# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S337
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS 337

Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod at the national or district
level, resolutions of the respective convention, and the policies of a
district or any other agency to which it is responsible...(c) A staff
at the national level through its executive officer shall...(5) make
day-to-day operating decisions in the administration of adopted
programs in accordance with approved policies...(12) propose
staffing levels and review staff performance....” Furthermore,
Bylaw 1.4.6 (d) states: “Each executive officer shall report on staff
activities and recommendations to the national Synod, district, or
agency to which that officer is responsible and, as requested, to the
president of the district or of the Synod.” There is no specific direc-
tive of the Synod dealing with the Bylaws requiring the mutual
concurrence of the President for a staff position appointment with
the exception of the chief executive officer.

Based upon the above, it is clear that the calling, contracting,
or employing of staff is the responsibility of the respective Synod
agency. There is no provision in the Constitution or Bylaws pro-
hibiting the calling, contracting, or employing of an individual re-
lating to his prior activities, including group membership, or prior
proclamations or teachings.

While agencies may offer contracts or calls to individuals re-
gardless of their histories, it should be pointed out that prior to ac-
ceptance of a position, potential staff members will be required to
sign statements that they have received, understand, and agree to
abide by the conflict of interest provisions of Bylaw 1.5.12.1 (see
Bylaw 1.5.12.2). Presumably individuals as identified in the ques-
tions, in order to fulfill their responsibilities in a manner reflecting
the highest degree of integrity and honesty consistent with the
Scriptures and in order not to enter into activities detrimental to the
interests of the Synod, will have determined, in advance of accep-
tance, no longer to associate with groups whose theological posi-
tions are contrary to the Synod, to publicly subscribe to theological
positions of such groups, or to publicly speak, teach, or write in a
manner inconsistent with the theological positions of the Synod or
to take any other actions which may be detrimental to the interests
of the Synod or its agencies. If inappropriate activity continues, the
position must be vacated pursuant to Bylaw 1.5.12.1 (b) (5).

(B) In answering question 3, reference should be made to the
appropriate constitution and bylaw provisions, together with prior
opinions of the Commission on Constitutional Matters. Please note
the following constitutional provisions that are applicable:

¢ Constitution, Art. XI A 1: “The officers of the Synod must assume
only such rights as have been expressly conferred upon them by
the Synod, and in everything pertaining to their rights and the per-
formance of their duties they are responsible to the Synod.”

¢ Constitution, Art. XI B: “1. The President has the supervision re-
garding the doctrine and the administration of...b. All such as are
employed by the Synod;...2. It is the President’s duty to see to it
that all the aforementioned act in accordance with the Synod’s
Constitution, to admonish all who in any way depart from it, and,
if such admonition is not heeded, to report such cases to the
Synod. 3. The President has and always shall have the power to
advise, admonish, and reprove. He shall conscientiously use all
means at his command to promote and maintain unity of doctrine
and practice in all the districts of the Synod. 4. The President shall
see to it that the resolutions of the Synod are carried out....”

Reference should also be made to appropriate sections of the
Bylaws:

¢ Bylaw 3.3.1.1: “As the chief ecclesiastical officer of the Synod,
the President shall supervise the doctrine taught and practiced in
the Synod, including all synodwide corporate entities.”

* Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1: “The President of the Synod has ecclesiastical
supervision of all officers of the Synod and its agencies...”

¢ Bylaw 3.3.1.2: “The President shall oversee the activities of all of-
ficers, executives, and agencies of the Synod to see to it that they
are acting in accordance with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolu-
tions of the Synod...(c) He shall call up for review any action by
an individual officer, executive, or agency that, in his view, may
be in violation of the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the
Synod. (1) If he deems appropriate, he shall request that such ac-
tion be altered or reversed. (2) If the matter cannot be resolved, he
shall refer it to the Synod’s Board of Directors, the Commission on

Constitutional Matters, and/or the Synod in convention as he
deems appropriate to the issues and party/parties involved.”

