LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 176

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176

RESOLUTIONS
effort to lead that person to see the inconsistency
of contradictory confession and witness; and
• has renounced to the pastor and/or church
council the unchristian or antichristian character of the organization in which membership
is held.
In such exceptional cases the pastor should consult
with his brethren in the ministry or with officials of
the Synod, as the case may require. He should, furthermore, beware of procrastination and the giving
of offense to members of either the congregation or
sister congregations.
(4) The Synod instructs its officials to exercise vigilant
care and urges all pastors and congregations to
carry out these provisions and faithfully eradicate
all compromise or negation of the Gospel through
members’ identification with objectionable organizations. It shall be the duty of every member, pastor, and especially officials of the Synod to admonish those pastors and congregations that fail to offer
counter testimony and take decisive action in matters pertaining to this subject. Refusal to heed
brotherly admonition shall lead to suspension and
eventual expulsion from the Synod.

Action: Adopted (4)
(The resolution was adopted without amendment [yes: 810;
no: 328].)

To Revise Bylaws re Commission
on Ministerial Growth and Support
RESOLUTION 7-30
Overture 7-28 (CW, pp. 245–47)
Rationale for Bylaw Revisions
1. The revisions include, in the first paragraph, a direct
link with the constitutional objectives of the Synod (cf. Art.
III 3, 8, 10).
2. The revisions more clearly and accurately reflect the
commission’s current responsibilities for the vocational
growth and personal well-being of the church’s workers and
for meeting the changing and increasing needs of the
church in the care and support of its workers.
3. The revisions make more effective use of advisory
input and use better stewardship of time by not requiring
advisory members to sit through entire commission meetings, but by calling upon their advisory function when their
area of expertise comes into view and by allowing flexibility
to solicit advice as the needs dictate.
4. The revisions incorporate a specific function of coordination (objective “e”) to fulfill the goal of coordination previously envisioned as taking place through advisory members.
Rationale for Restructuring Board Membership
1. The revisions incorporate a reduction in the total number of members from fourteen (nine voting and five advisory) to thirteen (thirteen voting and no advisory) members.
2. The revisions increase the active decision-making
power and representative character of the commission by
increasing the number of voting members through restructuring without increasing the total number of commission
members.
3. The revisions increase the representative character of
the commission by matching the number of lay members
(three) to the number of parish pastors (three) and to the
number of commissioned ministers (three) through re200l Convention Proceedings

structuring without increasing the total number of commission members.
4. The revisions strengthen congregational involvement
in the support of church workers by increasing the number
of lay members through restructuring without increasing
the total number of commission members.
5. The revisions conform more closely to the other commissions and boards that do not designate particular advisory members.
6. The revisions assume a modified way of using advisory
input, which accomplishes a better stewardship of time by
not requiring advisory personnel to sit through entire commission meetings, but which calls on their advisory function
when their area of expertise comes into view and which allows flexibility to solicit advice as the needs dictate.
7. The revisions incorporate a specific function of coordination (objective “e”) to fulfill the goal of coordination previously envisioned as taking place through advisory members.
Bylaw Recommendation
PRESENT WORDING
3.913 Membership
The Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support
shall consist of nine members, who shall be appointed
by the President of the Synod: three ordained ministers,
two commissioned ministers, one layperson, one college
representative, and one representative from each of the
two seminaries. At least two of the above shall be
parish pastors, one of the above a District President or
executive. The executive director of the Board of Higher
Education (or his designee), the executive director for
the Board for Congregational Services (or his designee),
the President of the Synod (or his designee), the director of Human Resources of the Synod, and director of
Ministerial Health/Health and Healing Ministries shall
be advisory members.
3.915 Functions
The commission shall assist the mission and ministry of the Synod and its congregations by
a. providing opportunities and settings for all professional church workers to continue growing in Christ
and in the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and personal
well-being they need to serve Him in His church;
b. helping professional workers develop personal
and professional growth plans on a continuing basis for
more satisfying and effective ministry;
c. building a local and regional support system
through the Districts for the care and growth of professional workers;
d. assisting congregations and professional workers
to assess needs in the area of professional care and
growth and enlist the aid of appropriate synodical institutions, boards, and agencies in meeting those needs;
e. developing and supervising a system of granting
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and encouraging
the Synod through its Districts to monitor the credits
of individuals and record such credits as reported by the
individual worker for inclusion in the personnel file;
f. developing a system for reporting and evaluation
of ministerial-growth programs in the Synod;
g. assisting Districts in building an ongoing structure for ministerial growth, providing them with resources and support services, and helping them establish liaisons with centers of education as well as with
the commission;
h. developing programs of ministerial growth and
well being through the Districts;