LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 150

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150

RESOLUTIONS

Resolved, That the convention of the Synod encourage
Districts to work with the Board for Black Ministry Services in the implementation of the recommendations.
Action: Adopted (5)

To Thank God for Service of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Secretary Rev. Dr. Walter Rosin
RESOLUTION 7-08
WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Rosin, after 15 years of service as
Secretary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and 3
years as executive of the Board for Higher Education, will
retire in the coming months; therefore be it
Resolved, That we as a Synod officially express our public thanks for the years of dedicated service Dr. Rosin has
rendered to his Lord and to his church.
Action: Adopted (5)
(An amendment calling for the certification of Herman Otten
was declared out of order.)

To Thank God for Service
of LCMS Board of Directors
Executive Secretary Dr. John Schuelke
RESOLUTION 7-09
WHEREAS, Dr. John Schuelke, after 26 years of service
as Executive Director of Synod’s Board of Directors, will retire in the coming months; therefore be it
Resolved, That we as a Synod officially express our public thanks for the years of dedicated service Dr. Schuelke
has rendered to his Lord and to his church.
Action: Adopted (5)

To Deal with One Another in Love
RESOLUTION 7-10
Overture 7-78 (CW, p. 264)
WHEREAS, Conflict between brothers and sisters in
Christ is inevitable, living in a sin-filled world separated
from God; and
WHEREAS, The Scriptures are full of incidents of the
church on earth being subject to conflict (Gen. 28:41; 37:4;
Deut. 1:16ff; John 10:30–33; Acts 15:36–40; 1 Cor. 5–6); and
WHEREAS, Scriptures anticipate conflict among Christians and prescribe guidelines and methods to be employed
where there is manifest sin or disagreement among them
(Matt. 5:23–26, 38–48; 6:12–15; 7:3–5; 18:15–18; 1 Cor.
6:1–11; 2 Cor. 5:14–20; Gal. 1:1–2); and
WHEREAS, The heart and center of all Christian conflict
resolution and reconciliation is the making right of the sinner through grace in Christ Jesus received through faith
alone; and
WHEREAS, Biblical conflict resolution begins with God’s
truth that Christ died for the sins of all people while we
were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8); therefore be it
Resolved, That in any conflict or dispute, we as Christians strive to glorify God, show Him honor, bring Him
praise, and give positive witness to what He has done for

us through Christ (1 Cor. 10:31–11:1; Gal. 2:20); and be it
further
Resolved, That we as Christians strive to see conflict as
an opportunity to serve others in a spirit of love and gentleness (Phil. 2:1–5; Gal. 6:1–2, 10; Matt. 18:15–18), setting
an example for all believers in speech, in life, in love, in
faith, and in purity (1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7); and be it further
Resolved, That we as Christians be imitators of Christ
and grow in Him in the midst of all conflict; putting away
all malice which divides Christians and grieves God’s Holy
Spirit (Eph. 4:29–32); and be it finally
Resolved, That in all disagreements, we as Christians
“get the log out of our own eye” (Matt. 7:5); “go and (lovingly) show our brother or sister his/her own fault” (Matt.
18:15); “go and be reconciled” (Matt. 5:24); and in so doing
fulfill the law of Christ and ultimately and in all things give
glory to our Father who is in heaven (1 Cor. 10:31).
Action: Adopted (5)

To Revise Bylaws Relating to Conflict
Resolution
RESOLUTION 7-11
Overture 7-59 (CW, p. 258)
WHEREAS, The Synod has adopted the Conflict Resolution process (Bylaws chapter 8) and continues to strive to
improve and revise the process that it may better reflect
the scriptural admonition, “Come now, Let us reason together”; and
WHEREAS, The Task Force on Conflict Resolution has reviewed the Bylaws of chapter VIII of the Handbook and
Rules of Procedure related to dispute resolution, and the
Task Force on Conflict Resolution appointed by President
Barry identified a number of areas where revisions or additions would be beneficial; therefore be it
Resolved, That the following Bylaw revisions be made
for the reasons given:
1. Bylaw 8.09 d states that “any party to the dispute, or
the President of the Synod if a question of doctrine or practice is involved (Art. XI B 1–3), may request a decision regarding a reconsideration.” The question has arisen as to
whether a party to the dispute may request a decision for
reconsideration on any other grounds. In order to deal with
this issue, the words “identifying the doctrine or practice
with which the decision is in conflict” that occur later in the
Bylaw shall be deleted.
2. Because of the time factors involved in notifying parties of the nine names selected by blind draw for a panel,
allowing them to delete three names if they desire, returning their response to the Secretary, and contact by the Secretary of the final three names chosen for the panel, the
Task Force does not believe that the 10 days referred to in
Bylaw 8.09 d and 8.07 h are realistic. Therefore, the number 10 shall be changed to 21 in both of these sections.
3. Because there are times when the Secretary may be
out of the office or unavailable for some other reason, there
should be provisions for moving the process forward on a
timely basis. In order to provide for that possibility, in
Bylaw 8.07 h and Bylaw 8.09 d the reference shall be made
to the Secretary of the Synod “or his representative.”