LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 339

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OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS 339

ment to witness publicly and privately to the one and only Gospel
set forth in the Holy Scriptures. Among the functions of the Com-
mission on Theology and Church Relations is to “provide guidance
to the Synod in matters of theology and church relations” (Bylaw
3.925 b). Thus this question should be directed to that commission.

Adopted Oct. 21-22, 2002

Question re Notification of Suspended Status
of a District President (02-2279)

The President of the Synod, in a June 26, 2002 e-mail message,
requested an opinion regarding his on-going ecclesiastical respon-
sibilities in the case of a District President on suspended status,
with particular reference to Bylaw 2.25 d.

Question: “When the member on suspended status is a District
President whose ecclesiastical supervisor, the Synodical President
(Bylaws 3.101 and 2.27 g), has been disqualified on the basis of
Bylaw 2.27 a. 1. from investigating the complaints brought against
the District President, is it nevertheless the responsibility of the
Synodical President to carry out Bylaw 2.25 d. 2. and 3., or does
that responsibility belong to the officer of the Synod who has been
charged on the basis of Bylaw 2.27 a. 1. with investigating the
complaints brought against the District President?”

Opinion: The President of the Synod is the ecclesiastical super-
visor of all District Presidents (Constitution Art. XI B; Bylaw 3.101
A 1). He continues to have this ecclesiastical supervisory responsi-
bility under the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod also when a
District President is on suspended status, even though he may have
been disqualified from investigating complaints brought against the
District President on the basis of Bylaw 2.27 a 1.

Under ordinary circumstances, when formal proceedings are
commenced against a District President under the procedure set
forth in Bylaw 2.27, the President of the Synod is responsible for
carrying out its requirements (Bylaw 2.27 g). When he is disqualified
on the basis of Bylaw 2.27 a 1, “the next qualified officer of the
Synod shall function in the place of the President” (Bylaw 2.27 g).

Bylaw 2.25, which provides the conditions and requirements of
suspended status, states in its final paragraph f: “If the member on
suspended status is a District President, the duties assigned to the
District President under sections d and e hereof shall be performed
by the next proper successor District officer.” The responsibilities
outlined in Bylaw 2.25 d 2 and 3, therefore, belong neither to the
President of the Synod nor to the next qualified officer of the
Synod but to the next proper successor District officer.

In the case of the suspension of a District President, therefore, it
will be necessary for the investigating officer of the Synod, whether
the President or the next qualified officer, to inform the next proper
successor District officer of the suspension, which officer will then
be responsible for performing the duties described in paragraphs d
and e of Bylaw 2.25.

Adopted June 27, 2002

Clarification of Effect of Suspension of a
Congregation (02-2280)
A pastor of the Synod, in a June 27, 2002 e-mail letter, re-

quested an opinion regarding the suspension of a congregation by a
District President and the practical results of such a suspension.

Question 1: “May a District President suspend a congregation
pursuant to Bylaw 2.25 if he rules that the congregation is persist-
ing in ‘offensive conduct’ (Article XIII) by effectively ‘terminat-
ing’ its pastor for unscriptural and unconstitutional reasons (e.g.,
personality conflict) by discontinuing or severely reducing the pas-
tor’s salary or by other such circuitous means while not actually
removing the pastor from office? This question assumes that ap-
propriate admonition has been carried out according to Scripture
and the synodical Bylaws.”

Qpinion: Bylaw 2.25 a provides that when formal proceedings
have been commenced against a member of the Synod (individual
or congregation) under procedure set forth in Bylaw 2.27 which
may lead to the expulsion of such member from the Synod, the

member shall have suspended status. Thus suspended status is not
an independent act by a District President but is, rather, a status
that follows automatically when the District President formally re-
quests expulsion of the member from the Synod (Bylaw 2.27 c).

Formal proceedings to terminate a congregation’s membership
in the Synod can only be commenced by a District President after he
has thoroughly-investigated the matter and then concluded that the
facts form a basis for termination of the congregation’s membership
under the criteria established in Article XIII of the Constitution of
the Synod, which includes “an offensive conduct.” However, termi-
nation of a congregation’s membership in the Synod is not decided
by the District President if the congregation does not consent to ter-
mination of its membership in the Synod. Rather, that decision is
made by a Dispute Resolution Panel after it hears the evidence pre-
sented by the District President and the congregation. What consti-
tutes “offensive conduct” is a decision to be made by the Dispute
Resolution Panel, taking into consideration the provisions of Article
III 9 of the Constitution of the Synod which states that one of the
objectives of the Synod is to “provide protection for congregations,
pastors, teachers, and other church workers in the performance of
their official duties and the maintenance of their rights.”

Question 2: “What is the practical effect of suspension on the
suspended congregation? Is that congregation entitled to cal] an-
other pastor while on suspended status? If not, may the District
President refuse a request from the suspended congregation for a
call list until the suspension has been resolved?”

Opinion: Bylaw 2.25 b states: 1) Suspended status continues
unti] membership is duly terminated or the formal proceedings are
completed favorably to the member; and 2) While on suspended
status a member shall continue to hold all rights under the Consti-
tution and Bylaws of the Synod subject to the limitations set forth
in the Bylaw. Such limitations (Bylaw 2.25 c 1-4) are applicable to
individual members of the Synod. The Bylaws are silent as to lim-
itations on activities of a congregation that is on suspended status.
However, Bylaw 2.45 addresses issues relating to the calling of
ministers of religion. Included therein is the requirement that when
calling an ordained minister, a congregation shall seek the advice of
the District President. Having sought such advice from the District
President, the congregation has complied with the bylaw.

Adopted Oct. 2, 2002

Questions re President’s Duty to Call up for Review
(02-2282)

The Secretary of the Synod has submitted the following ques-
tion to the CCM:

Bylaw 3.101 B 5 requires that the President of the Synod shall “call
up for review any action by an individual officer, executive, or agency
which, in his view, may be in violation of the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod and, if he deems appropriate, request that such
action be altered or reversed.” It also speaks of “the President’s consti-
tutional duty to report to the Synod those who do not act in accordance
with the Constitution and do not heed his admonitions, as prescribed in
Art. XI B 2.”

Question |: Does Bylaw 3.101 B 5 give to the President of the
Synod the right and/or the responsibility to call up for review an action
of an officer carrying out the responsibilities of Bylaw 2.27 c and re-
quest that such action be altered or reversed?

Question 2: Does Bylaw 3.101 B 5 give to the President of the
Synod the right and/or the responsibility to report to the Synod via pas-
toral letter the calling up for review of an action of an officer carrying
out the responsibilities of Bylaw 2.27 c if such officer does not heed his
admonitions?

Although the Secretary’s letter references Article XI B of the
Constitution, the two specific questions as posed deal only with the
President’s rights and responsibilities under Bylaw 3.101 b 5 as it
relates to review of an action of an officer of the Synod acting
under Bylaw 2.27. Under Bylaw 2.27, the investigating officer is to
thoroughly investigate allegations, follow the guidelines of
Matthew 18, and if he concludes the facts form a basis for expul-
sion under Article XIII of the Constitution, prepare and send to the
concerned member a written statement of the case and a notifica-
tion of the member’s suspended status. If the member contests ex-

2004 Convention Workbook