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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 467

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
members from the district and Synod are elected, and appointed
members chosen, in different years, so that the majority of each
board remains consistent from year to year; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod encourage each of its member
congregations to give thanks for all of the faithful CUS institutions,
not merely those in close proximity to such congregation,
recognizing that “we, though many, are one body in Christ” (Rom.
12:5); and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod educate our congregations on the
benefits of the current governance structure, which ensures that all
congregations have a voice in the governance of each CUS school,
and which also ensures that the governance of CUS schools is not
narrowly localized, nor divorced from the entire Synod and its
member congregations; and be it further
Resolved, That in the event any CUS school is required by its
governing documents to elect persons resident in a specific state or
locality, such requirement shall be satisfied by electing such
qualified individual(s) from among those persons elected to such
school’s board at the district convention for the district
encompassing such state or locality, commencing with the 2021
district convention cycle, in order to maintain the balance between
district-elected regents (who must reside in the specific district) and
Synod-elected regents (who may reside in any district), to avoid
restricting the rights of the Synod in convention to choose those
persons who are best qualified without regard to state of residence;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod continue to seek the best qualified
candidates for Synod-elected regents from congregations
throughout the Synod without regard to state of residence; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Synod not permit any new restrictions on the
residence of Synod-elected regents; and that the CUS board work
with each board of regents in seeking to review and remove, insofar
as legally possible, any such existing restrictions; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod give thanks for all those involved in
governance of our CUS institutions; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod affirm the current balanced system of
governance of CUS institutions.
Board of Regents
Concordia University Chicago
Ov. 7-08

To Affirm Balanced Governance for Concordia
University System Institutions
WHEREAS, The Concordia University System (CUS) institutions
are treasures of the entire Synod, built by God’s grace with the
people’s offerings, bequests, and tuition, that serve to educate
students from throughout the country—and increasingly, from
around the world—for service both in church work and in society
at large; and
WHEREAS, 2013 Resolution 5-05B improved the governance
process for CUS boards of regents by adopting specific
requirements for qualifications of regents; and
WHEREAS, Such requirements include documentation to the CUS
Board of Directors of various key factors including financial
stewardship, faithfulness to the church, and educational background

467

preparing them for service on the governing boards of complex and
sizeable institutions; and
WHEREAS, Such requirements have been implemented
successfully for the benefit of each CUS institution; and
WHEREAS, No Concordia serves merely a district or a region, but
the whole church; and
WHEREAS, A significant number of the overtures relating to
governance issues for CUS institutions were submitted for
consideration by the 2016 convention of the Synod, including
overtures seeking to create regional-only or self-perpetuating
boards that would deprive the congregations of the Synod, or of
districts, the right to elect board members; and
WHEREAS, A self-perpetuating board at Concordia University
Edmonton (CUE), originally founded by The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod in 1921 for the purpose of training teachers and
seminary candidates, chose to renounce its Christian mission, sever
all ties with the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC), and become an
entirely secular, non-Lutheran and non-Christian institution. As a
result, the LCC has been deprived not only of the use of the
institution for training its church workers but also of the value of
the CUE property; and
WHEREAS, By an overwhelming vote of 731–48 (94 percent),
2016 Resolution 7-02B was approved, “To Preserve Concordia
Colleges and Universities as Institutions of the Church and
Strengthen Their Structural Bonds with Synod”; and
WHEREAS, The current governance system for the CUS
institutions, as adopted by the 2016 convention, ensures equal board
of regents representation between the district where the institution
is located (four elected members plus the district president or his
representative) and the Synod at large (four elected members plus a
Praesidium representative), as well as up to eight members
appointed by each board itself to best meet the unique mission and
needs of each institution; and
WHEREAS, The current governance system for the CUS
institutions also ensures continuity of leadership because boards of
regents members from the district and Synod are elected, and
appointed members chosen, in different years, so that the majority
of each board will remain consistent from year to year; therefore be
it
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District give thanks for all
of the faithful CUS institutions, recognizing that “We, though
many, are one body in Christ” (Rom. 12:5); and be it further
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District encourage all youth,
from a young age, to be aware of the opportunity to obtain higher
education in a Lutheran setting through our CUS institutions; and
be it finally
Resolved, That the Minnesota South District memorialize the
Synod in convention to give thanks for those involved in
governance of our CUS institutions, to ensure that the best qualified
candidates for boards of regents are sought throughout the Synod,
and to affirm the current system of governance of CUS institutions.
Minnesota South District

2019 Convention Workbook