LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 264

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264 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION

Wuereas, This claim has proved false, inasmuch as under the
new process there is no guarantee that “Dispute Resolution Pan-
els” will even include pastors, in spite of Augsburg Confession Ar-
ticle 28.2] which says that the jurisdiction to judge doctrine and to
reject doctrines contrary to the Gospel belongs to the office of the
ministry by divine right; and ;

WHEREAS, This claim has also proved false by virtue of its re-
fusal to allow the accused to have counsel speak during the proce-
dure. thus removing a safeguard meant to enable those who might
be wrongly accused to defend their innocence from blame in keep-
ing with the Eighth Commandment; and

WHEREAS, This claim has also proved false by virtue of the final
jurisdiction given to the reconcilers even in matters of doctrinal
concer, even with authority over objections from a District Presi-
dent; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod return,
according to said reasons, to the old adjudication process as out-
lined in the 1989 Handbook of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod.

Rock Island Circuit Forum
Central Illinois District

7-78

To Deal with One Another in Love

WHEREAS, Conflict between brothers and sisters in Christ is in-
evitable, 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. |:
1-2); and

WHEREAS, The heart and center of all Christian conflict resolu-
tion 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, all Christians strive
to glorify God, show Him honor, bring Him praise, and give posi-
tive 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 all Christians strive to see conflict as an oppor-
tunity 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 believ-
ers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity (1 Tim. 4:12;
Titus 2:7); and be it further

Resolved, That all Christians be imitators of Christ and grow in
Him in the midst of all conflict; putting away all malice which di-
vides Christians and grieves God’s Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:29-32); and
be it further

Resolved, That in all disagreements, we 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 rec-
onciled” (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); and be it finally

Resolved, That we encourage all Christians to read The Peace-
maker by Ken Sande and, where possible encourage and receive
training in peacemaking (mediation) from the Institute of Chris-
tian Conciliation in Billings, Mont.

Shepherd of the Lakes, Brighton, MI; St. Luke, Ann Arbor,
MI

7-79

To Establish Study of Delegate Representation

WHEREAS, The Synod has always worked for fair representation
of the congregations and members it serves; and

WHEREAS, There has been a major shifting of the world’s popu-
lation into metro population centers; and

WHEREAS, Our synodical membership also represents this shift,
causing the metro population to be underrepresented; for example,
the following three Circuits are an illustration (data taken from the
1994 Statistical Yearbook):

District Circuit Number of members rep-
resented by | pastor and 1
lay delegate

Northern Illinois #5 9728

Wyoming #6 1042

Montana #2 1304

therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention have the Board of Di-
rectors of Synod assign a committee to study representation at
Synod’s conventions for the 21st century.

Martin Luther Chapel
East Lansing, MI

7-80

To Appoint Task Force to Review
Voting Representation

WHEREAS, It is in the long-range interest of the LCMS to con-
tinue to listen to and use the gifts and skills of a great variety of
congregations and individuals; and

WHEREAS, There is legitimate concern that talented servants and
leaders in many of our larger congregations are not realistically rep-
resented at District or Synod planning and policy-making events;
and

WHEREAS, There is a desire to keep sisters and brothers who
serve and lead in our growing congregations as a vibrant part of
our LCMS partnership; and

WHEREAS, There is a fearful possibility that those whose opin-
ions and skills are not sought out, heard, and used will turn else-
where, as often happens in local congregations, thus diminishing
the gifts that God makes available to our Synod; and

WHEREAS, The number of LCMS congregations has increased
slowly in recent decades (5,512 in 1963; 5,811 in 1973; 5,724 in
1983; 5,972 in 1993; 6,175 in 1995); and

WHEREAS, A majority of our congregations have plateaued or
declined in membership, but 50 percent of the Synod’s member-
ship is part of less than 20 percent of the congregations; and

WHEREAS, Because of our current structure and procedures,
many faithful, worshiping, serving fellow members are truly un-
represented at District and Synod conventions; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Board of Directors of Synod, in consultation
with the Council of Presidents of Synod, appoint a task force to (1)
examine potential ways of bringing a more representative voting
structure between the small and large congregations of the Synod
and Districts; and (2) enlist the counsel and insights of a variety of
congregations (presently small or large); and offer recommenda-
tions to bring about a more equitable and representative voting
process for congregations of the Districts and Synod at the 2001
convention.

St. Luke,
Ann Arbor, MI