LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 291

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8. ECCLESIASTICAL SUPERVISION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

8-01

To Resolve Constitutional Issue
re “Previous Futile Admonition” (Art. XT)

Rationale

Paragraph 1 of Art. XIII of the Synod’s Constitution provides
the conditions for expulsion from membership in the Synod:
“Members who act contrary to the confession laid down in Article
II and to the conditions of membership laid down in Article VI or
persist in offensive conduct shall, after previous futile admonition,
be expelled from the Synod.”

The phrase “after previous futile admonition” is a provision that
can be difficult to satisfy in every case, as in cases of serious per-
sonal misconduct that warrant expulsion from the Synod but do not
provide opportunity for previous futile admonition.

The Commission on Structure proposes the following change
to Art. XIII 1 to resolve this issue.

Resolved, That paragraph 1 of Art. XIII of the Constitution of
the Synod be amended to read as follows:

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
1. A members who acts contrary to the confession laid down
in Article II end or to the conditions of membership laid down in
Article VI or who persists in offensive conduct shall, efterpre~
vious-futile-admenition, after all reasonable efforts at admoni-
tion have failed, be expelled from the Synod.
Commission on Structure

8-02
To Clarify Bylaw 2.27 re Investigations of Complaints

Rationale

In the event that a District President, either by a written com-
plaint or by his own personal knowledge, becomes aware of facts
regarding a member of the Synod that may call into question that
person’s membership, Bylaw 2.27 a 1 provides that the ecclesiasti-
cal supervisor is required to “thoroughly investigate whether the
allegations can be substantiated.”

In the course of the investigation, the ecclesiastical supervisor
may become aware of facts which could lead to the expulsion of
the member under Article XIII of the Constitution that were not
specifically included in the written complaint or his own knowl-
edge at the inception of the investigation. Question has been raised
whether his decision to suspend or not suspend the member may
be based upon information beyond that which was included in the
original allegation.

The Commission on Structure notes that the purpose of an in-

vestigation is to uncover all related facts surrounding an allegation
in order to properly decide regarding its significance in light of Ar-
ticle XIII of the Constitution. If an investigation uncovers new in-
formation related to the original allegation that calls into question a
member’s continued membership in the Synod, the ecclesiastical
supervisor has no choice but to act on the results of his investiga-
tion, facts which are now his personal knowledge (Bylaw 2.27 a).

The Commission on Structure, in order to clarify Bylaw 2.27,
proposes the following amendment to the bylaw.

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Resolved, That Bylaw 2.27 a be amended as follows:

2.27 Commencing an Action to Terminate Congregational
or Individual Membership

a. When, either by a written complaint of any person or by
his own personal knowledge, facts which could lead to the ex-
pulsion of a member from the Synod under Article XIII are
made known to the District President who has ecclesiastical su-
pervision of such member, the District President shall

291

1. thoroughly investigate the matter to decide whether the
ean-be-substantiated facts learned from his investi-
gation form the basis for expulsion of the member under Article
XII of the Constitution. In the event the District President is
disqualified because he is a party to the matter in dispute, has a
conflict of interest, or is unable to act, the First Vice-President or
the next qualified District Officer to function in this instance
shall act in place of the District President. Any challenge to the
eligibility of the District President to act, which is not agreed to
by the District President, shall be determined by the Praesidium
of the Synod.

Commission on Structure

8-03

To Review Procedures for Filing Charges
against Members of Synod

WHEREAS, God’s Word instructs us: “Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient, ‘bearing with one another in love. Make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”
(Eph. 4:3, 4); and

WHEREAS, One of the objectives of The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod is to “provide protection for congregations, pastors,
teachers, and other church workers in the performance of their of-
ficial duties and the maintenance of their rights” (Constitution of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Art. ITI. 9); and

WHEREAS, God’s Word provides clear direction in handling dis-
putes when it states, “If your brother sins against you, go and show
him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you
have won your brother” (Matt. 18:15); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Texas District of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod meeting in convention petition the Synod at its
next convention to clarify current procedures in filing charges
against members and officers of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That such review seek to find ways whereby God’s
direction in Matt. 18 would be followed so that official charges
may not be filed unless the complainant has personally spoken
face-to-face with the one accused (as required by Bylaws Chapter
VIID; and be it finally

Resolved, That the list of procedures below be considered as
guidelines for the newly drafted procedures.

Suggested List of Procedures:

1. The offended party must notify the person perceived to have
given offense about the problem, and state that he/she/they are
initiating the Matthew 18 procedure.

2. The offended party must travel to the location where the other
party lives in order to meet with him/her in person in order to
try to resolve the problem. This must be done within three
months of step one. This meeting will involve only the offending
and the offended parties.

3. The party perceived to have given the offense must do every-
thing possible to meet with the offended party as soon as possi-
ble in order to resolve the issue. If the situation is resolved, then
no further action is necessary other than giving praise and thanks
to our gracious God. If the situation is not resolved in this first
meeting, then the two parties shall be required to send a written
report of their meeting to their District President(s) in which they
will state both where they agreed and where they disagreed.
They will also be required to meet at least twice more in order to
try to resolve the problem. Each of these meetings must be held
within three months of the previous meeting.

. If additional meetings beyond the initial one are held, then the
District President(s) of both parties must be notified within 10
days, and he/she/they are strongly advised to send representa-
tives to any additional meetings solely for the purpose of obser-
vation, paying special attention to the attitudes expressed by the
two parties.

. After any additional meetings, both of the initial parties, as well
as the observers, will be required to send written reports to their
District Presidents(s) within 10 days after the meetings, and