LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 294

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294 ECCLESIASTICAL SUPERVISION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

at the Synod’s convention in 2001 (2001 Proceedings, p. 173);
therefore be it

Resolved, That St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church,
Saratoga Springs, New York, memorialize the Synod to consider
at its 2004 convention ways to provide for the following:

a.To require that in all cases the person(s) inclined to bring
charges against another be required to have at least three
face-to-face meetings with the one who will potentially be charged,
following the principles outlined in Matt. 18 where the purpose is
reconciliation, not accusation. The person with the potential of
being accused would have the right to invite others to be present at
the second and third meetings to witness the events of those meet-
ings, participate in their content, and to make recommendations
about how to proceed. All expenses of such face-to-face meetings
are to be born by those inclined to bring charges.

b.To amend or rewrite Bylaw 2.27 and other sections of the By-
laws and/or Constitution to authorize the immediate supervisors
(e.g., District Presidents for parish pastors; university and seminary
presidents or boards of regents for faculty; the President of the
Synod for District Presidents, etc.) of those against whom charges
are brought either to dismiss the charges or recommend investiga-
tion into the matter. A supervisor’s dismissal will be final.

c. To provide for the accused to make the first appeal to three
District Presidents of his/her choice in the event that the charges
are not dismissed by the immediate supervisor,

d. To provide for full and public disclosure of the matter unless
the individual charged requests that it be private;

e. To have appeals allowable for the accused but not for the ac-
cuser;

f. To provide that any dismissal] of charges or finding of inno-
cence be final;

g. To establish procedures for the accused when charges are dis-
missed or a verdict of innocence is rendered to receive fair com-
pensation from the one(s) bringing the charge for time, stress, and
costs to him/her and his/her employer.

Saratoga Springs, NY

8-08

To Revise Bylaw 2.27 to Reflect Certain Principles

WHEREAS, The 1998 LCMS convention, in one of its last ac-
tions of its final session, adopted a new Bylaw 2.27 g governing
the Synod President’s supervision of District Presidents; and

WHEREAS, Provisions of the Bylaw fail to include those who
elected the District President and those who are most directly in-
volved in the ministry of a District President, namely, members of
the District; and

WHEREAS, Bylaw 2.27 a permits “any person” to file a com-
plaint against a member of the LCMS; and

WuHerEAS, Criteria for “a complaint” against a District Presi-
dent—which may prompt disciplinary action, including expulsion
of the District President—are not specified, thereby introducing se-
rious ambiguity and the possibility of consequent harm in the ap-
plication of the Bylaw; and

WHEREAS, LCMS Constitution Art. XI states that “the President
has the supervision regarding the doctrine and administration of . . .
all District Presidents,” including the duty to “admonish” those who
depart from the Constitution, “to report such cases to the Synod,”
“to advise, admonish, and reprove,” and to “conscientiously use all
means at his command to promote and maintain unity of doctrine
and practice in all the Districts of the Synod”; and

WHEREAS, Art. XI does not explicitly state that the Synod Pres-
ident has the authority to expel a District President; and

WHEREAS, Art. XIII specifies that members of the Synod who
“act contrary to the confession laid down in Art. II and to the con-
ditions of membership laid down in Art. VI [including ‘blameless-

St. Paul

ness of the life of such’ (Art. VD] or persist in an offensive con-
duct” shall be expelled; and

WuereEAS, Resolution 7-19 of the 2001 LCMS convention
charged the Council of Presidents with the task of examining
Bylaw 2.27 and reporting its findings to the Synod; and

Wueres, Resolution 2-13 of the 2003 LCMS Southern Dis-
trict convention states that “individuals and congregations who
have concerns about Bylaw 2.27 [are] encouraged to communicate
those concerns directly to the Council of Presidents”; therefore be it

Resolved, That Bylaw 2.27 be revised to reflect the following
principles:

1. Valid complaints are those made in writing by a member of
the Synod residing in the District or a congregational officer within
the District or by the personal knowledge of the ecclesiastical su-
pervisor.

2. Valid complaints are those based only on the following: (a)
acting contrary to the confession laid down in Article II; (b) per-
sistently adhering to false doctrine; (c) having given offense by an
ungodly life; or (d) persisting in an offensive conduct.

3. Ecclesiastical supervisors shall, within 10 days of the filing of
a valid complaint, report to the Synod via official synodical publi-
cations [e.g., The Lutheran Witness, Reporter, and the Synod Web
site] the name(s) of the person(s) and/or congregation(s) filing the
complaint, the nature of the complaint, date of the complaint, and
the person(s) or congregation(s) accused in the complaint.

4. Ecclesiastical supervisors shall, upon receipt of a valid com-
plaint, investigate whether the complaint has merit and can be sub-
stantiated.

5. In the event that ecclesiastical supervisors find, within 90
days of the filing of a valid complaint, that the guidelines of Matt.
18 have not been followed, the complaint shall be dismissed.

6. In the event ecclesiastical supervisors, within 90 days of the
filing of a valid complaint, make no determination regarding the
substantive merit of the complaint, the complaint shall be dis-
missed.

7. In the event ecclesiastical supervisors, within 90 days of the
filing of a valid complaint, find the complaint has substantive merit,
the ecclesiastical supervisor shall inform the District Board of Di-
rectors of the complaint and of his substantive findings;

8. The District Board of Directors shall have final authority re-
garding suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary action of the
accused;

9. The District Board of Directors shall investigate the com-
plaint and the substantive findings of the ecclesiastical supervisor.
The Board of Directors shall, within 180 days of the filing of a
valid complaint, vote (a) to suspend or to expel or to take other dis-
ciplinary action regarding the accused; or (b) to dismiss the com-
plaint against the accused. A vote of three-fourths of the District
Board of Directors shall be required to suspend or to expel or to
take other disciplinary action against the accused. Without a three-
fourths majority in favor of disciplinary action the complaint shall
be dismissed.

10. Ecclesiastical supervisors and/or District Boards of Direc-
tors shall, within 10 days of a determination outlined above in
items 5 through 9 above, report such determinations to the Synod
via official synodical publications (e.g., The Lutheran Witness, Re-
porter, and the Synod Web site).

St. John Lutheran Church
Hattiesburg, MS

8-09

To Revise Procedures to Terminate Membership

Wuereas, The provisions of Bylaw 2.27 “Commencing an Ac-
tion to Terminate Congregational or Individual Membership” have
in recent days been used to bring charges against pastors, profes-
sors, District Presidents, and others; and