# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S252 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 252 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION WHEREAS, The fathers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod instituted the office of District President primarily for the purpose of visiting congregations (see C. F. W. Walther, Essays for the Church, 2 vols. [CPH, 1992], 2:6-63); and WuereEas, The Synod transferred the duty of visitation from District Presidents to “‘visitors,’” later called “circuit counselors,’’ at the 1920 and 1923 conventions; and Wuereas, Even though the Circuit Counselors have served faithfully and diligently, the congregations also need the theologi- cal expertise of their District Presidents, which can only be ob- tained by personal visitation; and WHEREAS, Such visitation by theologically competent District Presidents is the best means to obtain true unity of doctrine and practice in the church; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod hereby reinstitutes the responsibility of District Presidents, in conjunction with the Vice-Presidents, to visit every congregation in their district triennially (i.e., in a period of three years); and be it further Resolved, That the Synod hereby commissions its seminaries jointly to produce a detailed set of “Instructions for Visitation,” based on the historical instructions of the Missouri Synod and the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, which will be used as the exclusive standard of inspection by the visiting Presidents; and be it further Resolved, That these instructions shall be completed and ready for implementation in time for the first District convention in 2000, and that such instructions will be subject to review by the synodical convention in 2001; and be it finally Resolved, That any District which finds such visitation to be too taxing for their President be encouraged to petition the Synod to divide that District into smaller Districts. Christ, Oak Park, IL; Trinity, San Jose, CA; Our Redeemer, Forsyth, IL; Our Redeemer, Peekskill, NY; Our Saviour, Evanston, WY; Bethany, Fort Wayne, IN; Good Shepherd, Hurley, NY 7-42 To Appoint Task Force to Study Role of District Presidents WHEREAS, One of President A. L. Barry’s “Five Visions for Missouri” is that she be and remain a truly confessional church; and Wuereas, A number of groups have organized within the Synod to study Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions and have included in their name confessional; and WuerEaS, Some have charged that these groups are judging that nonmembers of these groups are not truly confessional; and WHEREAS, Such confessional groups have made it clear that they do not want others to conclude they are making this judgment about nonmembers; and WHEREAS, Pressure has been exerted in some Districts on indi- vidual pastors not to join such confessional groups and on these groups not to use the word confessional in their name; and WHEREAS, In one District it is reported to have been further stated that if the individual joined a group which had the word con- fessional as a part of its title, the District President would immedi- ately request a meeting with the leadership of the individual’s con- gregation to evaluate the quality and quantity of his pastoral ministry; and WHEREAS, There seems to be a trend among District Presidents to assume the mantle of a bishop and, in doing so, to assume and exercise power over pastors in their District not authorized under Art. XII 7, 8, 9; and WHEREAS, The early Lutherans in St. Louis were devastated and almost destroyed as a church because of the activities of Martin Stephan, their bishop; and WHEREAS, As a result the Synod has repudiated a hierarchical type of church government; therefore be it Resolved, That we recognize that the use of this term by some groups does not in any way imply that nonmembers of the groups are disloyal or in any way wanting in their approach to the Scrip- tures and the Lutheran Confessions; and be it further Resolved, That synodical President Dr. A. L. Barry be requested to appoint a task force to study the role of the District President as it is described in the Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws, with par- ticular emphasis on the limitations these impose on the activities of a District President; and be it finally Resolved, That the 1998 synodical convention reaffirm the lim- ited authority of the District President in his supervision over the doctrine and life of pastors, teachers, and congregations in his Dis- trict, as set forth in Art. XII7, 8, 9 ad. Concordia South Haven, MN 7-43 To Regain Erring Pastors and Congregations or Remove Them from Roster WHEREAS, There is deviation from the biblical and confessional doctrine, teaching, and synodically approved practices of the Synod in such areas as close Communion, unionism, the role of women (e.g., women elders) in the church, using laity to perform pastoral functions, and ecumenical participation and activities; and WHEREAS, Past resolutions by Districts and the Synod have en- couraged, beseeched, urged, fraternally requested, or directed elected officials of the Synod to execute their responsibilities ei- ther to regain the walking together in fellowship of the erring pas- tors and congregations or to suspend them from the Synod per Bylaw II D (Restricting, Suspending, and Expelling Congregations or Individuals from Membership); and WHEREAS, Many elected officials have knowingly condoned the erring behavior of pastors and congregations that has resulted in a serious breach of all member congregations walking together in the historical path and following the confessional stance of our Synod for decades; and WHEREAS, The resulting divergences in doctrine, teaching, and practices have seriously undermined the Synod as an “orthodox” church body; and WHEREAS, The Bylaws themselves permit wide interpretations about the time that the elected officials including, but not limited to, the synodical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presi- dents and Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors can take to reach a resolution about the erring behavior, e.g., Bylaw 2.27 2 b, if the District President declines to suspend the member or fails to act; therefore be it Resolved, That the phrase “or fails to act” be deleted from Bylaw 2.27 2 b; and be it further Resolved, That the entire synodical procedure be revised to pro- vide definitive timelines that speed the entire process for each step in the procedure; and be it further Resolved, That elected officials are directed to be faithful to the duties of the office to which they are elected and to their ordina- tion vows; and be it further Resolved, That all elected officials including, but not limited to, the synodical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presidents and Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors know by this resolu- tion that they have the full support of the congregations in the Synod for dealing with the erring behavior of congregations that ignore their commitment to adhere to the doctrine, teaching, and practices of the Synod; and be it further Resolved, That those pastors and congregations that refuse to listen to brotherly admonitions, whether verbal or written, and refuse to return to the biblical and confessional doctrine, teaching, and practices of the Synod are to be removed from the synodical roster by the elected officials including, but not limited to, the syn- odical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presidents and Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors because those congrega-