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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 495

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

STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
Resolved, That Bylaw 3.3.1, regarding the service of the
President of the Synod, be revised as follows to incorporate the new
language of assisting capacity rather than the now-removed
constitutional category of assistant pastor:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.3.1
The President of the Synod shall be a full-time executive
and shall serve as a voting member of the Board of Directors of the
Synod.
(a) He shall not be in charge of a congregation or hold a chair at
any educational institution but may be called as an assistant
pastorto a congregation in an assisting capacity, provided such
services do not interfere with his official duties as President.
(b) He shall, with the approval of the Board of Directors of the
Synod, be empowered to engage sufficient staff to carry out the
duties of his office.

and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and district presidents be urged to
arrange for those regularly assisting congregations with pastoral
service to be called, installed, and rostered as such; and be it finally
Resolved, That LCMS Rosters & Statistics and the Council of
Presidents be directed to coordinate changes to the forms and
procedures for multi-congregation parish designation and then to
assist congregations in adjusting calls and designations as necessary
under these newly-adopted bylaws.
Commission on Constitutional Matters
Ov. 9-13

To Retain the Current Delegate Representation to
District Convention of Pastor-Congregation-Parish
WHEREAS, There is no biblical mandate for conventions and
delegate representation for circuit, district, or Synod; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions entries concerning a
congregation’s right to call its own pastor have no bearing or
influence on delegate representation to conventions; and
WHEREAS, The system of voting in The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod, which provides for equal representation of clergy
and laity at district and synod conventions has proven itself as a
wise and effective system throughout the history of our Synod; and
WHEREAS, This system of equal representation of clergy and
laity at district and Synod conventions was carefully considered and
clearly defined from the earliest days of our Synod as Carl S.
Mundinger details in his book Government in Missouri [St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1947], 178) with the following
examples:
May 18, 1846 minutes from the Constitution Committee which
read, “The clerics must never exceed the voting strength of the
laymen.”
June 2, 1846 minutes from the Constitution Committee which
further establish the principle of equal representation stating, “it
is decided that the paragraph on which the equality of votes is to
be mentioned should remain so.” (The German word
Stimmengleichheit meaning “voice of the same unit, a tie, equal
number” being used to identify the number of voting delegates
lay and clergy.)
and
WHEREAS, Mundinger further emphasizes, “This latter provision
came from the voting members of Trinity congregation, St. Louis,

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as we have noted above. It was the result of their experience with
Stephan; and it was introduced to maintain the balance of power
between clergy and laity” (ibid., 182); and
WHEREAS, This system does allow fair representation of
multipoint parishes at district conventions by allowing them to
jointly choose a representative from among their members; and
WHEREAS, This system also allows for fair representation of
congregations with more than one pastor at district conventions by
allowing them to choose one representative for their parish;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the Iowa District East in convention memorialize
Synod in convention to re-affirm and retain its current practice of
delegate representation at district conventions of one lay vote per
parish along with one pastoral vote per parish.
Iowa East District
Ov. 9-14

To Amend Synod’s Constitution to Allow All
Member Congregations Voice and Vote
Rationale
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Constitution
Article V A introduces the undefined term “parish” when describing
which members hold voting rights in the Synod, which creates an
internal inconsistency, to wit: “All organized congregations that
have joined the Synod hold voting membership. At the meetings of
the districts of the Synod every congregation or parish [emphasis
added] is entitled to two votes, one of which is cast by the pastor
and the other by the lay delegate.”
The term parish has been interpreted multiple times by opinions of
Synod’s Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) and rulings
by the Secretary of the Synod as being “two or more congregations
served by one pastor.” However, in other places in Synod’s
Constitution and Bylaws, the term parish is used as an adjective to
refer to an individual (i.e. “parish nurse”) serving a single
congregation. The practical effect of this inconsistency is that it
makes the first sentence of Const. Art. V A above untrue. It also
creates a second class of Synod membership, congregations with no
say or stake in membership. This issue has been around for more
than 40 years and it is time to put an end to the controversy it
generates, which only serves to divide us when the times in which
we live demand our unity.
The issue on congregation disenfranchisement has taken on more
importance in recent years as the process for electing the President
of the Synod has changed by allowing individual congregations to
vote in a pre-convention process. Not allowing some congregations
to participate in this process is not only demoralizing for the
congregations involved but removes any incentive for other
congregations to become a part of our Synod, particularly if they
are small and dependent upon outside support for Word and
Sacrament ministry.
In reality, the issue centers on district conventions. District
conventions do more than vote on things. They are a valuable tool
for providing information, support, and fellowship among the
leadership within the district. Although strong lay leadership is
universally desirable, it is even more essential in those
congregations who do not have a full time, dedicated pastor. When
one of these congregations is disenfranchised, as is currently the
case, there is no incentive for it to send a representative to the
2019 Convention Workbook