LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 4

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4

SYNOD REPORTS

our theological capacity. They want to be orthodox Lutherans and
associate with orthodox Lutherans. We need their mission capacity,
prayers, and zeal, especially as we reach out to African immigrants
in the U.S. There are similar developments elsewhere in the global
south among Lutherans. That’s why our Global Seminary Initiative
(GSI), providing scholarships for future international church leaders
to come to our seminaries and our international theological conferences, are so vital. Our Wittenberg Project is also very significant in
this context, offering a place for global Lutherans to gather, learn,
strengthen one another, and together confess Christ in a dark world.
It’s a great day to be who we are! As someone once quipped,
“The first step in becoming better than you are is to be who you are!”
So let’s continue to be biblical Lutherans! We are baptized for this
moment!
Restructuring
Actions were taken in 2010 that changed the structure of our
Synod. The 2009 final report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod
Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG) made a recommendation to
“Realign the National Synod Ministries” around two mission commissions. These commissions evolved to become boards, and the
2010 LCMS convention voted in Res. 8-08A to realign the national
office. This work began almost immediately after the convention and
continues today. The official start day of the new structure for the
International Center, the Synod’s national office headquarters, was
July 1, 2011.
We have described the development and implementation of the
new structure as “trying to rebuild a 747 airplane while it was flying
through the air.” The finalized, approved Bylaws took several months
to complete and be published. In the meantime, we continued to move
forward to understand the pertinent new bylaws and translate the past
structure of departments and ministry areas into what was newly outlined in the Bylaws. With the restructure effort, new departments were
created, positions were shuffled, job descriptions were changed, and
some 66 positions were eliminated.
The restructure called for internal processes to change. The
BRTFSSG report and Res. 8-08A made reference to the fact that
departments within the International Center needed to work together
better. Each department operated within its own “silo” rather than
with open doors and lines of communication to others. Frequently,
one department did not know what the other department was doing,
did not share resources, and lacked coordination. With the new structure the silos came down!
We now have one Department for Mission Advancement that coordinates all the fund-raising efforts for all departments and ministries
at the International Center. We now have a unified Communications
Department that is responsible for overseeing all communications
for the LCMS through the International Center. These two departments work daily together to coordinate efforts, combine resources,
and jointly assist each other in reaching their goals.
The restructuring adopted in Res. 8-08A also called for the creation of a new element to the Synod structure. The Operations Team,
made up of the Chief Mission Officer, the Chief Financial Officer,
and the Chief Administrative Officer, regularly work together to
oversee, supervise, manage, and coordinate the operations of the
International Center. The Administrative Team, consisting of the
Operations Team and others, also meets to assist the President and
the Board of Directors to carry out their respective responsibilities.
With these important elements in place and regularly meeting, work
within the International Center is carried out in a more coordinated
and efficient fashion.
Several key leadership positions have been filled, including Rev.
Greg Williamson, the Chief Mission Officer. Additionally, Rev. Randy
2013 Convention Workbook

Golter, executive director of the Office of International Mission; Rev.
Bart Day, executive director of the Office of National Mission; and
Mark Hofman, executive director of Mission Advancement, have been
added to the leadership team.
One very important element of restructuring is the way in which
the International Center is working to improve the connection to districts and congregations. The Office of National Mission is primarily
tasked with seeing to this important relationship and sponsored a
National Mission Conference in September 2011, inviting all district
presidents, district mission executives, and other key stakeholders.
This conference was a “listening conference” and became the first
of a number of opportunities for national stakeholders and representatives to weigh in and provide input on important matters facing the
church. Rev. Bart Day has used much of the input provided at this conference to guide and steer his development of the work of the Office
of National Mission.
In 2010 as the delegates adopted Res. 8-08A, no one really knew
what the new structure was going to look like and how work would
continue to get done. All International Center employees who have
gone through and continued their service during the last three years
should be commended. Many employees dealt with uncertainty, confusion, and frustration, while at the same time coming to work every
day and doing their very best. The success of restructuring is not due
to convention resolutions or organizational charts but to the dedicated, excellent employees of the Synod who have implemented the
new structure.
Values and Priorities
I call your attention to the strategic “values and priorities” section
of the report of the Chief Mission Officer below. Through a significant internal process we identified five values that will mark all of
the work of the national office of the LCMS.
1. Fidelity: Faithfulness to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, with
a clear focus on witness to Christ.
2. Quality: Clear, measurable excellence in all we do, for the sake of the
mission of Christ!
3. Credibility: “The ability to inspire belief or trust,” because we do
what’s right and we do it well.
4. Sustainability: We must plan to stand the test of time, for the sake of
the mission.
5. Stability: We manifest strategic constancy in an ever-changing world.

As we pushed through restructuring, we have identified six strategic priorities for all the work of the national office, each vital to the
mission of the church:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Plant, sustain and revitalize Lutheran churches.
Expand and enhance theological education.
Perform mercy work in proximity to Word and Sacrament ministry.
Collaborate with the Synod’s members and partners.
Nurture church workers.
Enhance elementary, secondary, tertiary education, and youth ministry.

Might these priorities be adapted to your congregation?
Financial Issues We Face
Across Synod, even as total congregation membership is slowly
declining, our Lord has provided abundantly and moved the hearts
of His people to continue to increase total Sunday morning offerings. According to the 2013 Lutheran Annual, in 2011, total Sunday
morning offerings across all our congregations were over $1.37
billion, a record amount. However, the distribution of these unrestricted resources among congregation, district, and Synod mission
and ministry programs and operations shows that, during this time
of increased giving, financial support for district and Synod mission