LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 65

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while encouraging more and more laity to carry out both
full- and part-time ministries.

By 1995, I believe our system of elementary and sec-
ondary schools will be even stronger than it is today,

ce ~ Jargely because of a stronger emphasis on evangelism and

8- ». the fact that a higher percentage of teachers will be syn-

38 * odically trained and certified.

e By 1995 our Concordia Publishing House will be more
~ widely recognized as the premier religious publisher in the

~ nation because the materials produced there are both ped-

~ agogically and theologically superior.

-. In short, by 1995, the LCMS will recognize itself—and
be recognized by others—as a church body whose congre-

7 gations are not only strong and lively, but central to the

- work of the Synod.

wee eee

3. Theology

By 1995, I believe The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod will continue to be the strongest confessional Lu-
theran church body in the world, not only in terms of size,
but in terms of the clarity and faithfulness of confessional
witness. Discussions over the ministry of women, inter-
Christian relationships, church and ministry, and other
topics will have helped the Synod to achieve an even
stronger theological consensus on the basis of the Word of
God than that which characterizes us today, and to do so
with a clear focus on the forgiveness of sins as the center
of the Biblical Gospel.

By 1995, our theological commitment will be expressed
through a stronger International Lutheran Conference of
confessional churches around the world, the publication of
major theological works, and strong graduate schools of
theology that equip many of the teachers of theology and
religion in seminaries and colleges around the world.

By 1995, Missouri’s conversations with other Lutherans
will have brought about closer ties with the Wisconsin and
Evangelical Lutheran Synods, and many in the ELCA, too,
will look upon us and our position with increasing favor.
In short, as we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary
in 1997, we will do so by praising God for the continuing
strong theological convictions of our members.

4, Funding

By 1995, the people of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod will be providing as much as one-third more finan-
cial resources for the total work of the church at congre-
gational, District, national, and international levels.
Although a wide variety of successful stewardship pro-
grams will be readily available to each congregation
through the many networks and linkages that have been
established by District and national offices, it will be rec-
ognized that the key to better stewardship performance
lies in the cultivation of the spiritual faith and life of every
member of every congregation.

Moreover, by 1995, I see every dimension of the Synod
allocating financial resources in ways that reflect our mis-
sion and nurture priorities. As more and more individual
members have learned the joy of firstfruits giving, so more
congregations, Districts, and the Synod itself have allo-
cated their firstfruits for work beyond themselves. Bud-
geting processes at congregational, District, and national

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 65

levels will have learned to distinguish between mainte-
nance items, such as necessary administrative costs, and
mission and ministry items.

By 1995 or sooner, necessary maintenance costs for the
Synod and its Districts will be increasingly met by member
congregations through a proportionate or “fair share” sys-
tem, with the multiple mission and ministry challenges of
the church at every level being met by voluntary cove-
nanting for specific projects. Planned giving and special
giving will continue to be a major element in our total
stewardship effort, with the excellent efforts of the ’80s
already providing substantial resources beyond the regu-
lar Sunday offerings, thereby enabling the Synod to have
its mission opportunities, as well as its colleges and sem-
inaries, on a sound financial basis.

In short, by 1995 we will have made substantial prog-
ress both in giving more dollars for the Lord’s work and
in spending them for high priority mission and ministry
projects.

5. Organization and Leadership

By 1995, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod will
have made adjustments to its structure (without changing
its basic polity) in order to provide for broad representative
decision-making at every level, with decisions coming as
close to the action as possible, and with widespread own-
ership of the people in the process. Planning will be done
in coordinated ways, with parallel structures existing be-
tween national and District areas. Strong Districts will
continue to have considerable autonomy in providing lead-
ership within Districts, but the linkage between each Dis-
trict and the rest of Synod will be equally strong—in both
confessional and organizational solidarity. Synod’s tradi-
tional polity, with its decentralized, democratic decision-
making, will remain intact, but the national synodical of-
fices and structure will have taken on new importance and
appreciation for the entire Synod, not only because of the
success of networking and other relational ways of serving
congregations, but because Synod’s leaders exercise their
responsibilities evangelically, fraternally, and with full
and clear accountability to the congregations of the Synod.

6. Higher Education

By the mid-’90s, the Synod’s colleges and seminaries
will have begun to emerge from two decades of grave dif-
ficulty caused by inadequate resources and declining pop-
ulation growth. Solidly confessional seminaries will be
clearly in tune with congregational needs and will receive
more generous support from the synodical budget.

By 1995, adequate scholarship resources will enable
both colleges and seminaries to attract significantly more
minority students to prepare for church-work careers.
Seminaries will have completed a curriculum restudy and
revision which rightly underscores their essential role as
schools of theology, and not merely professional trade
schools for the teaching of technical ministerial skills—but
with greater attention to contemporary needs and oppor-
tunities enabled by an improved financial base. Seminary
faculty members, as servants of the Synod, will be seen as
teachers, not only of tomorrow’s pastors, but of today’s—