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73rd REPORT REGULAR CONVENTION of the EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNOD and the 34th Annual Meeting of the BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE CORPORATION Convention Theme: "SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS" Essay: "Serve the Lord with Gladness" Essayist: The Rev. Paul Schneider Compiled by Alf Merseth, Secretary Held at BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE BETHANY LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Mankato, Minnesota 56001 June 11·21, 1990 TABLE OF CONTENTS Convention Focus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Convention Day by Day 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Roll Call 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Representatives Eligible to Vote 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Convention Committees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 President's Message 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 President's Report and Action of the Synod 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27, 43 Synodical Membership-Action of the Synod 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 Essay Serve the Lord with Gladness 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 Reports of Committees and Action of the Synod 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 Church Locations 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0167 Christian Day Schools 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 171 Officers of the Synod 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 172 Directories 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 8 Index 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0192 2 CONVENTION FOCUS SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS Psalm 100,2a The fact that we are the servants of our God and the willing ness of our service to Him is spelled out for us by the inspired pen of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12,1-2. I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a Jiving sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye trans· formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. The Christian serving His God was the focus of this year's con vention. This focus was based on one of the great Psalms of praise, Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. The convention essay by the Rev. Paul Schneider discussed why and how the believer in Christ as his only Savior should SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS. The essayist, in the introduction, defined the Christian as follows: "A Christian is a child of God who has acknowledged his sinfulness, confessed his sin, and by the Holy Spirit's power trusts in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Thus comforted with the forgiveness of sins and confident in the hope of heaven, a Christian lives on this sinful earth desirous of rendering service to God and to others." He presented his essay in two parts. I. A 3 Steward Serves the Lord with Gladness Because He Knows and Believes that: A. The Lord is Good. B. The Lord is our Creator and Owner. C. The Lord is our Ruler and Provider. D. The Lord is Good and MercifuL E. The Lord is True and FaithfuL II. A Steward Serves the Lord with Gladness as his Faith and Love Motivate Him to: A. Live for the Lord. B. Worship the Lord. C. Thank the Lord. The essay was presented and discussed on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, June 20 and 21. It is printed in its entirety in these proceedings. Alf Merseth, secretary 4 THE CONVENTION DAY BY DAY SYNOD SUNDAY, June 17, 1990 The Synod Sunday Festival Service which opened the 73rd an nual convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod was held in the Gymnasium-Auditorium on the Bethany Lutheran College Campus at 10:30 a.m. on June 17, 1990 with a good crowd in at tendance. For the Festival Service the Rev. Raymond Branstad, Brooklyn Center, MN served as liturgist. The Rev. John Moldstad Jr., Lake Havasu City, AZ was the speaker. Music was provided by Prof. Dennis Marzolf at the piano, the Rev. Mark DeGarmeaux at the organ and Peggy Thomforde and Patricia Johnson on violins. Pastor Moldstad used as his text 2 Corinthians 5, 14-15 and ad dressed himself to the theme: "Our Savior is also our Motivator." Christ must first be seen as our Savior. He is the one that rescued our sinful souls from destruction. He is our Redeemer, our Pro vider, our Preserver. This He is for "all" men. We must see Christ as our personal Redeemer. Since He is thus our Redeemer then He is also our Motivator. Do people see the love of Christ reflected in our lives. We so often fall short in our doing for Christ, but there is forgiveness for us there too. The Gospel of salvation must spur us on to serve the Lord with gladness as in dividuals and as a synod. At 2:30 p.m. on Synod Sunday afternoon the assembly gathered in the chapel at Bethany Lutheran College for the GRADUATION SERVICE FOR BETHANY LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. President W. W. Petersen served as the liturgist. The speaker was the Rev. J. Kincaid Smith, Saginaw, MI. He used as his text 2 Timothy 1, 6-13, and addressed himself to the theme "The Spirit which God gives to Pastors." Of ourselves we can do nothing. So you graduates will accomplish nothing by yourselves, but Christ bestows on every pastor the Spirit of Power: the power of God's inerrant Word; the power of that Word to make people righteous in Christ. This must be the center of your preaching. Christ bestows on His pastors the Spirit of Love. If we do not have love for souls we are like the clanging cymbals of which the Apostle Paul speaks. The example that should motivate our love for souls is the love of Christ for us and other souls. Christ bestows on His pastors the Spirit of good judge- 5 ment. A tempered and moderated judgment attuned to the love of Christ. The Rev. M. E. Tweit, on behalf of the Board of Regents, presented diplomas to the graduates: James Braun, Kurt Andrew Smith and Mark Allen Wold. President Orvick spoke on behalf of the synod following both the morning and afternoon services. Convention in Session MONDAY June 18 The first working day of the 73rd Annual Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod was opened with a devotion by the Convention Chaplain, the Rev. Rodger Dale, Apple Valley, MN. The assembly sang the familiar, and for many, favorite, hymn "Ye Lands to the Lord Make a Jubilant Noise." The Rev. Dale used Psalm 92, 1-5 as his text and addressed the theme: "It is Good to Praise the Lord." It is good to praise the Lord because He makes us glad by His deeds. There is so much in 'the world which makes us sad, but when we come into the house of the Lord and reflect upon His greatness, especially His grace in Christ, our burdens are replaced with peace and joy.