LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 34

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34

MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

the grace of God cannot keep, and that the test of a man’s
character is to give him authority and responsibility. Quoting God’s words of encouragement to Joshua to be strong
and of good courage, he joyfully accepted the election to the
Office of President and thanked the delegates for the huge
honor, the formidable challenge, and their trust.
Dr. Kuhn invited the assembly to sing a stanza of the
hymn “O Holy Spirit, Enter In.”
A motion was made and seconded to amend the Special
Standing Rules by removing Standing Rule 5. After brief
discussion, the motion failed (Y:537; N:562).
Committee 7: Structure, Planning, and Administration
The Chair called on Dr. George Wollenburg, President
of the Montana District and chairman of Committee 7. Dr.
Wollenburg requested that the Chair invoke Standing Rule
6 for the discussion of Res. 7-17A (TB, p. 293). The Chair
agreed with the request and declared that Standing Rule 6
be invoked.
Chairman Wollenburg expressed his appreciation for the
opportunity to review Dr. Walther’s book on church and
ministry, reading the theses “Concerning the Church” and
“Concerning the Holy Preaching Office or the Pastoral Office” as printed on pages 289 and 290 in the Wednesday
issue of Today’s Business. He also read in part the “Are
Doctrinal Resolutions of the Synod Binding?” article
printed on pages 287 and 288 as he concluded the floor
committee’s initial presentation.
The Chair indicated that the assembly would enter the
30-minute period of debate on the main motion stipulated
by the standing rule, allowing no motions to amend or table
or cease debate and entering into the pro-con mode. When
the 30-minute period had elapsed, the Chair informed that
the final 45-minute period allowing presentation and debate on amendments, substitute motions, the main motion,
or the main motion as amended would begin, recommending that those delegates speaking pro go to even-numbered
microphones and those speaking con to odd-numbered microphones. In response to a question, the committee chair
clarified that only the resolution would be included in the
decision of the convention.
The committee’s time having elapsed, the Chair asked
it to return again later in the day for the remainder of the
required 45-minute discussion period stipulated by Standing Rule 6.
Committee 5: Higher Education
The Chair called on Dr. James Kalthoff, President of the
Missouri District and chairman of Committee 5, to continue
the business of his committee.
Res. 5-05 (TB, p. 96), “To Amend Bylaws re Deaconess
Colloquy,” was presented by the committee. Discussion followed. When debate was ended (Y:980; N:68), the resolution was adopted (Y:1,003; N:56).
Res. 5-07 (TB, p. 99), “To Increase Congregational and
Individual Support for Full-Time Church Work Students,”
was presented by the committee. An amendment was proposed to add the following as a final Resolve: “Resolved,
That one-fourth of the gifts received in the current ‘For the
Sake of the Church’ drive be equally divided between our
200l Convention Proceedings

two seminaries for their endowment programs.” After discussion, the question was called on both the amendment
and the main motion (Y:1,053; N:52). The amendment was
defeated (Y:215; N:901). The unamended resolution was
then adopted (Y:1,079; N:38).
Year of the Child
Youth Representative Michael Lein presented the sixth
“Year of the Child” question: “How many children were enrolled in grades K–8 in our LCMS schools during the
2000–01 school year?” He provided the correct answer:
“Over 150 thousand children hear the Gospel and learn
about Jesus in our elementary schools.”
Floor Committee 3: Theology and Church Relations
The Chair called on Dr. Roger Pittelko, Fourth VicePresident of the Synod, to continue the presentation of his
committee’s resolutions.
Discussion continued on Res. 3-09A (TB, p. 176). An
amendment was proposed to replace the words “temporary
calls” in the sixth WHEREAS with the words “service without tenure.” Debate was ended on both the amendment and
the resolution (Y:975; N:115). The amendment failed
(Y:107; N:992). The resolution was adopted (Y:994; N:108).
A substitute Resolution 3-07A, previously provided to
the delegates, was read by the Secretary to the convention:
WHEREAS, The 1998 convention called for a study of
church fellowship by the CTCR; and
WHEREAS, The CTCR and President of the Synod produced “The Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship”; and
WHEREAS, “The Lutheran Understanding of Church
Fellowship” was utilized as a study document at all the
District conventions in the year 2000; and
WHEREAS, The study has hardly been acknowledged
as a consensus document of the entire Synod in the time
it has been under study; and
WHEREAS, Numerous questions and concerns remain
unresolved about the study, including the study’s own
commitment to a genuinely Lutheran understanding of
church fellowship; and
WHEREAS, The theology of the Lutheran Confessions
can be understood as appreciating the fullness of the
body of Christ than the current study document allows;
and
WHEREAS, The many practical issues of addressing
church fellowship in the experience of the real church
remain largely unaddressed in the CTCR study; therefore be it
Resolved, That “The Lutheran Understanding of
Church Fellowship” be recommitted for additional study
to the CTCR and input from the larger Synod; and be it
further
Resolved, That the 2001 convention express its
thanks to the CTCR for its work to date in examining
the fellowship issue.
After discussion, the question was called (Y:910; N:204).
The substitute resolution failed to obtain the necessary majority vote (Y:419; N:702) and consideration returned to the
original Res. 3-07A (TB, p. 175). After brief discussion, de-