Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1935 · 36th Convention, Cleveland › Page 189
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1935, Page 189

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1936. 189

portant and difficult problems confront him; he will especially con-
sult with his four Vice-Presidents, who must frequently represent
him, with the College of District Presidents, and also with the Board
of Directors, which meets more frequently and regularly than other
bodies. However, the fact must not be lost sight of that concerning
all matters which do not pertain to Synod’s business and financial
affairs the President of the Synod is the responsible party.

A second comment in reference to the relation of the Board of
Directors to other boards and committees of the Synod may be needed.
Also in reference to such relation Synod’s By-laws speak very clearly:
“If the management of any synodical property has been committed
to any special board or committee (such as the Board of Control of
any educational institution, Mission Boards, Board of Directors of
the Publishing House, Church Extension Board, Board on‘ Legacies,
and the like), such board or committee shall manage such property,
but shall annually, or whenever requested to do so, report to the Board
of Directors. Before deciding upon matters of far-reaching impor-
tance, boards and committees shall previously get the advice and
opinion of the Board of Directors.” (Synodical Handbook, p. 23.)

According to this paragraph of the By-laws, and particularly
according to the special regulations for boards and committees
(Synodical Handbook, pp. 383—102), it is evident that such boards
and committees, as far as their relation to other similar boards and
committees of the Synod is concerned, are independent bodies, elected
as such by the Synod and by the Synod given their instructions;
they are therefore directly responsible to the Synod itself and not
‘to the Board of Directors, except in such business and financial mat-
ters as are specified by the Synod itself. It is important that the
authority and duties of the Board of Directors and that of other
boards and committees of the Synod be kept distinctly in mind. It
would be following the path of least resistance in an increasing mea-
sure to turn over various matters to the Board of Directors, but
whether such procedure would be wise and would in the course of
time work out well is an entirely different question. At the present
time centralization has become a general slogan; as a result, democ-
racy, that is, the management of their own affairs and the exercise
of their rights and duties by the people themselves, is becoming
a thing of the past. Of course, it is granted that the Synod has
wisely decreed that all committees, when called upon to decide im-
portant and far-reaching matters, shall consult with the Board of
Directors, especially when such matters involve the expenditure of
large sums of money, in which latter case the Synod itself has def-
initely decided that the approval of the Board of Directors must be
procured before such expenditure may be made. Nevertheless, it is
not in accordance with Synod’s Constitution that all such matters