* Bylaw 3.3.1.3: “The President shall have powers and duties that
are both ecclesiastical and administrative...(j) He shall exercise
executive power when the affairs of the Synod demand it and
when he has been expressly invested with such power by the
Synod in convention. (k) He shall be authorized, in the event that
the affairs of the Synod require the exercise of executive power
for a purpose for which there is no specific directive of the Synod,
to exercise such power after consultation with the vice-presidents,
the Board of Directors of the Synod, or the Council of Presidents,
whichever in his judgment is most appropriate. Any member of
the Synod shall have the right to appeal such action to the Com-
mission on Constitutional Matters and/or the Synod in convention,
whichever is appropriate....”

In discussing the authority of the President to act, the Commis-
sion on Constitutional Matters has rendered a number of prior opin-
ions. In discussing presidential authority, the Commission in Sep-
tember of 1972, in dealing with an issue regarding the President’s
authority to affect a decision of a board of the Synod, stated:

(1) That it is the opinion of the Commission on Constitutional Mat-
ters that the Constitution and the Bylaws of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod give to the President of the Synod exceptionally broad
responsibilities and correspondingly broad authority. (2) That while the
ordinary day to day responsibility not only for administration but also
for doctrine rests also with other officials, boards, and commissions cre-
ated in the course of time by the Synod, the Synod has never repealed
the broad responsibility and authority vested in the presidential office,
but instead the Synod appears to have increased those powers from time
to time. It is therefore conceivable that the President, acting in accor-
dance with the appropriate articles of the Constitution and Bylaws of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, may exercise his pastoral judg-
ment to intervene in situations which, in his estimation, are so important
that the exercise of his ultimate constitutional responsibility is required.
(3) That when a synodical President feels impelled to exercise that re-
sponsibility, it is clearly understood that his action is always subject not
only to the regular appeals procedures involving the commissions of
adjudication and Board of Appeals, but also to the approval or disap-
proval, to ratification or recision, by the convention of the Synod. (Ag.
330, 340, et.al.)

In dealing with presidential power as it relates to censorship of
printed material, the Commission stated the following in a June 25,
1977 opinion:

Specific enabling language mandates presidential authority in the
areas of doctrine and practice. He has authority over administration of
the officers and employees of the Synod. He is expressly identified as
the CEO of the Synod. The President is mandated to be responsible to
the Synod for the supervision of doctrine. While a President is prohib-
ited from exercising powers that have not been expressly conferred
upon him, he may exercise executive powers within framework pro-
vided by the Constitution and Bylaws. The President may, for example,
exercise broad power under the express language granting him respon-
sibility for doctrinal supervision. The Bylaws need not articulate every
heresy, or aberrant doctrine that might trigger executive action. It is im-
plicit in the express grant of authority in the Constitution and Bylaws to
supervise doctrine....Prohibiting or directing items for publication in
the official periodicals of the Synod should be done by the President of
the Synod only in exceptional circumstances...Bylaw 12.01 indicates
what the Synod expects of its official periodicals. Any limitation on
such expectations through an exercise of executive power should be
done only on those occasions when the affairs of the Synod so re-
quire....(Ag. 2073, A, B, C, D, E, F)

See also Opinion 02-2259, which in reference to the above
opinion further explains:

[This] opinion found authority for actions which might be consid-
ered censorship on the part of the President, but recognized extreme
limitations on that authority. The Commission found that, to the extent
that such authority exists, it flows from his general authority under Ar-
ticle XI B 1 which indicates “the President has the supervision regard-
ing the doctrine and administration...” and Bylaw 3.10] c 11 which au-
thorizes the exercise of executive power where there is no specific
directive of the Synod and action is required. As applied to the issue of
censorship, the opinion observed that “prohibiting or directing items for
publication in the official periodicals of the Synod should be done by
the President of the Synod only in exceptional circumstances.”

2007 Convention Workbook