LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1992, Page 60

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60 . REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

odical officer, board member, or staff person who takes civil
action against the Syned or any of its entities, or who ad-
vises another member of the Synod to take civil action
against the Synod or any of its entities, shall thereby forfeit
his office, board membership, or staff position.

Integrated Planning

I recommend that the convention clearly state that all
entities of the Synod, including those that are separately
incorporated, are held to coordinate and integrate their
general! plans and directions with those of the Synod, and
that this take place under the general supervision of the
synodical Board of Directors.

Streamlining and Focusing Conventions

I recommend that the Synod provide for a'study, with
recommendations to the next synedical cénvention, on how
-we might streamline synodical conventions and focus them
more effectively on the mission and ministry of the church
without losing our traditional concern for full congrega-
tional representation and democratic decision-making.

Conclusion

As extensive as the above organizational and admin-
istrative activities may be, they do not begin to portray
the most essential dimension of our beloved Synod’s life
and work, namely, the preaching of the Gospel and the
administration of the sacraments and the resulting min-
istry of witness, nurture, and service in and through all
the congregations of our church body. Even so, the admin-
istrative structure of our Synod, cumbersome and complex
though it may be at times, has proved to be a valuable
means for supporting, undergirding, and implementing the
mission that the Lord of the ‘church carries out through
the congregations of the Synod. How richly He has blessed
our church body throughout the years with sound doctrine,
a great heart for missions, and a spirit of commitment and
caring among its wonderful people! What a privilege it has
been for me, again this past triennium, to serve the Synod
and its many Districts, boards, commissions, congrega-
tions, and individual members in our mutual efforts to
“Tell Everyone What He Has Done!” I am deeply grateful
to the many co-workers in the synodical organization as
well as the congregations of the Synod for supporting that
work with their prayers and personal involvements. May
the Lord of the church give us great boldness, in the con-
vention and beyond, as we continue to “Tell Everyone What
HE Has Done!”

Appendix A

A Fraternal Plea

As we minister together, may God help us to do the
following:

a. Work hard to create and sustain a climate of mutual
trust and respect among our pastors

b. Encourage our pastors to study (and help their mem-
bers study) our church relations policies and practices
with a view to achieving greater consistency, respon-
sibility, and appropriate flexibility ‘

c. Help our pastors and congregations achieve greater

consistency in understanding and following our “close
Communion” position

d. Handle cases of clergy divorce and immorality in a
strong, pastoral, and consistent manner

e. Expect and encourage our congregations to honor and
uphold our Synod’s position on the service of women
in the church

f. Work to discontinue, with understanding, all unionistic
worship services and involvements of pastors and
congregations

g. Send clear and consistent signals that we expect all
pastors and congregations to honor and uphold the
Synod’s position on the charismatic movement and its
theology

h. Let our people know that we are indeed carrying out -
our responsibilities to exercise evangelical discipline in
the church

i, Let our love, prayer, forgiveness, and support for one
another be so visible that we provide a ready example
for our people :

Appendix B

Discussions between Representatives of
“the Synod and “Renewal in Missouri” |

A Report to the President of the Synod
A. Background

In August 1988, President Ralph Bohlmann referred to
the Commission on Theology and Church Relations three
documents distributed by “Renewal in Missouri” (RIM),
with the request that the CTCR determine whether po-
sitions taken in these materials are “consistent with the
doctrinal stance of the Synod.” The CTCR completed its
review of the RIM materials in February 1989 and con-
cluded that there are “statements in the RIM materials
which, despite RIM’s stated intention, are, in the judgment
of the Commission, not consistent with the doctrinal po-
sition of the Synod” (1989 Convention Workbook, p. 66; see
“An Evaluation of RIM Materials,” pp. 66-68).

In response to the CTCR’s evaluation and conclusions,
the Synod adopted Resolution 3-15 “To Encourage Study
of ’An Evaluation of Some RIM Materials’ "at its 1989 con-
vention. In this resolution the Synod asked “that the Pres-
ident of the Synod facilitate discussion with representative
RIM pastors with a view toward a God-pleasing resolution
of differences.” President Bohlmann, in keeping with this
request, convened a meeting Dec. 3-4, 1990, of represen-
tatives of the Synod and of RIM. Two additional meetings
were held, Sept. 5-6, 1991 and dan. 23-24, 1992.

As a result of these discussions, the representatives of
the Synod and RIM have been able to draw up the following
“affirmations” and “rejects” which address areas of biblical
teaching in which disagreement and/or lack of clarity has
existed in the past. These statements represent, in our
judgment, some progress in the resolution of differences
between the position of the Synod regarding “charismatic”
teaching and positions of RIM. .

Nevertheless, it has also become clear that there remain
some crucial points of disagreement with specific reference