LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 130

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130 ; SYNOD REPORTS

R7-06
Commission on Constitutional Matters

The functions of the Commission on Constitutional Matters
(CCM) are set forth in Bylaws 3.9.2.2-3.9.2.2.4 of the Synod.
Bylaw 3.9.2.2 states that the commission “shall interpret the
Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws and resolutions upon the written re-
quest of a member (congregation, ordained or commissioned min-
ister), official, board, commission, or agency of the Synod,” and
thus the commission cannot provide an opinion that interprets
Scripture or the Synod’s Articles of Incorporation.

Paragraph (b) of that bylaw goes on to say, “An opinion ren-
dered by the commission shall be binding on the question decided
unless and until it is overruled by a convention of the Synod.” It is
a false assumption to contend that the CCM is the supreme court of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. If it were so, the conven-
tion would not have the authority to overrule any or all of the com-
mission’s opinions. All of the opinions of the commission are
subject to review and rejection only by a convention of the Synod.

The last sentence of paragraph (b) of Bylaw 3.9.2.2 was added
by the 2004 convention of the Synod. It states: “When opinions
pertain primarily to business, legal, finance, civil rights, contracts,
or property matters, the commission shall first consult with the
Board of Directors of the Synod and/or the Synod’s legal counsel.”
The commission has consulted with the Board of Directors and/or
Synod’s legal counsel on questions that involve the matters stated
above. It has on some occasions consulted with both the Board of
Directors and the Synod’s legal counsel, and at times with other
sources in the Synod regarding matters not specifically addressed in
the Bylaw but where input from those sources could prove helpful
in formulating an opinion.

The commission consists of five voting members: three are or-
dained ministers and two are lawyers. The Secretary of the Synod
serves aS a non-voting member as well as secretary of the commis-
sion. The five voting members serve six-year terms, renewable
once. Although there has been some confusion over the past sev-
eral years as to how positions on the Commission on Constitutional
Matters are filled, the Bylaws are very specific as to the procedure
that is to be followed. That procedure is as follows: Candidates for
a vacant position are nominated only by each of the district boards
of directors. The 35 districts can nominate as many candidates as
they choose. The names of these individuals are then forwarded to
the Council of Presidents through the office of the Secretary of the
Synod. The Council of Presidents then selects five candidates for
each vacant position, and the list of five candidates is presented
through the office of the Secretary of the Synod to the President of
the Synod, who, in consultation with the vice-presidents, appoints
one of the five to membership on the commission.

During the past triennium the commission has rendered ap-
proximately 80 written opinions in response to questions that have
been submitted. These opinions are the result of study and discus-
sion by e-mail, telephone conferences, and face-to-face meetings. A
draft of an opinion is prepared by one or more members of the
commission and then circulated among all members for review and
input. A revised opinion is prepared, taking into consideration the
comments received. In some cases the opinion is revised a number
of times before it is released for publication to the Synod. In ren-
dering an opinion on any question, past opinions are researched to
determine whether such a question has been asked previously and
what opinions have already been rendered. The commission oper-
ates with the principle that if an opinion is final and binding and
has not been overturned or revised by a convention of the Synod,
the present commission is to treat it as the answer to the question
that has been asked. If the commission is asked to reconsider an
opinion, it will do so upon written request by any of the parties who

2007 Convention Workbook

are authorized by Bylaw 3.9.2.2 to request an opinion from the
commission.

The work of the commission is done in private and kept confi-
dential by its members. It is to be remembered that the commission
provides interpretations of the Constitution, Bylaws, and the reso-
lutions of the Synod. If the Synod determines that an opinion of the
commission is in error, it behooves the Synod through its delegates
assembled in convention to pass a resolution that amends the lan-
guage in question in order to reflect the will of the Synod. When-
ever the commission has noted an apparent omission or conflict in
the wording of the Constitution or Bylaws of the Synod, the secre-
tary of the commission has referred those matters to the appropriate
board or commission.

Since the last convention of the Synod, the Commission on
Constitutional Matters has not only rendered opinions to the ques-
tions which have been asked, but has spent countless hours in car-
rying out other assignments. Bylaw 3.9.2.2.3 directs the
commission to “revise the Handbook of the Synod immediately
after each convention of the Synod to bring it in into harmony with
the resolutions or changes adopted by the convention.” Since there
were major changes made to the Handbook at the 2004 convention,
a greater amount of time than usual was expended in carrying out
this responsibility. In connection with the changes in the Hana-
book, the Synod also charged the commission to prepare a Stan-
dard Operating Procedures Manual to serve as a comprehensive
procedures manual for Bylaw sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 2.17
of the Handbook. After consultation and input from the Council of
Presidents, this assignment was completed and the manuals are
being utilized.

The 2004 convention directed the Board for Higher Education
(now the Board for Pastoral Education and the Board for University
Education) to prepare a Standard Operating Procedures Manual
in consultation with the Commission on Constitutional Matters for
Bylaws 3.8.2.7.9 and 3.8.3.8.9. One of these manuals has been pre-
pared, and the commission is reviewing its contents in order to ful-
fill its responsibility.

As in the past, the commission will examine all reports and
overtures to the 2007 convention of Synod that ask “for amend-
ments to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod or which in any
manner affect the Constitution and Bylaws to determine their
agreement in content and language with the Constitution and By-
laws of the Synod” (Bylaw 3.9.2.2.1). In keeping with Bylaw
3.9.2.2.2, the commission also will be represented at the meetings
of the floor committees considering constitutional or bylaw mat-
ters of business for the 2007 convention of the Synod.

For a number of years the commission has rendered a service to
the Synod by providing and then periodically revising sample consti-
tutions for use by congregations, The work on the latest revision of the
“Guidelines for Constitutions and Bylaws of Lutheran Congrega-
tions” required more than a year to complete. In February 2006, a
meeting of the commission on Constitutional Matters and the chair-
men of district constitution committees was held in St. Louis to re-
view newly revised material and invite district input. As a result of
valuable information shared at the meeting, the commission made
final revisions to the guidelines before publishing them electronically,
which will facilitate making changes in a timelier manner in the future
(www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/CCM/GUIDELINES
%o20for %20Web.pdf).

In addition to its other responsibilities, Bylaw 3.9.2 and
3.9.2.2.4 call on the commission to “ensure that the governing in-
struments of the Synod and its agencies are in accord with the Con-
stitution and Bylaws of the Synod” and “examine in advance the
articles of incorporation and the bylaws or regulations of every
agency of the Synod and all proposed amendments of such docu-
ments to ascertain whether they are in harmony with the Constitu-
tion, Bylaws and resolutions of the Synod.” The commission has