LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 56

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56 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

tivity is presented elsewhere in this Workbook.

Vice-President Mennicke and I have introduced plans
to visit with all District presidents and their staffs on an
individual and regular basis during each triennium. We
believe such visits, which heretofore have taken place on
an ad hoc basis, will do much to strengthen the already
strong ties between the District and national offices of the
Synod.

Ecclesiastical supervision. The Synod has assigned to
the President of the Synod “the supervision regarding the
doctrine and administration of

a. all officers of the Synod;

b. all such as are employed by the Synod;

ce. the individual Districts of the Synod;

d. all District Presidents” (Constitution, Art. XI, B).

The Synod has assigned the direct responsibility for su-
pervising the doctrine, life, and administration of pastors
and teachers to the respective District presidents, who are
also charged with the responsibility of inquiring and ac-
quainting themselves with the prevailing spiritual condi-
tions of the congregations in their Districts (Constitution,
Art. 12; Bylaw 4.73). The Synod has further assigned ec-
clesiastical supervisory responsibility to the presidents of
our colleges and seminaries. It is the responsibility of the
synodical President, assisted by the Vice-Presidents, to su-
pervise, support, and encourage these supervisors. It
should also be noted that the President always has the
power “to advise, admonish, and reprove,” but he does not
have the authority to remove people from office. In other
words, supervision of doctrine and practice in the Synod
is highly structured and quite de-centralized.

The Vice-Presidents and I have been very careful to
follow through on every complaint, question, or reported
irregularity by asking the appropriate District President
to make sure that the Synod’s doctrine and policies are
being carried out. In addition, my office regularly monitors
all dockets, agendas, reports, and publications of all syn-
odical boards, commissions, Districts, and institutions.
When problems or concerns are of a more general nature,
meetings of the Council of Presidents and other groups
provide opportunities for positive counsel and encour-
agement.

District Presidents annually provide the synodical Pres-
ident with a detailed report on activities within their Dis-
tricts. Included in these reports is accurate information on
a number of problem cases being dealt with. In addition,
the Vice-Presidents and I, on occasion, meet with individ-
ual District Presidents to discuss individual cases and pro-
vide encouragernent. In some cases, Vice-Presidents have
joined a District President in meeting with pastors or con-
gregations experiencing difficulties in the area of doctrine
or practice. I am pleased to report that our District Pres-
idents have willingly and effectively addressed these su-
pervisory responsibilities, and are conscientiously working
with a number of pastors and congregations at any given
time to correct perceived problems. By their very nature,
such problems need to be addressed privately, personally,
and professionally and cannot be reported in various Dis-
trict or synodical publications. The following areas of doc-
trinal 1210) of. particular importance for the

President Bohimann

1. District Presidents report that approximately 250
pastors on our clergy roster have experienced a broken
marriage. Seventeen divorces occurred among our clergy
in 1988, 24 in 1987. The Council of Presidents prepared
guidelines to assist each other in dealing with marital
crises involving the clergy and have spent a great deal of
time and effort in this troublesome area.

2. District reports indicate that 52 congregations have
a woman serving as chairman and that women serve as
elders in 79 congregations. In several cases, the term elder
has been defined in ways that are intended to avoid vio-
lating the Synod’s position, and in some cases the respon-
sibilities of the chair are not considered to entail an
exercise of spiritual authority. Approximately 80 percent
of the Synod’s congregations have women suffrage, a prac-
tice permitted by the Synod since 1969 and reaffirmed sev-
eral times since then. Even so, a few congregations
continue to report disagreements over this issue. Other
worship activities by women, such as assisting with the
distribution of Holy Communion or reading the Scripture
lessons, continue to raise questions in various parts of the
Synod. The Council of Presidents intends to discuss these
questions in its fall meetings in an effort to assist pastors
and congregations to make responsible decisions in these
areas,

3. District reports indicate that there are 24 congre-
gations in which so-called charismatic gifts are used pub-
licly and that there are 73 pastors practicing such gifts as
well. In this area, to be sure, precise definition of terms is
very difficult. Although these figures are considerably
lower than those published by leaders of the charismatic
movement, continuing effort to insure sound doctrine and
practice is obviously required. District Presidents report
that they are working with all such cases to ensure that
the Synod’s position is honored and upheld.