LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 211

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10. ECCLESIASTICAL SUPERVISION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
2.14.5
If the district president determines not to initiate
formal proceedings, he shall in writing so inform the
accuser, any other district president involved, and the
involved member, which shall terminate the matter,
subject to the following:
(a) If a matter of doctrine or practice is involved, the
accuser may, within 15 days after receipt of such notice,
appeal for action by the President of the Synod
(Constitution Art. XI B 1–3). The accuser shall so notify
the district president, who shall within 15 days:
(1) notify the accused and any other district president
involved that an appeal for action is underway; and
(2) forward the appeal for action, with the record of
his investigation and determination and the accuser’s
formal written accusation, to the President of the
Synod.
(b) The President of the Synod shall, within 15 days of
receipt of such appeal for action, consult with the district
president.
(c) The President of the Synod may consult with the
accuser, the accused, and others involved. He may
appoint an investigative committee and / or ask an
opinion of the CCM or CTCR, which opinion shall be
followed. He shall consult with the vice-presidents of the
Synod.
(d) The President of the Synod may, in a matter of
doctrine and practice, and within 120 days of receipt of
notice, suspend the member as provided in Bylaw 2.14.6
and then, as the “suspending ecclesiastical supervisor,”
carry out the formal proceedings of Bylaw 2.14.7 and
following.
(e) If the determination is made not to initiate formal
proceedings, the President of the Synod shall in writing
so inform the accuser, any district president involved,
and the involved member.

Contained in this bylaw (and related bylaws) is the
procedure that is to be followed when a formal written
accusation is made against a member of the Synod
involving a matter of doctrine or practice, but the District
President fails to act or refuses to act. The Synod President
may at that point, upon an appeal for action, get involved.
No such appeal for action has been initiated in the past two
years since this bylaw has been put in place.
WHEREAS, Ecclesiastical supervision is an essential, core
aspect of the responsibilities entrusted to both the Synod
President and the district presidents in The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod; and
WHEREAS, Ecclesiastical supervision is a form of church
and doctrinal discipline, exercised by the church at large
through the offices of Synod President and district
presidents; and
WHEREAS, 2016 Res. 12-14 was adopted to address proper
ecclesiastical supervision involving the President of Synod
and district presidents; and
WHEREAS, 2016 Res. 12-14 was adopted by a margin of
Yes: 996; No: 67; and
Resolutions

WHEREAS, CCM Op. 17-2828 states “The Synod is not a
confederation of thirty-five Synods with thirty-five sets of
objectives, thirty-five standards for doctrine and practice,
or thirty-five standards for when a worker must be
confronted with his or her error, or thirty-five standards of
how, should he or she refuse to repent, upon repeated futile
admonition, he or she be expelled from the Synod—not
only for the Synod’s good, but as the strongest evangelical
admonition against final impenitence (excepting, of
course, excommunication). The Synod has one set of
objectives and one standard, the application of which is
ultimately supervised by and—should the district-level
authorities fail to do so—applied by the President of the
Synod. This power is inherent in Constitutional Article XI B
1–3. The President of the Synod, who is ultimately
responsible for the maintenance of doctrinal and practical
unity in the Synod, must be provided the means, ultimately,
to carry out that responsibility. And, it should be noted,
members under district supervision are well afforded the
benefit of another overseer, to make not singly but doubly
sure that they are carrying out their offices as the Lord of
the Church has commanded, under the reliable norms of
the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions”; and
WHEREAS, The districts are Synod in their place and the
authority of a district president derives from that of the
President of Synod. (Bylaw 4.1.1; 4.1.1.1; Const. Art. XII 1–2,
6); therefore be it
Resolved, That 2019 Synod in convention give thanks to
the COP, CCM, Secretary of Synod, COH, and BOD, who
faithfully worked together to complete the task outlined in
2016 Res. 12-14 to bring the Synod’s Bylaws into line with
the Constitution.
Action: Postponed indefinitely (9)
Res. 10-03A was read and introduced by the committee. Dr.
George Gude, chairman of the Commission of Constitutional
Matters, presented a paper on the history of ecclesiastical
supervision in the Synod. [Dr. Gude’s paper is printed in its
entirety elsewhere in these 2019 Proceedings.] Discussion
began, the chair having previously noted, without objection, that
it would be for a minimum 20-minute period, without motions.
It was moved to replace Res. 10-03A with Overture 10-02. This
was ruled out of order due to the designation of the 20-minute
period of debate on Res. 10-03A. After twenty minutes of debate
without motions, general discussion was opened. It was moved
and seconded to postpone Res. 10-03A indefinitely. After debate,
a call of the question carried [Yes: 621; No: 67] and the motion to
postpone indefinitely succeeded [Yes: 423; No: 281].

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 211