LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 268

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268 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION

might be wrongly accused to defend their innocence from blame
in keeping with the Eighth Commandment; and

WHEREAS, The first premise is also suspect in that, though each
party is allowed to bring one or two persons to the meeting “so that
every matter may be established by their testimony.” no formal
record of any of the meeting is allowed; and

WHEREAS, The first premise is further suspect in that the recon-
ciler is to seek to reconcile differences “on the basis of Christian
love and forgiveness” (Bylaw 8.07 e) but may not “judge” (Bylaw
8.03) the actions of either party, a judgment which is necessary to
bring about repentance which preceded forgiveness; and

WHEREAS, The second premise now appears suspect in that even
after eight years of the reconciliation process the number of litiga-
tions in the Synod seems to be increasing, giving testimony to the
fact that often a dispute does not have a “win/win” resolution; and

WHEREAS, The former system of adjudication and appeals
served our Synod well and was respected by the civil courts; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod return
to the former adjudication and appeals process, directing the ap-
propriate synodical entities to make the necessary changes of By-
laws according to the Constitution.

Zion
Keamey, NE

7-77

To Clarify Status of Immunity
for Dispute Resolution Witnesses

WHEREAS, The quality of a judgment rendered by individuals
sitting on a Dispute Resolution Panel depends directly upon the tes-
timony of witnesses who are willing to testify before that Dispute
Resolution Panel; and

WHEREAS, The document “Instructions to Witnesses for the Dis-
pute Resolution Panel” states in item 5 that “Testimony during this
hearing is considered settlement negotiations and may not be used
later in other actions including civil litigation,” thus indicating that
witnesses are protected from future action based upon testimony
given; and

WHEREAS, The statement from the instruction sheet cited above
is given to a witness just prior to his testimony and thus is seen
only by a precommitted witness; and

WHEREAS, This immunity from future charges is neither clearly
stated nor widely disseminated, thus possibly discouraging poten-
tial witnesses from bringing useful information to bear upon an
issue under consideration by a Dispute Resolution Panel; and

WHEREAS, Other parties, not present before a Dispute Resolu-
tion Panel, should know that witnesses are protected, and thus they
would not be prejudiced toward such witnesses because of testi-
mony given or because of the fact that testimony was given; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That a clear statement be made and published in the
Handbook that truthful testimony given by a witness before a Dis-
pute Resolution Panel, as well as the act of testifying itself, may
not be used by any party as a basis for bringing charges against that
witness.

Circuit 3
South Wisconsin District

7-78

To Revise Bylaw 3.993 re President
and Vice-President Elections

WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.960 e is currently more honored in the
breach than in the observance; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the election for President and First Vice-
President, it is desirable that candidates for these offices be given
the opportunity to give a personal statement of their views on mat-

2001 Convention Workbook

ters of importance to the Synod and to respond to any misinforma-
tion that may have been disseminated concerning them; and

WHEREAS, With the electronic tallying equipment now avail-
able, the election of officers and board and commission members
can be delayed until a later point in the convention so as to provide
opportunity for such presentations and still allow time for the nec-
essary election procedures to be accomplished; therefore be it

Resolved, That candidates nominated for the offices of Presi-
dent and First Vice-President of the Synod be given opportunity to
address the convention prior to elections for these offices; and be it
further

Resolved, That Bylaw 3.993 be revised to read as follows: “The
election of President, First Vice-President and all other Vice-Pres-
idents, as well as the election of the members of all elective boards
and commissions shall begin on the third full day of the conven-
tion.”

Prince of Peace

Orlando, FL
7-79
To Change Deadline Date for President
and First Vice-President Nominations
Rationale

Bylaw 3.960 c requires that nominating ballots for the offices
of President and First Vice-President “shall be sent to the Secre-
tary of the Synod not later than four months prior to the opening
date of the convention.” In the case of the 2001 convention, that
date is March 14.

Bylaw 3.19 e requires that the Convention Workbook which in-
cludes a report of the results of the nominating ballots “shall be
sent not later than 10 weeks prior to the opening date of the con-
vention.” In the case of the 2001 convention, that date is May 5.
To meet this deadline, all materials are to be supplied to the pub-
lisher by March 26.

As a result, a final report must be received from the audit firm
doing the tabulation of nominations, nominees must be contacted to
obtain their consent to stand for election as well as their biograph-
ical and other required information, additional nominees must be
contacted when nominations are declined, and a final slate must be
established and prepared for publishing—all between the dates of
March 14 and March 26.

The following resolution advocates a Bylaw change to allow
additional time between the deadline for nominations and the time
that all materials must be provided to the publisher of the Conven-
tion Workbook.

Resolved, That Bylaw 3.960 c be amended as follows:

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
c. Each nominating ballot shall be signed by the president
and the secreiary of the voting congregations and shall be sent to
the Secretary of the Synod not later than fer five months prior
to the opening dale of the convention.

LCMS Board of Directors

7-80

To Change Election Procedures for President
and First Vice-President
WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.960 e is more honored in the breach than in
the observance; and

WHEREAS, The candidates for the offices of President and First
Vice-President of the Synod should have the opportunity to give a
personal statement of important issues and to respond to any possi-
ble misinformation prior to the election; and

WHEREAS, The use of electronic equipment makes it possible to
carry out elections both accurately and swiftly; therefore be it