The Finance and Budget Floor Committee held two lengthy sessions Tuesday in advance of preparing a recommendation on two budget proposals brought to the convention by the Synodical Council.

This budget reflects an $8 million reduction in each year of the next biennium and offers delegates two options. While each requires significant cuts in all areas of ministry, in Option A, Home and World Missions each receives $500,000 less than in Option B. Under Option B, Ministerial Education receives $1 million less than under Option A. Under Option B, the Board for Ministerial Education says funding for Michigan Lutheran Seminary would not be possible after the end of the 2010-11 school year.

"People are passionate about both [missions and ministerial education]," says Rev. Joel Otto, chairman of the committee. "That seems to be what the convention wants to see—something that funds both ministerial education and missions, those core ministries."

According to Otto, the floor committee spent much of the day talking to area of ministry administrators, learning how the areas are using the budget dollars they have and how cuts will affect their ministries. "We have a lot of very intelligent individuals on our committee who are asking a lot of very insightful questions," says Otto. "These are also men who are concerned about practicing good stewardship with the finances the Lord has blessed us with as a synod and how we can best be a confessional church body to train workers and get these workers sent out to proclaim the gospel."

Otto says the committee is still considering both options A or B as well as other ideas for balancing the budget other than additional cuts to ministerial education and missions—including salary cuts, reducing payments to a proposed financial stabilization fund, and deeper cuts to other areas of ministry.

In an informal survey during the open forum on Monday night, all delegates who did not support either Option A or B were asked to rise. A casual observation showed that about half stood up. "That sort of sends a message to a floor committee," says Otto. "That's what we're trying to work on. It's difficult."

Otto says he's hopeful his committee can present a formal proposal by late Wednesday.