LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 173

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To Preserve Concordia Colleges and
Universities as Institutions of the Church and
Strengthen Their Structural Bonds with Synod

• strengthening all CUS institutions’ connection to the
Synod
• reviewing the composition, size, and selection of boards
of regents
• reviewing Bylaw 3.6.6.5 (k) regarding the consolidation,
relocation, separation, or divesting of CUS institutions
• reviewing governance structures;

RESOLUTION 7-02B
Reports R15, R63 (CW, pp. 77–88, 262–267); Overtures
7-03–09, 7-11–13, 7-15–17 (CW, pp. 364–369, 371–372); CCM
Opinion 13-2695 (CW, pp. 129–130)
Whereas, The Concordia colleges and universities are treasures of the church, built by God’s grace with the people’s offerings,
bequests, and tuition, that serve to educate students for service both
in church work and in society at large; and
Whereas, The Synod witnessed with great sadness the decision
of Concordia University Edmonton (CUE), originally founded by
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1921 for the
purpose of training teachers and seminary candidates, to renounce
its Christian mission, sever all ties with the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC), and become an entirely secular, non-Lutheran, and
non-Christian institution. As a result, the LCC has been deprived
not only of the use of the institution for training its church workers but also of the value of the CUE property; and
Whereas, The loss of CUE to the church did not happen
overnight, but occurred following several steps (an oft-repeated
occurrence described in the book The Dying of the Light: The
Disengagement of Colleges and Universities from Their Christian
Churches, by James Burtchaell):
• In 2012, the Board of Governors of CUE acted to revise its bylaws so that the LCC would no longer elect
members of the Board of Governors, with the result that
the Board of Governors became self-perpetuating. At
the time, the president of CUE assured LCC leaders that
any decisions CUE made would “not only maintain, but
strengthen the shared ecclesiastical bond” with the LCC.
• In November 2015, CUE’s Board of Governors voted to
remove all references to Christianity from its mission
statement and to secularize;
and
Whereas, To preserve the Concordia colleges and universities as institutions of the church, it is necessary to strengthen their
structural bonds with the Synod, lest the institutions be lost to the
church through inattention or the temptation to compromise with
secularism; and
Whereas, With prudence, the 2013 LCMS convention adopted
Res. 5-01A “To Encourage Continued Faithful Witness by Concordia University System”; and
Whereas, The Res. 5-01A Task Force was appointed for the
purpose of
• studying and reporting on the issues of confessional
Lutheran identity in all Concordia University System
(CUS) institutions

“7. University Education”

and
Whereas, The task force developed a series of Lutheran Identity
Standards for CUS institutions, which have been endorsed unanimously by the CUS presidents and are being presented to the 2016
convention for affirmation in Res. 7-01; and
Whereas, A significant number of the overtures relating to governance issues within the Concordia University System submitted
for consideration by the 2016 convention of the Synod relate to the
comprehensive work of the task force; and
Whereas, Certain of the recommendations of the task force
require further study by the presidents and boards of regents of the
CUS institutions and, at their request, the CUS board of directors
has agreed to recommend further study of such recommendations;
and
Whereas, 2013 Res. 5-05B improved the governance process
for CUS boards of regents by imposing specific requirements for
qualifications of regents, and by requiring boards of regents to document to the CUS board of directors various key factors including
financial stewardship, faithfulness to the church, and educational
background suiting them for service on the governing boards of
complex and sizeable institutions; and
Whereas, Each institution and the Synod at large benefits from
the presence on boards of regents of rostered workers of the Synod
who faithfully serve the church and who are often alumni of the
institution; and
Whereas, The President of the Synod has many responsibilities
with respect to CUS institutions under long- standing bylaws of the
Synod, including, inter alia, Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1 (c), which provides that
“he shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to be visited all
the educational institutions of the Synod to exercise supervision
over the doctrine taught and practiced in those institutions”; Bylaw
3.3.1.2 (a), which provides that “he shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to be visited all the educational institutions of
the Synod and thereby exercise oversight over their administration
as it relates to adherence to the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod”; and Bylaw 3.3.1.3 (b), which provides that “he
shall make provisions for new district presidents and members of
boards and commissions of the Synod to be acquainted with their
duties and responsibilities”; and
Whereas, The regional vice-presidents of the Synod assist the
President of the Synod pursuant to Bylaw 3.3.2 in the visitation of
the CUS institutions; and
Whereas, Each CUS institution and the Synod would benefit
from increased communication and coordination with the Synod
at large, to ensure that each institution remains closely affiliated
with the Synod; and
U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

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