LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 51

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 51

other and are convinced of one another’s integrity, they are freer
to use their discretion where such prior consultation is impossible.
We do not want to fall into the trap of case-law rigidity by setting
down rules for every conceivable situation. At the same time, the
exception should not become the rule, lest the truth of the Gospel
be compromised.

A pastor may face situations in the community where no other
pastoral care is available, and he may be asked to minister to those
outside his congregation. Before doing this, ideally he would con-
sult with other LCMS pastors, especially the Circuit Counselor,
District President or Vice Presidents. But often these cases do not
allow for consultation of any kind and on-the-spot decisions have
to be made. In these and other situations nearly every pastor may
question even his own decision and wish he had taken another
course of action. We do not have the option of changing the past
but must be content with believing that we made the best possible
decision under the circumstances.

A Concluding Word on the Responses

The numerous responses to The Lutheran Understanding of
Church Fellowship show the importance of church fellowship for
LCMS members. A word of thanks to all participants, especially
to those who made extensive handwritten comments! The desire of
some for a more detailed examination of scriptural and confessional
passages cited in the document in support of the LCMS position is
a positive sign. Obviously LCMS members want the Synod’s fel-
lowship principles and practices to be firmly grounded on their bib-
lical and confessional foundations. Encouraging continued study
does not mean that the LCMS has no position on fellowship. Quite
to the contrary! One reason for establishing the LCMS, as is evi-
denced in its Constitution, was to be faithful to Scripture’s teaching
on church fellowship. Many times since its formation in 1847, the
LCMS has reaffirmed this. But this does not imply that nothing re-
mains to be said on the topic. The goal of The Lutheran Under-
standing of Church Fellowship is not to suggest that the LCMS fol-
low tradition blindly, but to set forth and apply scriptural and
confessional doctrine in the light of current challenges. A pure un-
derstanding of the doctrine of church fellowship will strengthen our
witness to Christ and His Gospel. For the sake of our unity in the
pure doctrine of Christ, we ask God to bless our church as we con-
tinue to study this issue.

Adopted February 16, 2001

Note

1 In a 1973 opinion titled “What Is a Service?” (with which the
CTCR concurred) the Synod’s Commission on Worship
responded in part as follows to the question, “Is a wedding
ceremony a ‘service’ in the same sense as, for instance, Sunday
morning worship?”

Any occasion on which a public worship of God occurs—that
is, in which the Word of God and prayer are used by a regularly des-
ignated worship leader of the church—is understood to be a “ser-
vice.” This would therefore include not only those occasions regu-
larly designated as worship services (e.g., the ordinary Sunday
morning worship noted in the question above) but also occasions—
such as weddings, funerals, dedications, baccalaureates, etc.—which
may have an ad hoc assembly different from the regular congrega-
tional worship asscmbly.

It should be noted, morcover, that there are other types of “ser-
vice” than just the “public” occasions for worship. Thus when the
congregation’s (or its delegated representative’s—e.g., mission
board, association of congregations, etc.) officially designated wor-
ship Jeader (chaplain, pastor, etc.) carries out his regularly appointed
ministerial functions (private Communion, etc.) in which the Word
of God and prayer (also at times exposition of the Word and/or
singing of hymns) form the major portion of such function, this also
is rightly understood to be a congregational “service,” albeit only a
private or a semiprivate one.

The use of the Word of God and prayer as an entity in ilself (as
a corporate worship of God) constitutes a “service.” This is nol 10 be
confused with a similar use of the Word and prayer as an integral
part of a broader program (e.g., the opening or closing devotion of a
meeting).

R3-02
Commission on Doctrinal Review

During the past triennium, the Commission on Doctrinal Re-
view has successfully dealt with the matters assigned to it in ac-
cordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod.

Cameron A. MacKenzie, Chairman

R4-01

The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod Foundation

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Foundation
began in 1958 to serve individuals, organizations, and agencies of
the church in growing as Christian stewards. Through resources
and services, the Foundation helps link people across the country
with giving opportunities in support of the various ministries of the
LCMS. Based in St. Louis, the Foundation has counselors through-
out the country who are assigned to a District, university. or other
ministry in a geographic area. Counselors work with stewards to
turn their vision for support into a reality through a life plan that
includes appropriate gifting instruments. The Foundation assisted
donors in gifting to the LCMS $125.528,110 in the last fiscal year.
The Foundation distributed $31.779,454 from bequests, endow-
ments, matured agreements, and special gifts in fiscal 2000.

The Foundation has gone through much change since the loss of
$40 million in 1998. A]l investments are now managed by outside
investment managers and the Foundation has reorganized to better
serve the church.

In May 2000 Norman Sell retired, and the Foundation employed
Mark Stuenkel as the new president. Under new leadership the
Foundation has reorganized and embraces the following units:
¢ Stewardship Ministry
* Individual Ministry
¢ Organizational Ministry
* Marketing
¢ Customer Support
* Information Technology
* Trust Services
* Gift Processing
Finance
* Investment Operations

Administration

The LCMS Foundation currently administers over 8,100 ac-
counts, of which more than 1,400 are custodial accounts for other
organizations. We maintain relationships with almost 6,000 donors,
over 5,000 beneficiaries, 1,400 named ministries within the ac-
counts, and almost 130 various relationships with other interested
parties of the accounts.

The Foundation is poised to redefine itself to the church in new
ways without abandoning the guiding principles that have brought
the Foundation to where it is today. The eight reorganized units are
working together to serve the church to grow stewards for life. The
Foundation is planning completely new ways to deliver resources
and services. The “New LCMS Foundation” is working on ex-
panding its service to the church through additional gift-planning

2001 Convention Workbook