LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 112

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114 DEVOTIONS

difficult convention I’ve ever chaired is this one, from
the standpoint of the technical nature of the material
you were asked to deal with. I think it will go down in
history. That a convention like this could deal with the
kinds of things you did, as well as you did, as
expeditiously as you did, and (I think history will show)
with as few mistakes as you did, is quite a remarkable
thing.

When we were planning for the convention, Dr.
Mueller took out that great big old Workbook that you
all have, and he said that one resolution—2.18, was that
the number of it?—would be 80 pages long. One
resolution! And you got through it, and you did a very
good job! I think this has been a wonderful convention.
The good humor the people have had, the patience, the
way they’ve been able to disagree without being
disagreeable—to me this is symbolic of the Missouri
Synod, and I just want to thank you, particularly the
. voting delegates and the advisers who were helpful in
this matter. This is really a fantastic piece of work on
the part of a group of people of this size. And a great deal
of important work was done.

Tomy way of thinking, the most important thing we
did—from the standpont of finances and general easing
up on the administration so that some imaginative
work can be done—was the move to a three-year con-
vention cycle. The financial structure that was adopted
(and I certainly share Dr. Hyatt’s regrets that anyone
should feel that there was anything personal in this),
the action that was taken, would enable us, I would
hope, to get up to a plateau of giving $40 or $50 million a
year rather quickly and to get rid of the terrible agony
that we all went through here when we talked about
financing our colleges—plus meeting the marvelous
challenges that lie ahead.

The resolution on the nominating committee I think
was one of the most healing and beneficial resolutions
passed at this convention. You know I travel around
and meet an awful lot of people, and I think the
convention, almost to a man, elected very excellent
people. I’m not in any way criticizing anyone who was
elected. But as I sat and looked at those nominees in the
book and saw some of the people who were on that list,
and knew of their talents and their dedication, it really
bothered me that they were not voted for because they
come from a District that doesn’t have as good a
reputation as someone else’s District. Or because they
don’t come from the Midwest. Or because somebody has
spread a rumor around about them that they’re this or
they’re that. We could have elected, I think, virtually
every person who was nominated by the nominating
committee, and every person nominated from the floor,
and we would have had, in all cases, excellent church
leadership from our officers. So I think what’s proposed
there is very, very good.

Undoubtedly this convention will go down in history
as aconvention that was known for the reorganization.
That was a vast and sweeping thing. And yet, as was
pointed outin many of the conversations, we’ve cleaned
up stuff that was hanging around for 30 years. And you

understand that 90 percent of what was done here hag:
no bearing whatsoever on the congregations, the locak
pastor, or the relationship of anybody to the Synod. If
was a mechanical procedure that has to do with ¢
interrelationships of boards, with the running of the:
Synod itself as an organization, and it’s kind of too bad.
that we have to have Handbooks in order to do the
things; and it’s even sadder that a whole convention
dedicated people nas to devote themselves to it. But th:
is partly due to the fact that we don’t trust each oth
very much, we’re scared to death of hierarchy an
centralization; and I want to say that I’m just as scar
of it as any of you. So that’s the price we pay for it.

The election of Ralph Bohlmann as President of o
Synod I think is a wonderful thing. I love that man. I’v
known him for over half of his life, I guess. And he is
honorable man—he is honest, he has integrity, he he
ethics, he has an excellent mind, he is an exceller
theologian, he is thoroughly in keeping with th
doctrinal position of our church. During my admini
tration I felt that he was the best man we had in o
church in the area of church diplomacy. He knows ve
well how to relate to other churches, without on theo
hand selling out the faith, or on the other hand acting!
such a way that people say, “We hope we'll never seet
Missouri Synod again.’

I think he is an excellent choice, and I congratula
him, pledge him my support, and assure him and yo
that I will never, by letter or phone, look over h
shoulder and tell him how to do his job, or join in an
kind of group that says, “‘Let’s put the fear of God int
him to keep him humble.” I will support him in eve
way I possibly can. I am available if he needs me, b
the approach will have to be made by him.

The election of Joseph Lavalais as a Vice-President!
of this church, and by that stupendous vote, is one of t
most historic events in this century in our church.
think it was a magnificent action on the part of thig
convention. We are so white that you could almost insi
that nobody but Saxons could run this church an
pretty near carry it. And to think that a church li
that—without anybody prodding it, with no politic
activities, with no pressure or protests or thunderini
around—did this, I think it was very wonderful. And D
Lavalais is deserving of that election; heis an excellen
dedicated, competent, and thoroughly knowledgahl
man in synodical matters. I’m very proud that th
church did this at this convention. ;

Then I think of the other officers who were electet
We've got some excellent ones, and they are people.
dedication, they work hard, and I think the delega'
can go home from the convention with the assura
that the work of the church has been committed into
good hands of honorable and highly motivated peopl

Now to the future, and I’1] try to keep this very shor
I said to you at the very beginning that I havea kind of
lifelong love affair with this church. When I was a litt
boy, my folks moved from Minneapolis down to Chicas!
where we lived in a suburb. There was alittle rinky-dim:
old frame building across the tracks named Redeem