LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 23

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SYNOD REPORTS
unrestricted remittances from districts to the national Synod from
$60,000 to nearly $3,000,000.
Given these realities, I believe particular attention should be given
in this study to the advantages or disadvantages of forming districts
of more nearly comparable size, with more nearly equal capacity to
provide services, ministry resources, and mission support to the congregations in their districts than currently is the case. This study would
need to be conducted with great sensitivity to the tradition and history of each of the 35 districts of the Synod and with a clear intention
to work cooperatively and collegially with each district in determining how best to utilize the human and fiscal resources entrusted by
the people of God for work with, on behalf of, and beyond the congregations of our Synod.
Another recommendation in this section deals with the topic of
commissioned ministers of the Gospel and their vote at district and
Synod conventions. The main question is whether either the lay or
pastoral vote should be subject to any reduction by the election of
commissioned ministers from either category. While I favor granting the franchise to commissioned ministers, I am also sensitive to
honoring our Synod’s historic and deep respect for voting representation of both the laity and the clergy at district and Synod conventions.
Therefore, in addition to consideration of the task force recommendation of one associate member vote and one lay vote for each
congregation at district conventions, I recommend consideration be
given to the alternate proposal of establishing a separate category
and specific process for election of commissioned ministers as voting delegates to district and Synod conventions. Doing so would
retain the historic balance between lay and pastoral votes, while still
allowing for the addition of convention franchise for our commissioned ministers.
The recommendations that congregations with a pastoral vacancy
be entitled to one clergy and one lay voting delegate and that multiple-congregation parishes no longer share their lay vote among all
the congregations involved in the partnership are worthy of positive
consideration. The recommendation that congregations with more
than 1,000 communicant members be entitled to two extra votes at
district conventions received neither majority agreement nor majority disagreement from district convention respondents. It is not clear
to me whether this proposal is a high priority for the congregations
that would be afforded this privilege, and it does not appear to be
contributing to a greater spirit of harmony in our Synod. Therefore
I do not favor it.
SECTION FIVE: Congregations and National Regions

This section recommends establishment of five regions for the
purpose of more effective representation of congregations across
the Synod on the Praesidium and Board of Directors of the Synod.
Only one Synod vice-president currently lives west of the Mississippi
River. He lives in St. Louis, only 20 miles west of that river. Since
regular visitation of all 35 districts by the Synod President is virtually
impossible, I support this recommendation, which would enable congregations to nominate vice-presidents from their region.
This would facilitate more regular visitation of each district by a
Synod vice-president whom the districts of each region play a significant role in electing. In addition, it would assist in the deepening of
relationships between the Synod and the congregations in its districts.
The creation of regions would also provide closer connection between
congregations in each region and the Synod’s Board of Directors by
virtue of regional representation on that very important Board.

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SECTION SIX: Congregations and the National Synod
Group One: National Convention Recommendations

A quadrennial cycle for circuit and district theological convocations and district and Synod conventions, the selection of national
convention delegates from the previous year’s district convention
delegates, and the establishment of a fixed number of Synod convention delegates are worthy of positive consideration. While the
specific number of national convention delegates recommended by
the task force would result in significant cost savings to congregations, careful consideration should be given to whether 650 delegates
would provide sufficiently broad representation of congregations to
national conventions.
The process of allotting to each district a proportionate share of
the fixed number of Synod convention delegates based on the district’s percentage of the total congregations and communicants in the
Synod is an excellent recommendation that I strongly support. It is a
very fair and totally objective proposal that would provide unquestionably equitable representation for the congregations of our Synod.
It would also eliminate the need for district boards of directors to exercise their Bylaw-given right of requesting the president of the Synod
to grant “exceptions” for electoral circuits that do not meet Bylawprescribed parameters.
Providing consistency in terms of office and facilitating participation of virtually every congregation in the election of Synod President
and First Vice-President are very important and worthy recommendations. The task force decided not to recommend consistency regarding
term limits for district presidents. Some districts have no term limits,
enabling district presidents to be elected to serve an unlimited number
of three-year terms. Some have a limit of four terms, and still others
have a limit of three terms. For the sake of consistency throughout
the Synod, it seems appropriate that uniformity in this matter for all
district presidents should be considered.
A change in the constituency of the Synod Board of Directors is a
matter that deserves special attention and careful consideration. Under
the task force proposal, there would be seventeen voting members on
the board. Ten of them would be elected by the Synod convention as
pastors and lay men or women from each of the five regions of the
Synod. Two more voting members are the President of the Synod and
one commissioned minister at-large, both also elected by the Synod
convention. Those twelve elected members would then appoint five
additional board members who have special expertise required by the
board. Delegates should give careful consideration to whether this
proposal adequately represents the Synod on its Board of Directors.
The process of development by congregations and districts of priorities and goals for the Synod is also worthy of support. Requiring
more than a simple majority vote on doctrinal resolutions and statements would hopefully help achieve greater doctrinal unity and
harmony in our Synod.
Group Two: National Structure Recommendations

The task force report summarizes the need for amendment of
national Synod structure in these words: “In much of the feedback the
task force received in the initial phase of listening to church leadership and the grassroots of the Synod, it became clear that the structure
of the national Synod has evolved over the years into a complex and
inefficient system that is perceived as unresponsive to the needs of
the congregations. National programs, services, and initiatives are
often redundant, especially when combined with 35 separate district
efforts. Congregational involvement in national office goals is not
always direct or clear. The current program board and commission
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