# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_February 6 7 2026_S2
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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Page 17, “SUMMARY OF PURPOSE”: The district president is not comprehensively responsible
for overall administration of the district; where he acts in business, property, or legal matters, he is
acting as an agent of the board. Under QUALIFICATIONS, it may be best to clarify “voting
congregation” as “member congregation of the district throughout his term of office.” (The district
president may be elected from outside the district but must “come in” to serve, Bylaws 4.3.1–3.)

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Page 18, “POSITION DESCRIPTION: VICE-PRESIDENT”: The vice-presidents are accountable
to the district president for duties delegated to them; they are comprehensively accountable,
however, to the district in convention, which elects them.

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Page 19, “POSITION DESCRIPTION: SECRETARY”: It should be clarified in what sense the
secretary is accountable to the board of directors.

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Page 20, “POSITION DESCRIPTION: TREASURER”: The district treasurer is here appointed by
the district president; the district bylaws specify that he is appointed by the board of directors (KS
Bylaw 3.1.4; see also Const. Art. XII 3 e; Bylaw 4.3.2). Granted, the board finally approves the
appointment. Under qualifications, it would be helpful to note that the treasurer must be a layperson
(Bylaw 4.3.2).

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Pages 27 and 30, “LINE OF ACCOUNTABILITY” (and generally): Accountability to the district
president should be reviewed in light of the fact that the business manager is by definition dealing
with matters that are the purview of the district board of directors, not of the district president:
business, property, and legal matters; perhaps to a lesser extent for the communications specialist.

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Page 40, “QUALIFICATIONS” (and elsewhere): “Ordained or commissioned minister” may be
clearer than “LCMS worker,” if that is what is intended. The verbiage for “Tenure of Office” (here
and elsewhere) is inconsistent. For some positions, it reads “[position] shall be appointed to a term
to run concurrent with the District convention.” In other places, it reads, “[position] shall be for
three (3) years and run concurrent with the district convention.” It appears that both have essentially
the same meaning, but it might be nice for them to be consistent. This could also be problematic if
the convention be delayed as many were in 2021.

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Pages 44–46, “POSITION DESCRIPTION: LUTHERAN CHURCH EXTENSION FUND VICE
PRESIDENT”: The district is advised to review with LCEF as to continued accuracy of district
vice-president appointment procedures, reporting relationships, and operations.

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Page 49, “MEMBERSHIP”: Relative to other committees, the membership of this committee seems
to lack definition (qualifications, church membership, etc.) other than the regional requirement.

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Page 57, “MEMBERSHIP”: The election process seems to imply that the commissioned ministers
are limited to those in education, which might be more clearly stated.

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Page 60, “MEMBERSHIP”: Having all appointees be “voting members” of a district congregation
could preclude an otherwise qualified candidate from being a part of the committee (such as a
female who is a member of a congregation that doesn’t have women’s suffrage.

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Page 70, “MEMBERSHIP”: There seems to be neither a minimum nor a maximum size stated.

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Page 88, “IMPLEMENTATION”: The schedule for transition of office seems to be unclear. Does
the board of directors set the 60-day transition period, which dictates the assumption of office of
the new district president? What is the date of transition of office for other elected offices?

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Page 105, “DISTRICT VICE PRESIDENTS” (1): region membership should be determined not by
residence but by congregational membership (Bylaw 4.3.3; KS Bylaw 3.1.2).

The district and its secretary are thanked for submission of this document for review.
CCM Minutes – February 6–7, 2026 – Page 136