LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 23

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION
Referring to 1 Peter 3:15 and to the Great Commission,
Dr. Walz addressed the question often asked: “Am I making
a difference in anyone’s life?” Referring to the results of a
recent survey from within the Synod, he wondered whether
the LCMS is making a difference in anyone’s life? He noted
that we are on fire, ablaze, with the Holy Spirit and that
there are many ways in which we as a Synod are making a
difference. He cautioned against waiting for a better moment to share the Good News, encouraging to “just do it,”
and related the story of a boy named Billy, an unlikely candidate for telling the Good News who amazed his pastor in
doing so to a friend. He reminded that with all the ups and
downs of a convention, God is in charge, and concluded his
devotion with two verses from the mission hymn, “From
Galilee’s High Mountain,” prayer, words of benediction, and
a closing song by the choir.
Committee 9: Registration, Credentials, and Elections
Committee 9 Chairman William Klettke updated the
registration report, now totaling 619 voting pastoral delegates and 617 voting lay delegates, for a total of 1,236 voting delegates. Also registered: 269 advisory delegates, 105
special guests, and 34 District Presidents. Following the report he led the delegates in a further demonstration of the
use of electronic keypads, necessary for the more complicated voting to take place later in the session.
Committee 1: Missions
Committee 1 Chairman Paul Sieveking reminded the
delegates of the mission statement of the Synod, spoke in
general terms of the business items that will be brought
forward by his committee, called attention to the report of
the Mission 21st Century Task Force (Workbook, pp. 17−
22), and introduced Dr. Larry Stoterau, chairman of the
task force, who presented an audio-visual introductory presentation. He reminded that each Christian is a personal
letter of Christ to the world to share the Gospel to the
world. He noted that LCMS history does not always demonstrate that we understand and take seriously this commission. He reported that the task force believes that it is time
to go forward, affirming our history but also seeing the
fields white unto harvest and ourselves as ambassadors for
Jesus Christ. He noted further statistics to demonstrate the
need to take the mission seriously to a world that will never
be the world it used to be. He urged the need to see every
Christian home as a mission outpost in a foreign mission
field, the size of every congregation to be measured in the
number of members active in the mission. He urged the
need to leave St. Louis at the end of the week with a renewed commitment to missions, thinking of ourselves as
Christian missionaries, having a renewed understanding of
Christian vocation, and recognizing the need to live the
faith we profess as missionaries. He encouraged celebrating where we have done missions well and to learn from
those successes. He stated that being confessional and missional is a difficult responsibility, but the strategies learned
in foreign mission fields can now help to reach out to groups
of different cultures in our own land. Finally, he urged the
need for each congregation to see itself as a mission outpost, reaching out through Lutheran schools and the plant-

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ing of new congregations especially among new people
groups. He repeated the need to say, “God’s mission is my
mission, and God’s mission is urgent,” also evaluating how
we train our professional church workers to enable our congregations to become mission outposts and to foster team
ministry with the laity of our congregations.
Following the presentation, Res. 1-01A, “To Affirm Mission 21st Century Response to Great Commission” (TB, pp.
188–189) was introduced by the committee. During discussion a motion was offered to amend the resolution by replacing the words in the first resolved “be confessional and
mission-minded” with the words “continue to be.” After discussion of the proposed amendment and a motion to cease
debate on the motion to amend and the main motion carried [Y: 870; N: 347], the proposed amendment failed [Y:
375; N: 851] and Res. 1-01A was adopted as presented [Y:
947; N: 280].
The orders of the day having been called, Floor Committee 1 was excused.
Adoption of Slate for President
The slate of candidates for the Office of President was
introduced and a motion was made and seconded to ratify
the slate as presented. After discussion, a motion was made
to allow each candidate opportunity to address the convention for ten minutes. After the chair ruled that the motion
was not offered at an appropriate time, the slate was
adopted as presented [Y: 1,222; N: 8]. The motion to allow
each candidate opportunity to address the convention for
ten minutes was again offered as an addition of a standing
rule. After the motion was seconded and discussed, debate
was ended [Y: 1,045; N: 179] and the motion to amend the
standing rules was defeated [Y: 346; N: 882].
Balloting for President
The convention chaplain was asked to lead the delegates
in prayer in preparation for the election of President. The
results of the first ballot were as follows:
William Diekelman, 9
Gerald Kieschnick, 653
Kurt Marquart, 77
Daniel Preus, 391
Dean Wenthe, 107
Gerald Kieschnick was declared elected for his second
term as President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod. He offered words of thanks and gave recognition to
the role that his wife plays in his service as President of the
Synod.
Adoption of Slate for First Vice-President
The slate of candidates for the Office of First Vice-President was introduced. A motion to ratify the slate was carried [Y: 1,220; N: 13].
Balloting for First Vice-President
The convention chaplain was again asked to lead in
prayer. The results of the first ballot were as follows:
William Diekelman, 595
Ronald Garwood, 30
2004 Convention Proceedings