LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 300

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300

X. TASK FORCE ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION REPORT

B. Duties of the President
1. The President has the supervision regarding the doctrine and administration of
a. All officers of the Synod;
b. All such as are employed by the Synod;
c. The individual districts of the Synod;
d. All district presidents.
2. It is the President’s duty to see to it that all the aforementioned act in
accordance with the Synod’s Constitution, to admonish all who in any
way depart from it, and, if such admonition is not heeded, to report
such cases to the Synod.
3. The President has and always shall have the power to advise, admonish,
and reprove. He shall conscientiously use all means at his command
to promote and maintain unity of doctrine and practice in all the districts of the Synod…. (emphasis added)

Among those “means at his command” are the dispute resolution
and expulsion processes of the Synod, where issues of doctrine and
practice are often under consideration. Sufficient opportunity must
be provided in these processes for the President of the Synod to carry
out his “power to advise, admonish, and reprove.” While some such
opportunity already exists in these processes, in such times as the
present when other nominal Lutherans “have recently declared openly
their falling away from the Lutheran, that is the churchly doctrine of
the sacrament, and to whom the confession of the church seems to
be something changeable and ambiguous, as if it does not rest on the
unchangeable and eternal word of God, not to speak of the fact that
the confessions should permeate the entire practice of the church in
an ordering and enlivening way” (Introduction to the 1847 version of
the Constitution of the Synod), it is a constitutional expectation that
the President of the Synod be provided ample opportunity to carry out
his ecclesiastical supervisory responsibilities, especially at such times
when issues of doctrine and practice are being decided.
Proposed Actions
Therefore be it
Resolved, That a new Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1 be added to include under
the President’s ecclesiastical powers and duties the responsibility for
reviewing panel decisions in the Synod’s dispute resolution and expulsion processes, to read as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Powers and Duties—Ecclesiastical
3.3.1.1 As chief ecclesiastical officer of the Synod, the President
shall supervise the doctrine taught and practiced in the Synod, including
all synodwide corporate entities.
3.3.1.1.1 As the chief ecclesiastical officer of the Synod, the President shall review all panel decisions associated with the dispute resolution and suspension/expulsion processes of the Synod that pertain to
doctrine taught and practiced.
3.3.1.1.12 The President of the Synod has ecclesiastical supervision…

And be it further
Resolved, That a new subparagraph (4) be added to paragraph
(d) of Bylaw 1.10.8.2 to provide an additional standard of review for
an Appeal Panel’s consideration as it reviews a Dispute Resolution
Panel’s decisions, to read as follows:

2016 Convention Workbook

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Reconsideration of a Dispute Resolution Panel Decision
…
1.10.8.2 (d) The standards of review, which define the parameters
for the panel’s consideration of an appeal, limit the panel’s review to
three four basic areas:
(1) Factual findings: The Appeal Panel shall review factual findings of
the Dispute Resolution Panel only to determine if they are supported
by evidence. The Appeal Panel shall not ordinarily sit in judgment of
the Dispute Resolution Panel’s conclusions regarding evidence, since
that panel was in the best position to judge factual issues. The Appeal
Panel must be convinced that a mistake has been committed, that is,
that the evidence is such that reasonable minds could not disagree.
(2) Conclusions on authority: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if
the Dispute Resolution Panel was clearly outside its authority, e.g., a
decision that the panel had no authority to make under the Constitution
and Bylaws, or a decision on an issue not identified by the Dispute
Resolution Panel, or a decision on a theological question that the panel
had no authority to make.
(3) Discretionary acts: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if there
was a clear abuse of discretion impacting the decision of the Dispute
Resolution Panel, resulting in a gross miscarriage of justice, or that
involves an obvious and inappropriate bias or prejudice.
(4) Theological content: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if it
believes that the Dispute Resolution Panel’s decision was not in compliance with the doctrine and practice of the Synod as articulated in
its Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions. The Appeal Panel may also
approve an appeal if the Dispute Resolution Panel’s decision was not in
compliance with opinions of the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations and/or the Commission on Constitutional Matters requested
by the Dispute Resolution Panel or the President of the Synod.

And be it further
Resolved, That a new subparagraph (4) be added to paragraph (d)
of Bylaw 2.14.8 to provide an additional standard of review for the
Appeal Panel’s consideration as it reviews a Hearing Panel’s decisions, to read as follows:
Appeal Panel
…
2.14.8 (d) The standards of review that shall define the Appeal Panel’s considerations shall be limited to three four basic areas:
(1) Factual findings: The Appeal Panel shall review factual findings of the
Hearing Panel only to determine if they are supported by evidence.
The Appeal Panel shall not ordinarily sit in judgment of the Hearing
Panel’s conclusions regarding evidence, since the Hearing Panel was
in the best position to judge factual issues. The Appeal Panel must
be convinced that a mistake has been committed, that is, that the evidence is such that reasonable minds could not agree with the Hearing
Panel’s decision.
(2) Conclusions on authority: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if
the Hearing Panel was clearly outside its authority, e.g., a decision was
made that the panel had no authority to make under the Constitution
and Bylaws of the Synod, or a decision was made on an issue not
related to the sole issue to be decided, or a decision was made on a
theological question that the panel had no authority to make.
(3) Discretionary acts: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if there
was a clear abuse of discretion impacting the decision of the Hearing
Panel, resulting in a gross miscarriage of justice, or that involves an
obvious and inappropriate bias or prejudice.
(4) Theological content: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if it
believes that the Dispute Resolution Panel’s decision was not in compliance with the doctrine and practice of the Synod as articulated in
its Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions. The Appeal Panel may also
approve an appeal if the Dispute Resolution Panel’s decision was not in
compliance with opinions of the Commission on Theology and Church