LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 69

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 69

Future Goals and Challenges

¢ Regular production of Public Service Announcements in cooper-
ation with Lutheran Hour Ministries

¢ Streamline communication efforts of the International Center
based on results and recommendations from the completed com-
munications audit

¢ Fully integrate the crisis communications plan for the Interna-
tional Center

e Expand crisis communications training for District offices and
agencies

¢ Continue to develop relations and contacts in Washington, D.C.

Recommendations

The Board for Communication Services has submitted an over-
ture to the 2004 Synod convention under the heading “To Re-as-
sign Responsibility for the Church Information Center and
Icms.org.” The overture calls for the reassignment of these two re-
sponsibilities to the Board for Communication Services. As these
areas currently serve the communication functions of providing an
outlet for interpreting the Synod’s purpose, program, and mission
and for providing synodical information to the church’s various
publics—the function of our board as described in the LCMS
Handbook, the Board for Communication Services recommends
that responsibility for these functions be included within the area of
its responsibility. Further, we have asked the Synod in convention
to affirm and restore management responsibility of KFUO to the
BCS per 1986 Res. 1-12 and CCM Opinion 03-2357.

10 Most Significant Accomplishments

e Performed market research on The Lutheran Witness aimed at im-
proving the circulation and readership of the magazine

e Initiated Internship program with the CUS

© Created Web pages for online versions of The Lutheran Witness
and REPORTER

e Published a special edition of The Lutheran Witness distributed to
about a half-million homes in the U.S.

e Secured significant media placements in large-market media for
stories and interviews with LCMS experts

e Created a new LCMS television ministry entitled Point of Truth
featuring worship services of LCMS congregations and produced
by Dr. Ardon Albrecht, former producer of This Is the Life

¢ In cooperation with David Berner, Director of General Services
Information Center, helped redesign the look and feel of Synod’s
official Web site, www.lcms.org

e In cooperation with former LCMS Chief Administrative Officer
Brad Hewitt, conducted a communications audit for the Interna-
tional Center

© Created a crisis communications plan for the International Center
and conducted crisis communications training in select Districts

e Continued relationships and presence in Washington, D.C.,
through personal contacts and visits with select White House, Of-
fice of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Vet-
eran Affairs officials

10 Most Significant Goals

¢ Based on completed research, re-launch The Lutheran Witness in
conjunction with CPH

e Feature one LCMS ministry every quarter in The Lutheran Wit-
ness

e Complete a base-line study to determine awareness and basic
knowledge among LCMS members of the national synodical
ministries :

e Make an abbreviated PDF version of the REPORTER available
to LCMS congregations

e Publish and distribute annually a special edition of The Lutheran
Witness to an expanded mailing list

e Regular production of Public Service Announcements in cooper-
ation with Lutheran Hour Ministries made available to LCMS
congregations

¢ Streamline communication efforts from the International Center
based on results and recommendations from the completed com-
munications audit

¢ Fully integrate the crisis communications plan for the Interna-
tional Center while continuing crisis communications training for
District communicators

e Develop programming through Point of Truth for the Sunday
morning program “America at Worship” on the Hallmark Chan-
nel

¢ Develop 24/7 broadband digital video-stream programming based
on Point of Truth for use in evangelistic outreach via the Inter-
net

Resources Available from BCS

¢ LCMS News -— e-News subscription service

e LCMS Information/Media Kit: designed to provide information
to visitors and the media

* Public Service Announcements

¢ Consultation on Public Relations issues

e Advice and training in Crisis Communications/Management

¢ The Lutheran Witness and REPORTER

Martin Schramm, Chairman
Thomas Lapacka, Executive Director

R3-01
Commission on Theology and Church Relations

The Commission on Theology and Church Relations has three
functions: to “assist the President at his request in discharging his
constitutional responsibilities”; to “provide guidance to the Synod
in matters of theology and church relations”; and to assist the mem-
bers of the Synod in their witness regarding “societies, lodges,
cults, or any organizations of an unchristian or antichristian char-
acter” (Bylaw 3.925).

CTCR membership consists of sixteen voting and four advisory
members. The voting membership consists of two parish pastors,
one parish teacher, and two laypersons elected by the synodical
convention; two pastors (one of whom is a District President) and
two laypersons elected by the Council of Presidents; four seminary
professors, two appointed or elected by each seminary faculty; and
three additional members appointed by the President of the Synod,
in consultation with the Vice Presidents (one of these appointees
is a nonseminary synodical professor). The advisory members are
the President and First Vice-President of the Synod and the presi-
dents of the two seminaries.

The officers of the Commission during the past triennium were:
Dr. Loren Kramer, Chairman; Dr. Orville Walz, Vice Chairman;
Dr. Harold Senkbeil and Mr. Peter Hessler, Secretary (Mr. Hessler
was elected following Dr. Senkbeil’s resignation due to his accep-
tance of a call to the Ft. Wayne seminary. The Board of Directors
appointed Pastor Armand Boehme to fill the unexpired term of Dr.
Senkbeil.) The CTCR is served by three staff persons: Dr. Samuel
H. Nafzger, Executive Director; Dr. Jerald C. Joersz, Associate Ex-
ecutive Director; Rev. Joel D. Lehenbauer, Assistant Executive Di-
rector. In keeping with the Bylaws of the Synod (3.69 e), the Com-
mission during this triennium conducted a comprehensive review
of its Executive Director and reappointed him.

In 2001 Resolution 7-27A, the Synod requested that the Com-
mission on Organizations and the CTCR be combined. At its No-
vember 2002 meeting the Commission resolved to implement this
action as follows: that its staff, under the oversight of its Standing
Committee III, assume responsibility for managing and adminis-

2004 Convention Workbook