LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 33

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION
eration of God’s order of creation; and WHEREAS, President
Dr. Al Barry in 1994 published his ‘regret’ in the Reporter
concerning both the content of this document and the manner in which the CTCR’s executive committee distributed
the document; and WHEREAS, At the 1995 LCMS convention, the Synod (Res. 3-06A) directed the CTCR to continue
to study this document along with dissenting opinions, and
to do so ‘in consultation with the faculties of the seminaries;’ and WHEREAS, The CTCR has not reported to any succeeding convention any record of such communication with
or from the seminaries on the topic of the role of women in
the church, nor has any further report been issued; and
WHEREAS, The 1994 report reappeared on the docket of the
2004 convention unchanged, without informing delegates
as to the Synod’s previous mandate for the CTCR to seek
seminary input; and WHEREAS, The 2004 LCMS convention
approved Resolution 3-08A by a vote of 576–520; and
WHEREAS, This approved resolution (3-08A) may violate
God’s order of creation and His instruction ‘to all congregations of the saints’ (1 Cor. 14:33b–38; 1 Tim. 2: 11–12); and
WHEREAS, Seven (7) districts submitted overtures to this
2007 convention requesting that we rescind Resolution 308A; therefore be it Resolved, That we praise God for creating us uniquely male and female, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for
us to do (Eph. 2:10); and be it further Resolved, That we
praise God for the more than 4,000 women serving in fulltime church service in our Synod; and be it further Resolved, That 2004 Resolution 3-08A be rescinded, along
with any policies or administrative procedures that have
stemmed from it; and be it further Resolved, That the
CTCR complete the work mandated to it by the Synod
(1995 Resolution 3-06A), receiving input from the faculties
of our two seminaries, and publish seminary input online;
and be it finally Resolved, That the CTCR author a new
document concerning the service of women in congregational offices to be presented for discussion and possible approval at the 2010 LCMS convention.” After the presenter
and the floor committee were given opportunity to speak,
the motion to introduce a substitute resolution failed [Yes:
414; No: 628]. Discussion of the resolution was ended by the
Orders of the Day.
Bible Study
The chair called on convention chaplain Dean Wenthe
to introduce the Bible study leader, Dr. Dean Nadasdy,
Third Vice-President of the Synod (Outline of study, TB, p.
267). Using Acts 17:16–34, the story of Paul in the meeting
of the Areopagus, Dr. Nadasdy spoke of the lack of truth in
our culture, suggesting that we can bash our culture, dash
from it, or cash in and just go with it. Or we can do what
the church has been sent to do: to transform the world by
Jesus Christ. He noted how Paul operated in such an environment: he stood alone, presenting a God who is so much
bigger by witnessing to the resurrection.
The assembly was asked to discuss in small groups what
keeps the LCMS from being a more visible player in our
culture’s debate of ideas and truths and what aspect of
Paul’s witness in Athens is most significant for our church

33

today. The Bible study closed with the singing of the hymn
“Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide.”
The chair suggested a possible revised agenda in response to the interest expressed earlier for more time to
study the ballot. He suggested moving the time for the ballot to the end of the afternoon session. A motion was offered
to change the Orders of the Day as explained by the chair.
The motion failed to receive the required two-thirds vote
necessary to change the Orders of the Day [Yes: 705;
No: 386].
Floor Committee 7: Planning and Administration
Committee Chairman Daniel May introduced Res. 704A, “To Amend Bylaw 2.11.2.1 re Emeritus Members”
(TB, p. 201). An amendment was proposed to add the words
“or a representative identified by his district president”
after the words “emeritus member” in paragraph (a) of
Bylaw 2.11.2.1. The chair referenced a recent CCM opinion
to the effect that Bylaw 7.1.1 allows the consideration of
“minor” amendments without separate referral to the floor
committee and CCM if they are considered by the floor committee to be within the scope of that which the committee
has already considered and if they are within the scope of
what the CCM examined in advance. The committee chairman and the CCM agreed that the proposed amendment in
this case was acceptable. The committee also agreed to accept the change. After discussion continued, a motion to
cease debate carried [Yes: 1,040; No: 88], and Res. 7-04A
was adopted as changed [Yes: 965; No: 172].
Res. 7-05B, “To Promote Transparency in Governance of
Synod and Its Institutions” (TB, p. 283), was introduced by
the committee. The parliamentarian advised that this resolution would require a two-thirds vote. A motion was introduced to amend the resolution by adding a new second
resolve: “Resolved, That all bylaws and procedures of our
boards and commissions allow for a one-fifth minority of
any board or commission to call for a roll call vote of its
members at any time; and be it further.” Concern was expressed by the CCM that this would constitute a bylaw
change requiring consideration by the floor committee and
the CCM prior to its consideration by the convention. With
the approval of the CCM and the floor committee, the
amendment was discussed. The word “bylaws” in the proposed amendment was changed by common consent to
“policies.” When the chair asked whether assembly was
ready to end debate on the amendment, the assembly
agreed [Yes: 1,026; No: 115]. The vote on the amendment
failed [Yes: 538; No: 613]. Given the parliamentary question regarding the required vote, the chair suggested that
this item of business be left for the next time that the floor
committee appears before the convention, to allow time for
the parliamentary question to be given more consideration.
When it was determined that the Orders of the Day provided additional time for Committee 7, the parliamentarian advised that accurate registration information would
be necessary to decide Res. 7-05B. The President asked the
committee to move on to other business until such information was available.
2007 Convention Proceedings