LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1992, Page 134

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

134 , RESOLUTIONS

sheet, income statement, and flow of funds and program
budget summary be included in official publications such
as the Lutheran Witness,” was declined. An amendment
calling for replacement of point 4 with the words, That it
make all information concerning payments made to specific
vendors, individuals, and litigation, was also declined.)

To Affirm Our Synod’s Accounting
Procedure and Fiscal Operations

RESOLUTION 4-07
Overture 4-16 (CW, p. 223)

Wuereas, The right to inspect financial and/or other

and

Wuereas, It has been a longstanding policy of our syn-
odical Board of Directors to provide disclosure to members
of the Synod on request; and

Wuereas, Ernst & Young, an independent, respected
auditing firm has examined the books, records, and ac-
counting procedures of the Synod and has found that these

‘areas meet or exceed good and accepted accounting and .

control principles; and

Wuereas, Accounting procedures are governed by cer-
tain rules and practices, while actual budget process and
classification of expenditures can be subjective in nature;
and

Wuereas, It is a healthy and desirable process to ques-
tion, reexamine, and discuss the subjective areas of pro-
gram and finance; and

Wuereas, There will be occasions, when addressing
subjective material, that an impasse can result; and

Wuereas, There are occasions where it becomes evident
' that a prolonged pursuit of the unresolved impasse no
longer serves the best interest of the mission of the church;
and

Wuereas, In a particular situation involving Mr. Edwin
Hinnefeld, originating in conjunction with the 1989 con-
vention and subsequent resolution of these concerns at the
1989 convention by Res. 4-04, and the fact that in a joint
statement with the Board of Directors Mr. Hinnefeld
agreed that he “supports Resolution 4-04 which supports

the Board of Directors decisions” (ref: minutes of the con- _

vention); and

Wuereas, Subsequent to the convention, other meet-
ings were held and information was shared with Mr. Hin-
nefeld, and apparently the impasse remains; therefore be
it ,

Resolved, That the Synod in convention recognize that
the officers and the Board of Directors of the Synod have
complied with the Synod’s policy of disclosure; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention recognize the
possibility of horiest disagreement in our church with the
decisions of elected and appointed boards and committees;
and be it finally .

Resolved, That the Synod in convention affirm the in-
tegrity of our Synod’s accounting procedures and fiscal op-

records of the Synod belongs to all members of the Synod;

erations and therefore encourage this church to move on
in Christian fellowship and trust. :

Action: Adopted as amended (12).

(In the last resolve, the words at the end, “and through
existing procedures and get on with our mission,” were
deleted and the words, and trust, were added by common
consent.) ‘

To Reaffirm Board of Directors Policy
in Regard to Litigation ,
RESOLUTION 4-08
Overture 4-33 (CW, pp. 229-30)

Preamble:

During the past several years the Synod has been in-
volved in several lawsuits, raising a question of the Synod’s
policy regarding litigation. As a result, the Floor Commit-
tee on Program and Finance has reviewed the policy pre-
viously adopted by the Board of Directors (Policy
Statement F-1).

The policy states in part:
The Board of Directors recognizes that participation
in litigation by the Synod, including by an agency of
the Synod, may have a deleterious effect on the
Synod as a church organization, and that litigation
must, therefore, be entered into only when it has
been responsibly determined that such is likely to
serve the best interests of the Synod, and when all
synodical avenues for conflict resolution have been
exhausted,

and further states:

The Synod’s general counsel shall obtain the ap-

proval of the Board of Directors, or in case of in-

junctive relief as to which time does not permit
obtaining a decision by the full board, by the Exec-
utive Committee of the Board of Directors, in all sit-
uations in which the Synod commences litigation

against another party. ,

The committee finds that this policy meets the needs

of the Synod.

Resolved, That the Synod in convention reaffirm the
policy of the Board of Directors as it applies to litigation.

Action: Adopted (12).

To Address Increased Funding
for Church-Worker Students

RESOLUTION 4-09
Overtures 6-06-09, 6-11-12 (CW, pp. 270-72)

Wuereas, Implementation of our Synod’s Mission Blue-
print for the Nineties may create a shortage of synodically
educated pastors,.teachers; and other professional church
workers; and

Wuereas, Enrollments of church-work students in syn-
odical schools have decreased significantly, due in part to
the high cost of such education and dramatic reductions