LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 163

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ECCLESIASTICAL SUPERVISION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
6. To provide protection for congregations, individual members, and other church workers and their rights, to provide protection for administrators of these processes in
the performance of their duties (Constitution Art. III 9),
and to protect the impartiality of the processes for dispute resolution (Chapter VIII) and expulsion from membership (Chapter II), the administration of these
processes should be kept above reproach.
7. A board of regents’ supervision of faculty members under
Chapter VI is not ecclesiastical supervision of a member
of the Synod under Chapter II; therefore, removal from
office of a faculty member under Chapter VI does not terminate that faculty member’s membership in the Synod
(a Chapter II matter).
The following principles are specifically applicable to
Bylaw Chapters II, VI, and VIII:
1. The bylaws are to be as fair as possible regardless who
applies them or to whom they are applied.
2. The 8th Commandment always applies.
3. Care should be given to determine when and where
Matthew 18 procedures apply, which is almost always,
repeatedly and primarily for the purposes of restoration
(Gospel) and not expulsion (Law).
4. The proper and consistent understanding of the Synod’s
doctrine and application of doctrine as well as the proper
interpretation of the Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws
should be promoted. Therefore, at numerous times in
these processes, availability of seeking opinions from the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations and the
Commission on Constitutional Matters should be provided. The opinions of both the CTCR and the CCM must
be followed in all cases.
5. There is to be no publicity to issues while a matter is in
dispute or while an appeal is contemplated or pending.
Violations of the publicity rule (like other violations of
the procedures of these bylaws including persistent false
accusations) are subject to the same disciplinary measures as set forth in these bylaws.
6. Uniformity of procedures will aid in fairness and impartiality of these processes, thereby providing protection for
all involved. A Standard Operating Procedures Manual
for Chapters II and VIII should be authorized by the Bylaws, developed, and updated as needed.
7. With the exception of cases involving sexual misconduct
or criminal behavior (Bylaw 2.29) and excommunication
(Bylaw 8.13 b), participation in the processes of ecclesiastical supervision and dispute resolution is limited to
members of Synod.
8. Each case is to be considered de novo, on its own merits,
and decisions made in a case shall have no precedential
value.
The following principles are specifically applicable to Bylaws Chapter II:
1. A clear separation of cases under Chapters II, VI, and
VIII of the Bylaws is desirable.
2. In Chapter II expulsion of membership cases, sexual misconduct and other criminal behavior actions (Bylaw 2.29)
are to be separated from other Constitution Article XIII
actions (Bylaws 2.26−2.28).

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3. The Chapter II bylaw for expulsion of membership of
congregation or individual members (Bylaw 2.26) is to be
separated from expulsion of membership of a District
President or officer of the Synod (Bylaw 2.27) and from
expulsion of membership of a Synod President (Bylaw
2.28).
4. The Constitution and Bylaws determine that the Synod
President shall be held to account by the Synod. A
method of expulsion of a Synod President from membership, apart from Synod convention action but never apart
from the action of the congregations of the Synod themselves, should be determined and should be done only in
clear cases. Therefore an affirmative vote of at least 75
percent of the District Presidents should be required to
submit the matter to the member congregations of the
Synod for a written vote for the expulsion from membership of the Synod President.
5. Provide a definition of terms used in Chapter II cases as
is done in Chapter VIII cases.
Chapter II principles evangelically applied:
1. Care is taken to protect the integrity and reputation of
both the accuser and the accused.
2. The accused has the right to appeal a finding of “guilty”
while the accuser does not have the right to appeal a
finding of “not guilty.”
3. Keep the process moving toward a conclusion as quickly
as possible while preserving adequate time for fairness
and justice.
4. As with Chapter VIII, attempt to avoid the adversarial
system practiced in our society.
5. As with Chapter VIII, minimize expenses for all involved
(good stewardship).
6. Determine the definite point at which “formal proceedings” commence in a case that may conclude in the expulsion of a member from Synod.
To accomplish all of this, an internal rearrangement of
Chapter II and some rewording in Chapters III, VI, and
VIII is being proposed in the resolution before the convention. A separate treatment of each unique circumstance is
delineated, depending upon the situation but still within
the existing framework of Chapter II. The resulting bylaws,
while they admittedly appear to be somewhat more complicated, are in reality easier to follow and provide consistency
so as to eliminate confusion.
• The proposed renumbered Bylaw 2.26 is the old Bylaw
2.27 and deals with the removal of a member from the
roster for all reasons other than sexual misconduct or
criminal behavior.
• The renumbered Bylaw 2.27 replaces what had been 2.27
g and provides the recommended procedures for the removal of a District President and seeks to clarify the role
of the President of Synod in the process believed to be inherent in Constitution Articles XI B 2 and 7 and XIII 2.
This bylaw provides the framework for what is called for
in Constitution Article XI B 7 which states, “The President shall perform all additional duties assigned to him
by the bylaws . . .” and Article XIII 2 which states, “Expulsion shall be executed only after following such procedure as shall be set forth in the Bylaws of Synod.” Bylaw
2004 Convention Proceedings