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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 194

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

194

I. OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
… the Article VII phrase “inexpedient as far as
the condition of a congregation is concerned”:
••

••

is applicable only to resolutions that are adopted by
the Synod, not to its Constitution (and, by implication,
its Bylaws), which all members have accepted as a condition of membership [emphasis added]. Because the
second sentence of Article VII says, “no resolution
of the Synod” (cf. also Bylaw 1.7.2), no limitation
should be placed on the type or category of resolution that a congregation may wish to consider under
this provision. However, because all congregations of
the Synod have accepted Article II of the Constitution and thereby have pledged their acceptance of
Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, the
Article VII phrase in question may not be applied
by congregations to resolutions of the Synod that
consist primarily of citations from Holy Scripture
or the Lutheran Confessions or simply restate the
clear teaching of Holy Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions (cf. also Bylaw 1.6.2 quoted in Appendix
II). Similarly, since all congregations of the Synod,
in becoming members of the Synod, have subscribed
to the Constitution of the Synod, the Article VII
phrase in question may not be applied by a member
congregation to resolutions of the Synod that are primarily explicit reaffirmations of other constitutional
positions or provisions.
deals only with resolutions of the Synod “imposing
anything upon the individual congregation” (Article
VII). The many resolutions of the Synod that deal
with the management and direction of the Synod and
its component parts, as distinguished from resolutions that are addressed to its member congregations (see above), are not included in this provision.
Moreover, taking the language of this phrase quite
literally, it must be said that very few resolutions
of the Synod intend to “impose” anything upon its
member congregations, inasmuch as the Synod does
not exercise “legislative or coercive powers” (Article
VII) in relation to its members and clearly recognizes
the congregation’s right of self-government; and
is limited to a congregation’s judgment that a resolution is unsuited or inapplicable to the “condition of
the congregation” (Bylaw 1.7.2). The Synod has not
limited in any way what a congregation might consider to be such a condition (whether it be a lack of
resources, tension within the congregation, or some
other important factor).

If a congregation determines that a resolution of the Synod
is unsuited or inapplicable as far as the condition of the congregation is concerned, the congregation has also committed itself
to “not act arbitrarily, but in accordance with the principles of
Christian love and charity” (Bylaw 1.7.2), as well as to respect
the collective will of the Synod as expressed in its resolutions (cf.
Bylaws 1.7.2 and 1.8.2).
The commission also notes that Article VII states that no
resolution of the Synod imposing anything upon the individual
congregation is of binding force “if it is not in accordance with
the Word of God.” Should a congregation reach this conclusion
2019 Convention Workbook

about any resolution of the Synod, it should also realize that,
by becoming a member of the Synod, it has bound itself (to the
extent the congregation wishes to carry out the right of brotherly dissent) to express and deal with its dissent according to
the provisions of the Bylaws of the Synod. (CCM Op. 09-2573)
Question 3: In a decision to suspend a congregation for failure
to depose a [pastor who has been expelled from
membership in the Synod], whose will has greater
authority, a member congregation or Synod
through its representative?
Opinion: This question commingles two incomparable spheres
of right, which must be distinguished in giving an answer:
••

The first is the right of a congregation to call and be
served by the pastor of its choosing. Here, Synod and
its representatives may advise but ultimately lack the
“legislative or coercive power” to make a congregation do what Synod thinks best, such as deposing an
expelled pastor. Here the congregation is “free” to
act according to its will—but let its will, of course,
be that of God in heaven (no one has any rights over
against God).

••

The other sphere is the right of Synod (i.e., the
congregations acting together) to set and enforce
standards for Synod membership (Const. Art. II, VI,
XIII; Bylaw 1.3.4). Here, conversely, the individual
congregation has no right or authority to force Synod
as a whole to bow to its solitary interpretation.
Should such a congregation ignore Synod’s “negotiations and admonitions,” Synod’s collective will,
expressed in its Constitution (Art. XIII 3) and carried
out by proper authorities, is conclusive.

The above-cited 1969 Res. 5-23, entitled “To Reiterate in
Bylaws that Member Congregations Must Be Served by Members of the Synod” (1969 Proceedings, pp. 119–20), dealt with a
topic closely related to that of Const. Art. XIII 3. (The bylaws it
enacted stand in only slightly revised form as 2016 Bylaws 2.5.2
and 2.5.4.) The preface of that resolution, while it deals with
initial certification for ministry and not with ongoing ecclesiastical supervision, relates obviously to the matter of Const. Art.
XIII 3, to the implications of the expulsion of a pastor from
membership in the Synod:
One of the very purposes of a synodical fellowship is to provide guidance and help in the
exercise of a congregation’s right to call a pastor, and one of the very reasons why a synod
exists is to set standards for the parish pastorate so that the individual congregation may be
assured that the man whom it calls is qualified
to serve as its parish pastor (Charter, Art. II
b; Constitution, Article III 3). To this end The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod establishes
procedures for determining whether men meet
the standards. One of the advantages which a
congregation receives when it joins the Synod is
the protection against pastors who do not meet
such standards. (1969 Res. 5-23, Proceedings, pp.
119–20)
Const. Art. VII provides: “In its relation to its members the
Synod is not an ecclesiastical government exercising legislative