LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 84

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84 RESOLUTIONS

b. enable boards and commissions of the Synod to be
faithful to the New Testament concept of healing as basic
to mission and ministry;

c. offer professional counsel and competent assistance to
the boards and commissions of the Synod in establishing and
operating programs and institutions involved with Christian
concern for health and healing in North America or over-
seas;

d. stimulate interest among the Synod’s youth to choose
careers in the healing professions, provide counsel and guid-
ance, and administer a scholarship fund for those in training;
assist in recruitment of health-related personnel; help to
provide specific preservice training for professional people
preparatory to church-related medical: work at home and
abroad;

e. relate to all commissions and agencies, church-spon-
sored or church-related, and make available its competence
and concern for the healing ministry. The council may also
initiate or respond to coordinating efforts with other individ-
uals and institutions which are involved in God’s healing
work;

f. serve as spokesman for The Lutheran Church — Mis-
souri Synod in its concerns about health and healing to other
groups, agencies, foundations, governments, and the like;

g. provide a channel of communication to professional
people involved in Christian medical work abroad and at
home and to the Synod and its administrative units. It shall
speak in behalf of the Synod and its administration to people
in Christian medical work. To this end it shall provide a
publication primarily for these audiences.

8.73 Secretary for Medical Work

The Secretary for Medical Work of the Board for Missions
shall be appointed by the Board for Missions upon recom-
mendation of the Council for Christian Medical Work. He
shall serve in a staff relationship to the council but shall be
administratively responsible to the Executive Secretary of
the Board for Missions.

17.07 Relationship to the Synod

The Lutheran Medical Mission Association is recognized
as a service group within the Synod to cooperate with the
Council for Christian Medical Work and with the Secretary
for Medical Work of the Board for Missions.

Action: Adopted in form given above (16).
(8.71a was amended to have the Board of Directors

rather than the President do the appointing. The inclusion
of LCUSA in 8.71d was accepted by the committee.)

To Commend and Support
Board for Missions and Missionaries
RESOLUTION 1-24
Report 1-01 (CW, pp. 1—49)

Wuereas, God has greatly blessed our church with
the gift of dedicated and capable men to serve on the
Board for Missions and as missionaries in our world-
wide outreach; and

Wuereas, The report of the Board for Missions dem-
onstrates this dedication in terms of faithfulness, on-
going plans, and vision for the future as exemplified in
the lives of its workers; therefore be it

Resolved, That we thank and commend the Board
for Missions for its report and faithfulness to the
church’s mission; and be it further

Resolved, That we encourage them to persevere in
the work which they have begun; and be it further

Resolved, That we thank God for the gift of the peo-
ple of God who as God’s epistles speak and live the

Gospel of Christ to God’s people wherever they are;
and be it finally

Resolved, That we ask God’s continued blessing upon
their labors and pray that He continue to hold up their
hands so that all they do and say may be to His glory
and our good.

Action: Adopted (16).

2. THEOLOGICAL MATTERS

To Answer Concerns re Authorship of
Pentateuch and Book of Isaiah

RESOLUTION 2-01

Overtures 2-09 to 2-18 (CW, pp. 75—76)

Wuereas, The Synod in the Detroit convention, Reso-
lution 2-35 (Proceedings, 1965, p. 103), has spoken forth-
rightly and wisely on the “Authorship of the Pentateuch
and the Book of Isaiah”:

Resolved, That the Synod answer these questions by
appealing to what the Scriptures themselves say, as for
example: “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have
believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his
writings, how shall ye believe My words?” (John 5: 46-47;
cf. Luke 24:27). “And He stood up to read; and there was
given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah” (Luke 4: 16-
17; cf. Matt. 4:14-16; Rom. 10:16-20). Thus the Scriptures
ascribe the Pentateuch and the Book of Isaiah to Moses
and Isaiah respectively. The Scriptures do not in so many
words ascribe the human authorship exclusively to these
men, but neither do they in so many words negate these
conclusions; and be it further

Resolved, That while we uphold the importance of the
human authorship of the Scriptures, even though the
human author of each book cannot be ascertained, we
recognize that divine authorship is the dominant factor
in the origin of the Bible, as the Synod emphasizes in the
statement it adopted in 1959 (Proceedings, p.189): “We
condemn and reject any and all teachings and statements
that would limit the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scrip-
ture or that deny the divine authorship of certain por-
tions of Scripture” (Statement on Scripture, 1958); and
be it finally

Resolved, That in our preaching and teaching we do
not bind consciences by saying more than the Scriptures
say on these matters, and that, on the other hand, we
warn against the use of theories regarding the authorship
of Isaiah and the Pentateuch which detract from or nullify
the divine authority of these books.

and

WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church
Relations is continuing the study of this question; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the concerns of these overtures have
been and are being met; and be it also

Resolved, That the authors of these overtures direct
any further concerns or questions in this matter to the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations.

Action: Adopted (10).

To Urge Concern for Continued Exercise
of Doctrinal Discipline
RESOLUTION 2-02

Overture 2-03 (CW, pp. 72—73)
Wuereas, Concern is expressed that the Synod be