine whether more safeguards need to be
developed for the recruitment, certification, placement, and
movement of full-time church workers. This concern has
resulted from some legal actions of the past few years.

HH. Funding of Seminaries and Colleges. The board

adopted the following resolution and decided to report it in its
entirety to the 1983 synodical convention:

WHEREAS, Recent surveys reaffirm that the funding of the
seminaries is one of the highest priority programs to be funded
by the Synod; and

WHEREAS, To insure proper allocation of funds to the
seminaries, many are encouraging that the Board for Profes-
sional Education Services be separated into two boards—one
for seminaries and the other for colleges; and

WHEREAS, Such a separation would make it more difficult to
operate the Synod’s colleges and seminaries as a “‘system of
higher education”; and

WHEREAS, Separate funding of seminaries and colleges
could be handled through revising the Board of Directors’
budgeting policies; therefore be it

Resolved, That effective with the 1983—84 fiscal year, the
Board allocate to the BPES three separate budget amounts as
follows:

1. Administration of Professional Education Services
2. Seminary support
3. College support; and be it further

Resolved, That no transfers be made between these budgets
without the approval of the Board of Directors.

It also authorized the creation of a position of seminary
resource counselor with responsibility for conducting seminary
development activities and a position of college resource
counselor with responsibility for coordinating as much as
possible the development to be done by the respective colleges.

II. Black Ministry Endowment Fund. The board asked the
Board for Professional Education Services to establish from its
endowment funds a Black Ministry Endowment Fund of
$50,000, the earnings of which initially shall be available for
financial aid for qualified Black church work students. The
Commission on Black Ministry was also encouraged to raise
funds for this purpose to add to the initial $30,000 corpus.

JJ. Other Items. The board concurred with the BPES to
develop new procedures to review budget requests from colleges
and seminaries; revised policy regarding reimbursement for
moving expenses; made available payroll deductions for indivi-
dual retirement accounts for employees; authorized the