# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S409
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.8.2.2 The Board for National Mission shall be comprised of eleven members:
1. Five laypersons and five individual members of the Synod (one of
each from each region of the Synod) elected in the same manner as
are regional members of the Board of Directors of the Synod (Bylaws 3.12.1 and 3.12.2.7)
2. The President of the Synod or his representative
In 2016, the laypersons elected from the Great Plains and East/
Southeast regions and the individual members of the Synod elected
from the West/Southwest, Central, and Great Lakes regions shall be
elected for three-year terms.
3.8.3.2 The Board for International Mission shall be comprised of
eleven members:
1. Five laypersons and five individual members of the Synod (one of
each from each region of the Synod) elected in the same manner as
are regional members of the Board of Directors of the Synod (see
Bylaws 3.12.1 and 3.12.2.7)
2. The President of the Synod or his representative
In 2016, the individual members of the Synod elected from the Great
Plains and East/Southeast regions and the laypersons elected from
the West/Southwest, Central, and Great Lakes regions shall be elected for three-year terms.

and be it further
Resolved, That the wording of Bylaw 3.9.4.1 be amended as follows, effective with the appointment of Commission on Handbook
members for the 2016–2019 triennium:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.4.1 The Commission on Handbook shall consist of eight members, five voting and three nonvoting:
1. Of the five appointed voting members, three shall be individual
members of the Synod and two shall be attorneys, whose terms
shall be for six years, renewable once. In 2016, one of the individual
members and one of the attorneys shall be appointed for three-year
terms. The remaining individual members and attorney shall be appointed for six-year terms.
12. The Chief Administrative Officer of the Synod, the Secretary of the
Synod, and an additional member of the Commission on Constitutional Matters shall serve as advisory members.
3.9.4.1.1 2.The five voting members of the Commission on Handbook shall be appointed in the following manner:
(a) Candidates shall be nominated only by district boards of
directors and presented to the Council of Presidents through
the office of the Secretary of the Synod.
(b) …

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409

Proposed Action
Resolved, That current Bylaw 3.3.1.3 (e) be amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Powers and Duties—Ecclesiastical and Administrative
3.3.1.3 The President shall have responsibilities and duties that are
both ecclesiastical and administrative.
…
(e) Prior to appointing his appointment of an executive director of a
mission office, he shall engage in consultation with the appropriate
mission board to reach concurrence on a slate of candidates for the
position. of executive director of a mission office.
(f) He shall engage in consultation with each mission board, commission, and the governing board of each synodwide corporate entity to
reach mutual concurrence on a slate of candidates for appointment
to the position of chief executive or executive director.
(fg) As ecclesiastical supervisor, he shall provide leadership to all officers, agencies, and national office staff of the Synod. Through the
Chief Mission Officer, he shall supervise the duties listed in Bylaws
3.4.3–3.4.3.8.
…

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C. To Stipulate Commissions Meeting Requirement
Rationale
Synod Bylaw 1.5.3 requires every Synod agency to meet at least
quarterly unless otherwise stipulated in the bylaws, exceptions requiring approval at least annually by the President of the Synod. In the
case of the Commission on Constitutional Matters, and possibly other
commissions, responsibilities vary considerably from year to year
depending upon business to be addressed.
It is in the fiduciary interest of the Synod that groups such as commissions do not incur unnecessary meeting expenses. The following
proposed overture would introduce a stipulation into the bylaws (new
Bylaw 3.9.1.1) that would reduce the quarterly meeting requirement
for commissions of the Synod to at least two times per year.
Proposed Action
Therefore be it
Resolved, That a new Bylaw 3.9.1.1 be inserted in Bylaw section 3.9 as follows:
PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.1 The commissions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
are the following:
1. Commission on Constitutional Matters

B. To Clarify the Role of the Synod President
in Executive Appointment Processes
Rationale
The President of the Synod has a role in the appointment of certain staff positions of corporate Synod and certain agencies of the
Synod, including the executive directors of the offices of national
and international mission and the chief executives of the synodwide
corporate entities, a role that differs in these appointment processes
(Bylaw 3.3.1.3 [e]).
The current wording of the bylaw does not adequately differentiate
between the two processes, thereby creating confusion. To clarify, the
following bylaw changes are proposed to the 2016 LCMS convention.

2. Commission on Doctrinal Review
3. Commission on Handbook
4. Commission on Theology and Church Relations
3.9.1.1 Commissions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
shall meet as they deem necessary but at least two times per year to
carry out their assigned responsibilities.

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D. To Clarify Responsibility of the Commission on Handbook
Rationale
Bylaw 3.9.4.2 (e) assigns responsibility to the Commission on
Handbook to respond to requests from agencies of the Synod that
2016 Convention Workbook