LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 41

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

Nominations and Elections
The office supports the nomination and election processes of the
Synod convention (Bylaw 3.12), performing the preliminary and
final work for the Committee on Convention Nominations (CCN)
as well as the administration of the processes for nomination of
the President and his election and for the nomination of the vicepresidents of the Synod—these latter nomination processes being
ballot-based and numerical.
In the CCN process, a total of 459 individuals, including incumbents, were nominated for at least one of the 62 officer, board,
or commission positions to be filled by the convention through the
work of the CCN (excluding the seven Praesidium positions), compared to 347 last triennium. While this still reflects a very low rate
of participation in the nominating process, given that any member
of any Synod congregation can submit a nomination, and while the
committee noted that in some positions it had a challenge identifying qualified candidates, it is a relatively rare increase in convention
process participation. The nominating process for President and
vice-presidents, conducted electronically for the first time through
YesElections (formerly Election America, the contractor used by
the Synod since 2013 to conduct the election of the President), will
be reported on separately. Registration of presidential voters, also
online for the first time, is underway at the time of this report’s
preparation. The accustomed, relatively low level of participation
in these processes remains of concern for the Synod. Last triennium, this office provided a detailed report on participation in the
online presidential election (Today’s Business, 2B:40–45). While a
few changes were made to related bylaws in 2019, the pre-convention election of the President continues to deserve the convention’s
careful review.
The office took a new approach to convention-related communications this triennium, retiring the many “It’s Time” postcards
and distributing a triennial poster laying out for a congregation all
its opportunities to participate, by nomination, representation, and
memorialization, at the circuit, district, and Synod levels. Districts
were engaged to strongly encourage submission of congregational
and congregational leader emails at lc.lcms.org, which have been
used consistently and with timely information from online processes, to remind multiple leaders in each congregation of opportunities
to participate. A similar strategy was used for the convention deferral vote in 2021 and proved effective. There remain a small number of generally smaller congregations without any means of email
contact, and initial, “official” communications are still made on
paper. Still, this is at a significant savings to the convention budget
and seems to be operating at least as effectively, if not already more
so. Timely communication by email and entry of data in secure
online portals allows more timely correction of errors and more
targeted and informative reminders.

Facilitation of Appointment Processes,
Vacancy and Regular
The office facilitates appointment processes for positions elected by the convention that become vacant midterm and for positions
appointed by the BOD and COP. Annual appointments include
Concordia Plans/Plan Services Boards of Trustees/Members and
the Lutheran Church Extension Fund Board of Members, triennial
appointments, the Concordia University System Council of Members, LCMS Foundation, and Commissions on Constitutional Matters and Handbook. This triennium has witnessed a notable increase
in the number of vacancy appointments under Bylaw 3.2.5, per-

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haps compounded to some extent by its extra year. These included
Synod BOD, 1; Board for International Mission, 6; Board for National Mission, 2; Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM),
1; Concordia University System, 1; Lutheran Church Extension
Fund Member-at-Large, 1; Concordia Plan Services, 2; Concordia Seminary, 1; Concordia Theological Seminary, 1; Concordia
University Chicago, 3. District boards of directors and others often
have the opportunity to participate in the nomination processes, and
their input is generally low in volume but greatly appreciated. The
nomination and appointment process, in general, cries out for attention, perhaps including consolidation in an “always-on” online
framework.

Convention Deferral Vote
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and under the guidance of
CCM Opinions 20-2938 and 20-2960, the office was asked to and
did facilitate a vote of the Synod’s congregations under Const. Art.
XI B 8 as to whether the Synod should “add an additional year to
the current 2019–22 triennium, allowing districts to hold their conventions in either 2021 or 2022, and moving the upcoming national
Synod convention from 2022 to 2023.” After submission of the
matter to the congregations by presidential letter on Dec. 7, 2020,
an electronic vote on the question was conducted between Jan. 1
and Feb. 15, 2021. The vote was conducted in the system presently
being used for President voter registration and to be used for any
future constitutional amendment ballots.
More than the required one-fourth (63.32 percent) of the Synod’s member congregations registered a vote, and the majority
(90.67 percent) of votes cast favored adoption. The stated extension
of the 2019–2022 triennium by a year, allowing district conventions to take place in either 2021 or 2022 and deferring the national
Synod convention from 2022 to 2023, was therefore adopted. The
appendix below shows the result of the vote.

Dispute Resolution and Expulsion Processes
The office administers the Synod’s processes of dispute resolution and expulsion, provides associated training, and has a key
practical role, with the Commission on Constitutional Matters
(CCM) and Council of Presidents (COP), in maintaining the processes’ Standard Operating Procedure Manuals. The triennium now
drawing to a close saw the conclusion of hearing panel proceedings
as follows: four expulsion proceedings under Bylaw 2.14, three for
ordained ministers and one for a commissioned minister—teacher;
and one under Bylaw 2.17, for an ordained minister. Many suspensions of workers and congregations do not result in a panel, resolving instead in a removal by default or resignation. A hearing facilitator was provided to one university for a proceeding under the
Bylaw 3.10.6.7.5 Model Operating Procedure Manual. Reconcilers
on the Synod’s roster function extensively in the districts, whether
in informal or formal capacities; this activity is not regularly reported to the Office of the Secretary. Appeals from panel decisions
were requested in three of four concluded expulsion proceedings,
but no review hearings were granted by an appeal panel.
Given infrequent activation of reconcilers and hearing facilitators by blind draw for panel roles, the office, together with the
CCM and COP, is engaged in review of the training apparatus and
size of the pools. Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Synod’s training
partner, will be providing the January 2024 training online in an
effort to increase accessibility and retention of material, as well as
to shift cost from travel and lodging to the creation of “off-year”
2023 Convention Workbook