LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 242

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242 HIGHER EDUCATION

WHEREAS, There is therefore a serious need for strong and
sound in-depth biblical and confessional theological expertise to
be in included in the highest levels of leadership not only in our
seminaries but also in all of our colleges and universities; and

WHEREAS, It is highly important that our colleges, universities,
and seminaries all be on the same theological “page” so that there
can be good communication and coordination between all twelve
institutions and that thus they may all “be perfectly united in one
mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10), in the training of future
pastors, primary and secondary educators, deaconesses, missionar-
ies, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach,
future professors, etc.; and

WHEREAS, In the present shortage of pastors in our Synod, it
would be a benefit if there was better coordination between our
seminaries and our colleges and universities in the Synod’s re-
cruitment and preparation of young men for pre-seminary training;
therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Handbook of the Synod be amended to allow
for each seminary faculty to elect one of its professors, associate
professors, assistant professors, or professors emeriti to serve as a
voting member on each college or university board of regents (i.e.,
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to elect a total of ten of its fac-
ulty—one to each of the ten college and university boards of re-
gents—and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, to elect
a total of ten of its faculty—one to each of the same ten college
and university boards of regents—so that there will be two semi-
nary professors, one from each seminary, on each college or uni-
versity board of regents); and be it further

Resolved, The Handbook of the Synod be re-written in such a
way that the Synod, in convention, shall always elect at least the
majority plus one of the members of each of the boards of regents
of its colleges and universities in order that every synodical col-
lege or university may truly remain under the control of the church
body as a whole.

Pilgrim
Louisville, KY

5-58

To Equip Hispanic Lutherans
for Multiethnic Ministries

WHEREAS, Hispanic people in the United States of America, ac-
cording to the last census, are reported to be 37 million strong; and

WHEREAS, An article in the Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, 2002, ti-
tled “Hispanics Embracing English as Language of Success,” re-
ported that, in spite of a number of Spanish television channels and
controversies over bilingual education, recent surveys show His-
panics are assimilating into our American culture and embracing
English as a key to success; and

WHEREAS, Many Hispanic young people in the United States
prefer English as their primary language; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has a strong
commitment to share God’s Word with Hispanic people and with
other ethnic groups, to fulfill our Lord’s Great Commission (Matt.
28:18-20); therefore be it

Resolved, That the convention of the Northern Illinois District
encourage The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Board for
Higher Education to take into account these new realities of the
Hispanic population and to seek new ways and means to equip His-
panic Lutheran workers for a multiethnic ministry, to enable them
to minister to Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the United States.

Northern Dlinois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6,
Northern Dlinois District

5-59

To Encourage Training of Christian Writers

WHEREAS, There is great need to bring the Gospel to the world;
and

WuereEas, C. S. Lewis was a tremendous’ apologist and evan-
gelist for the faith through his fiction and other writings; and

WHEREAS, In our day such books as the Left Behind series have
brought an interesting brand of the Christian faith to the American
public; and

WHEREAS, There is great need to clearly communicate the real
Gospel to a lost world; and

WHEREAS, There is need to do this through the writing of sound
fiction, novels, and other written media; therefore be it

Resolved, That our Synod encourage and promote through its
university system courses and degree programs of writing that are
designed for apologetics and evangelism using fiction, nonfiction,
and other written media.

St. Paul
Waseca, MN

5-60

To Leave Responsibility for Continuing Education
with Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support

WHEREAS, The Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support
(CMGS) has since its creation endeavored to support the blessings
of the church’s workers by providing “opportunity for the continu-
ing education and vocational growth of the church’s workers, to
advocate and facilitate care and counsel for the church’s workers to
support them in the performance of their official duties, and to ad-
vocate and facilitate support for the personal well-being of the
church’s workers and their family members” (Bylaw 3.913); and

WHEREAS, The CMGS has taken a wholistic approach to pas-
toral formation and support with continuing education being one
aspect of that task; and

WHEREAS, The CMGS believes that voluntary continuing edu-
cation is consistent with our theology of church and ministry and
will benefit the church most effectively; and

Whereas, Among other efforts, the CMGS has successfully de-
veloped and implemented the Post-Seminary Applied Learning and
Support initiative (PALS), which involves considerable continuing
education activities but also includes other aspects of support for
new pastors and their families and has seen voluntary participation
levels of about 70 percent; and

WHEREAS, The long-term research (with surveys done in 1990,
1996, 2000) measuring continuing education done by the Synod in-
dicates that this approach has been effective in increasing the an-
nual amount of time pastors and all commissioned workers spend
in continuing education activities and significantly increasing the
amount of time and money being set aside by congregations for
that purpose; and

WHEREAS, The CMGS has sought to work to coordinate the ac-
tivities of all in the Synod who seek to support all of our workers,
including pastors, as described in the Bylaws: “It shall develop,
sponsor, and coordinate continuing educational and vocational
growth and personal well-being initiatives among the entities of the
Synod whose work impacts the church’s workers and their fami-
lies” (Bylaw 3.915 e); and

WHEREAS, The CMGS has, through its Growth in Excellence in
Ministry initiative (GEM), assisted both Concordia University Sys-
tem schools and our two LCMS seminaries to develop further their
church-worker continuing education initiatives; and

WHEREAS, It has been proposed that continuing education for
pastors be placed exclusively under the Board for Higher Educa-
tion, which up to the present time has overseen the strictly acade-
mic institutions of the. Synod; and