LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 186

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186

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

4-18

4-21

To Change the Way Convention Committees
Are Selected

To Limit Convention Time of Incumbent President
Prior to Presidential Election

Whereas, The President of the Synod appoints the convention
floor committees (Bylaw 3.1.7) and is responsible for the overall
organization and operations of the conventions of the Synod (Bylaw
3.1.9); and
Whereas, This gives the President considerable influence, creates
a potential conflict of interest, and would lead an unbiased observer
to wonder if there is a level playing field for the consideration of all
overtures; therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS, beginning with its next convention,
elect Synod convention committee members at district conventions,
with the chairmen chosen by the committees at their first meetings.
Circuit 3 Forum
North Wisconsin District

Whereas, The secular world recognizes that campaign literature
for one candidate at an election site would provide an unfair advantage for that candidate and therefore bans all campaign literature
from such sites; and
Whereas, The secular world also recognizes that a continued presence at the polling site of only one candidate or his representative
would provide an even greater unfair advantage and therefore also
bars any such presence; and
Whereas, This church body should be at least as concerned about
fairness in its elections as the secular world; and
Whereas, The current practice at Synod conventions provides a
number of opportunities for the incumbent presidential candidate to
appear before the delegates prior to the election (e.g., orientation sessions, opening worship, presidential report, etc.); and
Whereas, No time before the convention delegates is given to the
other candidates for the Synod presidency; and
Whereas, It is impractical to provide equal time for all candidates
for the presidency of the Synod to appear before the convention delegates prior to the presidential election; therefore be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in convention establish a policy which limits the time an incumbent Synod
president may appear before the delegates before the presidential
election takes place, limiting that time to the declaration of the opening of the convention, after which he would be required to relinquish
the chair to a vice-president who is not a candidate for the presidency
until after the election of the Synod president takes place.
St. Peter, Swanville, MN;
Minnesota North District

4-19

To Invite Proposal for Fairer Method for Selecting
Convention Floor Committee Members
Whereas, The President of the LCMS now selects the chairman
and members of convention committees; and
Whereas, This gives the President far too much power; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2010 LCMS convention invite delegates at the
convention to propose a fairer method of selecting convention committee chairmen and members.
Trinity
New Haven, MO
4-20

To Amend Bylaw 3.1.7 re Appointment
of Convention Floor Committees
Whereas, Bylaw 3.1.7 of the Constitution of the Synod gives this
entire responsibility of appointing floor committees to the President
of the Synod; and
Whereas, The business that will be conducted at Synod conventions is significantly determined by the decisions of the various floor
committees; and
Whereas, This makes the appointment of faithful and capable
floor committee members especially important; and
Whereas, The current practice is both a burden and leaves any
President vulnerable to the accusation of “stacking” the floor committee to serve an individual agenda; and
Whereas, Others who hold representative offices in Synod, such
as the members of the Praesidium have the ability and the breadth
of experience to identify individuals for service on convention floor
committees; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Montana District of the LCMS memorialize the
Synod in convention to amend Bylaw 3.1.7 so that it assigns responsibility for appointing floor committees to the entire Praesidium of
the Synod.
Montana District

4-22

To Revise Convention Election Process
Rationale
During recent conventions of the Synod, two related issues have
surfaced during the election of members of the Board of Directors,
both issues resulting from the provision in Bylaw 3.3.5.1 that
“13 members are elected by the Synod in convention and serve a
maximum of two six-year terms: four ordained ministers, one commissioned minister, and eight laypersons. No more than one of these
may be elected from one district.”
When in past conventions elections for ordained, commissioned,
and lay positions on the board were conducted simultaneously (as
in 2001), the filling of some positions on early ballots disqualified
candidates for other positions due to the only-one-member-per-district bylaw requirement, favoring candidates for those categories with
fewer candidates (who were more likely to receive a majority of
votes on an early ballot). When elections were conducted and positions filled one category at a time, this also disqualified candidates
in other categories due to the only-one-member-per-district requirement, which favored candidates for positions that were filled early.
The following bylaw changes are advocated to help to alleviate
adverse effects of the only-one-member-per-district requirement and
to distribute more evenly among the three categories of candidates
any remaining adverse effects.

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 186

4/15/10 2:39 PM