LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 29

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION 29

required reduction in the budget of the Board for
Missions. He pointed out that the plan is not an answer
to a fiscal crisis. It is a positive plan which has been
carefully thought through. After some discussion the
resolution was adopted as presented. By the adoption of
Res. 1-05A (TB 231-232) the delegates directed the Board
for Missions to continue its efforts to take the Gospel to
every open door overseas and encouraged Districts to
increase the percentage of their budget for the Synod.
They also asked that congregations increase their
support of the District and that Synod increase the
percentage of its budget for mission endeavors. In
adopting Res. 1-14 (TB 43) the delegates asked the
Secretary of the Synod to convey congratulations to The
Lutheran Church of Nigeria on its 45th anniversary,
The Lutheran Church in the Philippines on its 35th
anniversary, and the China Ev. Lutheran Church in
Taiwan on its 30th anniversary, assuring them of the
continued prayers of the Synod as they serve the Lord
and share His blessed Gospel.

Recognition

The Rev. Nelson Unwene, president of The Nigeria
Lutheran Church, and his wife were recognized by the
convention.

Missions

Prior to introducing Res. 1-03 the last resolved of the
resolution was deleted by the committee. The convention
then adopted the resolution as presented, encouraging
Districts with their respective Mission committees and
boards to consult with the synodical Commission on
Black Ministry with the Synodwide goal of establishing
at least one new mission station each year in a pre-
dominantly Black area. In adopting Res. 1-08 the
convention commended the Board for Evangelism and
the steering committee for planning and conducting the
first Great Commission Convocation, commended the
Districts who had conducted or would be conducting
District Great Commission Convocations, and resolved
that the Synod conduct a second Great Commission
Convocation at a feasible time as determined by the
synodical Board of Directors. The committee then intro-
duced Res. 1-09 (7B 49), calling for continued support of
campus ministry. Discussion on the matter, however,
was delayed until a later session of the convention.
Before the temporary dismissal of this committee, the
delegates received a report from Dr. Richard Dickinson,
executive secretary of the Commission on Black Min-
istry. He reported that Black pastors are being employed
in areas where they have never been involved before.
For example, he pointed out that a Black pastor who
had served as a vacancy pastor in a white congregation
had now been called as the pastor of that congregation.

Task Force

The floor committee dealing with resolutions relat-
ing to the restructuring of the Synod introduced Res.
2-03A (TB 233), which defined the membership and
function of the Board of Directors. At this point a
delegate introduced a request for reconsideration of Res.

2-04 (TB 47). He had voted on the prevailing side when
Res. 2-04 was declined. The floor committee stated that
it would welcome this action. The convention agreed to
reconsider this resolution for the purpose of recommit-
ting it to the committee for reconsideration of the
section relating to the Board for Congregational Serv-
ices. A division of the house was called for but with-
drawn when it became obvious that the resolution
asking for reconsideration had passed.

Essay

On the basis of selected Bible passages Dr. Milton
Nauss spoke on the stewardship of life and time. God’s
own Son, Jesus Christ, gave His live so that we might
have life and that our life might be dedicated to Him. He
elaborated on examples of rededicated lives under the
lordship of Jesus Christ.

Recognition

Rev. Howard Schoenfeldt, director of Mill Neck
Manor, Lutheran School for the Deaf, presented the
John of Beverly Award to the Rev. Rudolph Gustav
Wollrab in recognition of his excellent work among the
deaf and for his dedication to this cause not only in
Germany but also among workers in Poland and
Hungary. The John of Beverly Award has been nainv:i
in recognition of the great English churchman of tie
seventh century who is the first person on record to
make special efforts to communicate the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to the deaf. In his response Pastor Wollrab spoke
of this as the first step in the building of bridges between
his country and the United States. He pointed out that
we cannot build a bridge to God who has already built
the bridge to us through Jesus Christ. The building
must be done step by step, as was done when the Arch in
St. Louis was built, piece by piece from each side which
is planted into the ground. In this building of bridges
between Christians Jesus Christ is the great Architect.

The Rev. Elroy Treit, president of the Lutheran
Church—Canada, addressed the delegates, describing
the efforts and plans of Lutherans in Canada as they
seek to move forward in the establishment of a partner
church in that country.

Orders of the Day

Since resolutions called for by the delegates from the
Floor Committee on Task Force Recommendations were
not yet prepared, the Chairman pointed out that these
would be brought in after 2 p.m. Instead, the next order

_of business would be resolutions from the Floor Com-

mittee on Administration.

Greetings

Dr. Herbert Mueller, Secretary of the Synod, shared
greetings with the convention which had been received
from fellow Lutherans. These greetings had been re-
ceived from the Lutheran World Federation, the Luther-
an Bible Translators, the Ev. Lutheran Synod of France
and Belgium, the Selbstaendige Evangelisch-Luther-
ische Kirche, and the China Ev. Lutheran Church. Dr.