LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 332

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to the Board for Higher Education. The Commission understands
the question to be as follows:

Question: 1995 Bylaw 3.600 a provided that no more than one
elected director of the Board for Higher Education (BHE) (which
also serves as the Board of Directors of the Concordia University
System) could be from the same District of the Synod. The 1998
convention of the Synod adopted Res. 8-01B which changed the
Bylaws for Higher Education. Included in those changes was a
modification of the limitation of the number of members of the
BHE who can be elected from one District of the LCMS. What are
the limitations at the present time on election of members to the
BHE?

Opinion: Bylaw 3.407 addresses membership of the Board for
Higher Education as provided in Res. 8-01B. The eighteen mem-
bers of the BHE are the following: the President of the Synod or
his representative; the Chief Financial Officer of the Synod; four
persons elected by the Council of Members of the Concordia Uni-
versity System; four persons elected jointly by the Boards of Re-
gents of the two seminaries; seven persons elected by the Synod in
convention; and one District President elected by the Council of
Presidents. Bylaw 3.407 d states that no more than one of the seven
members elected by a convention of the Synod can be from the
same District of the Synod. The Bylaw does not place such a re-
striction on any of the other members elected to the BHE. Thus the
seven members elected by a convention of the Synod must come
from seven different Districts. The remaining elected members of
the BHE can come in any number from any District, including the
District of a member elected by a convention of the Synod.

Adopted Dec. 16, 1999

Questions re the Right of a Congregation
to Call Its Own Pastor (99-2171)

A board of elders acting on behalf of a congregation asked a se-
ries of questions regarding the influence a District may exert upon
a partially subsidized congregation when calling a pastor or when
alranging interim pastoral service during a vacancy. The Commis-
sion responded to the questions as follows:

Question: May a District refuse a congregation the right to call
its own pastor on the grounds that the congregation is partially sub-
sidized by the District?

Opinion: Bylaws 2.01, 2.03, and 2.05 set forth the manner in
which a congregation becomes a member of the Synod. In render-
ing thts opinion, the Commission assumes that the congregation in
question has complied with those requirements and is a member of
the Synod.

Art. VIL of the Constitution of the Synod states: “In its relation
to its members the Synod is not an ecclesiastical government exer-
cising legislative or coercive powers, and with respect to the indi-
vidual congregation's right of self-government it is but an advisory
body.”

Bylaw 4.07 a states: “The Synod is not merely an advisory body
in relation to a District. A District is the Synod itself performing
the functions of the Synod.” Thus the provisions of the above
quoted section of Art. VIL are applicable to the actions of a Dis-
trict.

Bylaw 2.45 b provides that “congregations which are members
of the Synod. in conformity with Article VI 3 of the Constitution of
the Synod. shal/ {emphasis added] call and be served only by or-
dained or commissioned ministers ...” Paragraph a of that same
Bylaw states that “congregations shall seek the advice of the re-
spective District President when calling ordained or commissioned
ministers.”

At its March 5, 1982. meeting the Commission on Constitu-
tional Matters addressed a similar question from a congregation tn
the Central Illinois District: “Does a congregation, duly organized,
in membership with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, have
the inherent and unalterable right to call her own pastor, or may a
provision be made in the constitution of said congregation stating
and affirming that the right and power of calling a pastor for such a
congregation shall be delegated to and vested with the District’s

2001 Convention Workbook

OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS

Board of Directors?” The Commission resolved that “the congre-
gation must retain the right to call a pastor. To be sure, consulta-
tion, especially in situations of subsidized congregations, has al-
ways been customary. But the right itself belongs to the
congregation (see for instance Art. VII; Art. VI 3; Bylaw 5.01 a).”

In view of the above, the Commission concludes that the right
to call a pastor rests solely with the congregation that the pastor is
to serve. Should a District threaten to withhold its subsidy unless a
subsidized congregation adhercs to the wishes of the District rela-
tive to the calling of a pastor, the congregation may utilize the
Synod’s Dispute Resolution Process to determine if such a threat is
coercion and a violation of Art. VII of the Constitution of the
Synod.

Question: Can a District call a pastor for a partially subsidized
congregation without the consent and approval of that congrega-
tion?

Opinion: The opinion rendered to the previous question pro-
vides the answer to this question.

Question: May a District insist that a partially subsidized con-
gregation accept an “intentional interim pastor’?

Opinion: The previously quoted provision of Art. VII of the
Constitution of the Synod is also applicable to this question. In ad-
dition, 1998 synodical convention Res. 3.17B states in part:

WHEREAS, Intentional interim ministries ought never to be imposed
upon congregations, for the precious relationship of the shepherd to his
sheep can be protected only as long as the congregation maintains the
right to choose its own pastor (see C. F. W. Walther, The Congrega-
tion's Right to Choose Its Pastor); ... therefore be it

Resolved, That we recognize the value of intentional interim min-
istries in certain cases when congregations choose them |emphasis
added]; and be it further

Resolved, That when congregations do choose to be served by in-
tentional interim ministries, they be assisted by thetr District Presidents
to select among available candidates.

In light of the above, a District may not insist that a partially
subsidized congregation accept an intentional interim pastor.

Question: May a District extend a “non-tenured” call for a pas-
tor of a partially subsidized congregation?

Opinion: Again, the above-quoted provisions of Art. VII may
be applicable to this issue. However, the term “non-tenured” is not
defined in the Constitution or Bylaws of the Synod nor is it defined
in the question. Accordingly, the Commission cannot render an
opinion on this question.

Adopted March 23, 2000

Question re Responsibilities of Commission
on Ministerial Growth and Support (00-2177)

The Chairman of the Commissioned Ministers Continuing Ed-
ucation Committee of the Commission on Ministerial Growth and
Support (CMGS), in a letter dated January 19, 2000, requests a
judgment from the Commission on Constitutional Matters regard-
ing the overall task of the CMGS, asking whether that Commission
may also provide growth and support initiatives for non-rostered
as well as rostered workers. The letter explains that the CMGS has
opportunity to work with both rostered and non-rostered workers
and wishes to be clear about how it may proceed. The Commission
on Constitutional Matters has provided the following response:

Question: Does the Commisston’s overall task “to assist the
mission and ministry of the Synod and its congregations” (Bylaw
3.915) allow for commission initiatives in providing growth and
support for both rostered and non-rostered workers?

Opinion: The Commisston recently answered a similar question
in Ag. 99-2155, which appears in the minutes of the Commission’s
October 20, 1999, meeting. That question asked whether non-ros-
tered workers are “included in that group of persons for which the
Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support is to provide ser-
vices as outlined in Bylaw 3.915” (emphasis added). The last line
of our answer concluded that “therefore, non-rostered teachers are
not included in that group of persons for whom the Commission
on Ministerial Growth and Support is required to provide services.”