LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Sheet 61

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e2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

For this reason I also see us playing a stronger and
‘nore vital role in interchurch activities as we testify to
ut Lutheran understanding of the faith in our dealings
“ith other churches. We will be able to act out of
confidence and not confusion or uncertainty.

Committee 3 also calls for the continuation of our
membership in the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. Re-
cent activities of the Board of Directors have been very
helpful in calling to the attention of both the Council and
all three of the participating bodies that economy and
efficiency need to be stressed. On the other hand, the
recent catastrophe regarding Cambodian and Vietnam-
ese refugees brings to the fore the need for such an
interchurch agency and our participation in it. The
Council is not a church, not a unionistic activity, but a
service organization which exists to help the churches do
together what they can do with good conscience and in
keeping with their principles.

Likewise the committee is suggesting the continua-
tion of our fellowship with The American Lutheran
Church. An action of breaking fellowship must not be
taken precipitously, and it is my conviction that with our
much more united state doctrinally we are going to be
able to bring witness and testimony to The American
Lutheran Church in a way which we have not been able
to do before. Therefore I believe we owe it both to The
American ‘Lutheran Church and to ourselves to continue
in this fellowship in order that all of the issues may be
thoroughly discussed and all parties properly informed,
before taking action on this matter.

Committee 3 also has a very fine resolution on the
subject of protecting the unborn. In an age when killing
has become a way of life, perhaps we are among a small
minority in our concern about the preservation of the life
of unborn children, and yet I believe that this voice
should continue to be raised and the proposals sug-
gested by Committee 3 be adopted. Members of our
Synod have been among the outstanding proponents of
the pro-life movement throughout our nation, and some
very interesting and helpful ecumenical relationships
have been developed because of our activity in this area.

Time will not permit a review of the work of each
floor committee. With reference to the proposals of
Committee 4 I would call attention particularly to those
having to do with stewardship. There is simply no use in
talking about mission expansion or colleges or any of the
other great things with which we are to be concerned
unless we are willing to support these plans and visions
with our material gifts. We have increased our giving
very well at the parish level, but at the District and
Synod level we continue to lag. I hope that attention will
be given not only at this convention but in every congre-
gation of the Synod to ways in which the mission of the
church as carried on by the Synod can receive the kind of
support that is needed if we are to carry out the mission
which our Lord has asked us to do.

For example, the pastors and our co-workers in the
sister church in India are working on a salary of $40 a
month. In Ghana two wonderful young men have been
ordained into the Lutheran ministry, and we could offer
them no more than positions as worker priests, whereby

they would have to earn their living doing secular work.
Our co-workers in Brazil and Argentina are living under
conditions of frightening inflation. All over the world,
dedicated and talented people are being forced to work at
minimal and substandard wages simply because we do
not supply them with the necessary wherewithal. There
is no reason why the people of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod, who for an entire generation led all
major denominations in per-capita giving, cannot have a
tremendous outpouring of love and devotion so that all
people in the world may know the Lordship of our Lord
Jesus Christ.

A group of prominent lay people have organized an
effort known as “Faith in Action.” They hope to raise
$1,000,000 for the Synod’s budget. They need volunteers.
Mr. Ben Jutzi of the Lutheran Laymen’s League is
leading this effort. I urge our lay people to contact him at
the Lutheran Laymen’s League suite at the Holiday
Inn to volunteer your service and receive additional
information.

In the area of higher education we have some very
difficult and knotty problems facing us. The convention
should give very serious consideration to all of these
issues. But one particular issue needs our constant atten-
tion, and that is the matter of the recruitment of stu-
dents for our colleges, the recruitment of church workers
both on and off the campuses of our colleges, and the
continued responsibility of pastors and congregations in
encouraging young men and women to enter the respec-
tive ministries of our church. This ought to receive top
priority at all levels.

In the area of parish services (Committee 7), please
note the emphasis on’youth evangelism. A rather inter-
esting fact has emerged, namely, that in the years be-
tween baptism and confirmation, 32 percent of the child-
ren who have been baptized are not confirmed. This is a
rather new development which has been going on since
about 1965. There seems to be a great need for better
care and better follow-up on children who have been
baptized but somehow never arrive at the confirmation
altar. We also need to give considerable attention to the
decline in Sunday school enrollment. Also please note the
resolutions pertaining to the use of the Lutheran Wit-
ness. This fine paper should be in every home in the
Synod. District editions and special papers are useful,
but they cannot replace the Witness with its devotional
material and its news of the church at large.

In this same connection I would like to call attention
to the Growth in Ministry program which the Synod has
undertaken. There needs to be constant support for the
parish pastor. He is living under very difficult conditions,
and I hope that our congregations will treat their pastors
with love and concern and that the pastors in turn will
seek to develop the finest possible relationships with
their flocks. There is a considerable amount of anticleri-
calism both in our church and elsewhere at this particu-
lar time in history, and every effort needs to be made to
keep pastor and people working together and developing
and growing in their ministry.

I could go on and on with recommendations relative to