LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 141

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4. LIFE TOGETHER
required by recognized service organization program
policies; and
(b) the appropriate district president is properly
consulted in the call process; and
(c) the call document is approved by the district
president who would assume ecclesiastical supervision
of the member as clearly stating that the organization:
(1) expects that the worker will, without compromise
or constraint, carry out the ministry for which
ordained or commissioned, and to which called,
according to the doctrine and practice of the Synod.
(2) agrees to accommodate and encourage the
ecclesiastical supervision of the worker by the
appropriate district president.
(3) submits, as an exclusive remedy, to the dispute
resolution process of the Synod for the resolution of
any issues arising under the divine call.
(d) the organization demonstrates to the district
president its ability to provide for the reasonable needs
of the called worker for the duration of the period of the
call.

and be it further
Resolved, That Bylaw 1.10.2 be amended to include
auxiliaries and RSOs agreeing to use the dispute resolution
process to address call-related disputes, as follows:
1.10.2
This procedure is established to resolve, in a Godpleasing manner, disputes that involve as parties, (1)
members of the Synod; (2) corporate Synod or an agency of
the Synod; (3) members of congregations challenging the
procedure used in their excommunications; (4) Auxiliaries
and recognized service organizations that have agreed to
address call-related disputes through the dispute
resolution system, in regard to such disputes; or (45)
members of congregations of the Synod elected or
appointed to positions with the LCMS Board of Directors or
an agency of the Synod. It shall be the exclusive remedy to
resolve such disputes that involve theological, doctrinal, or
ecclesiastical issues except those covered under Bylaw
sections 2.14–2.17 and except as provided in Bylaw 1.10.3,
and shall be binding on all parties. It is applicable whether
the dispute involves only a difference of opinion without
personal animosity or is one that involves ill will and sin
that requires repentance and forgiveness. No person,
congregation, or agency to whom or to which the
provisions of this dispute resolution process are applicable
because of their membership in the Synod may render this
procedure inapplicable by terminating that membership
during the course of the dispute resolution process.

and be it finally
Resolved, That Bylaws 6.2.3–4 (as the latter was
renumbered above) be amended to apply the effects of
Synod’s 2010 restructuring, to allow for gradual expansion
of the administrative role of districts in the program, to
remove unused provisions, and to provide for the
development of appropriately scoped polices and of a
possible cost recovery model, as follows:
Resolutions

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
6.2.3
Each granting agency authorized by the Synod
Board of Directors’ policy shall adopt policies requiring
each recognized service organization to give its assurance
in its governing documents that recognition as a service
organization is not an endorsement by the Synod or a
guarantee of financial responsibility for the debts and
obligations of the organization or for services provided or
offered.Program administration shall be carried out by the
Offices of National and International Mission according to
these bylaws, and according to policies and criteria
developed by the Synod Board of Directors, mission boards,
and mission offices.
(a) The Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod shall adopt common policies and criteria
for granting of recognized service organization status by
Synod’s mission offices, such polices relating to
expectations for the corporate structure and governance
of the organizations, statements regarding their legal
and corporate independence from the Synod, and the
necessary relation of their work to the mission and
ministry of the Synod as generally expressed in its
Constitution and Bylaws. The Board of Directors shall
approve the standard form of agreement to be entered
into by the Synod and each recognized service
organization.
(b) Each mission board of the Synod in consultation
with the Council of Presidents shall adopt further
policies and criteria, related to its area of responsibility
for granting of recognized service organization status by
its respective mission office, such policies relating to the
organizations’ alignment with and augmentation of the
mission and ministry of the Synod, as the Constitution
and Bylaws relate to the board’s area of responsibility
and as further expressed in the Synod’s triennial
emphases and the board’s specific goals and activities.
(c) Each mission office shall, subject to 6.2.3 (a) and (b)
above, adopt further policies and criteria, for granting,
renewal, and withdrawal of recognized service
organization status, and shall develop such instruments
as are necessary for coordination with districts.
6.2.24
According Subject to policies adopted by the
Synod’s Board of Directors and the respective mission
board, recognized service organization status may be
granted by the Office of National Mission, or the Office of
International Mission, the boards of the synodwide
corporate entities, and other agencies as identified in the
Board of Directors’ policy to a service organization (other
than an auxiliary) that extends the mission and ministry of
the Synod but is not part of the Synod as defined by its
Constitution and Bylaws.
(a) Applications for recognized service organization
status shall be made to the Office of the Secretary of the
Synod for processing according to policies developed by
the Synod Board of Directors, which will facilitate the
application as follows:.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 141