LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 71

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“gimilarly to the feasibility study for Forward in
mbrance. It will be conducted by Community
Counseling Service with appropriate syodical staff. It
Il involve meetings with all Districts, colleges, semi-
gries, and others to obtain their input, plans, and
reams. Only then will a final structure and new
grams be proposed.
Jam then asking that the Board of Directors be
seted to implement the study recommendations as
smed appropriate. This has to be done. We can’t
ue to be constantly cutting back in our work
her in District and the Synod. We can’t plant new
iirches in North America and overseas from Forward
“Remembrance and then let them die on the vine
ause we can’t feed them. We can’t recruit and train
¥s and then not have a place to use them. Our
eople through Forward in Remembrance have shown
ant to give to the Lord’s work. They have told us
nd over again they want additional opportunities
venues for giving. They have told us they didn’t
ow all the work that the Synod and its Districts do
are supporting instead similar work done by others.
‘hey have told us they want communication and
jnvolvement. They have told us they want less duplica-

S.
© Under the Constitution of the Synod, the President is
to make a report on his activities during the term
_ ‘preceding the convention. In view of the fact that I am

stepping out as President, after three terms extending
over 12 years, I hope you will be charitable in permitting
me, in this report, to look back beyond the past two years
and to make some comments relative to the 12 years
which are now drawing to a close.

There is good reason for doing so because there are
probably 1,500 pastors and an equal number of teachers
“who were not in office 12 years ago, and a large number
of such people are here at this convention either as
voting delegates or in an advisory capacity. During
these 12 years, several hundred pastors and teachers
have passed away and other hundreds have retired. So
itis perfectly safe to assume that the personnel of Synod
has been greatly altered during these last 12 years.
Many of you are attending your first convention. As an
example of the changes that have taken place, every
single higher educational institution of the Synod, with
the exception of one, has had at least one new president,
and some have had as many as three. Only five of the
-men who were serving as presidents of our Districts in

1969 are still in office—Wilbert Griesse of the Mid-South
District; Edmund Happel, Northern Illinois; Henry
Niermann, now president of the Wyoming District and
previously president of the old Southern Nebraska
District; Ellis Nieting, lowa West; and Alwin Reimnitz,
of the North Dakota District. In 1969 we had a total of 37
Districts compared with our present total of 39.

Many things have happened over these past years.

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 71

tion in approaching them for special gifts. We will meet
their needs through the new Department of Stewardship
and Financial Support. Please support its creation.

In closing let me say that I have never been so
optimistic about the state of our Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod. Membership losses have turned
around, Forward in Remembrance has been a tremen-
dous success, the morale is high, enrollment in our
schools is mounting, new congregations are being
opened, the mission is going well throughout the world,
and the work of the board, commissions, and committees
of the Synod together with their executives and workers
have been diligent and supportive of the synodical
program. We have much to do, and the Lord has shown
us that we not only have great talent and great resources
humanly speaking, but above all we have a gracious
and wonderful God in heaven who has blessed us
beyond our wildest dreams and far beyond what we
deserve, and as we undertake our work as floor commit-
tees for this convention, we can do so in the assurance
that He who has begun the good work in us will continue
it until the day of Jesus Christ. May God bless your
labors as we move “Forward in Remembrance.”

(Part IT)

We tend often to look at the most controversial or most
difficult things as being most worthy of consideration,
but such is really not the case. Let us just review a few of
these things which have happened. In the case of
unhappy things, I stand before you, taking full respons-
ibility and full blame. In the case of the many good
things which have happened, thanks is first due to our
heavenly Father and then to hundreds, thousands, and
in many cases millions of people who, by their prayers,
their thinking, their witness, and their actions, have
contributed to the forward progress of the Synod.

In 1965 the Synod passed the now famous Mission
Affirmations. Little noticed at that time but a part of the
same set of resolutions was a proposal that the overseas
mission fields were to become partner churches. The
first mission field to become a partner church did so in
1969, and by now all but one or two of the overseas
missions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod are
in actuality and officially partner churches. While this
has had very little effect at home, it has had revolution-
ary effects in our overseas work. It has meant that the
missionary has taken on a totally different role, that the
governance and operation of the churches has shifted
almost entirely to nationals, and that the relationship
between the Missouri Synod and its former mission
fields has greatly changed. I have to say, having been
very intimately involved in this entire operation, that
the decision of the Synod in 1965 was a good one, and
the missions which have availed themselves of this
opportunity have made a good choice.

While this step, like any other process of growing up,