LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 253

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3.43 M1]
To Send Observers to Sixth Plenary
Congress of International Council
of Christian Churches

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
has in the recent past sent observers to the World Coun-
ij of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, and
e Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council; and
Wuereas, If The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
eels that it needs to engage in such practices in order
"to keep its membership fully informed with respect to
‘all major events within Christendom, it should do this
‘without discrimination; and
Wuereas, “An anticipated 1,500 representatives of

more than 100 Bible-believing denominations from at
least seventy nations will give living testimony to Chris-
tian cooperation based on the Bible” at the sixth plenary
congress of the International Council of Christian
Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 5—11, 1965;
therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod send two (2) observers to the sixth plenary con-
gress of the International Council of Christian Churches.
and be it further
Resolved, That the Detroit convention elect these
observers; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Lutheran Witness publish the re-
ports of these two observers to the sixth plenary con-
gress of the International Council of Christian Churches.
Joun M. RHAME
CHRISTIAN JACOBSEN
Marvin ToLtson
ARNOLD F. PaascH
LeRoy CLAUSEN
(Members of St. John’s
Ev. Lutheran Church
of Clinton, Iowa)

[3-44 M]

To Amend Article XII of Constitution
of Lutheran Council in the U.S. A.
Resolved, That the title to Article XII of the consti-
tution of the Lutheran Council in the United States of
America be changed to read: “Financial Matters,” and
that a section be added as follows: “Section 3. No bor-
rowing in excess of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) shall be undertaken in behalf of the council
without approval by the participating bodies.”
Ouiver R. Harms
President of the Synod
[3-45]
Supplement to the Report
and Recommendations of the Commission
on Theology and Church Relations

This supplementary report, originally made available
to convention delegates as a separate printing, is desig-

4, SYNODICAL ADMINISTRATION 253

nated with a number in the regular sequence of reports
and overtures but for reasons of page makeup is re-
printed immediately after this section, pages 263—306.

4. Synodical Administration
[4-55 M]

To Authorize a Program of Emergency
Action . . . to Restore Purity of Scriptural
Doctrine Within the Synod, ete.

The undersigned herewith petitions the Synod, in
convention assembled at Detroit, June 16—26, 1965, to
authorize a program of emergency action designed, by
the grace of God, to halt the trend within the Synod
toward deterioration of doctrine and practice and to
restore purity of Scriptural doctrine within the Synod,
this program of emergency action to include the phases
outlined hereinunder.

I. The Synod, in convention assembled at Detroit,
June 16—26, 1965, shall authorize the setting up of an
intensive, ongoing program for the purpose of appeal-
ing to “the mercies of God” (Rom. 12:1) to beseech all
members of the Synod, especially the pastors, profes-
sors, teachers, and others holding office in the Synod,
its Districts, its institutions, its agencies, and its con-
gregations, when speaking or writing about the written
words of Scripture, to bring such speaking and writing
into conformity with the teachings and the examples
of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles and evan-
gelists, as well as the prophets of the Old Testament,
also one and all to become willing to learn from the
Lutheran Confessions and from the writings of Dr.
Martin Luther to treat the written words of Scripture
as the very words of God Himself (2 Tim. 3:16, 17;
2 Peter 1:21; John 17:8, 20; 10:35; 5:39, 46,47; Luke 11:
28; 16:29; 24:25, 44,45; Mark 7:10,13; Matt. 22:31; etc.).

A. The planning of this program shall be the re-
sponsibility of the emergency council proposed in this
petition under Section V.

B. In close consultation with the emergency council
proposed under Section V of this petition the President
of the Synod shall assign the various parts of this
program for execution.

Il. The Synod, in convention assembled at Detroit,
June 16—26, 1965, shall authorize the setting up of
a program of proper depth, extensiveness, and con-
tinuity to bring about, with the help of God, a Scrip-
tural response to the Scripture teachings that, when-
ever a question of Scripture teaching is at issue, every
believer ought to give expression to the teaching of
Scripture as it applies to the case at issue, without any
refusal to answer the question, without any compro-
mising of the teaching of Scripture, without double
talk, without evasion, without camouflaging, without
any equivocation whatsoever; for the Holy Spirit in the
written words of Scripture, which are the very words
of God Himself, teaches: