LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 5

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Preface
The 2001 convention of our Synod is now history. Delegates and representatives from across
the Synod and the far corners of the earth came together in St. Louis, July 14–20, to do the
work of the church, which is to tell the Good News about Jesus.
The Handbook of our Synod makes clear the twofold purpose of our conventions, (1) to “afford an opportunity for worship, nurture, inspiration, fellowship, and the communication of
vital information” and (2) to serve as the principal legislative assembly of the Synod “which
amends the Constitution and Bylaws, considers and takes action on reports and overtures,
and handles appropriate appeals” (Bylaw 3.01, p. 34). One of the resolutions adopted by the
convention intended to make clear, however, that there is but one overall purpose to all that
Christians do together. Res. 1-02 required the addition of the following final resolve to every
resolution that remained to be adopted: “Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall
be used to help carry out ‘The Great Commission’ and shall not in any way detract or distract
from the primary mission of God’s kingdom here on earth.”
The telling of the Good News was indeed at the heart of all of the business of the convention.
While the convention essays were in large part determined by an action of the 1995 convention,
which required that the 2001 convention “devote special attention to the topic of church fellowship, including joint worship and Communion fellowship” and that “significant time be
scheduled during the 2001 convention for prayer and the special study of church fellowship
through the study of Scripture and the Confessions, doctrinal essays, and theological discussions,” the five essays faithfully related the topic of fellowship to telling the Good News about
Jesus, as did also the many opportunities for worship.
Much of the business of the convention was also clearly, if not directly, related to the theme,
including resolutions to increase mission and evangelism activity; to reorganize the services
provided to Districts and congregations; to enter into altar and pulpit fellowship with Lutheran
churches in Sri Lanka, Haiti, Lithuania, and Latvia; to address church worker shortage and
support concerns; to express again our Synod’s convictions regarding the sanctity of human life
with special regard for persecuted Christians; and to continue to work on revisions to our Handbook to facilitate our life and work together as tellers of the Good News about Jesus.
To assist in your reading of the resolutions in these Proceedings, it will be helpful to note the
following:
• Resolutions with an A or B attached to their identifying number are those that were revised
or substituted after presentation by a floor committee in the first issue of Today’s Business.
• The number in parentheses at the bottom of each resolution after the action taken refers to
the session in which the final action was taken.
• The comments within parentheses below each resolution offer information regarding changes
attempted or made as the resolution was being discussed.
• The final vote totals are reported in brackets within the parenthetical comments under each
resolution. Other ballot results are included in the minutes of the convention.
• References to page numbers in the minutes are references to issues of Today’s Business provided to delegates prior to and each morning of the convention.
Resolutions of the Synod are significant actions. In them the Synod states its intentions for
its members as they walk and work together under the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Every
member congregation and church worker is expected to honor and uphold its resolutions as
part of life together in the synodical fellowship (Bylaw 2.39). But the adoption of resolutions is
only one-half of the action taken. They remain to be implemented as our mutual decisions according to which we will be about our business as tellers of the Good News about Jesus in the
years before us. May God the Holy Spirit guide and direct all of our efforts to do so, to the glory
of His holy name and for the salvation of many other people.
Raymond L. Hartwig, Secretary

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