LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 274

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274 SYNOD STRUCTURE AND GOVERANCE

8-38

To Review All Previous CCM Opinions and Submit
Future CCM Opinions for Convention Approval

WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.9.2.2 (b) states, “An opinion rendered by
the commission [on Constitutional Matters] shall be binding on the
question decided unless and until it is overruled by a convention of
the Synod”; and

WHEREAS, This in effect produces a body of law that is binding
on members of the Synod; and

WHEREAS, This body of law, having accumulated since 1962,
amounts to roughly 1,347 pages of material; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Synod, unaware of this body of law,
may reasonably assume that the Constitution and Bylaws of the
Synod comprise the totality of Synod law; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Board of Directors of the Synod in consulta-
tion with the Synod President appoint a task force of three to re-
view all previous opinions of the CCM for appropriateness and that
this task force shall report its findings to the Synod in convention
so that the convention may adopt the opinions the convention
deems appropriate and reject those it deems not appropriate; and
be it further

Resolved, That one of the task force members be an attorney fa-
miliar with corporate law and the structure of the LCMS and one of
the members be an ordained minister; and be it further

Resolved, That all future opinions of the CCM be submitted to
the Synod in convention for approval; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Montana District in convention memorial-
ize the 2007 LCMS convention to adopt this resolution.

Montana District

8-39

To Require Consideration of Overtures Regarding the
President of Synod by Conventions of Synod

WHEREAS, The President of the Synod is permitted to make de-
cisions and directives which may only be appealed to a convention
of Synod or the CCM (Bylaw 3.3.1.3 [k]); and

WHEREAS, All five voting members of the CCM currently are
appointed by the President of the Synod (Bylaw 3.9.2.1); and

WHEREAS, The 2007 LCMS convention reserves the right to be
the ecclesiastical supervisor of the President of Synod (Bylaw
2.16.1); and

WHEREAS, The President of the Synod appoints the convention
floor committees and (Bylaw 3.1.7) is “responsible for the overall
organization and operations of the conventions of the Synod”
(Bylaw 3.1.9); therefore be it

Resolved, That any overtures submitted to a convention of
Synod regarding the President of Synod must be given time for
consideration by the convention of Synod and may not be removed
from the docket, provided such overtures are submitted by a cir-
cuit forum, an official district conference of ordained and/or com-
missioned ministers, the Board of Directors of Synod, a district
board of directors, or a district convention.

Holy Cross
Albany, OR

8-40

To Resolve Concerns re President’s Actions

WHEREAS, The Synod, at its 2004 convention, was prevented
from considering whether Rev. Gerald Kieschnick violated Scrip-
ture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Synod’s Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The CCM has stated that only the Synod in conven-

tion has ecclesiastical authority over the President of the Synod;
and ,

WHEREAS, The floor committee refused to allow the 2004 con-
vention delegates the opportunity to debate Overture 8-48 by stat-
ing that there was a “material error,” even though such a statement
was false and contrary to the documented facts which are known
throughout the USA; and

WHEREAS, The floor committee’s action set up a “Catch 22”
situation (i.e., only the Synod in convention can reprove the
Synod’s President, but the Synod in convention was never given
the opportunity to do so); and

WHEREAS, Art. VI of the LCMS Constitution states as a condi-
tion of membership to include: “Renunciation of unionism and syn-
cretism of every description, such as:” (2004 Handbook), and

WHEREAS, Art. VI uses both general and inclusive language,
which is specific and admits no exceptions; and

WHEREAS, Scripture prohibits all forms of unionism (i.e., the
First Commandment; Matt. 7:15; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor.
6:14~18; Philem. 1:27; 1 Tim. 6:35; Titus 3:10; 2 John 10:11); and

WHEREAS, The Council of Presidents adopted a joint worship
paper which reiterated the Synod’s scriptural and historical oppo-
sition against unionism (Reporter, May 2, 1983); and

WHEREAS, The Synod’s President, Rev. Ralph Bohlmann, stated
that the paper produced by the COP had correctly stated “the offi-
cial Missouri Synod position and should therefore be honored and
upheld by all” (Reporter, May 2, 1983); and

WHEREAS, Rev. Gerald Kieschnick encouraged Rev. David
Benke to participate in a memorial service on September 23, 2001,
which included non-Christian clergy from such false non-Chris-
tian religions as Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, and Muslims. The event was
advertised as an “Interfaith Service,” a “Prayer Service” and a
“Memorial Service” (Reporter, October 2001); and

WHEREAS, The 61st Regular Convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod declared, “We cannot consider them
(the ELCA) to be an orthodox Lutheran church body” (Res. 3-21A);
and

Wuereas, ELCA News Service on Sept. 21, 2001, reported that
both Rev. Gerald Kieschnick and Rev. David Benke participated
in a joint worship service (Sept. 19, 2001) held at an ELCA (Holy
Trinity) congregation in Manhattan with presiding ELCA Bishop
H. George Anderson and several other ELCA bishops; therefore
be it

Resolved, That the 2007 Synod convention delegates be allowed
to discuss and decide on the basis of Scripture and/or the Lutheran
Confessions the following questions: (1) Did Rev. Kieschnick
violate Scripture and our Synod’s stance on unionism by participat-
ing in a joint worship service on Sept. 19, 2001, at Holy Trinity
(Manhattan)? (2) Did Rev. Kieschnick violate Scripture/Lutheran
Confessions and our Synod’s stance on unionism/syncretism when
he gave approval to Rev. David Benke’s decision to participate in
an interfaith service on Sept. 23, 2001? (3) Was Rev. Kieschnick
correct in applying Res. 3-07A to Rev. Benke’s participation in an
interfaith service on Sept. 23, 20019; and be it further

Resolved, That the voting delegates of the 2007 Synod conven-
tion decide on the basis of Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions
and the Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
what action the Synod will take to resolve any concern with any of
President Kieschnick’s actions/decisions.

Salem
Taylorsville, NC

8-41

To Adopt CCM Opinion Ag. 2048 re Dissent

WHEREAS, The CCM issued in 1996 the following opinion re-
garding dissent with a doctrinal resolution of the Synod (Ag. 2048):
“The Commission concludes that the very fact that provision is
made for dissent and the proper procedure for expressing it implies
that not every matter on which one dissents is divisive of fellow-
ship. Nevertheless, because the members of the Synod seek to
express their common faith publicly, it is imperative that such dis-