The Office of the Secretary is a constitutional office of the Synod ( D) and, with the Department of Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services (reporting to the Secretary; see Report R4.1) and the Department of Archives and History (on whose board the Secretary serves ex officio), a significant portion of its “organ of recording and recollection.” This organ, along with the grace of God and the labor of many, remains necessary to the continued success of what was and remains a bold endeavor of a common faith, a synodical union that is confessional and constitutional. First, every member “accepts without reservation” the Scriptures as “the only rule and norm of faith and of practice” and the Lutheran Confessions as an “unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God” ( 1–2). Second, the Constitution of the Synod establishes the congregations’ means of governance for shared institutions and the basic means by which the congregations’ fundamental needs are to be met—for themselves and their pastors and teachers and all that they have created together as a Synod to be held honestly to the standards of their confession in all aspects of faith and practice, for the raising up of pastors and teachers, etc., and for the use of “the diversities of gifts … for the common profit” (Preamble). The many and varied activities of the Office of the Secretary have as their common aim the upholding of every aspect of the congregations’ confessional and constitutional commitments and objectives and the maintenance of orderly and effective governance in service of the same, and we implore Christ’s continued help in what is an enormous and complicated task. The office carries out “all the customary duties of a corporate secretary” for corporate Synod; serves on the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Synod; facilitates most of the official convention
nomination, election, registration, and business processes; administers dispute resolution and expulsion processes; supervises the maintenance of the Synod’s official rosters and statistical information; and retains documents on Synod’s agencies, while performing “other such work as pertains to his office” or “as the Synod in convention, the President, or the BOD may assign to him” (–3.3.3.2). It is a demanding office, even at the “minimum” defined in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod. The office proper consists of the Secretary and one executive assistant. There is never a slow day. We live by grace and sometimes have to ask for patience.
Analysis and Technological Advance
The office has, in connection with Research Services and a few specialized labors, taken on, in addition to the above, a more forward-looking, analytical, and consultative role. In ongoing partnership with the Council of Presidents (COP), the office has developed a “parochial service report,” in which district presidents report quarterly on the full-time equivalents of pastoral service being provided in each of their parishes by ordained and installed, ordained uninstalled, and un ordained (vicars, deacons, etc.) men, as well as on bi-vocational status of workers and outstanding call processes. This per-parish data is beginning to provide new insights on patterns of vacancy and pastoral service that will be of interest to the Synod as it evaluates the future need for pastors and strategies for serving small congregations, of which there are many. The office has also reached out to the synodwide corporate entities and seminaries to take initial steps toward an “enterprise data” approach that will combine our strengths, along with “big data” from census and other sources, to provide better evaluation of where we stand as a Synod and where and how it makes best sense to apply the “diversity of gifts for the common good.” This has been met with an enthusiastic response but is a significant addition to an already full workload for the office and for Research Services. Submission of annual parochial statistics, while significantly improved, despite significant efforts from this office and enlisting district offices and circuit visitors, remains far below the “unanimous” expectation of at about 70–75 percent submission annually (responses less than three years old are available for 86 percent of congregations, representing 93 percent of the confirmed membership of the Synod). This poses continued challenges for analysis, especially in years such as that of the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath, in which understanding changed patterns of attendance is of significant importance to the Synod. Production of data products of direct interest and usefulness to the congregations (including initial versions of historical and comparative statistical data now available on the locator) is a priority. One significant aspect of the office’s statistical work is supporting districts and the Office of the President in forming appropriate visitation and electoral circuits, compliant with requirements of or reasonable exceptions under (b). While visitation circuits still number 608, the number of electoral circuits has declined, principally due to the requirement of 1,500 confirmed members per, to 532 (a drop of 22 since 2019, following similar declines by 21 in 2019 and 29 in 2016). Representation is not the only objective, of course; maintenance of “critical mass” for the self-sharpening of the ministerium in winkels, as well as provision for work together by congregations and appropriate visitation, are also important. We hope to provide some data on various proposals for circuit realignment to the responsible floor committee.
