LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 245

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synod structure and governance
on Doctrinal Review;
6. A Commission on Constitutional Matters, which would include the
current functions of the CCM as well as the Commission on Structure; and be it further

Resolved, That the members of these boards and commissions
be elected by the national convention in the normal fashion; and be
further
Resolved, That the number of members of each commission be
fixed at five members and the number of members for each board be
fixed at seven members; and be it further
Resolved, That where this consolidation eliminates current boards
or commissions or reduces them in size, the members of the current
board or commission be permitted to remain until the end of their
terms in spite of a temporary larger size; and be it finally
Resolved, That where this consolidation results in a board or commission that does not have enough members for the next triennium,
new members be elected at this 2010 convention based on nominations received from their pre-merged boards or commissions.
St. Paul
Milford Center, OH
8-71

To Assign Oversight of Program Boards
to First Vice-President
Whereas, In his response to the final report of the BRTFSSG,
President Kieschnick has outlined several concerns regarding the
LCMS national offices; and
Whereas, Those concerns include “greater expenditures than revenue by amounts totaling millions of dollars,” “travel budgets in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars,” budget management and revenue
coordination that is “quite complex,” a difficulty of “collaboration
between and among boards,” and an excessive amount of time spent
by the executive directors in “dealing with commission matters rather
than accomplishing the work they are called to do”; and
Whereas, The BRTFSSG has proposed a solution to this problem wherein the national offices are eliminated and replaced with an
Office of National Mission, International Mission, Seminaries, and
Communication; and
Whereas, These new offices would be placed under the supervision of a new officer, the Chief Mission Officer (CMO); and
Whereas, The CMO would not be accountable to the Synod but
would rather be accountable only to the President of the Synod; and
Whereas, The Synod has always maintained a concern that the
national presidency in the Synod “might precipitate and even initiate a power that, instead of promoting true unity of spirit, might turn
into a spirit of servitude” (Fredrick Wyneken, “Can We Divide and
Remain United?”); and
Whereas, The duty of the Synod President as defined by our current constitution is to represent the Synod to other church bodies,
oversee doctrine and ecclesiastical practice and the working of the
district presidents, and represent the Synod to national and international authorities; and
Whereas, The creation of a new area of oversight would make the
office of the Synod President too large and complex for one man; and
Whereas, The only given duty of the First Vice-President of the
Synod is to be chairman of the colloquy committee; therefore be it
Resolved, That the First Vice-President of the Synod be given the
administrative task of overseeing the program boards and commissions as well as their executive directors; and be it further

245

Resolved, That the First Vice-President be given the responsibility to ensure that the program boards and commissions are mutually
cooperative, efficient, and fiscally cooperative with the Synod’s Chief
Financial Officer and the Board of Directors; and be it further
Resolved, That in the event a given executive director fails to adequately perform his duties, the First Vice-President shall adhere to
the following procedure:
1. Take private counsel (and, if necessary, private reprimand) with
such executive director.
2. If step 1 fails, report to the respective board.
3. If step 2 fails, bring an official report to the Synod via the Convention Workbook.

St. Paul
Milford Center, OH
8-72

To Provide for Orderly Transition for District
and Congregational Services
Whereas, God desires all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3–4); and
Whereas, The LCMS has developed numerous programs to support districts and congregations as they empower God’s saints in the
proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ; and
Whereas, The Board for District and Congregational Services
(DCS) has faithfully created, implemented, and managed these
programs in the areas of schools, youth, families, children, and stewardship, which have helped congregations lead people through the
work of the Holy Spirit to saving faith in Jesus Christ; and
Whereas, The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and
Governance has proposed that “the Commission on National Mission
be responsible for coordinating the national office ministry directed
toward or serving domestic ministries, especially congregations and
schools through their districts” (Report, p. 40); and
Whereas, Some districts have programs ready to continue vital
work in the these ministry areas, but many districts do not have the
resources to provide congregational support in one or more of these
ministry areas; and
Whereas, Districts may be realigned in the future with smaller or
larger staff structures; therefore be it
Resolved, That, in the event the LCMS adopts the plan for a newly
formed Commission on National Mission, the convention encourage
that commission to partner with districts and DCS staff to create a
strategic plan that includes consideration of the following:
•

DCS ministries requiring a national presence versus ministries that
can be transferred to districts;

•

Additional ministries that could benefit the LCMS by having national
or district leadership;

•

Plans for transferred ministries to move smoothly from a national to
a district or regional presence;

•

Structures that would allow districts to partner together when they do
not have the financial means to support all transferred ministries;

•

A network to grow and share ministry resources for the entire LCMS;
and

•

Continued funding necessary for LCMS personnel to implement this
strategic plan.

Board for District and Congregational Services
2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 245

4/15/10 2:40 PM