LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1977, Page 78

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78 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

what the word Synod meads, namely, a walking
together. To use more common language, we need to
develop team spirit. As someone put it long ago, “No
man is anisland.” Neitherisa congregation or a District
or a church body. We are a team. Every one of us is
necessary. In Scriptural language, we are part of the
body of Christ, with every joint and every finger and
every molecule having an important role to play.

The Spiritual Dimension

Above all, we need to develop the spiritual dimension
in our lives. We need to get into our thinking the idea that
we stand for something and not merely against
something or somebody. We need to stand for one
another and with one another, and all of us need to stand
up for Jesus on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Cor-
nerstone.

It Can Be Done Indeed

You ask the question: Can it be done? The answer is
an emphatic and eternal yes. The same Lord who told
His dispirited, divided, doubting disciples to go into the
world and be His witnesses has given to us the same
promise: “I am with you always, even unto the end of the
age.” He has said that even where two or three are
gathered together in His name there He is in the midst of
them. God works through His Word, through His means
of grace and His Holy Spirit, just as effectively today as
He did in the days of the apostles or in the days of the
Reformation or in the early history of our Synod. He has
added to our equipment the miracles of rapid transporta-
tion, marvelous communication, wealth, and talents. He
stands here with us, calling us to join Him and
promising to empower and invigorate us. We are not
slaves or aliens but members of the household of God
and citizens of His kingdom. We are not the dispossessed
but heirs of eternal life; we are the richest and most
powerful people in the world because we are heirs of
God’s kingdom and are filled with and equipped by His
Holy Spirit.

May God grant that this convention can move us
forward, invigorate and inspire us, unite us and cause us
to love one another more and more, and make us, above
all, love Him and dedicate ourselves and all that we have
to serving Him. This is what we mean by growing. And
may the Lord Jesus Christ dwell in us today and always.

Appendix A

Assignments to the Administration by
the 1975 Anaheim Convention

Actions of the President on the first three 1975 resolutions
below (3-01, 3-04, 3-08) are reported in the 1977 Convention
Workbook under Reports 3-01 and 3-06 of the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations, pp. 37—73.

3-01 To Seek Unity

3-04 To Reaffirm the Right of the Synod to Adopt Doctrinal
Statements and to Establish Procedures

308 To Commend Task Force on Women

303A To Respond to Concerns Regarding Former Faculty
Members

5-02A

This resolution called for the appointment of a
special interview committee by the President to deal
with the “former faculty majority” of Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis. The committee consisted of former
Vice-President Dr. Roland P. Wiederaenders, chairman;
Dr. Richard Bardolph, Dr. Herbert Berner, Dr. James G.
Manz, and the Rev. Andrew D. Brondos, secretary.
After a number of meetings and an exchange of
correspondence with the former faculty members, the
committee concluded by saying to them:

“We are persuaded that the interview process
recommended by the Anaheim convention in Resolu-
tion 3-03A, despite possible shortcomings, by God’s
grace could have served as a ministry of healing in the
church.

“In all kindness and candor, we cannot accept your
implication that we have Prejudged you, or that the
interview process would have been an act ‘contrary to
the Word and will of God, and a clear disservice to His
church,’ as you have said.

“Since you have felt constrained to decline the
invitation of our committee to participate in the
interviews, we feel that any further efforts on our part
would be officious and would exceed the assignment
given to our committee by the Synod.”

The committee stated in its report: “During the
course of the meeting the faculty again stated that it
was not willing to meet individually for personal
interviews as called for by the Anaheim convention,
Instead, it proposed to explore with the committee
different ways of approaching the basic problems
which have troubled the church in recent years. The
faculty stated frankly that for this meeting it had no
specific plan; it asked only that the committee explore
with the faculty ‘a more excellent way.’

“The committee prayerfully reviewed the proposals
of the faculty and concluded that pursuing these
Proposals would take the committee beyond the
assignment given it by the Synod. The committee feels
that it has done all it can do within the confines of the
authorization given it and respectfully asks to be
discharged.”

To Deal with District Presidents Who Have Ordained or
Who Have Authorized Ordination of Persons Who Are
Not Properly Endorsed

This resolution called for the removal of District
Presidents who were unable to promise that they would
carry out their duties in keeping with the Constitution
and Bylaws of the Synod relative to the ordination and
installation of improperly certified candidates for the
ministry. On April 2, 1976, after a great deal of anguish
and discussion both within the Council of Presidents
and privately, it became necessary to implement the
resolution and to remove from office the Rev. Rudolph
Ressmeyer of the Atlantic District, Dr. Robert Riedel of
the New England District, Dr. Herman Frincke of the
Eastern District, and the Rev. Harold Hecht of the
English District.

In the Atlantic District a special convention was
held, and Vice-President Ronald Fink was elected
President; in New England a special convention was
held, and Vice-President Martin Dienst was elected; in
the English District, the Rev. Hecht relinquished his
claims to the presidency, and the Rev. George
Bornemann was elected as his successor. Acting
President Albert Bahr continues in the Eastern Dis-
trict.

Also as a result of the implementation of this
resolution and the turmoil and tension in the Synod
during 1976, Dr. Herman Neunaber of the Southern
Illinois District, Dr. Paul Jacobs of the California and
Nevada District, and Dr. Waldemar Meyer of the
Colorado District resigned their office. Because of the
resignations, Vice-President Alvin Kollmann succeeded
to the presidency of the Southern Illinois District, Vice-
President Orville Oswald succeeded in the California
and Nevada District, and Vice-President Ralph Phipps
became President of the Colorado District.

The removal of these District Presidents from office