LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 149

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ADMINISTRATION 149

representative to the Lutheran Laymen’s League: and be it
further

(proposed alternate: Resolved. That effective Feb. 1, 1976,
the current Board for Lutheran Television cease to operate and
that two members of the Lutheran Laymen’s League’s Televi-
sion Committee be appointed by the synodical Board of Direc-
tors, who shall be in addition to the Board of Directors liaison
representative to the Lutheran Laymen’s League.)

Resolved, That any television programing produced and
distributed by the Lutheran Laymen’s League shall always
indicate the “tag lines” identifying the relationship of The
Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod: and be it finally

Resolved, That all contracts for programing and personnel be
the responsibility of the Lutheran Laymen’s League as of Feb.
1, 1976. During the interim period between the 1975 synodical
convention and Feb. 1, 1976, any new contracts be mutually
agreed to by The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod Board of
Directors and the Lutheran Laymen’s League.

Ad Hoc Committee
Norman Sell, Secretary

Report of Treasurer

Herewith, in accordance with the Handbook provision that
the Treasurer ‘“‘shall receive and disburse the Synod’s moneys
and keep accurate account of them under instructions of the
Board of Directors,” is presented the financial report of the
Synod. This responsibility has been carefully and conscien-
tiously discharged by the Treasurer and his staff. The book-
keeping and accounting, as performed by the Controller’s
office and indicating the details and the balance-sheet items,
can be found in the Controller’s report.

In addition to the duties as elected Treasurer of the Synod,
the Treasurer also is a member of the Board of Directors as-
signed to Committee 3. He is also an ex officio member of the
Board of Trustees for Trust Funds, a member of the Board of
Trustees of the Foundation, a member of the Council of Ad-
ministrators as chairman of the Division of Finance, the official
representative of the Synod to the Lutheran Laymen’s League
and the Board for Lutheran Radio, and the official synodical
representative of the Committee of Administration and Finance
and the Executive Committee of the Lutheran Council in the
U.S.A.

The Treasurer receives no compensation for his services,
which with the other Synod-related activities has required in
excess of 30 hours’ time per week. He was elected at the Cleve-
land convention in 1962.

This report is intended to give the anticipated income and
expenditures for the current year, and a comparison of the
Synod’s income and expenditures for the past 5 years. Our
fiscal year runs from Feb. 1 to Jan. 31.

Exhibits A and B are included for reference purposes. The
detailed accounting statements done for the Treasurer’s office
under the supervision of the Controller will be found elsewhere
in this report. You will note that Exhibit A deals with congre-
gational contributions received from Districts. This constitutes
nearly 90% of the total income of the Synod. The dollar income
from Districts was relatively stable over the past years, but
1974 showed a downturn. The commitments from the Districts
have been declining, but the percentage of remittance to commit-
ments has been good. In 1970 the commitment was $24,595,972:
the remittance was $23,877,963, or 97.1% of commitment. In
1974 the commitment was $23,443,895: the remittance was
$23,813,663, or 97.3% of commitment. In addition, above-normal
remittances were received from individuals and congregations.

You will note that the commitment for 1975 is again lower
than for 1974. However, all Districts are reassessing their com-
mitments and are planning on special efforts to raise additional
moneys to “keep the mission moving.” It should be noted that
two additional Districts are off subsidy in 1975, thereby reducing
synodical expenditures for subsidy by some $486,000.

The problem still remains, however, that because the in-
come of the Synod had remained the same for a number of years
and has now declined, we are unable to provide adequate sup-
port for our programs. As a matter of fact, with adjustments
for inflation we are losing ground. This is quite obvious when

we realize that the dollar has, conservatively estimated, 40%
less purchasing power than it had 5 years ago.

To live within our income has required the various depart-
ments to cut all corners, eliminate programs, reduce staff, and
forgo adjustments in salaries to the point that many personnel
are paid less than people in the Districts and in like positions
in other fields. This presents the Synod with the problem of
securing and retaining qualified staff to efficiently carry out the
assigned duties. Exhibit B provides a comparison of budgeted
amounts and expenditures on a divisional basis. This clearly
indicates that all corners have been cut and that we are spending
significantly less than inflated 1970 dollars would require.

During the current year most departments received rather
severe reductions from their 1974 budget levels. This will re-
quire a number of major revisions in work assignments and in
some cases will alter the services provided by the departments.
We are hopeful that further reductions will not be necessary
in the years ahead and that we can begin to adjust the present
level of operations for any future inflation costs.

At this point in time we are taking an optimistic view. The
Districts have committed themselves to increasing the amount
of synodical income. We believe our people are saying, “We
are ready to move forward. Let’s get on with the work of the
Lord, who is providing us so many opportunities.” Looking at
some of the past Treasurer’s Reports, it seems they were pessi-
mistic. I would hope we can convey optimism for the future.
The opportunities for mission are unlimited: the challenge
is great.

The thrust of the evangelism program is certainly a big plus.
People everywhere are becoming more concerned about being
“their brother’s keeper.” The evangelism efforts offer exciting
programs and will help all Christians to witness their faith to
their fellowman.

The opportunities for all of us to “witness for the Lord” in
our own way are abundant. The hope of starting new programs
and shoring up existing programs is possible when we all do
our share.

In addition to that, our own 125th Anniversary Program con-
tinues to make all of us aware of the many opportunities the
Lord has provided. The enthusiasm that has been generated
through the 125th Anniversary celebration, despite the economic
difficulties of the times, is very encouraging.

Retirement of old debts is always a drain on current income:
however, we are in a good financial position, better now than
at most periods in our recent history. We have been able to
reduce our annual contribution for repayment to a small amount.
This is encouraging. We believe we have turned the corner,
and with few exceptions our people will see the great oppor-
tunities for the Lord’s work through The Lutheran Church —
Missouri Synod and will want to support this work more fully
than possibly ever before. God willing, 1975 and this conven-
tion will be the turning point in the history of The Lutheran
Church - Missouri Synod. This new day in our church’s history
and life is in the hands of our almost three million members.

We will soon celebrate the second anniversary of the move
from “210” to ‘500” North Broadway. There seems to be a high
level of satisfaction with the new quarters, although we still
struggle with changing old habits of storage needs. It seems
our new facilities have produced greater sharing of staff and
a more efficient operation for all departments to the extent that
the estimates of savings, which were in excess of $100,000, have
been surpassed.

Literally thousands of transactions come through the Trea-
surer’s office each year. The investment program for the Church
Extension Fund, and the Board of Trustees, requires consider-
able time and analysis. The accounting activities necessary for
the various trust funds is a sizable and important part of our
work as we account for the purchase of stocks and bonds as
well as their sale. We are accountable for all income, as well
as disbursements, which amounts to millions of dollars each
year. This we are able to accomplish with a staff of only seven
people.

The excellent cooperation and competent work done by the
staff of the Treasurer's office is outstanding. Mr. Erwin A.
Wesche, Assistant Treasurer for many years, contributed so
very much to management and supervision of the office. His
wide background and knowledge of banking and business
was most helpful to all of us. We wish him God's richest blessings
in his retirement years.

I am pleased to announce that we have been fortunate and