LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 144

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144 ADMINISTRATION

Council of Presidents meetings during 1974 with the request
that the Council revert to a schedule of four meetings per year:
asked one of its standing committees to draft a statement of the
mission and purposes of LCUSA as seen by the LCMS which
after approval by the board could be shared by synodical officers
with their counterparts in the other church bodies in the Council:
established procedures for the supervision of the mailing lists
of lay leaders in the Synod: requested that the Board for Mis-
sions give an opportunity for overseas churches to provide input
for the selection of a new executive secretary for that board:
tried to give counsel and assistance to the New England and
New Jersey Districts in their financial difficulties.

V. Recommendations

A. Retirement Provisions. Under the omnibus resolution of
the Milwaukee convention the board was asked to study pro-
posed Milwaukee Resolution 4-46, which contained a recom-
mendation for admending the Bylaws governing retirement
and further service of staff members. The board proposed to
the New Orleans convention an amendment to existing Bylaw
2.105. This recommendation was covered by New Orleans
Resolution 4-30, which unfortunately also failed to receive
convention action and was referred once again to the Board of
Directors under the omnibus provision. The board at this time
resubmits its original recommendation that the following
amendment be made to existing Bylaw 2.105:

PRESENT WORDING
2.105 Retirement Policies

1. Each such person may retire at age 65, but shall
be retired on the first day of the month following the
month in which his 70th birthday occurs.

PROPOSED WORDING
2.105 Retirement Policies

1. Each such person may request early retirement
under the applicable provisions of the Concordia
Retirement Plan, but he shall be retired at the end of
the calendar year in which his 65th birthday occurs.
Any further service beyond this mandatory date shall
be on a specific project contract basis not to exceed
one year in duration, upon medical certification, with
a provision for annual renewal to age 70.

B. Commission on Mission and Ministry in the Church. The
board had recommended to the New Orleans convention that
in its estimation this commission had served its purpose and at
this time could well be phased out of existence in line with the
general desire to reduce the number of boards and commissions
in the Synod. Although the convention did not accept this
recommendation, it did have before it another proposed resolu-
tion calling for the reconstitution of the Commission on Mission
and Ministry in the Church (Res. 4-31). This overture failed to
receive action and was therefore submitted to the board under
the omnibus resolution. After giving this whole question still
further thought, the Board of Directors again recommends that
the Synod gratefully bring the work of the Commission on Mis-
sion and Ministry in the Church to an end as of Jan. 1, 1976, and
accordingly rescind Bylaw 2.111, which governs this commis-
sion’s service and all other pertinent Bylaw references.

It is the opinion of the board that this commission has indeed
served its purpose of seeing to it that the Mission Affirmations
would be disseminated and applied. The board is of the convic-
tion that the development of new means of mission and ministry
is and should be the ongoing creative responsibility of all boards
and commissions in the Synod and should not be delegated away
to any special group.

The Board of Directors feels a particular responsibility to
make this recommendation since it had been placed into a
special relationship to the Commission on Mission and Ministry
in the Church when it was created. The Bylaws state that the
commission’s recommendations are to be made to the Board of
Directors, which shall be responsible for the implementation
of such counsel and suggestions. It is from that standpoint of
experience and responsibility that the board makes this recom-
mendation.

C. Recommendation re Mission Study Commission Report. In

Appendix B reference is made to the creation of a special
‘Mission Study Commission.”’ Upon receiving the report of this
commission in mid April, the Board of Directors decided to make
the commission's recommendations available to the convention.
They are found in the “Mission” section of the Workbook as a
supplementary report of the Board of Directors.

D. Use of Church Extension Funds. It was resolved to memo-
rialize the convention to permit the Board for Church Extension
to transfer certain available funds to the regular operating
budget of the Synod.

Board of Directors
Herbert Mueller, Secretary

App. 4-04A
Appointments and Elections

The Board of Directors has the responsibility under the
Bylaws of the Synod to fill many positions by election or appoint-
ment or to ratify or concur in various appointments. The actions
taken by the board in this respect during the past biennium are
as follows:

Administrative Officer of the Board of Directors: Mr. John
Schuelke
Division Chairmen (2-year term):
Missions and Special Ministries: Dr. W. Kohn (succeeded
later by Dr. Erwin J. Kolb as acting chairman)
Higher Education: Dr. A. M. Ahlschwede
Parish Services: Dr. Melvin Kieschnick
Communications: Mr. Victor Bryant
Stewardship Services: Dr. A. Lorenz Grumm
Administrative Assistant to the President: Rev. Robert Sauer

Assistant Treasurer: Mr. Erwin Wesche (for an additional year)
Mr. Norman Sell (as Mr. Wesche'’s successor)

Auditor: Mr. E. R. Streufert (1-year extension)

Personnel Director and Convention Manager: Mr. William J.
Barge

Board for Lutheran Television Productions: Rev. Oswald
Bertram, Rev. Victor Rickman, Mr. Ed Scott, Mr. Robert
Baal

Board of Managers, Worker Benefit Plans: Mr. E. Stanley
Enlund, Teacher Robert P. Hopmann, Mr. Edward Kasch

Board of Social Ministry and World Relief: Rev. James Ehlers,
Mr. Roland Luedtke, Mr. Robert Mugge, Mrs. Alfred
Sump, Rev. Thomas Zehnder

Board of Trustees, LCMS Foundation: Dr. Oliver Harms, Rev.
Martin Brauer, Mr. Vernon Bryant, Mr. Arvid Jouppi,
Mrs. Harold Rammler: (2-year terms:) Rev. Erwin Paul,
Mrs. Joan Mueller, Mrs. Bernice Ruprecht

Board of Trustees for Synodical Trust Funds: Mr. Ralph Peter-
ing, Dr. Martin Strieter

Board for Church Extension: Rev. Ewald Mueller, Rev. Louis
Schuth, Mr. Vance Hinrichs, Mr. George Albers, Mr.
Howard Crumb

Board for Public Relations: Rev. George Beto, Rev. James
Rassbach, Mr. James O. Rice, Mr. George Robey

Commission on Architecture: Dr. A. R. Kretzmann, Mr. Don
Kersten, Mr. Eldon Morrison, Mr. Otto Schumm, Mr.
Ernest Schwidder, Mr. Frank Sturgeon

Council for Christian Medical Work: Rev. Will Herzfeld, Dr.
William Foege, Rev. Ed May

Commission on Lay Higher Education: Mr. Robert Moellering

Advance Editorial Commission: Dr. A. Lorenz Grumm, Rev.
Milton Nauss, Mr. Duane Hingst

Special mention should be made of the following full-time
staff members who have now retired after long and honorable
service: Assistant Treasurer Erwin Wesche, Auditor E. R.
Streufert, Personnel Director John Gaertner.

App. 4-04B

Report on Mediation Efforts of Board of Directors

On Feb. 8, 1974, the Executive Committee of the Board of
Directors attended the special Council of Presidents meeting