LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 62

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62

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

give more as the Lord has blessed them; some give less as the Lord has
blessed them. This sharing from God’s bounty continues to decline.
Although the amount of decline in the past three years has not been
as severe as the average decline of the previous 20 years, it is still
trending negatively.
In the face of continued declining unrestricted revenues, the ability
of Synod, Inc. to respond quickly and nimbly to mission and ministry opportunities and challenges laid before us by our Lord also
declines, as does our ability to “fill in the gap” when restricted revenues, needed to fund much of our mission and ministry activities,
fall short of their goals. The financial challenges facing our beloved
Synod persist. I believe that these challenges are of our own making,
a product of how we distribute the resources provided by our loving
Father. Do we regularly and publicly acknowledge the work of our
beloved districts and Synod with enthusiasm and joy, or do we grumble about that work? Do we lift up our beloved district and Synod
officers and workers before our loving and merciful God in prayer,
or are we simply silent?
Have we hardened our hearts toward others, forgetting that God
loved all the world so much that He sent His one and only Son to reconcile Himself to humankind, to be our Savior, and to forgive all the
shortcomings and sins of this fallen creation? We each need to repent
before our most holy and awesome God, giving thanks for His mercy
and His undeserved outpouring of copious blessings upon us. Give
thanks, with a grateful heart, and joyfully go about the tasks our Lord
has set before you. May our Lord continue to bless you mightily.
I give thanks daily for each and every one of the hardworking, dedicated employees at the International Center who love our Lord and
are joyfully at work to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Departments that report administratively to me are comprised of
competent and dedicated employees whose support for Synod operations is vital.
LCMS Accounting. The Accounting Department serves the
Synod by accurately recording the receipt and expenditure of
restricted and unrestricted resources entrusted to us by congregation members, districts, and other donors. This involves oversight of
the annual budget preparation for the Board of Directors and preparation of monthly financial statements. The department provides
various accounting and payroll services for multiple LCMS entities.
The Congregational Treasurer’s Manual is a resource that is updated
annually. It provides important guidance in the areas of accounting;
payroll for both rostered and nonrostered church workers; federal and
state tax matters; incorporating, administering, and dissolving congregations; receiving donations and disbursing them; financial reporting;
and risk and insurance matters. This manual is provided to each district for distribution to local congregations.
Internal Audit. The Internal Audit Department serves the Synod’s
boards, commissions, service departments, and agencies as requested
by their governing boards or as directed by the Synod’s Board of
Directors. The Internal Audit Department (1) performs financial statement audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;
(2) helps to reduce overall audit costs by assisting external auditors
who perform financial statement audits of the various Synod corporate and trust entities; (3) examines and evaluates corporate and
individual compliance with LCMS Board of Directors policies and
recommends ways to improve internal controls, operations, and organizational structures to make them more effective and efficient; and
(4) investigates allegations of suspected financial and organizational
misconduct in accordance with Synod policy.
Risk Management and Insurance. The Risk Management
and Insurance Department serves the Synod by analyzing the risk
2016 Convention Workbook

exposures of each entity/agency, marketing and procuring the appropriate insurance policies, negotiating sufficient policy limits to
address exposures, administering and settling claims, and assisting
Synod entities with procedural policies, disaster recovery, and disaster/emergency response plans. Further, the department assists each
entity or agency of the Synod with contractual review as well as state
and federal compliance requirements. The department utilizes various
risk-management methods to treat, reduce, or address risk exposure,
including self-insurance, risk retention, and risk-sharing arrangements
such as large-deductible plans and loss funds (if cost effective and
warranted), contractual risk transfer, and insurance. Exposures of the
Synod entities and agencies are continually monitored to ensure that
any of the risk-management methods are appropriate and are modified
to conform to changing markets and operations. The department promotes risk awareness through continual education, communication,
and recommendations for actions to protect the people and assets of
the LCMS and its related entities. The department provides training
and recommendations to the Synod’s boards, commissions, service
departments, and any Synod entity/agency in the areas of risk management, insurance policy analysis, loss control and safety compliance,
and employment issues, through consultation, numerous quarterly
and annual reports, reference materials, and presentations to LCMS
entities, districts, and congregations.
We have truly been blessed by our Lord, whose beloved church
we are. Our Lord has placed challenges before us, but He also has
opened up opportunities for us to glorify His name in all the earth,
so that every individual might be drawn toward His great love for all
the world in Christ Jesus.
May our work together be a blessing to those whom we serve, and
may it bring glory and honor to our triune God.
Jerald C. Wulf, Chief Financial Officer
R6

Board for National Mission
Grace, mercy, and peace be yours in our risen Lord Jesus.
The Bylaws charge the Board for National Mission (BNM) “with
developing and determining policies for the coordination of and
in support of district ministries which support congregations and
schools” and with assisting “in identifying the specific goals for the
Office of National Mission” (Bylaw 3.8.2). The Bylaws further charge
the BNM with “oversight of the implementation of policies adopted
by the board and implemented by the Office of National Mission for
the coordination of and in support of district ministries which support
congregations and schools” (Bylaw 3.8.2.1). The BNM also serves
as a “calling agency for institutional and agency chaplains and other
non-foreign specialized ministers” (Bylaw 3.8.2).
This past triennium the BNM made great progress in developing policies that the board believes will serve to guide the Office of
National Mission in fulfilling its responsibility of serving congregations and schools through the districts of the Synod to “repent,
confess, and rejoice” always remaining faithful to Him who alone
is the Rock upon whom the Church is built, even our crucified and
risen Lord Jesus. The policies that the BNM developed over the past
triennium received approval during the April 10–11, 2015, meeting
of the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) and were subsequently published in the August 2015 edition of the Reporter. The
board continues to evaluate these policies at each scheduled meeting
to be sure that they remain relevant to the current needs and everchanging challenges facing our congregations and schools.
The board fulfills its responsibility under the Bylaws to “have
oversight of the implementation of policies adopted by the board”
(Bylaw 3.8.2.1) by receiving regular ministry reports from the various