LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 68

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68

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

Part II
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ, Savior of the
world and Lord of the universe, through whom alone we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation!
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome to this Floor Committee Weekend, in preparation for the 62nd Regular Convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. As you are well aware, convention
activities will begin seven weeks from tomorrow. Many in
the Synod are looking forward with great anticipation to this
convention and I pray that is true of each of you, as well.
In addition, I’ve heard that some are looking forward to
this convention with great anxiety. While I myself am not
terribly familiar with that concept, I do want to assure you
that in my travels around the Synod and in communications from pastors, educators, and laypeople from throughout the Synod, I am greatly encouraged by the voluntarily
and freely offered assurance that many, many people and
many, many congregations are holding each of us, the entire Synod, and the synodical convention in their private
and public prayers.
Although originally offered in a context of prayer for
healing, the words of the apostle James seem fitting for our
church body as well: “Therefore confess your sins to each
other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”
(James 5:16). It is my prayer that the prayers of the many
who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, our Savior, will indeed be received with favor by
God Himself and that His blessing will abound in our midst
during the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
Floor Committee Selection
Process and Assignment
There are several aspects of this Report of the President
of the Synod, Part II. Before delving into specific areas of
importance and concern, I believe it is important to say a
few words about how and why each one of you has been selected to serve your God and your Synod as a member of a
Convention Floor Committee. The Bylaws of our Synod address this important matter with the following words:
Bylaw 3.19 g. All reports and overtures accepted by
the President in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs shall be referred by him to convention committees appointed by him in the name of the convention
from among the voting delegates (Bylaw 3.03), advisory
delegates (Bylaw 3.09), and advisory representatives
(Bylaw 3.13). Ordained ministers, commissioned ministers, and laypersons shall be represented on all committees. The President shall notify committee members
of their appointment and of the time and place of their
first meeting no later than 12 weeks before the start of
the convention. The committee rosters shall be published in an official periodical at least 10 weeks before
the convention.

Those words describe in general how you got here. More
specifically, in appointing each of you to your respective
floor committee, I asked for and received assistance from
your District President, who several months ago received
information from my office regarding the process that
2004 Convention Proceedings

would be followed in the selection of floor committee members.
Basically that process recognized the variation in numbers of convention voting delegates from each of the 35 Districts of the Synod and created a formula for floor committee representation in proportion to that number of voting
delegates from each District. Essentially, the larger the
number of voting delegates, the greater the number of floor
committee members, with a minimum of at least one floor
committee member from each District.
Your District President was quite helpful in identifying
the gifts, interests, and experiences of the voting delegates
from your District, from among whom you were chosen for
this position. Serving on a floor committee includes privilege, task, and process, all briefly described in the remainder of Bylaw 3.19 g.:
After due consideration of the matters referred to it,
each committee is to report its findings and recommendations to the convention. If the President deems it advisable, he may convene any committees prior to the
opening of the convention. The first issue of Today’s
Business shall be issued containing tentative resolutions. This issue of Today’s Business shall be sent to all
registered delegates of the convention and to each congregation of the Synod.

Those of you who serve as floor committee chairmen and
vice chairmen are well aware of the process by which you
were selected by the Synod President. Essentially, a review
was conducted of synodical conventions since 1980, providing objective information regarding how frequently and
how recently each District has been privileged to offer the
services of its District President as Floor Committee Chairman. In addition, consideration was given to gifts, interests, and experiences of District Presidents that would be
compatible with the needs of each floor committee.
In all cases, the process of appointment of floor committee chairmen and members was bathed in prayer and purposeful reflection. While others may have been chosen for
the position you now hold, the fact remains that, in the
words of the letter written by the apostles and elders in
Acts 15 (the portion of Scripture, incidentally, that summarizes one of the two reasons for the forming of this “Synodical Union” we know and love as The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod), “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to
us” that each of you be appointed.
A Word of Prayer
With that introduction I invite you to join me in a word
of prayer before we proceed.
Dear heavenly Father, we praise and magnify Your
holy name. We thank You for the gift of the life, perfect
obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection of Your
Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Pour out upon us the gifts
of Your Holy Spirit, by whose working through Word
and Sacrament we have become Your children. Fill our
hearts and our minds, our lips and our lives with the
truth and the power that You alone can provide. May
every word we speak and every deed we perform bring
honor and glory to Your name, edification to Your people, and expansion to Your kingdom, in the name of
Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.