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2015 Minnesota North District
Convention Newsletter
Monday in Review
Beginnings and Greetings
After Dr. Raabe's opening devotion, Pres.
Don Fondow officially opened the 2015
Minnesota North District Convention. He
thanked all the delegates for their service
and prayed for the District's unity during
the convention.
Ben Thuringer of Madden's Resort welcomed the convention delegates and
thanked them for being their first guests of
the season.
The mayor of Brainerd, the honorable
James Wallin, also brought greetings to the
delegates from the city of Brainerd and
thanked them for coming. He is a member
of Zion Lutheran Church in Brainerd.
District Pres. Don Fondow addresses the convention.
Opening Devotion
Our Confidence in the LORD
Rev. Dr. Paul Raabe, a Professor at Concordia
Seminary in St Louis, served as convention Bible
Study leader and opened our time together with
a study on Isaiah. Along with sharing the historical context of the book, he highlighted the way
in which Isaiah still speaks to us about the confidence we have in the Lord.
Convention Attendance Statistics
Rev. Ron Carnicom, chairman of the Committee on Registration, Credentials and Attendance
gave the following report on attendance at this convention as of 1:00pm:
Pastoral Voting Delegates: 110 (out of 134 possible)
Lay Delegates: 125 (out of 161)
Total Voting Delegates: 235
From the Board of Directors, four were present. Eight Advisory pastors, twenty-seven pastors
emeriti, fourteen commissioned workers, six emeriti commissioned workers, five office staff,
six guests (including speakers), and thirty-three additional guests were present for a total of
338 attendees. A quorum was established.
Photos from Around the
Convention
Rev. Paul Dare (Holy Cross, St. Cloud) and delegate
chat before the convention begins.
The Treasurer's Report
Mike Uran, recently appointed as District
Treasurer, gave his first report to the convention. He thanked former treasurer Bud Rinke
for the invaluable help as he transitioned into
the position, as well as the District Staff.
The District is in a strong position as it relies
on the gifts of the congregations of the District. Financial statements are printed on pages
59-70 of the convention workbook. Uran stated that 42% of the District’s regular budget is
forwarded to Synod and any amount given
over a congregation's pledge is given 50-50 to
the District and Synod.
Properties held by Synod are listed on page 33
of the Convention Workbook.
Mr. Uran will be available throughout the convention to answer any questions attendees
might have.
Election Results
The Elections committee report was presented by Rev. Del Meyer. Meyer outlined the voting
procedures for elections during this convention, identified election committee members and
provided instructions for the electronic voting system.
Biographical information for each nominee was provided in the printed conference materials.
Two nominations for District President were considered. A motion was made to accept the
nominations as listed: Rev. Dr. Don Fondow (incumbent) and Rev. David Hinz, Alexandria.
Rev. Dr. Don Fondow was re-elected to serve as the MNN District President with a vote of 206
to 27.
Vice-Presidential elections were held for the Park, Arrowhead and Lake-Land Regions.
Rev. Dr. Karl Weber was newly elected as VP for the Park Region. Rev. Paul Cloeter was reelected as VP of the Arrowhead Region. Rev. Kirk Lee was re-elected as VP of the Lake-Land
Region.
Voting was then held to rank the vice-presidents. Rev. Dr. Weber was elected first VP; Rev.
Cloeter was elected second VP; and Rev. Kirk Lee was elected third VP.
Convention Essayist
Dr. Adam Francisco, Associate Professor of History and Political Thought at Concordia University,
Irvine, CA, serves as the Convention Essayist. He began with an informative discussion on
“worldview.” Worldview can be defined as the lens through which people interpret and perceive reality. Worldview determines what a person holds as “truth” - what a person assumes to be true about reality and how he perceives his experiences and the world.
The pre-modern worldview made a distinction between the Creator and the created. This view
acknowledged that humanity is dependent upon the Creator for the origination of life. Knowledge was
believed to come from two sources: prophetic sources (Scripture, from the mind of God) and from nature (the created world). Both sources originate from God.
This view dramatically changed during the mid-seventeenth century when the worldview turned away
from God and no longer saw the need for Him. It was during this time of “Enlightenment” that the
source for truth became human reason and empirical evidence, i.e., nature and only what can be seen
and proved.
In the mid-twentieth century, a distinction was made in Western civilization about how truth is derived.
Three sources for truth were identified: analytic claims, those that are self-evidently true by definition;
synthetic (scientific) claims, knowledge and ideas about the world that are verifiable and can be tested
and proven; and technical meaninglessness, the assertion that there are some truths that people just
shouldn’t believe (e.g., the theology of Christianity).
Post-modernism arose and challenged these views in the latter twentieth century. However, postmodernism is very difficult to define. It is a rejection of established worldviews and promotes skepticism of all previously held views. It attempts to marginalize those who hold to a firm set of beliefs and
promotes the notion that humans can never know truth. Truth is felt to be individually defined.
This worldview results in significant challenges culturally because it is not concerned with facts or the
reasons why a certain belief is held, it looks only to identify bias in the believer. Post-modernism promotes doing what makes a person “feel good,” rather than building a foundation on facts and values
what is most modern.
However, Lutheran Christianity is in an excellent position to refute post-modernism…...stay tuned for
more.
Floor Committee Resolutions
On Monday, Floor Committee #1 presented the following resolutions.
1. To Encourage Planting New Congregations and Ministries
After no discussion, we voted overwhelmingly to encourage individuals, congregations, pastors, and
the district to actively find and support ways to start new congregations and ministries with the intent
of sharing the Gospel with more people.
2. To Investigate Strategies and Resources for Ethnic Ministries
Following a discussion about wording, the amended resolution passed.