Nominations and Elections
The office supports the nomination and election processes of the Synod convention (), performing the preliminary and final work for the Committee on Convention Nominations (CCN) as well as the administration of the processes for nomination of the President and his election and for the nomination of the vicepresidents of the Synod—these latter nomination processes being ballot-based and numerical. In the CCN process, a total of 459 individuals, including incumbents, were nominated for at least one of the 62 officer, board, or commission positions to be filled by the convention through the work of the CCN (excluding the seven Praesidium positions), compared to 347 last triennium. While this still reflects a very low rate of participation in the nominating process, given that any member of any Synod congregation can submit a nomination, and while the committee noted that in some positions it had a challenge identifying qualified candidates, it is a relatively rare increase in convention process participation. The nominating process for President and vice-presidents, conducted electronically for the first time through Yes Elections (formerly Election America, the contractor used by the Synod since 2013 to conduct the election of the President), will be reported on separately. Registration of presidential voters, also online for the first time, is underway at the time of this report’s preparation. The accustomed, relatively low level of participation in these processes remains of concern for the Synod. Last triennium, this office provided a detailed report on participation in the online presidential election (Today’s Business, 2B:40–45). While a few changes were made to related bylaws in 2019, the pre-convention election of the President continues to deserve the convention’s careful review. The office took a new approach to convention-related communications this triennium, retiring the many “It’s Time” postcards and distributing a triennial poster laying out for a congregation all its opportunities to participate, by nomination, representation, and memorial iz ation, at the circuit, district, and Synod levels. Districts were engaged to strongly encourage submission of congregational and congregational leader emails at lc.lcms.org, which have been used consistently and with timely information from online processes, to remind multiple leaders in each congregation of opportunities to participate. A similar strategy was used for the convention defer ral vote in 2021 and proved effective. There remain a small number of generally smaller congregations without any means of email contact, and initial, “official” communications are still made on paper. Still, this is at a significant savings to the convention budget and seems to be operating at least as effectively, if not already more so. Timely communication by email and entry of data in secure online portals allows more timely correction of errors and more targeted and informative reminders.
Facilitation of Appointment Processes, Vacancy and Regular The office facilitates appointment processes for positions elected by the convention that become vacant midterm and for positions appointed by the BOD and COP. Annual appointments include Concordia Plans/Plan Services Boards of Trustees/Members and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund Board of Members, triennial appointments, the Concordia University System Council of Members, LCMS Foundation, and Commissions on Constitutional Matters and Handbook. This triennium has witnessed a notable increase in the number of vacancy appointments under , per-
haps compounded to some extent by its extra year. These included Synod BOD, 1; Board for International Mission, 6; Board for National Mission, 2; Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM), 1; Concordia University System, 1; Lutheran Church Extension Fund Member-at-Large, 1; Concordia Plan Services, 2; Concordia Seminary, 1; Concordia Theological Seminary, 1; Concordia University Chicago, 3. District boards of directors and others often have the opportunity to participate in the nomination processes, and their input is generally low in volume but greatly appreciated. The nomination and appointment process, in general, cries out for attention, perhaps including consolidation in an “always-on” online framework.
Convention Deferral Vote Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and under the guidance of CCM Opinions 20-2938 and 20-2960, the office was asked to and did facilitate a vote of the Synod’s congregations under B 8 as to whether the Synod should “add an additional year to the current 2019–22 triennium, allowing districts to hold their conventions in either 2021 or 2022, and moving the upcoming national Synod convention from 2022 to 2023.” After submission of the matter to the congregations by presidential letter on Dec. 7, 2020, an electronic vote on the question was conducted between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, 2021. The vote was conducted in the system presently being used for President voter registration and to be used for any future constitutional amendment ballots. More than the required one-fourth (63.32 percent) of the Synod’s member congregations registered a vote, and the majority (90.67 percent) of votes cast favored adoption. The stated extension of the 2019–2022 triennium by a year, allowing district conventions to take place in either 2021 or 2022 and deferring the national Synod convention from 2022 to 2023, was therefore adopted. The appendix below shows the result of the vote.
Dispute Resolution and Expulsion Processes
The office administers the Synod’s processes of dispute resolution and expulsion, provides associated training, and has a key practical role, with the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) and Council of Presidents (COP), in maintaining the processes’ Standard Operating Procedure Manuals. The triennium now drawing to a close saw the conclusion of hearing panel proceedings as follows: four expulsion proceedings under , three for ordained ministers and one for a commissioned minister—teacher; and one under , for an ordained minister. Many suspensions of workers and congregations do not result in a panel, resolving instead in a removal by default or resignation. A hearing fac il it at or was provided to one university for a proceeding under the Model Operating Procedure Manual. Reconcile rs on the Synod’s roster function extensively in the districts, whether in informal or formal capacities; this activity is not regularly reported to the Office of the Secretary. Appeals from panel decisions were requested in three of four concluded expulsion proceedings, but no review hearings were granted by an appeal panel. Given infrequent activation of reconcile rs and hearing facilitators by blind draw for panel roles, the office, together with the CCM and COP, is engaged in review of the training apparatus and size of the pools. Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Synod’s training partner, will be providing the January 2024 training online in an effort to increase accessibility and retention of material, as well as to shift cost from travel and lodging to the creation of “off-year”
continuing education for hearing facilitators and already-roster ed reconcile rs.
Other Roles Reported Elsewhere
The Secretary of the Synod serves ex officio on the BOD of the Synod and the Concordia Historical Institute Board of Governors, as Secretary of both the CCM and the Commission on Handbook. He regularly assists the COP and is involved in many task forces and other efforts (including particularly, this triennium, the 2019 Res. 7-03 work on university governance and the Res. 9-17 work on advisory delegates); as these are reported on elsewhere and by others, these activities are not reported here.
