LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 252

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252 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION

WHEREAS, The fathers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod instituted the office of District President primarily for the
purpose of visiting congregations (see C. F. W. Walther, Essays for
the Church, 2 vols. [CPH, 1992], 2:6-63); and

WuereEas, The Synod transferred the duty of visitation from
District Presidents to “‘visitors,’” later called “circuit counselors,’’
at the 1920 and 1923 conventions; and

Wuereas, Even though the Circuit Counselors have served
faithfully and diligently, the congregations also need the theologi-
cal expertise of their District Presidents, which can only be ob-
tained by personal visitation; and

WHEREAS, Such visitation by theologically competent District
Presidents is the best means to obtain true unity of doctrine and
practice in the church; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod hereby reinstitutes the responsibility
of District Presidents, in conjunction with the Vice-Presidents, to
visit every congregation in their district triennially (i.e., in a period
of three years); and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod hereby commissions its seminaries
jointly to produce a detailed set of “Instructions for Visitation,”
based on the historical instructions of the Missouri Synod and the
period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, which will be used as the exclusive
standard of inspection by the visiting Presidents; and be it further

Resolved, That these instructions shall be completed and ready
for implementation in time for the first District convention in 2000,
and that such instructions will be subject to review by the synodical
convention in 2001; and be it finally

Resolved, That any District which finds such visitation to be too
taxing for their President be encouraged to petition the Synod to
divide that District into smaller Districts.

Christ, Oak Park, IL; Trinity, San Jose, CA; Our
Redeemer, Forsyth, IL; Our Redeemer, Peekskill, NY; Our
Saviour, Evanston, WY; Bethany, Fort Wayne, IN; Good
Shepherd, Hurley, NY

7-42

To Appoint Task Force to Study Role
of District Presidents

WHEREAS, One of President A. L. Barry’s “Five Visions for
Missouri” is that she be and remain a truly confessional church;
and

Wuereas, A number of groups have organized within the
Synod to study Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions and have
included in their name confessional; and

WuerEaS, Some have charged that these groups are judging that
nonmembers of these groups are not truly confessional; and

WHEREAS, Such confessional groups have made it clear that
they do not want others to conclude they are making this judgment
about nonmembers; and

WHEREAS, Pressure has been exerted in some Districts on indi-
vidual pastors not to join such confessional groups and on these
groups not to use the word confessional in their name; and

WHEREAS, In one District it is reported to have been further
stated that if the individual joined a group which had the word con-
fessional as a part of its title, the District President would immedi-
ately request a meeting with the leadership of the individual’s con-
gregation to evaluate the quality and quantity of his pastoral
ministry; and

WHEREAS, There seems to be a trend among District Presidents
to assume the mantle of a bishop and, in doing so, to assume and
exercise power over pastors in their District not authorized under
Art. XII 7, 8, 9; and

WHEREAS, The early Lutherans in St. Louis were devastated and
almost destroyed as a church because of the activities of Martin
Stephan, their bishop; and

WHEREAS, As a result the Synod has repudiated a hierarchical
type of church government; therefore be it

Resolved, That we recognize that the use of this term by some
groups does not in any way imply that nonmembers of the groups
are disloyal or in any way wanting in their approach to the Scrip-
tures and the Lutheran Confessions; and be it further

Resolved, That synodical President Dr. A. L. Barry be requested
to appoint a task force to study the role of the District President as
it is described in the Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws, with par-
ticular emphasis on the limitations these impose on the activities
of a District President; and be it finally

Resolved, That the 1998 synodical convention reaffirm the lim-
ited authority of the District President in his supervision over the
doctrine and life of pastors, teachers, and congregations in his Dis-
trict, as set forth in Art. XII7, 8, 9 ad.

Concordia
South Haven, MN

7-43

To Regain Erring Pastors and Congregations
or Remove Them from Roster

WHEREAS, There is deviation from the biblical and confessional
doctrine, teaching, and synodically approved practices of the Synod
in such areas as close Communion, unionism, the role of women
(e.g., women elders) in the church, using laity to perform pastoral
functions, and ecumenical participation and activities; and

WHEREAS, Past resolutions by Districts and the Synod have en-
couraged, beseeched, urged, fraternally requested, or directed
elected officials of the Synod to execute their responsibilities ei-
ther to regain the walking together in fellowship of the erring pas-
tors and congregations or to suspend them from the Synod per
Bylaw II D (Restricting, Suspending, and Expelling Congregations
or Individuals from Membership); and

WHEREAS, Many elected officials have knowingly condoned the
erring behavior of pastors and congregations that has resulted in a
serious breach of all member congregations walking together in the
historical path and following the confessional stance of our Synod
for decades; and

WHEREAS, The resulting divergences in doctrine, teaching, and
practices have seriously undermined the Synod as an “orthodox”
church body; and

WHEREAS, The Bylaws themselves permit wide interpretations
about the time that the elected officials including, but not limited
to, the synodical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presi-
dents and Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors can take to reach
a resolution about the erring behavior, e.g., Bylaw 2.27 2 b, if the
District President declines to suspend the member or fails to act;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the phrase “or fails to act” be deleted from
Bylaw 2.27 2 b; and be it further

Resolved, That the entire synodical procedure be revised to pro-
vide definitive timelines that speed the entire process for each step
in the procedure; and be it further

Resolved, That elected officials are directed to be faithful to the
duties of the office to which they are elected and to their ordina-
tion vows; and be it further

Resolved, That all elected officials including, but not limited to,
the synodical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presidents
and Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors know by this resolu-
tion that they have the full support of the congregations in the
Synod for dealing with the erring behavior of congregations that
ignore their commitment to adhere to the doctrine, teaching, and
practices of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That those pastors and congregations that refuse to
listen to brotherly admonitions, whether verbal or written, and
refuse to return to the biblical and confessional doctrine, teaching,
and practices of the Synod are to be removed from the synodical
roster by the elected officials including, but not limited to, the syn-
odical President and Vice-Presidents, the District Presidents and
Vice-Presidents, and Circuit Counselors because those congrega-