• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

LCA Synod 2018

19th General Convention of Synod
Rosehill Gardens NSW | 2–7 October 2018

  • Home
  • Introduction
    • Venue
    • FAQs
    • Delegate Nomination & Fees
    • Delegate Training
  • Prayer/Worship
    • Worship/Sermons
    • Theme
    • Synod Offering
    • LCA Song
    • Call to Prayer
  • Business
    • Program
    • Book of Reports
    • Business Overview
  • News
  • Travel & Accommodation
  • LoginPress

Synod backs governance and structural changes

4 October 2018


The LCA’s General Convention of Synod has backed formal introduction of changes to church governance and national functions, which have been trialled over the past three years.

Proposed at the 2015 Synod by the General Church Council (GCC), the changes were designed to provide more effective leadership and mission-centric activity within the LCA, and to deliver resources more efficiently in the church.

LCA Pastor for New and Renewing and Churches Rev Dr Noel Due and the Victoria-Tasmania District’s Pastor for Congregational Support, Pastor Brett Kennett, spoke to the 2018 Synod in support of formalising the changes. They said that during the period of the trial restructure closer working relationships had been established between the districts and churchwide operations, and that it would be detrimental to the church’s core mission of sharing the gospel not to continue the new structure.

The original GCC governance proposal called for ‘in-principle support for competency-based, appropriately structured LCA councils, boards, committees and commissions’. It also authorised GCC to develop and trial the new rules and governance policy, as well as to prepare necessary changes to LCA By-laws, for approval by the 2018 General Synod.

The national functions changes aimed to provide ‘more effective leadership, governance and other resources that are churchwide, mission focused, service oriented, efficiently delivered and effective in enacting the decisions and directions of General Synod’.

In late 2017 GCC commissioned an independent review of the trial structure, which included consultation with individuals and groups directly impacted by the proposed changes, as well as those who were expected to benefit. The final consultant’s report was submitted to General Church Council (GCC) in June.

Independent consultant Wendy Taylor said the majority of committees, boards and individuals which participated in the review reported greater effectiveness in focusing on the church’s core mission, with many also citing improvements in governance and administrative efficiency.

Many congregations indicated their appreciation of support received in communications, human resource management, and financial and IT services. The risk profile of the church has also improved markedly because of the changes, as practices become more compliant with regulations pertaining to the church. Some congregations experienced service glitches, and areas for improvement or development have been identified.

GCC noted that positive findings of the review included: key leaders of the church had reported time efficiencies, enabling them to focus more on mission-related work; the profile of local mission departments had been raised within the church; changes to governing bodies had positively impacted the effectiveness of half the number of boards, committees and commissions; efficiencies had been made by those boards, committees and commissions that now received administration support and the increased participation of the executive officers; and administration in districts and congregations was being standardised and streamlined, creating efficiencies at district level.

Among the key features of the governance changes are that nominations to all boards, committees and commissions will be competency-based, that GCC is renamed as the General Church Board (GCB) to more accurately reflect its governance role, and that the membership of the Board is fully elected by the General Synod rather than a combination of election and appointment, and reduced from a maximum of 14 members to nine, comprised of three pastors and six lay members. Most other boards and councils will be limited to seven members, all appointed, plus consultants and advisors.


 

« LCA bishops re-elected
ILC urges LCA to ‘hear the Word of Scripture’ »

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Prayer/Worship
  • Business Sessions
  • Convention Life

Archive

  • Pre-Convention
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday

Pre-Convention eNews

26 September 2018– Prayer for Sunday 30 September

25 September 2018– Bus timetables

19 September 2018 – Worship, travel, communications

19 September 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 23 September

12 September 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 16 September

5 September 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 9 September

30 August 2018 – Registrations closing date extended

29 August 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 2 September

22 August 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 26 August

21 August 2018 – Registrations closing

15 August 2018 – Prayer for Sunday 19 August

13 August 2018 – Registrations closing; meals; electrical equipment

8 August 2018 – Call to prayer

24 July 2018 – Call for volunteers

23 July 2018 – General Pastors Conference advice

5 July 2018 – Meals charges

22 June 2018 – Online delegate training

19 June 2018 – Registrations

9 May 2018 – Nominations and proposals deadlines

24 April 2018 – General Convention proposals

20 April 2018 – Ordination of men and women documents

19 April 2018 – Nominations and proposals deadlines; travel and accommodation

16 March 2018 – Nominations and proposals deadlines

19 February 2018 – General information

19 January 2018 – Delegate training

6 December 2017 – Delegate details and fees

6 November 2017 – Delegate elections and key dates

Footer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Introduction
    • Venue
    • FAQs
    • Delegate Nomination & Fees
    • Delegate Training
  • Prayer/Worship
    • Worship/Sermons
    • Theme
    • Synod Offering
    • LCA Song
    • Call to Prayer
  • Business
    • Program
    • Book of Reports
    • Business Overview
  • News
  • Travel & Accommodation
  • LoginPress

Contact Us

197 Archer Street
North Adelaide SA 5006

Phone 08 8267 7300
Email us

© 2023 Lutheran Church of Australia

Designed by LCA Communications