LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 194

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194

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

could respond definitively to the question without entering into
findings of fact or balancing of interests.
With regard to the present question, the commission finds that the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod—while they do provide the
framework for balancing of interests in this circumstance—do not
dispositively address the specific presenting circumstance. This
commission is not charged to engage in findings of fact or to evaluate or correct the balancing of interests where the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod are not dispositive of the matter.
In such a situation, should a congregation be concerned that its district may not have balanced the issues involved in accommodating
its convention “in the interest of the Synod” (Const. Art. XII 12),
redress is available: by addressing the concern to the district board
of directors; by addressing (albeit, likely after the fact) an overture
to a convention of the Synod or district; by requesting the President
of the Synod to call the issue up for the district’s review (Bylaw
3.3.1.2 [c]); or by engaging the dispute resolution process of the
Synod (Bylaw section 1.10).

District President’s Provision of Information to
Calling Congregations (22-2980)
Minutes of May 2, 2022
By emails of Jan. 25 and Feb. 3, 2022, two individual members of
the Synod, ordained ministers, requested an opinion of the commission on the following questions, with regard to which, pursuant to
Bylaw 3.9.2.2 (b), input was solicited from the district presidents
and Praesidium of the Synod. The questions are as follow:
Question 1:

When a vacant congregation of the Synod is in the
process of calling a pastor and requests information
on an ordained member of the Synod in good standing, whether a member of its own district or of another district:

(a) Does the president of the congregation’s district
have the authority under the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod to refuse to supply the congregation with the requested information regarding that
individual ordained member of the Synod who is a
member of the district of which he is president?
(b) If the individual ordained member of the Synod for
whom information is requested is from a different
district than the congregation’s, does the district
president of that other district of which that ordained
minister is a member have the authority under the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod to refuse
to supply the requested information to the district
president of the district of which the congregation is
a member, who will in turn provide the information
to the congregation requesting it?
Question 2:

If the answer is yes, the district president may refuse
to provide information, what basis do the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod specify that would
authorize this refusal?

Question 3:

What limitations, if any, do the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod place on a member congregation
of the Synod wishing to call an ordained minister
currently on the roster of the Synod?

Opinion Background: The questions presented to the commission are part of the larger question of the relationship between the
2023 Convention Workbook

Synod and its member congregations. In answering the questions,
the commission will first review the relation of a congregation with
the Synod, particularly as it relates to the calling of a pastor by a
congregation.
Article II of the Constitution specifies that every member of the
Synod must accept, without reservation, the Scriptures as the only
rule and norm of doctrine and the Lutheran Confessions as found in
the Book of Concord as a true exposition of the above.
Article III of the Constitution lists the objectives of the Synod, four
of which directly pertain:

Article III Objectives
The Synod, under Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions,
shall—
1. Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith
(Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 1:10), work through its official
structure toward fellowship with other Christian church
bodies, and provide a united defense against schism,
sectarianism (Rom. 16:17), and heresy;
2. Strengthen congregations and their members in giving
bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of
God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that
Gospel witness into all the world; …
8. Provide evangelical supervision, counsel, and care for
pastors, teachers, and other professional church workers
of the Synod in the performance of their official duties;
9. Provide protection for congregations, pastors, teachers,
and other church workers in the performance of their
official duties and the maintenance of their rights.
Article VI of the Constitution lists conditions for membership in the
Synod, two of which pertain:

Article VI Conditions of Membership
Conditions for acquiring and holding membership in the
Synod are the following:
1. Acceptance of the confessional basis of Article II.
3. Regular call of pastors and any commissioned ministers
and regular election of lay delegates by the congregations, as also the blamelessness of the life of such.
C.F.W. Walther presented a series of theses in 1879 at the first convention of the Iowa District of the Synod which are illustrative of
this constitutional material. At that time, a large number of the pastors who were members of the Synod were serving independent
congregations, and one of the purposes of Walther’s essay was to
convince these independent congregations that it was safe and in
their best interest for them to join the Synod. The first three of Walther’s theses on “The Duties of an Evangelical Synod” expand on
the articles of the Constitution mentioned above and focus on the
duty of the Synod toward its member congregations. The congregations can expect to receive from the Synod the following: help
in remaining faithful to the Scriptures and the Confessions; assistance in obtaining faithful pastors; and protection from pastors who
would cause harm to the congregation. The pastors, in turn, can
expect to be supported (protected) as well, as they faithfully carry
out their duties within the congregations.