Eight convention floor committees, meeting in St. Louis May 21 and over the weekend, prepared a total of 115 proposed resolutions for consideration by this summer’s triennial Synod convention. The proposed resolutions were prepared largely in response to a total of…

Higher Education  Of 66 overtures submitted on higher education, Committee 5 has developed 25 resolutions for convention action.  Topping the list is a resolution that would require the education of all professional church workers to include courses in evangelism, outreach…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. On the surface, the 2004-05 spending plan of $84.8 million the Synod’s Board of Directors adopted for national ministries at its May 20-22 meeting in St. Louis appears to be good news, compared with the $77.5 million…

By David L. Mahsman LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick is formally reporting to the Synod that the Synod’s Board of Directors has taken actions that, in Bylaw language, “may be in violation of the Constitution, Bylaws and resolutions of the Synod.” A notice…

From: President Gerald B. Kieschnick Subject:   LCMS Board of Directors and Bylaws Regarding:  Opinions of Commission on Constitutional Matters  Date:  May 23, 2004 In accord with the Constitution of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod it is my duty as president to report to…

Wheat Ridge Ministries is inviting congregations to submit applications from July 1 through Sept. 30 for its “Congregation Health and Hope Grant” program. The grants are intended to help congregations develop health and wellness ministries. All Lutheran congregations — individually or in…

God’s Word to the Nations, an LCMS mission society based in Cleveland, is offering “handy-size” editions of three of its specialty Bibles — GOD’S WORD of Freedom, designed for armed-forces personnel; GOD’S WORD to the Nations, for international students and immigrants;…

President George W. Bush offered what he called “a few thoughts about how you can make your mark in the world” when he delivered the May 14 commencement address at Concordia University Wisconsin, at Mequon. The commencement assembly first watched…

Two Lutheran Witness stories were recognized by the Evangelical Press Association (EPA) during its convention, May 2-5 in Minneapolis.  The EPA’s “Higher Goals” awards were for work done in 2003. The first-place award in the “Reporting” category went to “Bethlehem 2,000…

Registration is now open for the next Mission Planters Institute, to be held July 25-30 at Concordia University, Irvine, Calif.  The institute is sponsored twice a year — in February and July — by the Irvine-based Center for U.S. Missions…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Is the “Great Commission,” or reaching the lost for Christ, the “primary focus” of today’s Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod? Two-thirds of respondents to an online survey posing that question said no. When asked in a follow-up question what the…

Rev. Brian Friedrich has accepted the call to be the 10th president of Concordia University Nebraska, at Seward, beginning in July.  He will succeed Dr. Orville Walz, who is retiring after 14 years as president. Friedrich, 46, is currently vice…

A three-student team from Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., finished in the top 11 percent among 599 teams participating in the 2004 Mathematical Contest in Modeling. The international competition is sponsored by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation.…

Dr. Samuel I. Goltermann, president of Concordia College (now University), Austin, Texas, from 1960 to 1963, and a former Synod staff member, died of an apparent heart attack April 24 at his home in St. Louis.   The funeral service was April …

The Spirit and conventions Recently, you published a letter in which a pastor lamented the use of various election lists at the Synod convention (“Letters,” April ’04).  He asked why we cannot simply trust the Holy Spirit to guide us.  He…