LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 160

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160

RESOLUTIONS

tradition and history of the current 35 districts of Synod . The
Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance
recognized the importance and immensity of this part of our
structure and recommended that a special task force be convened by the President of the Synod to work in consultation
with Synod’s Board of Directors and the Council of Presidents .
Whereas, Many expectations are put upon the districts
to provide support and resources to advance God’s kingdom
through healthy congregations . In an effort to bring the Synod
closer to the congregations, districts may become the primary
leaders in providing services (youth, stewardship, education,
and outreach), coordinating North American mission efforts,
leading North American human care ministries, providing
ministerial growth and support services, and giving worship
guidance and leadership; and
Whereas, “The Synod decides when and whether a district
shall be formed, divided, realigned, or merged with another or
other districts, or dissolved; determines the boundaries of a district; and approves the name of a district” (Bylaw 4 .1 .1 .3); and
Whereas, Any proposal for reconfiguration of districts initiated by the national convention of the Synod shall “include a
substantiated description of the nonviable aspects of the current district(s) on the basis of general principles of viability
adopted from time to time by conventions of the Synod, and
shall specify the problems or factors which make the adoption of the proposal advisable or necessary” (Bylaw 4 .1 .1 .3
[b] [3]); and
Whereas, General principles of viability have never been
adopted by conventions of the Synod; and
Whereas, A proposal for reconfiguration of districts is
to “provide a specific and realistic development plan for the
proposed district(s), including detailed proposals for staff personnel and financial operations” (Bylaw 4 .1 .1 .3 [b] [5]); and
Whereas, There is a need for careful, thoughtful, and
unbiased study of the function, size, and configuration of the
districts of the Synod; and
Whereas, The Atlantic, Eastern, New England, and New
Jersey districts have indicated their willingness to participate
as pilot districts for recommendations coming from a special
task force on district configuration, size, and function; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2010 LCMS convention direct the
President of the Synod to convene a special task force to
work in consultation with the Council of Presidents and the
Synod’s Board of Directors to submit to the next Synod convention a recommendation that includes, but is not limited to,
the following:
• General principles of viability for a district as called
for in Bylaw 4 .1 .1 .3 (b) (3);
• The purpose and function of a district;
• Recommendations to improve efficiency and coordination between the Synod and districts and among the
districts, including possible changes in the number and
configuration of districts; and
2010 Convention Proceedings

• An implementation plan for any recommended changes
that will address staff personnel and financial operations, as called for in Bylaw 4 .1 .1 .3 (b) (5) .
and be it further
Resolved, That after the task force has completed its study
and determined the principles of viability, purpose, and function of a district, it be encouraged to work closely with the
Atlantic, Eastern, New England, and New Jersey districts in a
pilot program for implementing its recommendations for district configuration; and be it further
Resolved, That the work of the task force be done with great
care and sensitivity to the history and tradition of current districts, working cooperatively and collegially with each district;
and be it finally
Resolved, That the task force consist of 15 members:
• Appointed by the President of the Synod in consultation with the Board of Directors and the Council of
Presidents:
• Two representatives (one lay and one rostered member of Synod) from each of the five geographical
regions under the current district groupings of the
Council of Presidents
• One district executive
• One member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on
Synod Structure and Governance
• One member of the Commission on Constitutional
Matters (CCM) selected by the CCM
• One district president chosen by the Council of
Presidents
• The Chief Mission Officer of the Synod
Action: Adopted (5)
(Res . 8-07 was introduced by the committee after replacing the
word “individual” with “rostered” in the final resolve . During discussion, an amendment was proposed to change “15” to “19” in
the first line of the final resolve and to add an additional bullet:
“One representative from the Atlantic, Eastern, New England, and
New Jersey districts as appointed by their district presidents .” The
motion to amend was defeated [Yes: 372; No: 752] . An amendment to change “15” to “16” in the same final resolve and to delete “One district president chosen by the Council of Presidents”
from that resolve, replacing it with “The district presidents of the
non-geographic districts” was also defeated [Yes: 474; No: 663] . A
proposed amendment to replace the third bullet in the first resolve,
“Based upon the principles of viability, purpose, and function of a
district, a recommendation for the number and configuration of districts” with new wording “Recommendations to improve efficiency
and coordination between the Synod and districts and among the
districts, including possible changes in the number and configuration of districts” was accepted as a friendly amendment . A motion
to amend the second resolve by replacing the words “the Atlantic,
Eastern, New England, and New Jersey districts” with “one district
from each of the five regions” was defeated [Yes: 234; No: 923] .
Res . 8-07 was adopted as changed [Yes: 693; No: 474] .)