Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Page 379
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 379

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

SOCIAL ACTION AND WELFARE 379

We hope to produce a theology of Christian social
action that will give deeper insights and more helpful
guidelines than those which we have produced up to
this time.

The commission is anxious for the convention to af-
firm its relation to the Board of Social Ministry with
these objectives:

1) to focus the commission’s task as the enabling of

the church to play its proper role in community
welfare;

2) to make possible efficient and economical sharing
of professional staff.

James G. Manz, Chairman
Ricuarp R. CAEMMERER, Secretary
Eucene F. Kiuea

HERBERT W. David

JoHN A. FRASER

ELMER W. SCHROETER

RiIcHARD SPITZ

(9-02)

Report of Board of Social Ministry
THE WORD AND SOCIAL MINISTRY

The Word as the Foundation

From the beginning of time until the present day the
eternal Word, written and incarnate, has been the foun-
dation and basis for all Christian action in a society des-
perately in need of healing. From Cain’s impudent ques-
tion, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” through Judas’ de-
ceptive argument, “Why was not this gift sold and the
money used to help the poor?” until today’s pleading
query of the poor, “Where is the church?” the Word
remains the foundation for our ministry of help to the
victims of our broken world. Even as in 1950, when the
Synod officially created a Board of Social Welfare to
provide guidance and directions to our church, so today
when the world thinks that the church has lost its power
to give direction, we reaffirm the truth that it is the
powerful Word which still supports, undergirds, directs,
and gives meaning to all forms of the church’s ministry.

“In the Beginning Was the Word”

During the past year we were privileged to observe
100 years of organized compassion in our Synod. The
beginnings of our programs of services to people through
agencies, institutions, and societies, were related to the
Word. When Dr. J. F. Buenger in 1858 established a
hospital and in 1868 an orphanage; when Pastor Reinke
of Chicago in 1882 entered a contribution of 26 cents in
the financial records of Bethlehem Church for an old
people’s home; when Rev. F. Herzberger in St. Louis in
1899 made his rounds of the prison, the poorhouse, and
the insane asylum; when Dr. Henry F. Wind and Dr. E.
Buckley Glabe accepted the responsibility of developing
standards which would add competence to compassion
in welfare services—in all of these and many other
beginnings, Jesus Christ, the living Word, was in evi-
dence. Dr. F, Dean Lueking of Chicago has graphically

and interestingly described the developments of our
service programs in behalf of troubled people in his
book A Century of Caring, which was published by our
department in connection with the centennial. A free
copy for every congregation of our Synod was made
possible by special gifts which supplemented our own
budgetary involvement.

In response to our synodical resolution calling for all
congregations to note this significant milestone, the
board provided helps in the form of bulletin inserts, de-
scriptive folders, and sermonic helps. Appropriate arti-
cles in the Lutheran Witness, the Reporter, and the
Concordia Theological Monthly, as well as essays and
addresses at District conventions, provided our people
not only with a background of the working of the Word
in social ministry but a springboard from which the
church might move forward in applying the precepts
of the Word to society’s needs. A specially commissioned
drama by Rev. Robert Clausen, entitled “Let’s Give,”
continues to be used by congregations to stimulate mem-
bers to become involved in meeting the varied needs of
people.

In reviewing the century of social ministry we ac-
knowledge that it was the Word of God that brought
these programs into being even as it has provided the
power and the incentive for their continuance.

The Word as Energizer

As St.Paul reminded the church in Ephesus of its
responsibility to “equip the saints for their ministry”
(Eph. 4:12), he was mindful that the Holy Spirit work-
ing through the Word would provide the energy and
power that would enable the saints to effectively carry
out their ministry. (Acts 1:8)

To enable our District Boards of Social Ministry to
sensitize the social ministry committees within the con-
gregations, so that they might “equip the saints” for
their service activities, our staff has systematically
visited and consulted with 28 of our 35 Districts during
the past year. Prior to these consultations a “Self-eval-
uation Instrument” was fashioned and forwarded to all
District boards. This instrument, which reflects synodi-
cal policies and actions, was designed in accordance
with board and staff suggestions to assist District boards
in making an assessment of their strengths and weak-
nesses and then on the basis of this assessment to make
the corrections that would be of help to them in ful-
filling their ministry. Quite often the findings brought
to light by this method were also analyzed at the Dis-
trict meeting, and suggestions were offered to strengthen
and firm up the form and function of the board.

Generally the District consultations were geared to
three objectives: (1) to delineate in as broad a spec-
trum as possible, consistent with synodical resolutions
and board directives, the responsibilities of the District
Board of Social Ministry; (2) to offer assistance in pro-
gram planning to meet demonstrated need; and (3) to
assist in the implementation of the plans to meet the
needs. To fulfill these objectives, District boards needed
information. This resulted in the compilation of two