LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 145

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II. FAQ RE THE BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL MISSION
R57

II. FAQ re the Board for International Mission
as the Only Sending Agency of the Synod
(Bylaw 3.8.3) and the Commission on
Constitutional Matters Opinion 14-2724
Q. What is the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM)?
A. “The Commission on Constitutional Matters exists to interpret
the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod and ensure
that the governing instruments of the Synod and its agencies are in
accord with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod” (Bylaw 3.9.2).
Q. Who serves on the CCM?
A. “The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall consist of
six voting members:
1. Three ministers of religion—ordained, whose terms shall be
for six years renewable once
2. Two attorneys, whose terms shall be for six years renewable
once
3. The Secretary of the Synod, who shall serve as the secretary of
the commission” (Bylaw 3.9.2.1)
Q. How are the members chosen?
A. District boards of directors nominate individuals. The Council
of District Presidents chooses a slate of five names for each open
position, and the President of the Synod appoints an individual from
the slate provided.
Q. From where did the current language that the Board for
International Mission (BIM) is the only sending agency for workers and funds (Bylaw 3.8.3) come?
A. In 1983, the Synod in convention adopted Res. 5-37 to add
language to the Bylaws that the mission board was the only sending
agency for workers and funds. The language from that 1983 bylaw
carried through the restructuring in 2010 to the present day; indeed,
the current bylaw language represents nothing new. As described
in the 1983 Res. 5-37, the rationale for this language was that “[s]ome
confusion has existed in the past when districts and other entities
have sent missionaries (clergymen, teachers, and others) to foreign
mission fields at their expense,” noting that there had been a standing
assumption “that this is to be done through the [Synod’s] Board for
Mission Services” (1983 Proceedings, p. 195). The same confusion
that existed in 1983—among congregations, districts, and partner
churches in foreign mission areas—remains to the present day. For
instance, many of our international partners mistakenly identify any
LCMS worker operating in a foreign mission area as being “officially
sent.” But what does the current Bylaw 3.8.3 actually state?
3.8.3
The Board for International Mission is charged with developing
and determining policies in support of mission and ministry in foreign
countries for the Office of International Mission (Bylaw 1.2.1 [m]).
These policies shall embrace and apply the mission and ministry
emphases adopted by the national convention. Under the leadership
of the President of the Synod, pursuant to Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1, the board
shall assist in identifying the specific goals for the Office of International Mission. Policies determined by the board (implemented by
staff) may include but not be limited to:
• strong mission leadership
• training of missionaries
• ministry for all of the Synod’s military personnel
• safeguarding the rights of partner churches
• ministry for all civilians and their dependents overseas

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• international human care
• liaison with the colleges, universities, and seminaries of the Synod
• liaison with the chief ecumenical officer of the Synod
• international schools
Upon the recommendation of the Office of International Mission, the board shall serve as the only sending agency through which
workers and funds are sent to the foreign mission areas of the Synod,
including the calling, appointing, assigning, withdrawing, and releasing of missionaries (ministers of religion—ordained and ministers
of religion—commissioned) and other workers for the ministries in
foreign areas.
Q. Doesn’t restricting the calling and sending of international
workers and funds to the Synod infringe on the rights of districts?
A. The calling and sending of workers and funds to foreign mission areas is one administrative area that the Synod has, since early
on, intentionally reserved for itself by the decision of its members
meeting in convention. In the same manner that districts may not call
pastors to serve in other districts, districts may not call missionaries
to serve in foreign mission areas. Likewise, congregations have the
right to call their own pastor, but they do not have the right to call a
pastor for someone else or for another entity.
Q. May districts send funds overseas to mission projects?
A. A district of the Synod may not send funds to an entity not part
of corporate Synod, with the exception of an auxiliary or Recognized
Service Organization affiliated with the Synod, for work in a foreign
mission area of the Synod. Bylaw 3.8.3 states that the BIM is “the
only sending agency through which … funds are sent to the foreign
mission areas of the Synod.”
Q. Are districts encouraged to have overseas relationships?
A. Yes. Districts have often provided vital support for called foreign missionaries and taken special interest in various mission fields
with the support and encouragement of the BIM and the Office of
International Mission (OIM). In this way and for the sake of good
order and the most effective stewardship of resources, Bylaw 3.8.3.1
is fulfilled, which states in part: “The Board for International Mission
shall have oversight of the implementation of policies adopted by the
board and implemented by the Office of International Mission for the
coordination of and in support of ministries of the Synod in foreign
countries.” This provides healthy, direct relationships for support of
the mission of the Gospel around the world.
Q. Doesn’t restricting the calling and sending of international
workers and funds to the BIM infringe on the rights of congregations?
A. Congregations, by their adoption of the Synod’s constitutional
articles and by their present-day subscription to such articles, freely
self-limit their right of self-government. This means that congregations agree to work with the Synod in the area of foreign missions
by not independently calling and sending workers to foreign mission
areas.
Q. May congregations send funds overseas to mission projects?
A. Congregations may indeed support mission societies or overseas mission work, so long as the sending of such funds does not
violate Art. VI of the Synod’s Constitution that requires members
to reject heterodox tract and mission societies. Synod congregations
should therefore not be supporting non-Lutheran (Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.) churches and their human care organizations.
Q. Are congregations encouraged to have overseas relationships and partnerships?
2016 Convention Workbook