LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 195

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UNPRINTED REPORT AND LATE OVERTURES
fellowship) should not be involved in leading the worship
service or delivering the message.
VII. Ecclesiastical Supervision of RSOs
Early in the work of the TF, it became clear that much
confusion exists over who has responsibility to review and
maintain the relationship of RSOs to the Synod. The TF
also discovered that our synodical Bylaws do not provide
for a periodic review of RSO status.
To help the reader understand the existing apparatus
for ecclesiastical supervision, the TF presents below a portion of the existing Board for Congregational Services
“Church Recognition of Recognized Service Organizations”
document, a document in which it recommends one change:
“V. CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION
C. Additional items to be provided for Day Care Centers, Early Childhood Centers, Elementary and Secondary Schools:
1. LCMS congregations and rostered workers of the
institution, through its governing body, are ecclesiastically accountable directly to The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod through the appropriate
LCMS district president(s). (It may or may not be
accountable also to other Lutheran bodies not in
altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCMS.)
VI. RESPONSIBILITIES OF RECOGNITION
B. Responsibilities on the Part of the RSO
2. The RSO shall foster the mission and ministry of
the church, engage in program activity that is in
harmony with the program of the BFCS and related service area(s), and respects and does not act
contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod.
C. Responsibilities on the Part of the LCMS District:
5. Monitor the school or other agency and its staff to
ensure that the school or other agency:
c. Respects and does not act contrary to the doc
trine and practice of the
LCMS as set forth in the Scriptures, the
Lutheran Confessions, and the applicable resolutions of the Synod.
6. Inform the Board for Congregational Services if
the school or other agency fails to abide by the
“Criteria for Recognition” and/or does not carry
out the “Responsibilities of Recognition” identified
in this document, with a recommendation whether
or not recognition should be continued for that
school or other agency.”

195

fined by its Constitution and Bylaws. The granting of recognition by the Synod signifies that a service organization, while independent of the Synod,
fosters the mission and ministry of the church, engages in program activity that is in harmony with
the programs of the boards of the Synod, and respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and
practice of the Synod. The determination of whether
a service organization respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod shall
be made by the president of the district in which the
service organization is located.
c. Requests for Recognized Service Organization status shall be made to the board of the Synod to
which the organization desires to relate. Within
the area of its responsibility, each board of the
Synod may determine those organizations to
which Recognized Service Organization status will
be granted. The board which grants Recognized
Service Organization status to a service organization shall review the status of that organization
every five years in consultation with the president
of the district in which the service organization is
located.
VIII. Teaching
The ELCA’s recent ecumenical actions have been steps
along a course increasingly divergent from that of the
LCMS. These actions present us with the necessity to indicate the manner in which we will proclaim the Gospel
through Lutheran education amidst a broad-based constituency and in a changing world, for our Lutheran schools
serve an increasing number of families with diverse backgrounds. Examples:
• In 1972–73 the average Lutheran school had 65% of its
pupils from the operating LCMS congregation. For the
1999–2000 school year, 39% come from the operating
LCMS congregation.
• In 1972–73, 29% of student population came from other
Christian congregations. In 1999–2000, 47% came from
other Christian churches.
• In 1972–73 only 6% of those attending Lutheran schools
came from unchurched homes, while in 1999–2000 some
15% were from unchurched families.
Graphic 1: Chuch Membership of Children Who Attend Lutheran Schools

Recommendations for Ecclesiastical Supervision
of RSOs:
1. That the sentence currently in parentheses in policy
VC1. above be deleted by the Board for Congregational Services or by the Synod.
2. That the words in italics below be added to the existing synodical Bylaw:
14.03 Recognized Service Organizations
a. Recognized Service Organization status may be
granted to a service organization (other than an
auxiliary) that extends the mission and ministry
of the Synod but is not part of the Synod as de200l Convention Proceedings