LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 23

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION
Committee 1: Missions
Rev. Robert Newton, President of the CaliforniaNevada-Hawaii District and chairman of Floor Committee 1, introduced the business of the committee. He then
introduced Res. 1-01A, “To Support Revitalization of
LCMS Congregations” (TB, p. 179) and moved its adoption
on behalf of the committee. After discussion, a suggestion
to amend the third Whereas paragraph by adding the
words “and renewing its members in order that they” after
the word “disciples” in place of the word “who” was agreed
to by the committee. After further discussion, a motion
was introduced to cease debate on Res. 1-01A. Debate was
ended [Yes: 1,048; No: 89] and the resolution was adopted
[Yes: 929; No: 199].
The Orders of the Day calling for noon recess, the assembly was excused with the announcement that the current total for the special convention offering was $391,719.
Session 2
July 15, 2007
Call to Gather and Opening Devotion
President Gerald Kieschnick called the session to order
and called on Dr. Dale Meyer, President of Concordia
Seminary in St. Louis, to introduce the devotion leader,
Dr. Robert Roegner. In his meditation, Dr. Roegner recalled the story of Jonah and Jonah’s reluctance to go to
Nineveh because he knew the heart of God and didn’t
want Nineveh to repent. Today the message of God’s love
is even more clear, as in John 3:16, favorite passage of
many, to be shared with all people, even the least deserving in our way of thinking. This is what Ablaze! means,
simply to share the Good News, making God’s mission our
mission.
Election of President
After introducing the slate of candidates for the office of
President of the Synod, a motion to ratify the slate for
President was carried [Yes: 1,196; No: 10]. Convention
chaplain Dale Meyer was asked to lead the assembly in
prayer.
Floor Committee 9 Chairman Larry Harvala provided
the latest registration report:
Voting delegates
1,238
Advisory delegates
320
Advisory district presidents
34
Ad hoc committee members
3
Former officers
2
Invited guests
5
Total
1,602
After the election process was explained, the results of
the first ballot were as follows:
William Diekelman
23
Gerald Kieschnick
644
Daniel Preus
23
Wallace Schulz
27
John Wohlrabe, Jr.
514
Gerald Kieschnick was declared elected. He shared the
words of Phil. 1:3–5 and spoke of the blessings he has received by the grace of God, including his election to the Of-

23

fice of President for the third time. He spoke of lessons
learned—at times from criticism received, thanked God for
the daily assurance of forgiveness, and spoke of the opportunities facing the Synod in years to come. He also called
attention to the service provided by the Council of Presidents, offering a special word of appreciation to Dr. Robert
King for 21 years of service as a vice-president of the
Synod. He also gave recognition to his family members present, saving a special word of thanks and recognition for
his wife, Terry, noting her involvements as the “first lady of
the LCMS.”
Election of First Vice-President
After the slate of candidates for First Vice-President was
introduced, a motion to ratify the slate was carried [Yes:
1,209; No: 9]. The President called on convention chaplain
Dean Wenthe to lead the assembly in prayer.
The results of the first ballot for First Vice-President
were as follows:
William Diekelman
Charles Mueller, Jr.
Daniel Preus
Wallace Schulz
John Wohlrabe, Jr.

590
9
95
102
424

After the name of Charles Mueller was removed from
consideration upon receiving the fewest votes, the results
of the second ballot for First Vice-President were as follows:
William Diekelman
Daniel Preus
Wallace Schulz
John Wohlrabe, Jr.

614
16
22
582

After the name of Daniel Preus was removed from consideration, the results of the third ballot for First Vice-President were as follows:
William Diekelman
Wallace Schulz
John Wohlrabe, Jr.

623
11
600

William Diekelman was declared elected as First VicePresident of the Synod.
After the slate of 20 candidates for vice-presidents two
through five was introduced, a motion to ratify the slate as
presented was carried [Yes: 1,203; No: 12]. After convention chaplain Dale Meyer led the assembly in prayer, Committee 9 Chairman Larry Harvala explained the voting
process to be used upon preparation of the ballot.
Committee 5: Seminary and University Education
Committee 5 Chairman Jon Diefenthaler, President of
the Southeastern District, after introducing the business to
be brought before the convention by his committee, introduced Res. 5-06, “To Clarify Membership on the Board for
Pastoral Education and the Board for University Education” (TB, pp. 104–105), for consideration by the assembly.
He called attention to two changes to the resolution by the
committee: (1) Immediately after the new wording proposed
for Bylaw 3.8.2.1 ending with the word “Education,” the
committee added the words “as a voting member.” (2) Similarly, after the new wording proposed for Bylaw 3.8.3.2
ending with the word “Education,” the committee added the
2007 Convention Proceedings