LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 58

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EES SS

58 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

as an agency of the member churches. It is their ser-
vant, designed to do what they ask it to do. It is not
constituted as an agency to negotiate Lutheran union.
That matter remains the prerogative and responsibility
of the respective church bodies. The Lutheran Council

must retain its role as an agency to carry out only what

the member churches through their officials ask it to do.

Another aspect of this matter is the fact that the budget

of the Lutheran Council continues to mount constantly,

Committee 3 will be giving very careful consideration

to these and other matters pertaining to our participa-

tion in the Lutheran Council.

At this point in time, when the Lutheran Council
in the U.S.A. is almost five years old, your President
would recommend that a Survey, evaluation, and review
be made by our Board of Directors, and that the other
participating bodies be invited to initiate similar studies
with an ongoing sharing of insights relative to the form
of organization as well as the activities of the Lutheran
Council in the U.S, A.

The purposes of this survey would be:

1. to determine whether the organizational structure of
LCUSA is proper for its task;

2. to ascertain whether LCUSA is Operating on an
economy-conscious basis;

3. to determine the amount of organization actually
needed by LCUSA;

4. to ascertain what checks and balances are effective
in the organization;

.. to inquire whether there is sufficient Participation
by the member church bodies, and where further
participation might be beneficial to all;

6. to discover measurable results and the degree of
service rendered by LCUSA;

7. to look into other matters that properly apply, in-
cluding our own use of the services that LCUSA does
offer,

Perhaps the most serious and most emotion-laden
problem confronting this convention is the issue of
fellowship with The American Lutheran Church. This
fellowship was adopted at the 1969 Denver convention.

where it has been almost totally unaccepted and un-
practiced.

Your President had the constitutional responsibility
to carry out the resolutions of Synod, including Denver
Resolution 3-15, which established fellowship with The
American Lutheran Church. In keeping with this reso-
lution, he was invited to speak to the Illinois District of
The American Lutheran Church and also addressed the
1970 convention of The American Lutheran Church in
San Antonio.

Also, in keeping with Resolution 3-15 of the 1969
convention, an interchurch committee on fellowship was
appointed to meet with a parallel committee of The
American Lutheran Church in an effort to resolve issues
which remained unsettled at Denver. Four meetings of

regarding Scripture. This paper was prepared at the
request of our Inter-Church Committee and has been
turned over to Floor Committee 3.

we regard this as a teaching of Holy Scripture and not
merely an arbitrary ecclesiastical decision.

The decision of The American Lutheran Church to

leaders again pointed out that such an action would
place a heavy strain on our newly established fellowship
and could only intensify the difficulties we are already