LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 157

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STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION
names to the official rosters and reads as follows:
(a) He shall add the names of those ordained
or commissioned ministers initially placed
in the District and those accepting call to
or otherwise transferring to the District.
(Added to show a more complete responsibility for the official rosters.)

and be it further
Resolved, That any bylaw changes adopted by the 2004
convention be formatted accordingly and incorporated into
the revised Handbook by the Commission on Constitutional
matters as provided by current Bylaw 3.905 c and new
Bylaw 3.8.1.2 (e); and be it finally
Resolved, That the convention express its thanks to the
Pro Tem Commission on Structure for its five years of work
and its excellent streamlining of the Handbook to eliminate
inconsistencies and make it more usable for the Synod.
Action: Adopted (9)
(After introducing the resolution, the committee invoked Special Standing Rule 6 to govern the discussion. Delegates were encouraged to submit to the Commission on Constitutional Matters
any errors in the text of the revised Handbook and to call attention to any substantive changes. Debate was ended prior to the
allotted time, and the resolution was adopted as presented [Yes:
921; No: 230].)

To Clarify District Membership
of RSO Employees
RESOLUTION 7-06
Overture 7-32 (CW, p. 262)
Rationale
In its Opinion 01-2234 the Commission on Constitutional Matters ruled that the District membership and ecclesiastical supervision of rostered church workers called
or appointed by recognized service organizations are to be
determined by the geographic location of the recognized
service organization (RSO): “The geographic District in
which an RSO is physically located will be the District
through which church workers who have accepted an executive or staff position will hold synodical membership and
from which District’s president they will receive ecclesiastical supervision.”
Recognizing that this ruling (which the Commission believed to be consistent with but not directly instructed by
the provisions of Bylaw 2.43) would be problematic in cases
in which an RSO has deployed staff in distant locations, the
Commission on Constitutional Matters instructed the Secretary of the Synod to call to the attention of the Commission on Structure the need for further clarification in the
Bylaws of the District membership of RSO employees.
The Commission on Structure therefore offered the following recommendation for a bylaw change specifically to
clarify the District membership of RSO employees, which
will also determine the District President from whom they
will receive ecclesiastical supervision.
Resolved, That Bylaw 2.41, “District through Which
Membership Is Held; Ecclesiastical Supervision,” be
amended by adding a new paragraph e as follows:

157

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
e. An individual member of the Synod who is an executive or professional staff member called or appointed
by an auxiliary or other recognized service organization
shall hold Synod membership in the geographical District in which the member resides or the non-geographical District in which he or she holds membership.

and be it further
Resolved, That the succeeding paragraphs of Bylaw 2.41
be re-lettered accordingly.
Action: Adopted (3)
(After its introduction and explanation by the committee, the
resolution was discussed briefly before it was adopted as presented [Yes: 1,121; No: 64].)

To Appoint Blue Ribbon Committee
to Study and Make Recommendations
Regarding Delegate Representation
RESOLUTION 7-08
Overtures 7-39–55, 7-86 (CW, pp. 264−269, 278−279)
WHEREAS, The polity and method of determining voting
delegates to Synod conventions was established at a time
when most congregations were of similar size and were
staffed by a pastor and perhaps a called teacher to assist
the pastor in the one-room school; and
WHEREAS, Many larger congregations have expressed
concerns over their representation at national conventions
(e.g., today the largest five percent of the congregations
[305 of 6,150] have 24 percent [453,191] of the communicant members of the LCMS, and the smallest 27 percent of
the congregations [1,538] have four percent [82,573] of the
communicant members of the LCMS); and
WHEREAS, Art. V of the LCMS Constitution includes as
members of the Synod “congregations, ministers of religion—ordained, and ministers of religion—commissioned,
such as teachers, directors of Christian education, directors
of Christian outreach, directors of parish music, deaconesses, parish assistants, and certified lay ministers of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church who confess and accept
the confessional basis of Art. II”; and
WHEREAS, Presently only sole, senior, or associate pastors and congregational lay representatives may vote at
conventions of the Synod held at the District or national
level; and
WHEREAS, Groups of “members of the Synod,” namely
called teachers, lay ministers, and other categories of called
church workers whose existence could not have even been
imagined by our forefathers in the faith, have only token
and advisory representation at best; and
WHEREAS, Our Synod in convention, if it is to speak the
heart and mind of the people of the LCMS, should include a
fair representation of the members and congregations of
the Synod; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod authorize the appointment of
a special Blue Ribbon Committee to study and make recommendations to the 2007 synodical convention in regard
to delegate representation at future conventions; and be it
further
2004 Convention Proceedings