LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1979, Page 25

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PT GREE RELIES RS

MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION 25

Missions

After hearing the reports of the previous speakers,
the delegates adopted Res. 1-03A (TB 181), which called
for encouragement and assistance to African and Euro-
pean partner churches/mission fields for the purpose of
increasing membership in those areas by participation
in the development of necessary programs, Bible stud-
ies, strategies, and plans, so that the increase might be
achieved.

Guests

The delegates were next greeted by the president of
the Polish Lutheran Church in Exile, who reviewed the
history of Lutheranism in Poland. Dr. E. George Pearce,
president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eng-
land, described Britain as largely unchurched today,
stating that of 56 million no more than 5 million havea
connection with the Christian church.

Closing Devotion

The morning session was brought to a close with a
devotion led by Dr. Gerhardt Nitz, former member of the
Board of Directors of the Synod and convention chap-
lain.

Session 2

July 7, Afternoon
Opening Devotion

The opening devotion for the afternoon session was
led by Convention Chaplain Dr. Gerhardt Nitz. After
the singing of ahymn, he based his opening devotion on
1 Cor. 16:9, in which St. Paul spoke of a door being open
to him although there were many adversaries. He
pointed out that God provides “adversaries” so that like
St. Paul we can learn to trust solely in God’s grace and
power. The devotion was closed with a prayer.

Point of Privilege

Rev. Milton Fricke and the lay delegate from Hawaii
were granted a point of privilege to present leis to
President and Mrs. Preus. They also took the opportu-
nity to present them to President Orval Oswald of the
California-Nevada-Hawaii District and his wife.

Higher Education

Floor Committee Chairman John Zimmermann of
the Committee on Higher Education called on commit-
tee member and President of the Indiana District
Elwood Zimmermann to present Res. 6-01 (TB 123),
commending the Board for Higher Education for its
report and calling for implementation of a systemwide
model of higher education for the Synod. After the
motion was made and seconded, considerable discus-
sion followed. After declining a motion to table the
resolution as well as an amendment which called for
deletion of the words “and where possible” and the
addition of the words “Board of Directors” between the
words “the” and “Stewardship” in line 37 (TB 123), the
delegates agreed to refer the matter _back to the Floor
Committee on Higher Education for clarification. Floor

Committee Chairman John Zimmermann asked Pres-
ident Eldor Meyer of the Nebraska District and commit-
tee member to present Res. 6-05 (7B 125), which would
expand the deaconess program by authorizing the
Board for Higher Education to direct Concordia College,
River Forest, Ill., to establish a full deaconess training
program on its campus by the fall of 1980. During
discussion of the resolution the convention declined to
consider a substitute resolution which asked for referral
of the committee resolution to the Board for Higher
Education for further study in consultation with the
Lutheran Deaconess Association and for report to the
next convention. They also declined a resolution calling
for the tabling of the motion. After agreeing to call the
question, the resolution was adopted as presented.
Resolution 6-23 (7B 135), requesting an opinion from the
Commission on Constitutional Matters regarding the
constitutionality of the placement of deaconess grad-
uates by the Council of Presidents, was introduced.
Considerable discussion followed. Time allotted for
discussion of the resolution elapsed before the delegates
could act on it.

Greetings

President Markku Sarela of the Confessional Luther-
an Church of Finland brought greetings from that body
to the delegates, as did Dr. Jobst Schoene, bishop of the
Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ger-
many.

Task Force

Dr. August Mennicke, chairman of the floor commit-
tee dealing with the report of the Task Force on Constitu-
tion, Bylaws, and Structure of the Synod, introduced
Roger Wheeler, chairman of the Task Force, and asked
him to present an overview of the group’s work to the
delegates. Mr. Wheeler reviewed past convention recom-
mendations calling for a study of the structure of the
Synod and pointed out that consultation with pastors,
boards, and laymen of the Synod indicated a need for
change. During consultation with these groups and
individuals, concerns were expressed not over the theo-
logy of the Synod but over its manner of working
together. It was pointed out that frequent references
were made to the fact that we are no longer as good
stewards of resources as we once were, and that conven-
tions were frequently cited as prime examples of waste.
He pointed out that there are legal problems which must
be faced, as well as the question of whether the Synodisa
federation of Districts or a synod of congregations.
Studies have shown that laymen generally are un-
acquainted and less interested in the work of the Synod
than they should be. After this review, Res. 2-01 (7B 65)
was introduced. The resolution called for the provision
of a statement on a common foundation for living and
working together as an appendix to the synodical
Handbook. During the discussion a lengthy amend-
ment was offered which it was agreed should be printed
in Today’s Business. Further discussion and action on
the resolution was delayed until after the amendment