In the January Reporter, listed under the “Official Notice” section, a very timely and important posting was made by the Secretary of Synod. It is time to submit nominations for national convention-elected positions. Click HERE to read the text of the Official Notice from the online version of the Reporter.
While the convention isn’t until July 20-25, 2019, preparations are already in full swing. This “Official Notice” was followed up on January 15, 2018 with Mailing #6, a post card summarizing what positions are open for nominations at this time. The positions that are open for nominations are as follows:
- Secretary of Synod
- LCMS Board of Directors (At-Large and Regional)
- LCMS Boards for National and International Mission (Regional)
- Commission on Theology and Church Relations
- Concordia Historical Institute Board of Governors
- Concordia Publishing House Board of Directors
- Lutheran Church Extension Fund Board of Directors
- Concordia University System Board of Directors
- Concordia University System Board of Regents
- Seminary Board of Regents
In total, these represent roughly 75 elections that will take place at the Synodical Convention in Tampa Florida during the summer of 2019. Some of these positions require ordained clergy; however, many of them require lay people who have financial, management, and business experience.
Click HERE to read the details of the process of Nomination and Election.
Because It’s Important
Submitting nominations is important. Whether the person makes the national ballot or not, once they are vetted by the Synodical Convention Nominations Committee, they are in the “pool” and can be nominated from the floor at the Convention.
The point is this: The LCMS NEEDS quality, competent, and visionary people nominated to serve the Lord’s Church. The Church needs people who can bring light into the darkness.
All terms are for six years, except the position of Secretary of the Synod, LCEF Board of Directors, and members of boards of regents, which are three-year terms.
An Important Change in Regional Position Requirements
A significant change by the 2016 convention placed regional LCMS Board of Directors, LCMS Board for National Mission and LCMS Board for International Mission positions under the responsibility of the CCN (Bylaw 3.12.2.8). This change allowed for nominations to be received from both inside and outside the region each regional position.
Nominations for the regional board positions will therefore be submitted on the same form as for all the other Secretary, board and commission positions.
In addition, regional membership is now based exclusively on residency. It used to be based on the congregational membership of the nominee. Now it is based on the home residence of nominees. All nominees for a regional position must reside within the boundaries of the region for which they are nominated.
Follow the Guidelines Exactly
As you make your nominations, you have to make sure you abide by the following guidelines:
The Nomination Form is available at www.lcms.org/convention/2019-nomination-form. When you click on this link, an editable PDF form will immediately download. Synod accepts no other form for nominations — in fact, this year, they will accept no handwritten forms either.
To expedite the processing of your nomination, open this PDF form on a computer using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Complete the form electronically, save it, and e-mail the form to the special email address for nominations: ccn@lcms.org. Then print and place your hand-written signature on an identical copy and send by U.S. mail to the address on the form. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TWO STEP PROCESS IN ORDER FOR THE NOMINATION TO BE CONSIDERED.
Important Next Steps
Because you believe our Synod can be better and do better, consider doing the following:
- Pray for illumination as to who you may know that could be a blessing to the respective positions in Synod;
- Talk to the person to see if they are willing to have their name nominated for a leadership position;
- Download the PDF, fill it out, and send it back to the email address provided above;
- Print your completed form SIGN IT, and put it in an envelope. Mail it to the following address:
Office of the Secretary – Rev. John Sias
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
1333 Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
And please be mindful: The final deadline for nominations for the aforementioned positions is OCTOBER 20, 2018
We Need Your Help
If you would like to join the movement, here are some other things to do:
- Sign up for our email list and receive new posts from this site to become more informed on the issues.
- Make sure your congregation passes resolutions to district conventions and national conventions that support this effort. We must turn our LCMS leadership back to its historic role.
- Nominate new leaders for the LCMS who will vote for the primacy of congregations, not the primacy of the Synodical President and his administration.
And one more thing. You have the responsibility to nominate men and women to serve as our leaders in Synod. Let’s choose leadership that will support congregations, not use congregations to support them.
Congregations matter.