LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1986, Page 22

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22 MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

portunities will be given for them to address the convention
later. Numerous telegrams and other messages were re-
ceived, and President Bohlmann read from letters received
from William Hudnutt III, mayor of Indianapolis, and Rob-
ert D. Orr, governor of the State of Indiana. President
Bohlmann also read a letter from Ronald Reagan, presi-
dent of the United States.

Dr. Bohlmann introduced the following individuals: Dr.
Robert Sauer, First Vice-President of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod; Dr. Walter A. Maier, Second
Vice-President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod;
Dr. George Wollenburg, Third Vice-President of The Lu-
theran Church—Missouri Synod; Dr. Walter L. Rosin, Sec-
retary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; Dr.
Orville C. Walz, assistant secretary for this convention;
Dr. Herbert Mueller, convention chaplain; Mrs. Mabel
Stickel, convention parliamentarian, who is serving in this
capacity for the sixth time.

Convention Housekeeping

Mr. Marvin Siebels, convention manager, introduced lo-
cal convention leaders, thanking them for their important
contributions. Mr. Siebels also took care of other house-
keeping items, such as the new system to be used involving
microphones, seating arrangements, and special events.
The convention manager’s office is in room 108 in the Con-
vention Center.

President’s Report, Part LI

President Ralph Bohlmann welcomed all to the conven-
tion, and reminded us of the important task we share in
bringing the life of Christ to the nations. He reminded the
convention that the first two parts of his report have al-
ready been printed and disseminated; Part I, dealing with
organization and administration, is found on pages 165—-
173 of the Convention Workbook, and Part II is found in
Section A of Today’s Business, pages 23-27. He also in-
dicated that some addenda had been sent to various floor
committees. Dr. BohImann underscored certain emphases
in his report, plus opportunities for the convention to pro-
vide leadership for The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod. He reviewed some of the Synod’s expectations of
the presidential office. The office of President of the Synod
is a pastoral office, primarily serving in a spiritual way.
The President of the Synod is a minister, preaching, teach-
ing, and building people up. He administers when neces-
sary. Dr. Bohlmann stressed the important roles of the
district presidents, and he expressed thankfulness and ap-
preciation to the synodical vice-presidents. Dr. Lavalais
and Dr. Hyatt, who were called to their eternal home since
the last convention, as well as Montana District president
Harold Huber and former Manitoba and Saskatchewan
District president Dr. Philip Fry, will be remembered in a
worship service later in the convention.

President Bohlmann indicated that Bylaw changes
made in 1981 added some new responsibilities to the Office
of President and also removed some. One area in which
this convention will be asked to find a solution involves
the matter of impasses reached regarding the appointment
of the executives of the Synod. President Bohlmann asked
the convention to provide assistance in important areas

such as church relations with other Lutherans. He ex-
pressed appreciation for previous contacts with the many
wonderful partner churches of the Synod throughout the
world, and expressed the hope that ways could be found
to strengthen these strong bonds in the future. He pointed
out that this convention will be asked to take action re-
garding our church in Argentina and in Canada.

We need to learn to cherish our past, so better to un-
derstand the present, and then move into our important
mission in the future. This is truly a Kairos for The Lu-
theran Church—Missouri Synod, an opportune time for us
to be faithfully alive in His mission. Dr. Bohlmann pointed
to the successful “Alive in Christ” program, which has re-
ceived commitments from members of the Synod totaling
in excess of $50 million.

There are serious problems and challenges ahead. In
many ways The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has
been on a no-growth plateau, and we currently lose ap-
proximately 50,000 members each year by backdoor losses.
A means must be found to allocate our financial resources
in the best way on all levels—local parishes, districts, and
synodical. Our love of and respect for each other needs to
be strengthened.

Dr. Bohlmann concluded his report with a quote from
Thomas Jefferson, “I like the dreams of the future better
than the deeds of the past.” We, too, can say this because
we are in God’s hands. The President’s report was con-
cluded with the singing of “In Christ We Are Alive.”

“In Christ We Are Alive”

A media presentation on the work of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod was given, using many members
of the Synod who are actively involved in our important
work.

Small-Group Reflections

The first table-talk had three main goals: (1) To help
us get acquainted; (2) Sharing of one’s faith with one an-
other, telling each other what it means to be “Alive in
Christ;” and (3) Sharing our chief expectations of this con-
vention of the Synod.

Standing Rules

Dr. Walter Rosin, Secretary of the Synod, presented the
proposed standing rules for the convention to the dele-
gates. They appeared on page 4 of Today’s Business. The
standing rules were accepted with the following changes:
(1) The words “the latest edition of” were inserted before
“Robert’s Rules of Order” in the last line of item 13, and
the deletion of “newly revised (1970 edition)” in the same
line; (2) Item 4 of the standing rules was amended to add
the words “and for the committee”; and (3) Proposed special
standing rule 8 was deleted. The convention decided not
to change proposed special standing rule 3.

Adoption of Slate for President

The chairman announced that the Elections Committee
may ask for permission to interrupt the convention for
balloting throughout the convention. Secretary Rosin pre-
sented the official slate for the office of President of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as found on page 4 of