RESOLUTION 7-02

Reports R15, R63 (CW, pp. 77–88, 262–267); Overtures 7-03–09, 7-11–13, 7-15–17 (CW, pp. 364–369, 371–372); CCM Opinion 13-2695 (CW, pp. 129–130)

WHEREAS, The Concordia colleges and universities are treasures of the church, built by God’s grace with the people’s offerings, bequests, and tuition, that serve to educate students for service both in church work and in society at large; and

WHEREAS, The Synod witnessed with great sadness the decision of Concordia University Edmonton (CUE), originally founded by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1921 for the purpose of training teachers and seminary candidates, to renounce its Christian mission, sever all ties with the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC), and become an entirely secular, non-Lutheran and non-Christian institution. As a result the LCC has been deprived not only of the use of the institution for training its church workers but also of the value of the CUE property; and

WHEREAS, The loss of CUE to the church did not happen overnight, but occurred following several steps (an oft-repeated occurrence described in the book The Dying of the Light: The Disengagement of Colleges and Universities from their Christian Churches, by James Burtchaell):

• In 2012, the Board of Governors of CUE acted to revise its bylaws so that the LCC would no longer elect members of the Board of Governors, with the result that the Board of Governors became self perpetuating. At the time, the President of CUE assured LCC leaders that any decisions CUE made would “not only maintain, but strengthen the shared ecclesiastical bond” with the LCC.
• In 2015, CUE suspended the LCC District President’s ex-officio position on the Board of Governors.
• Finally, in November 2015, CUE’s Board of Governors voted to remove all references to Christianity from its mission statement and secularize. and

WHEREAS, To preserve the Concordia colleges and universities as institutions of the church, it is necessary to strengthen their structural bonds with the Synod, lest the institutions be lost to the church through inattention or the temptation to compromise with secularism; and

WHEREAS, With prudence, the 2013 LCMS convention adopted Res. 5-01A To Encourage Continued Faithful Witness by Concordia University System; and

WHEREAS, The Resolution 5-01A Task Force was appointed for the purpose of

• studying and reporting on the issues of confessional Lutheran identity in all Concordia University System (CUS) institutions
• strengthening all CUS institutions’ connection to the Synod
• reviewing the composition, size, and selection of boards of regents
• review of Bylaw 3.6.6.5 (k) regarding the consolidation, relocation, separation or divesting of CUS institutions
• review of governance structures
and

WHEREAS, The task force developed a series of Lutheran identity standards for CUS institutions, which have
been endorsed unanimously by the CUS presidents and are being presented to the 2016 convention for affirmation in Resolution 7-01; and

WHEREAS, A significant number of the overtures relating to governance issues within the Concordia University System submitted for consideration by the 2016 convention of the Synod relate to the comprehensive work of the task force; and

WHEREAS, Certain of the recommendations of the task force require further study by the presidents and boards of regents of the CUS institutions, and at their request, the CUS Board of Directors has agreed to recommend further study of such recommendations; and

WHEREAS, 2013 Res. 5-05B improved the governance process for CUS boards of regents by imposing specific requirements for qualifications of regents, and by requiring boards of regents to document to the CUS Board of Directors various key factors including financial stewardship, faithfulness to the church, and educational background suiting them for service on the governing boards of complex and sizeable institutions; and

WHEREAS, Each institution and the Synod at large benefits from the presence on boards of regents of rostered workers of the Synod who faithfully serve the church and who are often alumni of the institution; and

WHEREAS, The President of the Synod has many responsibilities with respect to CUS institutions under long standing bylaws of the Synod, including, inter alia, Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1(c), which provides that he “shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to be visited all the educational institutions of the Synod to exercise supervision over the doctrine taught and practiced in those institutions”; Bylaw 3.3.1.2 (a), which provides that he “shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to be visited all the educational institutions of the Synod and thereby exercise oversight over their administration as it relates to adherence to the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod”; and Bylaw 3.3.1.3 (b), which provides that he “shall make provisions for new district presidents and members of boards and commissions of the Synod to be acquainted with their duties and responsibilities”; and

WHEREAS, The regional vice-presidents of the Synod assist the President of the Synod pursuant to Bylaw 3.3.2 in the visitation of the CUS institutions; and

WHEREAS, Each CUS institution and the Synod would benefit from increased communication and coordination with the Synod at large, to ensure that each institution remains closely affiliated with the Synod; and

WHEREAS, Close affiliation of the CUS institutions and the Synod is crucially important in the rapidly changing culture in which numerous matters of religious liberty are being eroded; and

WHEREAS, The structure of most boards and commissions of the Synod include either the President of the Synod or his representative as a member or members who are appointed by the President of the Synod; and

WHEREAS, To ensure communication and mutual accountability while ensuring that governance of CUS institutions remains with their respective boards of regents, whose vocation, fiduciary duty, and authority within the Bylaws are to be respected, it is appropriate that the Praesidium of the Synod have the authority to appoint two voting members to each respective CUS board of regents; and

WHEREAS, Certain other bylaw revisions are appropriate for the improved governance of the CUS institutions pertaining to the boards of regents and the office of president of each institution for clarification and in keeping with best practices for governance; therefore be it

Resolved, That the 2013 Res. 5-01A Task Force be commended for its work thus far; and be it further

Resolved, That the President of the Synod renew the appointment of the task force members and direct them to continue their work during the next triennium for the purpose of continuing to

• strengthen all CUS institutions’ connection to the Synod
• review the composition, size, and selection of boards of regents
• review 1 of governance structures
• review the process for selecting presidents of institutions

and be it further

Resolved, That this task force make its first reports and recommendations to the President by the end of 2017, which shall be provided to the CUS institutions for review and comment for a period of at least six months, and its final report and recommendation, responding to any comments from the CUS institutions on the initial draft, to the 2019 LCMS convention; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Bylaws of the Synod be amended as follows:

Rationale

To add linkage with the Synod through appointees of the Praesidium and to clarify issues relating to board of regents governance.

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING

See resolution for proposed wording