# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_March 15 16 2024_S5
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

serve only in that specific ministry context for which he is trained” and may not serve outside that context
(call, parish) without the certification of his district president (Bylaw 2.13.1).
26. Opinion Request: District Convention Advisory Delegate Poll and 2023 Res. 9-08A (24-3025)
By an email of February 13, an ordained minister serving a district of the Synod requested an opinion on
the following matter (as it was revised and extended by the Secretary for clarity). Consonant with Bylaw
3.9.2.2 (b), the commission requested input from district presidents, district boards of directors, and the
Praesidium of the Synod.
Background: A district of the Synod in 2022 adopted a resolution directing the district to provide for a nonbinding advisory vote of nonvoting advisory delegates prior to votes taken at 2025 and subsequent district
conventions. (This has been, in one form or another, a practice of long or short standing in a number of
districts.)
The 2023 Synod convention, meanwhile, adopted Res. 9-08A, ‘To Strengthen Nonvoting Advisory
Delegate Participation at Conventions,” which reads in relevant part: “Recent efforts have included polling
advisory delegates prior to delegate voting, but in addition to violating the established rules of order
(Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised [12th ed.] 45:72), such polling reduces the advice and counsel
given to a single word—either ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ The counsel these advisors can bring is much more nuanced
and valuable than merely a single word.” (emphasis added)
Question:

Taking into consideration 2023 Res. 9-08A and Bylaw 4.2.1 (f), “The president of the
district shall conduct the sessions according to accepted parliamentary rules[…],” is it
consistent with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod for a district
convention to conduct a non-binding advisory vote of nonvoting advisory delegates prior
to votes of voting delegates?

Opinion:
2023 Res. 9-08A has, in response to a number of overtures suggesting broader use of the
non-binding advisory vote (Ov. 9-20–25), considered the question of strengthening nonvoting advisory
delegate participation at conventions and recommended other means instead, raising concerns regarding
rules of order and that advisory delegates’ advice not be reduced to a simple yes or no. The resolution did
not, however, prohibit the practice.
Furthermore, the commission observes that Bylaws 3.1.9 (i)(3) and 4.2.1 (f) do not prescribe Robert’s Rules
of Order, Newly Revised (RONR) or any other parliamentary manual in such a way as to prevent the
alteration of its rules by a Synod or district convention adopting special (or “standing,” RONR 2:24, 59:27–
37) rules (id., 2:16n5, 2:22). Both Synod and district conventions thus frequently alter the basic provisions
of Robert’s (or whatever other parliamentary manual might be used), in a manner fully in accord with
“accepted parliamentary rules” (id., 2:14–24).
Therefore, while the Synod in convention has recommended otherwise—and these recommendations
should be taken under serious advisement by districts in ordering their conventions—it is not prohibited by
the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod for a district to conduct the contemplated nonbinding advisory vote, provided its convention has adopted a special rule providing for such.
27. Lutheran Church Extension Fund Canada Corporation (23-3005A)
The Secretary noted further correspondence with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), following
the 2023 Synod convention and its relevant amendments of Bylaws 3.6.4 and 3.6.4.4.1, by way of Res. 910A, “To Amend Bylaws 3.6.4 and 3.6.4.4.1 to Clarify Use of Lutheran Church Extension Fund Financial
Resources and Related Services,” regarding its desire to restructure and assume the Canada Corporation
presently used as an instrument of the English District. The commission reviewed the correspondence and
discussed with the Secretary guidance to be shared with LCEF regarding this project.

CCM Minutes – March 15–16, 2024 – Page 17