About LCMS Conventions
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod holds conventions every three years to elect synod officials (including the office of president) and to discuss and adopt “resolutions”, which LCMS members and congregations are then expected to abide by.[1] Votes in these elections are cast by delegates representing local LCMS congregations.
The 2016 and 2019 LCMS Conventions featured debate and resolutions on the Concordia University System, “Lutheran Identity”, and other issues covered in the pages of this website.
2016 LCMS Convention
Resolution 7-01A: To Adopt Lutheran Identity Statement for CUS Institutions as Prepared by CUS Presidents
Defined ten Lutheran identity standards for CUS Institutions and required written self-evaluations of “institutional commitment to Lutheran identity” submitted annually to the CUS board of directors and president of the synod.[2]
Resolution 7-02B: To Preserve Concordia Colleges and Universities as Institutions of the Church and Strengthen Their Structural Bonds with Synod
Amended synod bylaws to give the president of the LCMS the power to terminate after 18 months any interim president appointed by a CUS institution’s board of regents.[3]
In his report to the convention, president Matthew Harrison alluded to “our decline”[4] in membership and denounced what he called a “confederative view of the Synod”[5] rising since the 1940s.
2019 LCMS Convention
Resolution 7-01A: To Amend Bylaws Related to Structure and Governance of the Concordia University System
Amended synod bylaws giving CUS board of directors authority to “consolidate, relocate, separate, or divest a college or university” without the approval of the institution’s board of regents.[6, 7, 8]
Resolution 7-04A: To Advance the Prior Review Process for CUS Institution Presidential Candidates
Amended synod bylaws giving LCMS and CUS officials earlier control over candidates for CUS presidential appointments.[9, 10]
Resolution 7-05A: To Recognize and Give Thanks for Work at Selma
Claimed that CCA’s difficult financial situation was “well known to the Synod at large” since at least 2016 and invited delegates to sing the third stanza of Lift Every Voice and Sing.[11] An amended version was adopted after striking several of the original assertions, and the delegation sang instead the second stanza of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.[12, 13, 14]
CUS Facts 