Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2026 · 69th Convention, Phoenix › Page 48

LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 48

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

48
•

In response to the leadership and diligent work of Concordia
Plan Services (CPS), the BOD approved the creation of a
property and casualty insurance company, named Concordia
Risk Solutions (CRS), that will be able to provide insurance
to corporate Synod, agencies of the Synod, auxiliaries, recognized service organizations, and member congregations.
The BOD also delegated the management of CRS to CPS.

•

With the help and insight of Synod’s Chief Financial Officer,
Nathan Haak, the BOD has adopted a balanced budget each
of the past three years and continued a multi-year process of
improving the financial condition of corporate Synod. Please
note CFO Haak’s Report (Report R5.2).

•

Worked with the Operations Team in long-range planning to
develop long-term plans to sustain corporate Synod operations and foster financial stability and integrity.

•

Adopted policies and protocols to maintain financial strength
and integrity when adopting future budgets.

•

As part of its regular monitoring of gifting and other financial trends, noted, in particular, continuing decline in receipts
from the districts, resulting in large part from the decline of
receipts by the districts from congregations.

•

Updated policies governing executive compensation for corporate Synod and the synodwide corporation and trust entities.

D. 2023 Resolution 7-04B
This resolution made comprehensive changes to the CUS and
the overall governance of the Concordia universities. It also addressed certain long-standing issues that have impacted how “property of the Synod” (Bylaw 1.2.1 [r]) is to be managed by the Synod
with respect to the Concordia universities and Synod seminaries.
Resolution 7-04B provided:
Resolved, That the BOD, after input from the Commission
on Constitutional Matters, review within the upcoming triennium the governing documents and governance practices of
all higher education institutions of the Synod, and all boards
of regents and boards of associated foundations be directed to
correct any identified noncompliance with the Synod Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions; and be it further
Resolved, That each university of the CUS shall acknowledge in a written agreement, facilitated by the BOD of the
Synod, the paramount right, title, and interest of the Synod in
the name Concordia, … ; and be it finally
Resolved, That the BOD report to the subsequent Synod
convention its progress in achieving the foregoing and any
proposed bylaw changes or other action needed to more faithfully steward resources for higher education in the Synod.
As required by Res. 7-04B, the CCM conducted an extensive
review of the governing documents and governance practices of all
Concordia universities and Synod seminaries. The CCM then provided comprehensive and detailed reports to each of the higher education institutions and the BOD. The BOD has accepted the CCM
opinions in their entirety and has worked with the higher education
institutions to bring all their governing documents and governance
practices into compliance with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions.
Much progress has been made in this effort. But there remains
more work to be done.
2026 Convention Workbook

Res. 7-04B directs the BOD to report to the 2026 Synod convention its progress in achieving this resolution requirements and to
propose bylaw changes and other action as may be necessary. Because of the detail involved, the number of corrections that remain
to be made, and the intensive work the institutions are engaged in
at the Workbook deadline, the BOD intends to continue its work
over the upcoming months and provide a supplemental report to the
2026 convention identifying any remaining corrections to be made
and proposing any further action that might be necessary.

E. Challenges for the Board
In large organizations it is not uncommon to have “silos,” which
are units within the organization that pursue an agenda or direction
at least isolated from and often increasingly inconsistent with the
objectives and mission of the organization. That has occurred in the
Synod. Perhaps the best example of this is the theological direction
that the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, administration and faculty
majority took in the 1960s and 1970s that was in direct conflict with
our confession. Correcting this had a dramatic impact on all aspects
of our church body that continues today.
But the Seminex circumstance, while perhaps the most significant and best known, is not the only silo that has existed or could
exist in our Synod. Silos have existed through many agencies in all
aspects of the Synod. Absent intentional effort, they naturally arise
and strengthen. They have hurt the Synod and cost her vital resources. All must consciously resist their development. Sometimes
the misdirection is theological, sometimes it involves left-hand
kingdom matters, and sometimes it involves both.
There has been steady progress in recent years by many in the
Synod, including the BOD, to eliminate these silos. This effort will
continue. Eliminating silos will help the Synod more faithfully and
efficiently carry out its objectives consistent with its confession;
will help avoid unnecessary conflict, disputes, division, and improper utilization of property of the Synod; and, simply put, will
help us all walk together more faithfully. While the President is
charged with promoting and maintaining “unity of doctrine and
practice” and seeing that the officers and agencies of the Synod “act
in accordance with Synod’s Constitution” (Const. Art. XI B 1–3),
the BOD in its sphere must oversee business, property, and legal
aspects in a way that keeps the whole responsible and responsive
to the convention.
The BOD faces with some regularity concerns that individuals
or agencies are failing, with regard to property, business, or legal
matters, to comply with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions
of the Synod. It is then incumbent upon the BOD to address and
attempt to correct any noncompliance. On occasion, the individuals or agencies continue to proceed in a fashion that conflicts with
what the Synod has decided. In these situations, it is important to
consider again that the Synod and all its agencies are responsible
to the member congregations. The congregations have made decisions as to how they will be served best by those who they have
put in positions to carry out their decisions. This means that when
individuals or agencies fail to comply with the Synod Constitution,
Bylaws, and resolutions, they are failing to honor and respect what
the Synod’s member congregations have decided.
The BOD, with some frequency, receives an assortment of excuses or justifications for noncompliance. Sometimes, efforts are
made to negotiate with the BOD an agreement that would allow
the noncompliance. The BOD, of course, has never been given the
authority to excuse noncompliance with Synod’s Constitution, By-