LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 155

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SEMINARY ISSUES 155

Identical or Similar:
3-155D

Trinity Lutheran Church, Spencer, Wis.. Ervin Egge-
brecht. President: DuWayne Matter, Secretary.
3-155E

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Fairchild. Wis. Alfred Klatt,
Chairman; Harold Thur, Secretary.
3-155F

Mount Hope Lutheran Church, Casper. Wyo.. Frank D.
Stewart, President: J. B. Brown. Pastor.

3-156

To Give President Preus Executive Authority
to Deal with Doctrinal Matters in Synod

Wuereas, Scripture requires every believer to stand ready
to give answer to the hope (and faith) that is within him
(1 Peter 3:15); and in giving that testimony that he “speak
as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11); and

Wuereas, The Constitution of our Synod empowers the
President to require such testimony of all such as are em-~-
ployed by the Synod at his discretion (Article XI B): and

Wuereas, Such requirement has been made by the syn-
odical President in his May 17, 1972, meeting with the faculty
of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., which faculty is em-
ployed by Synod, concerning specific doctrines of Scripture
as outlined in the President’s A Statement of Scriptural and
Confessional Principles, which was declared to be Scriptural
and confessional by Synod’s Commission on Theology and
Church Relations; and

Wuereas, This requirement was rejected by almost all of
the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. ( Appendix
VI b of the Report of the Synodical President); and

Wuereas, The signatories of the protest have insisted that
the right to question and judge portions of Scripture to be in
error iS imperative to the success and validity of their
scholarship in search of Scripture; and

Wuereas, Christ Himself stated that the Scriptures do
not err (Matt. 22:29); and

Wuereas, Hebrews 6:4-6 states that it is impossible for a
man who has tasted the goodness (and grace) of God — and
then has fallen away — that he can be brought back: and

Wuereas, Dr. John Tietjen. president of Concordia Semi-
nary, St. Louis, Mo., has failed to act under Bylaw 6.91 in his
responsibilities as president in upholding Article II of the
Constitution by himself not complying with the President's
directive of May 17, 1972, and also has acted in a manner
unbecoming a president of a synodical institution (Bylaw
6.77 d, e, h, i); and

Wuereas, The Board of Control of Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, Mo., has failed to act in a clear and decisive man-
ner under Bylaw 6.83 in remedying the serious doctrinal
aberrations at the St. Louis seminary: be it therefore

Resolved. That the Synod by special resolution (Article
XI B 8) give Dr. J. A. O. Preus, President of the Synod,
executive authority to summarily dismiss every employee,
professor, and officer of Synod who has indicated his protest
against being investigated (Bylaw 2.29b).

Trinity LUTHERAN CHURCH
Rock Springs, Wyo.
Neil F. Morck, Chairman

3-157

To Empower President to Take Action
at Once

‘uerEAS, The president of our synod has prayerfully and
evangelically carried out the resolutions of our synod (1971
Milwaukee convention) to investigate the teachings of the
professors in our synodically controlled institutions; and

Wuereas, The Report of the Synodical President and the
personal affirmations of our professors in the publication
Faithful To Our Calling, Faithful To Our Lord gives evi-

dence that some are not teaching or holding to the doctrinal

confessions that our Synod has repeatedly endorsed; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the Synod at convention in New Orleans
of 1973 empower the President of Synod to use Synod's
Board of Higher Education or the Synod's Board of Con-
trol, or any other proper and God-pleasing means necessary
to rid our Synod of all (professors, pastors, teachers, or any
other synodical officials) who are not willing to repent for
the wrong they have done and turn from their errors and re-
turn again to the teachings of the pure and inerrant Word
of God; and be it finally

Resolved, That action be taken at once even if it means
terminating employment and (or) closing such colleges or
seminaries until such time that our synodically controlled
schools return to the teachings according to the true doc-
trine of the inerrant Word of God and also in accordance
with Synod’s Constitution and confessions.

Zion LUTHERAN CHURCH

Lincoln, Il.

Clarence Kleinschmidt, Chairman
Gary Benting, Secretary

3-158

To Censure Certain District Presidents

Wuereas. The District Presidents of The Lutheran Church
Missouri Synod assembled together as the Council of
Presidents have not offered a united protest against the false
doctrine of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; and

Wuereas, Evidence of such false doctrine has been demon-
strated by the President of the LCMS and the official publi-
cations of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; and

Wuereas, The Council of Presidents has without con-
stitutional mandate and without specific resolution of a con-
vention of the LCMS taken to itself powers of doctrinal in-
vestigation and mediation, especially in regard to Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis; and

Wuereas, The Council of Presidents is to consult the
President of the Synod at his request and not to act inde-
pendently; and

WHEREAS, Individual District Presidents in their own
jurisdiction have encouraged Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
in its false doctrine and have invited professors who have
already been adjudged by the office of the President of
Synod to be teaching false doctrine to present such false
teaching to their pastors and congregations; and

Wuereas, Individual District Presidents have not pro-
tested such false teaching by Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
professors; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Council of Presidents be censured for
its refusal to fulfill confessional and constitutional obliga-
tions in supporting the President of Synod in his efforts to
eradicate false doctrine at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis;
and be it further

Resolved, That every District President who has_per-
mitted the false teaching of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
to be presented without public protest from himself, as befits
a servant of Christ, be publicly censured and acknowledge
his failure to the President of Synod and to the congrega-
tions under his care, those precious lambs of Jesus; and be it
further

Resolved, That each District President assume his re-
sponsibilities in his own District as a representative and
assistant to the President of the LCMS; and be it further

Resolved, That a preliminary report of the above action
be in the hands of the President of The Lutheran Church —
Missouri Synod by Dec. 31, 1973, and that final and definitive
action against erring men be taken by June 30, 1974; and be
it finally

Resolved, That any District President unwilling and in-
capable of performing these duties or who demonstrates ir-
responsibilities in these obligations which are his according
to the Handbook, be immediately suspended from office by

the synodical President. Grace LuTHeran CHURCH

Edson, Alberta
R. Austin, Secretary