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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 86

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

tion. Of that surplus total, the board designated $250,000 to be
retained as a contingency account to meet unanticipated costs
arising in connection with future conventions, $153,000 for distribution back to LCMS districts, and the remainder toward
funding the cost of convention-mandated task forces, study
groups, and convention-mandated activities.

National Office Compensation
The Board of Directors is responsible for determining the
compensation of the employees of corporate Synod. In 2006,
the board adopted a compensation philosophy that states: “At
the International Center of the LCMS, our compensation philosophy is simple: In striving to be good stewards of the dollars
entrusted to us, we shall pay fair salaries in a fashion which rewards performance in order to be able to attract, motivate, and
retain employees.” Since that time, all positions are reviewed
on an annual basis. Compensation may change from one year
to the next based on position classification and performance.
Corporate entities at the International Center (LCMS, LCMS
Foundation, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, and Concordia
Plan Services) use the same salary scale. The board approves the
individual salaries of Synod officers as well as a salary pool for
the corporate Synod staff each year, as appropriate.

basis to discuss human resource topics, building maintenance
items, and other issues that are affecting their respective entities. These discussions are very open, honest, and confidential.
One result of these meetings is the obligation for the entities to
collaborate in areas that overlap with the objective to become
more efficient.
2. Identify and implement efficiency opportunities. The purpose of conducting independent evaluations is to find opportunities to become more efficient, which include reducing costs,
providing existing services on a timelier basis, or providing new
services or information. All of this is done with the objective of
providing the necessary tools for doing a better job of managing
the business affairs of the LCMS. Evaluations have successfully
been completed in the areas of Information Technology (IT),
building operations, and the mail/copy center.
••

The IT evaluation resulted in a truly collaborative
effort with Concordia Plan Services (CPS). Independent third-party consultants were engaged to review
the processes, procedures, strengths, and weaknesses
of both the LCMS and CPS IT departments. The
result was to form a small shared service team who is
responsible for managing the IT infrastructure, help
desk, and project management that are common to
the LCMS and CPS. This shared service team reports
to the CAO and a CPS executive. In addition, each
entity retains the sole responsibility for managing the
software applications that are unique to their respective operations. These changes provide significant
cost savings to both the LCMS and CPS.

••

Building operations includes not only the day-to-day
maintenance of the International Center but also the
planning and implementation of capital improvements to the property. The review of the building operations was a combined effort of the Facilities Management Committee, who evaluated three candidates
to understand the costs and benefits of outsourcing
this responsibility. It was a unanimous decision to
award this work to Cushman and Wakefield.

••

The operational expertise of Cushman-Wakefield
was leveraged to review the mail and copy center.
The result of this independent review was that these
activities were being managed efficiently, so there was
not need for any changes.

••

In addition to these areas, accounting and human
resources are undergoing evaluations.

Minutes of the Board of Directors
The minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors
are available on the Synod’s website. The board does hold open
meetings, although parts of each meeting are conducted in executive session. Some items of business (e.g., legal, personnel)
are, for obvious reasons, conducted with only the members of
the board involved. Thus, the minutes of these executive sessions are confidential.
The members of the Board of Directors express their sincere thanks to the Synod for the special privilege afforded them
to serve the Lord and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Michael Kumm, Chairman

R6.1 1

Report of the Chief
Administrative Officer
The preponderance of the business, legal, and administrative responsibilities of the Board of Directors are carried out
by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). During this past
triennium, the Board of Directors appointed a new CAO whose
3-year appointment commenced in October 2017. In addition to
the day-to-day business and management of other administrative responsibilities, the Board of Directors identified two main
areas of strategic importance for the CAO: (1) develop strong
working relationships with the International Center entity presidents, and (2) identify and implement efficiency opportunities.
1. Develop strong working relationships. The LCMS is a
strong organization, but it is even stronger when the working
relationships with other entities are leveraged. Over the past 18
months, there has been a concerted effort to build trusted relationships with those entities that share common work space
and services with the LCMS, namely Concordia Plans Services
(CPS), Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), and the
Foundation. The leaders of these entities meet on a regular
2019 Convention Workbook

Other Significant Areas
Establishment of Foreign Entities. In order to execute our
global mission strategy, it is important to have the right legal
presence in foreign countries. This is accomplished by registering the LCMS in foreign countries or creating separate legal entities in foreign countries to carry out our ministries. The CAO
coordinates this work with the Office of International Mission,
LCMS general counsel, and local (in-country) legal counsel, as
necessary. This strategy focuses on supporting the work of our
international missionaries while protecting the interests of the
LCMS.
Operations Team. Bylaw 3.5.2 establishes an Operations
Team which “shall assist the President and the Board of Direc-