Conclusion It has been a very challenging but also very rewarding four year “triennium,” trying to “do what comes to hand and do it with vigor” (). Much of the work is less tangible, the office attempting to serve as a nexus of communication to hold a sometimes fractured Synod together and to assure that necessary services are
provided reliably, objectively, and with uniform expectations to all the Synod’s districts and members. We are truly stronger together but maintaining “life together” in reality takes real and considerable administrative and personal work. The office rejoiced with Mrs. Pam Weeke, who retired after thirteen years of tireless and faithful service to the Office of the Secretary and many more to the Synod in general. We welcomed Mrs. Amy Schaeffer, formerly in the Office of International Mission, to carry on in her stead. In Fiscal Year 2023, including the commissions and dispute resolution and expulsion, the staff of Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services, and all overhead, the office cost each parish in the Synod about $280, on which we earnestly attempt to deliver value, and to do so all the more effectively in years to come. We are grateful for the Synod’s investment in this work. We often find ourselves taxed beyond capacity but with no shortage of opportunities for new and improved work with significant promise. This is a source of perpetual challenge but also of eagerness and excitement. The
Lord prosper the work of our hands, so that the investment of the “diversity of gifts” in us may truly be “for the common profit.” John W. Sias, Secretary
Appendix: Official Notice of Convention Deferral February 16, 2021 In a letter from December 7, 2020, under the provision of Article XI B 8 of the Synod Constitution, LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison submitted the following question to a vote of the Synod’s member congregations: Shall the Synod add a year to the current 2019–2022 triennium, allowing districts to hold their conventions in either 2021 or 2022, and moving the upcoming national Synod convention from 2022 to 2023? [Thereafter, the triennium cycle will continue forward from 2023 in three-year increments, as before (i.e., with district conventions held in 2025, 2028, etc., and Synod conventions held in 2026, 2029, etc.).] Vote: Yes or No. The Office of the Secretary, assisted by the LCMS Department of Rosters, Statistics and Research Services and the LCMS Technology Application Group, facilitated an electronic vote on this question, opening January 1, 2021, and closing at the end of the day on February 15 (11:59 p.m. Central Time). More than the required one-fourth (63.32%) of the Synod’s member congregations registered a vote, and the majority (90.67%) of votes cast favored adoption. The stated extension of the 2019– 2022 triennium by a year, allowing district conventions to take place in either 2021 or 2022 and deferring the national Synod convention from 2022 to 2023, is therefore adopted.
tion is published in The Lutheran Annual or to the Synod webpage; some is utilized by districts and others in the Synod for ministry, administrative, and research purposes. The preceding four years have continued to produce significant and much-needed changes for the department, including several personnel transitions, technology and process enhancements, and scope of work. Noteworthy accomplishments include • the implementation of online portals for congregations and schools to update their records with the Synod, there by eliminating the mailing and processing of over 26,000 paper forms each year;
- development and implementation of online voting for member congregations for official Synod referendums, and first used during the convention referendum to delay the 68th Regular Convention to 2023;
- development and implementation of an online presidential voter registration system for member congregations, eliminating delays that impacted bylaw-established deadlines and reducing associated labor by 75 percent;
- the addition of a data analytics specialist to provide expert data modeling and analysis in support of key ministry and business decisions. This position will increase the research capacity of the department and enable research that combines Synod-specific data with a wealth of information from other sources;
- ongoing development of several new applications to support district offices with the call process and general roster management of ordained ministers—the first stage of implementing a unified roster management system jointly used by the Synod’s districts and national office. This project aims to improve the efficiency of roster transactions and services of districts in support of workers, congregations, and schools (especially call processes), while retaining assurances of actions properly taken under the Synod Bylaws; and
- support to the Office of the Secretary in developing new processes and tools for convention nominations, including the online nominations (handled by the independent election firm historically used for the pre-convention election of the President) for Synod President and Vice-Presidents.
The President’s letter (lcms.org/delay-vote-letter) and FAQ (lcms.org/delay-vote-faqs) explain the consequences of this defer ral. The national Synod office is working urgently to make arrangements for the next regular convention of the Synod to convene in the summer of 2023 and will keep the Synod apprised as plans are finalized. Congregations are advised to watch closely for communications from their districts regarding their plans to meet, either in 2021 or 2022, and to pay attention to pre-convention schedules that may be in flux. The member congregations of the Synod and all who facilitated their voting are to be thanked for their urgent and diligent attention to this question, on account of which it was able to be decided not only by a majority of the votes cast but by a majority of the member congregations. We pray that the additional year it allows will bear rich fruit in the churchly de liber at ive assemblies of the districts and the Synod. John W. Sias LCMS Secretary