Official Workbook report source text
Official Workbook source-navigation report record. No analysis has been added.
- Report number/id
- R4
- Report title
- R4 Secretary
- Workbook start page
- 44
- Workbook end page
- 46
- Source pages
- 44, 45, 46
- Source status
- source_checked
- Committee
- Not available
R4 Secretary The Office of the Secretary is a constitutional office of the Syn- od (Constitution Article XI D) and, with the Department of Ros- ters, 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, recollection, and regulation.” A. Constitutional and Customary Duties The Synod is first and foremost a confessional union. It is also a constitutional one, the offices, boards, commissions, and agen- cies being specifically empowered by the member congregations to serve them and on their behalf. The well-being and well-func - tioning of the whole as a confessional union, in which the con- gregations are served with what they need and the service on their behalf is what they have authorized, depends on the health of the constitutional part. While the polity of a church can take many forms, fundamental to each is that one runs only as sent to run, and that offices are received and not assumed. The structure of a church, to be worthy of being called that, must be able to regulate the teaching and practice, to keep the whole growing up “until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the full- ness of Christ,” together “into Him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph. 4:13). This involves, at our scale, a constitutional framework 2026 Convention Workbook 45 OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS D. Facilitation of Appointment Processes, Vacancy and Regular The office facilitates appointment processes for positions elect- ed by the convention that become vacant mid-term and for positions appointed by the Board of Directors and Council of Presidents. An- nual appointments include Concordia Plans / Plan Services Boards of Trustees / Members and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund Board of Members; triennial appointments, the LCMS Foundation and Commissions on Constitutional Matters and Handbook, as well as various appointments by the Council of Presidents. This trienni- um saw a decline to a more typical rate of vacancy appointments under Bylaw 3.2.5: Board for National Mission, 2; Board for Inter- national Mission, 2; LCMS Foundation Board of Trustees, 1; Con- cordia University Chicago, 2; Concordia University, Nebraska, 1. 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. These processes, too, have been supported with a new electronic system, which is still working its way to full realization in the time we have to give it. E. Dispute Resolution and Expulsion Processes The office administers the Synod’s processes of dispute reso- lution and expulsion, provides associated training, and has a key practical role, with the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Council of Presidents, in maintaining the processes’ Standard Op- erating Procedure Manuals. The triennium now drawing to a close saw the conclusion of hearing panel proceedings as follows: two expulsion proceedings under Bylaw section 2.14 (one is underway and one concluded by resignation after a panel was requested but before the hearing). Many suspensions of workers and congrega - tions do not result in a panel, resolving instead in a removal by de- fault or resignation. Reconcilers on the Synod’s roster function ex- tensively 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 con- cluded expulsion proceedings, but no review hearings were granted by an appeal panel. Given infrequent activation of reconcilers and hearing facili - tators by blind draw for panel roles, the office, together with the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Council of Presidents, 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 2027 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 educa - tion for hearing facilitators and already-rostered reconcilers. F. Other Roles Reported Elsewhere The Secretary of the Synod serves ex officio on the Board of Di- rectors of the Synod and the Concordia Historical Institute Board of Governors, as Secretary of both the Commission on Constitutional Matters and the Commission on Handbook. He regularly assists the Council of Presidents and is involved in many task forces and other efforts (including particularly, this triennium, the 2023 Res. 9-06A work on electoral circuit requirements); as these are reported on elsewhere and by others, these activities are not reported here. Suf- fice it to say that in everything touching on the Bylaws or the polity of the Synod, the office is usually in some way involved. Unusually extensive litigation this triennium as well as a change in legal counsel, the present vacancy in the Chief Administrative While work with the “parochial service report” continues and we hope to have a significant report ready for floor committees on patterns of pastoral service and ordained minister supply and de- mand, we have not made the progress we’d like on supplying the Synod with deep and broad analysis or work with the entities to achieve an “enterprise data” approach of value to the Synod. Oth- er areas of work—principally legal and governance matters—have taxed our capacity. Intention remains firm, and with a new trienni- um at hand, hope is being renewed. C. Nominations and Elections The office supports the nomination and election processes of the Synod convention (Bylaw 3.12), 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 vice-pres - idents of the Synod—these latter nomination processes being bal- lot-based and numerical. In the CCN process, a total of 459 individuals (210 ordained, 59 commissioned, and 190 lay), including incumbents, were nominat- ed for at least one of the 62 officer, board, or commission positions to be filled by the convention through the work of the Commit - tee on Convention Nominations (excluding the seven praesidium positions). Despite about 25 percent more nominations (including more duplicates), the total is the same as the previous triennium (though those were comprised of slightly more ordained, more commissioned, and fewer lay) but up from 347 the one previous. A new electronic system supported the process, enabled gathering of more complete and more timely information, eased the work of the committee, and reduced the amount of staff time required to be devoted to the process. We could still use more, and more thought- ful, nominations. The nominating process for President and vice-presidents, con- ducted electronically for the second time through YesElections (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 second time, is underway at the time of this report’s preparation. The accustomed, relatively low level of participation in these pro- cesses remains of concern for the Synod. The last two triennia, this office again provided a detailed report on participation in the online presidential election (2019 Today’ s Business [TB] 2B:239–45; 2023 TB 2B:286–90). The pre-convention election of the President con- tinues to deserve the convention’s careful review. The office continued its revised approach to convention-re - lated communications this triennium, focusing on official notices and electronic communications with congregations, which can be more timely and have a broader reach than print. 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. There remain a small number of generally smaller con- gregations without many means of email contact and initial, “offi- cial” communications are still made on paper. Our evaluation is that this works probably better than the old postcard approach, although participation rates continue, across the board, on their accustomed downward trend—also a concern for the convention. 2026 Convention Workbook 46 OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS used by the Synod’s districts and national office; and o mapping and analysis of congregations and schools by district and circuit. • Implementation of a new online reporting tool for congre- gations to manage and submit lists of seventh–twelfth grade students in support of Set Apart to Serve and recruitment ef- forts by the Synod’s universities and seminaries. • Redesign and upgrade of the LCMS internet locators (locator.lcms.org) with a focus on heightened security to thwart the increased level of attempts by external parties to scrape Synod’s data; this included adding a log-in element to access the information on rostered church workers. • Acquisition of new scanning hardware to support the contin- ued updating and accessing of Synod’s roster archives. • Implementation of the collection of an array of new statis- tical data points covering enrollment capacity, programs, staffing data, finances, and admissions practices on behalf of LCMS School Ministry. Research Services provides a full range of research and anal - ysis services for the Synod and its agencies. Close integration of Research Services with Rosters and Statistics and the Office of the Secretary, as well as close interaction with ministry units at the In- ternational Center, the Council of Presidents, and Synod’s partner agencies (CPS, LCEF, etc.) has proven fruitful in exploration of new approaches and fields of study with potential to impact the present and future ministry of the Synod and its constituents; the same connections will continue to grow in importance as core tech- nologies and access to analyzable data continue to be enhanced. Some of the key reports delivered in the past three years include the following: • Multiple studies on pastoral formation and routes to pastoral ministry. • Extensive study of church worker wellness, surveying ros- tered workers, congregation leaders, and district presidents. • Research support for the Circuit Alignment Task Force (Res. 9-06A), including surveys of parish pastors and district pres- idents. • Research support for the Created Male and Female Task Force (Res. 1-04A), including two major surveys of rostered workers. • Multiple yearly surveys of congregations, church workers, and LCMS youth in support of Set Apart to Serve. • Program evaluation support for major events, including the 2023 Synod convention, the 2024 Worship Institute, and the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering. Scott Kostencki, Director