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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 92

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

consistently associated with unsuccessful and successful deployments.
Missionary support. In keeping with Res. 2-02, we on the
BIM encourage one another to faithfully and daily pray to the
Lord for our missionaries and military chaplains and their families by name. Several board members have also given presentations on missions in an effort to raise awareness. We would encourage the prayers of our congregations and schools, pastors,
commissioned workers, and laity on behalf of these faithful
missionaries who proclaim the Gospel in distant lands and give
financial support for them, however small or great. We want to
thank the Church for the prayers and words of encouragement
for those who serve Christ and His people in missions locally or
globally, including the faithful volunteers on the BIM.
That being said, when the convention mandates an increase
in missionaries, it must provide the means to financially carry
out that mandate. We can double the number of missionaries,
but without dedicated stewardship, we can only keep them in
the field half as long. We would like to remind the congregations
and the convention that an increase in the number of missionaries requires an increase in support and financial care as well.
Please help the effort by adopting a missionary. Invite others in
your church, Bible class, and Sunday School to do so as well.
Military chaplaincy. We applaud the efforts of Chaplain
Craig Mueller for his steadfast defense of the right of military
chaplains to the free exercise of religion (Res. 2-04). Chaplain
Mueller consistently recommends candidates who, in the vetting
process, display an ability to remain faithful to their confessional beliefs while working in challenging, pluralistic environments.
Since this report is developed months before the convention, a full tally of missionaries, GEO’s, and Chaplains will be
supplied at the time of the convention.

Missions Policies
Ends policy review. One of the major responsibilities of
the Board for International Mission is to create and maintain
policies that effectively guide the Synod’s international mission
work. In the last triennium, the board undertook a thorough
review of its ends policies. In October 2017, the board adopted
a revised ends policies document, which includes 24 policies in
16 areas (e.g., missionary training, human care, etc.).
Policy monitoring tool. The Office of International Mission
has been working on a policy-monitoring tool to be completed
by regional directors and then shared with the BIM. Based on
feedback from both the BIM and regional directors, the OIM
has modified its original policy-monitoring tool and created a
much simpler alternative, which is now being piloted.

International Schools
The board spent considerable time in the past triennium
discussing the LCMS’s three international schools (located in
Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Hanoi), particularly with respect to
two “Whereases” in 2016 convention Res. 2-03:
••

Whereas, Each of these international schools holds
the potential to provide an effective platform for furthering the mission of the LCMS in their respective
countries and regions; and

••

Whereas, These international schools were established to advance the Synod’s mission as they pro-

2019 Convention Workbook

claim the pure Gospel while embodying a vigorous,
lively, and winsome Lutheran Christian identity. . .
All three of our international schools are doing very well
with respect to academic performance and reputation, finances,
enrollment, and expansion opportunities. While these schools—
most notably those in Shanghai and Hanoi—are making efforts
to realize their potential as “effective platform[s] for furthering”
the Church’s mission and to embody “a vigorous, lively and
winsome Lutheran Christian identity,” the BIM has noted a
number of serious concerns and challenges in the doctrine, governance, staffing, and operation of Hong Kong International
School (“HKIS”). HKIS needs to align with the Synod’s mission priorities, to deliver on commitments already spelled out
in writing, and boldly to teach the one true Christian faith in
a manner consistent with Article II of the LCMS Constitution. We’ve taken several concrete steps aimed at addressing
these concerns, including policy revisions and support for the
creation of an LCMS international schools advocate position.
In the coming triennium, strengthening the Lutheran Christian
ethos of our international schools will remain a high priority
for the BIM.
The BIM continues to pray and give thanks for all the servants of Christ who, having been captured by His love, wish to
share that love with the world. We continue to rejoice in the professionalism and hard work of the OIM. We remind ourselves
that the word rejoice is a cognate of the word for grace and wanders off into the realm of “greetings and salutations,” and that
we on the BIM delight in God’s grace in Christ and the bloodbought gift of redemption that we have. We work to have the
whole world “greeted” with the overwhelming grace of God so
that they can rejoice as well. Our missionaries, as ambassadors
for Christ, “greet” the world and approach it with joy because
of the grace that they have received and that they want to share.
Bernhard Seter, Chairman

Commission
on Constitutional Matters
The first meeting of the commission was held on October
20–21, 2016, following the reappointment of George Gude and
Neely Owen to the commission, and the appointment of Gerhard Bode Sr. to replace John Sias, who was elected to the office
of Secretary of the Synod, formerly occupied by Ray Hartwig.
As Secretary of the Synod, John Sias remains on the commission
as an ex officio member of the commission. The other members
of the commission are Thomas Deadrick and Larry Peters. At
the first meeting, the commission organized itself, with George
Gude elected chairman and Neely Owen vice-chairman. The
Secretary of the Synod, John Sias, serves as the secretary of the
commission, and Larry Peters was elected as acting secretary.
George Gude was appointed as the commission member to the
Commission on Handbook and to the 2016 Res. 11-10 Task
Force on Nominations and Elections Processes. As this report is
written, the commission has met 10 times in person during the
triennium. These meetings are generally from Friday 8:00–5:00
and Saturday 8:00 until early afternoon, depending on the business. Two of these meetings included a joint meeting with the