LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 197

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

197

man that he cannot accept a call while on said status and inviting
his statement that while on said status any congregation requesting
information on the pastor will be informed that the ordained minister himself has indicated that he is unable to consider a call at this
time. This simple statement, from the minister himself, would suffice as counsel to any potentially calling congregation if conveyed
by the district president. The minister’s failure to provide such a
statement might require the district president to reveal to an inquiring congregation the existence of status prohibiting acceptance of
a call.

advice central to the congregation’s very purpose in joining and
maintaining membership in the Synod. In the administration of this
duty, what he does must “serve the interests of the Synod” (Const.
Art. XII 12). In contrast, because the Synod as well as the district,
as “Synod itself performing the functions of the Synod” (Bylaw
4.1.1.1), is advisory to the congregation (Const. Art. VII 1), the
congregation does have the ability to ignore the advice given by the
district president, or to act in the absence of his advice, where it has
been sought diligently but not provided, although it might prove
very foolish to have done so.

The same approach might be taken with a pastor not on restricted
or suspended status but dealing with personal circumstances that
would make the extension of a call to him, or his acceptance of it,
inadvisable. Either when information on the pastor is requested or
when the district president becomes aware of such circumstances,
he could consult with the pastor and ask him if he would like information shared with an inquiring congregation, perhaps making
it clear that if he does share the information, he will have to be
forthright about circumstances rendering a call inadvisable. If the
pastor prefers that the information not be shared, in this instance
the district president may indicate to the congregation simply that
the ordained minister has himself indicated that he is unable to consider a call at this time. In such a case, it cannot be the decision of
the district president whether or not to provide information, but the
decision of the involved pastor.

Question 1:

The Commission notes that a district president has responsibilities
toward not just the calling congregation but all congregations under his care. Concern for a congregation presently being served,
perhaps only for a short time, by the pastor whose information has
been requested, may weigh heavily in the advice the district president gives the congregation that is considering extending the call.
The district president may, for instance, know that the congregation
currently being served by the candidate may have had unusual difficulties in filling a vacancy prior to the candidate and the candidate
is relatively new in his position. In such a situation, having the candidate accept a new call may lead to substantial harm to the other
congregation under the district president’s care. The commission
does not find here substantial ground to deny information on the
pastor, though there is every reason to provide, with that information, advice and counsel that will encourage the calling congregation to act in Christian love and due regard for the congregation
being served. There may even be reason for the district president to
proceed with the pastor concerned as described above, to seek his
determination that he cannot, in care for his present congregation,
consider another call at this time, which might be conveyed to the
calling congregation and suffice as information. It is observed that
simple denial of information in such a circumstance, as presently
occurs with some frequency in some districts of the Synod, almost
as a matter of course, is not effective at preventing the call of such
pastors by other congregations, as the congregations are able, having sought advice, to act despite its not being provided.

Question 2:

In summary, because the Synod is not advisory either to the district or to the district president who is an officer of the district,
the district president does not have the discretion to ignore a congregation’s request for information. This was already indicated in
CCM Op. 2069 (March 2, 1997). The opinion specifically states
that a district president does not have the authority “to edit a vacant
congregation’s call list by refusing to provide personal information
on some individuals, even when that information is specifically requested by the congregation.” Here the district president provides

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:

(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?
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?

Opinion (Questions 1 [b] and 2, as regard potential calls from another district): Districts are not independent entities but have been
created by the Synod “in order more effectively to achieve its objectives and carry on its activities” (Const. Art. XII 1–2, 12; Bylaws
4.1.1–4.1.1.2). Therefore, while a district president is the ecclesiastical supervisor only of his own district, because districts as a whole
are intended for the good of the whole Synod, when a congregation requests information regarding an ordained minister who is a
member of another district, the district president of that district is
also required to provide such information to the district president
of the congregation which requested the information, who will in
turn convey it to the requesting congregation. The guidance for the
rare situation where discretion is advised, mentioned above, would
apply here also.
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: Other than for the restrictions on where specific ministry
pastors can serve, the only absolute restriction on congregations
if they want to retain their membership in the Synod (cf. Bylaw
2.5.4; Const. Art. XIII) is Bylaw 2.5.2, that they call and be served
only by ordained ministers on the roster of the Synod. In addition,
Bylaw 2.5.1 indicates that the congregation is required to “seek
the counsel of the appropriate district president when calling ordained or commissioned ministers.” This is no perfunctory matter
and expects and requires that the congregation and district president will have a robust conversation not only about the candidates
about whom information has been requested but also about the religious condition of the calling congregation. For a congregation to
2023 Convention Workbook