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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 298

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

298

X. TASK FORCE ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION REPORT

1.10.7.2

…Within 30 15 days after the appointment of the panel, the
hearing facilitator shall confer with the parties to the dispute
and the Dispute Resolution Panel for the purpose of choosing
a location….
1.10.7.3 The formal hearing before the Dispute Resolution Panel, conducted by a hearing facilitator, shall take place within 60 45
days after the date of the final selection of the hearing facilitator location and date of the formal hearing, unless there is
unanimous consent by the panel members for a short delay
beyond such 60 45 days for reasons the panel deems appropriate.
1.10.7.4 …(b) Within 60 30 days after the hearing, the panel shall issue a written decision that shall state the facts determined by
the panel…
1.10.8
Within 30 15 days after receiving the decision of the Dispute
Resolution Panel, any party to the dispute or the President of
the Synod…may appeal….
1.10.8.2 Within 30 21 days after receipt, an Appeal Panel shall be
selected in the prescribed manner, and the Secretary of the
Synod shall send the appeal….
1.10.8.3 Within 30 days after its formation, the Appeal Panel shall issue
its written decision in response to the request for reconsideration.
1.10.8.4 If an appeal is granted, the Secretary of the Synod, or his representative, shall, within 21 days, select a Review Panel….

2.14.7.6

2.14.7.6

Within 15 days after the Hearing Panel is constituted, the
hearing facilitator shall, after conferring with the panel, the
accused, and the district president who imposed the suspended status, select a date….
…and location within 45 days after the Hearing Panel was
constituted for the panel to hear and consider the matter, unless there is unanimous consent by the panel members for a
short delay beyond such 45 days for reasons the panel deems
appropriate.

2.14.7.9

Upon completion of the hearing, the Hearing Panel shall deliberate and then issue its written decision within 30 days.

2.14.8

The decision of the Hearing Panel may be appealed by the
accused…within 15 days after receiving the decision….

2.14.8

…(a) Within 30 21 days after receipt of an appeal from the
accused or the President of the Synod, an Appeal Panel shall
be selected….
…(e) Within 30 days after its formation, the Appeal Panel
shall issue its written decision in response to the request for
reconsideration. If the Appeal Panel….
Within 30 21 days after the receipt of the decision of the Appeal Panel…, a Final Hearing Panel shall be selected.

2.14.8

2.14.9

And be it further
Resolved, That, because unforeseen circumstances can make
adherence to time allowances in the above processes impossible at

times, the following paragraphs in the definitions bylaws governing
the dispute resolution and suspension/expulsion processes be added
to allow exceptions when necessary:

1.10.4 …(p) Shall: Retains its compulsory meaning in this bylaw section. Its use, however, in connection with time frame expectations may require exceptions at times due to insurmountable
circumstances, to be granted by the administrator of the process.
(pq) …

2.14.2 …(s) Shall: Retains its compulsory meaning in this bylaw section. Its use, however, in connection with time frame expectations may require exceptions at times due to insurmountable
circumstances, to be granted by the administrator of the process.
(st) …

And be it further
Resolved, That, to provide incentive for adhering to the time
frames embedded in these bylaws, the following new definition paragraphs be added to Bylaws 1.10.4 and 2.14.2:
1.10.4 …(r) Time Frame: Period of time allowed for carrying out a
bylaw requirement, to be monitored by the administrator of
the process, incidents of purposeful non-compliance to be reported to the President of the Synod.

And be it finally
Resolved, That Bylaw 1.5.3.2 be amended and a new Bylaw
3.9.5.2.3 be added to authorize the executive committee of the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations to function on behalf
of the commission and respond to dispute resolution and suspension/
expulsion process requests for opinions:
1.5.3.2 All mission boards, commissions, and governing boards
may make use of executive committees to act in times of emergency
between plenary meetings, and to act on delegated assignments, and to
act as specified elsewhere in these Bylaws.
3.9.5.2.3 The executive committee of the commission shall, within
30 days, provide opinions on theological matters in response to questions presented by ecclesiastical supervisors or panels as described in
the dispute resolution and suspension/expulsion processes of the Synod
(Bylaw sections 1.10 and 2.14–2.17). Because these opinions are in response to a specific situation, they shall carry no precedential authority
beyond that particular matter.

2016 Convention Workbook

2.14.2

…(w) Time Frame: Period of time allowed for carrying out
a bylaw requirement, to be monitored by the administrator
of the process, incidents of purposeful non-compliance to be
reported to the President of the Synod.

——————
B. To Further Articulate Ecclesiastical Supervision of District
Presidents by the President of the Synod
Rationale
That the preservation of pure doctrine and unity of practice was
uppermost in the minds of the founders of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod was evident in their introductory paragraphs to the
earliest version of the Synod’s Constitution: “Here in the United
States of North America, without common churchly association, the
[sic] all of the individual Lutheran congregation [sic] would hardly
preserve the pure doctrine and withstand in the long run the pressure
of false believing fickle spirits and enthusiasts and it would be impossible for them, on the basis of this same faith and through cooperation