LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1979, Page 27

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION 27

by saying that he hoped and prayed that The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod would continue to be The
Lutheran Church—Missionary Synod. President An-
drew Chiu of the Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod
was next introduced to the convention. He described the
problems and opportunities facing the church there,
referring particularly to the refugee problem and to
concerns regarding the spiritual welfare of these people.
In addition to bringing greetings from the Hong Kong
Lutheran Church, he also presented a check to the
Synod for over 2,700 American dollars, or 14,092.85
Hong Kong dollars. The funds were gathered through a
special thankoffering among the Lutherans in Hong
Kong.

Missions

Chairman Edmund Happel of the Floor Committee
on Missions introduced Res. 1-04A (TB 182), which
called for encouragement and assistance to Asian part-
ner churches/mission fields to increase their member-
ship. The resolution was adopted as presented.

Guests

Bishop Waesa, one of the first New Guinea converts
and now head of the Gutnius [““Good News’”’] Lutheran
Church, formerly the Wabag Lutheran Church, was
introduced to the delegates by Dr. Preus. He described
the work which has been carried on in New Guinea since
1948 by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and
spoke of the struggle to reduce back-door losses, which
are resulting from a change in the culture in that
country. He thanked The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod for help which had been given and also presented
an offering gathered by the Gutnius Lutheran Church
in the amount of $246.25.

Missions

Following the presentation on the work in New
Guinea, the delegates approved Res. 1-06A (7B 183),
which called for encouragement and assistance to
partner churches/mission fields to increase their mis-
sion outreach. By approval of this resolution the mission
challenge for the 1980s was adopted, including assis-
tance to partner churches/mission fields in establish-
ing functioning mission boards where feasible for streng-
thening the awareness and zeal for reaching people
beyond their cultural tradition, social sphere, and geo-
graphic boundaries with the Gospel. The membership of
the Synod is to be kept informed of progress made in this
area.

Guests

Dr. Edward Westcott, Executive Secretary for Mis-
sions, introduced missionary Garry McClure of Guate-
mala to the convention. Missionary McClure brought
greetings from the churches in Central America and
described the work which is being carried on by them.
He pointed out that with unstable conditions, the task
facing the church in Central America is that of taking
the universal priesthood seriously, so that if political

realities require missionaries to leave, the church will be
led by a strong group of indigenous leaders.

Missions

Following this presentation the delegates considered
and adopted Res. 1-05A (7B 182), which called for
encouragement and assistance to partner churches/
mission fields in Latin America to increase member-
ship. The resolution was adopted after the convention
agreed to add the words “the proclamation of the
Gospel and” on line 44 (TB 182) between the words
“through” and “Baptism.”

Guests

Rev. Leopoldo Gros, President of the Argentine
District, next addressed the delegates, describing how
the Lord has opened doors to test and strengthen the
church in that District. During the past year that
District lost four pastors and has experienced an infla-
tion rate of 160 percent.

Amendment

Although Res. 1-03A (7B 181) and Res. 1-04A (TB
182) had already been approved, the delegates agreed by
common consent to add the words “the proclamation of
the Gospel and” between the words “through” and
“Baptism” in line 56 (7B 181) and line 14 (TB 182).

Theology and Church Relations

Chairman Richard Schlecht of the Floor Committee
on Theology and Church Relations presented Res. 3-01
(TB 83—84) to the convention for consideration. This
resolution called for adoption of the book Lutheran
Worship as an official hymnal of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod. Prior to presenting the resolution the
committee had deleted the words “LBW, some in revised
form,” (line 3, 7'B 84) and substituted the letters “NIV.”
They had also added the words “(1943 version)” after
the word “Catechism” in line 13 (TB 84). Lengthy
discussion followed the presentation of the resolution. A
number of amendments to the resolution were offered,
none of which were accepted by the delegates. One of the
amendments, which called for a commendation of both
the Lutheran Book of Worship and Lutheran Worshipto
congregations as guidelines in the selection of their
worship resources, was declared to be out of order since
the Dallas convention had called for adoption of an
approved hymnal. When the proposed amendment was
revised to allow for two official hymnals, this was
declared to be a substitute resolution, one which the
delegates declined to consider. When time for debate
had elapsed according to the standing rules of the
convention, the delegates agreed by atwo-thirds vote to
call the question. The resolution was then adopted as
presented by the committee. In response to questions
from the floor prior to voting on the resolution, the
committee stated that the resolution did not include
occasional services and pointed out that some hymns
may be added, but that this should not be considered as
a substantive change. Delegates were also urged to