LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 291

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OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS 291

dures. However, interpretation of the content of such procedures is
beyond the authority of the Commission. Since this question in-
volves theology, it will more properly be directed to the Commis-
sion on Theology and Church Relations.

6. Given that the Synod is not an ecclesiastical government exercis-
ing legislative or coercive powers, and with respect to the individual
congregations right of self-government, it is but an advisory body (LC-
MS Constitution: Article VII Relation of the Synod to Its Members),
does the Synod or its Districts or any Officer of the Synod or Officer of
Its Districts have the ecclesiastical authority to not respect action(s)
taken by a LC-MS congregation and to unilaterally cancel and/or de-
clare action(s) taken by a LC-MS congregation or its Voters Assembly
as illegal, non-binding, not valid, and/or of no effect?

Response to Question 6: The Commission responds that neither the
Synod, nor any of its Districts, nor any of its officers can unilater-
ally cancel an action taken by an LCMS congregation through its
voters assembly or by edict make such action non-binding, not
valid, or of no effect. If the action of the congregation is such that it
is subject to the Synod’s dispute resolution process in Chapter VIII
of the Bylaws or could lead to an action to terminate the congrega-
tion’s membership in the Synod under Bylaw 2.27, the procedures
outlined in those Bylaws are the remedy available to the Synod, its
Districts, and its officers.

Bylaw 8.11 addresses the consequences of a decision rendered
under the Synod’s dispute resolution process:

The congregation’s right of self-government shall be recognized.
However, when a decision of a congregation is at issue, a Dispute Res-
olution Panel may review the decision of the congregation according to
the Holy Scriptures and shall either uphold the action of the congrega-
tion or advise the congregation to review and revise its decision. If the
congregation does not revise its decision, the other congregations of the
Synod shall not be required to respect this decision, and the District in-
volved shall take action with respect to the congregation as it may deem
appropriate.

It must be noted that Bylaw 8.11 applies only to those decisions
of a congregation that may be brought before a dispute resolution
panel.

7. Does a LC-MS District President have the ecclesiastical authority
to: (1) not respect, unilaterally cancel and/or declare an action taken by
the Voters Assembly of a LC-MS Congregation as not valid, and/or (2)
not respect, unilaterally cancel and/or declare as not valid a meeting
duly called by the Voters Assembly of a local LC-MS Congregation?

Response to Question 7: Because a District President is an officer
of the Synod, the opinion to the previous question is likewise ap-
plicable to the District President. Neither the Synod, nor any of its
Districts, nor any of its officers have any authority to cancel or de-
clare invalid a duly called meeting of or an action taken by the vot-
ers’ assembly of a congregation that is a member of the LCMS. A
District President is, however, charged with the responsibility to
“give counsel” to congregations (Bylaw 4.73) when “a controversy
arises in a congregation or between two or more congregations of
the District, or when there is evidence of a continuing unresolved
problem in doctrine or practice” (Bylaw 4.75).

Adopted Sept. 14, 1999

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

The Secretary of the Synod has submitted the following ques-
tions 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 1: 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 respon-
sibilities of Bylaw 2.27 c and request 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 pastoral letter the calling up for review
of an action of an officer carrying out the responsibili-
ties 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-
pulsion, Bylaw 2.27 d then requires the investigating officer to for-
ward to the Secretary of the Synod the statement of the matter in
dispute and a memorandum describing compliance with Matthew
18. Under the dispute resolution process, a Dispute Resolution
Panel is then formed under the provisions of Chapter VIII of the
Bylaws, and the panel eventually issues a decision. Under Bylaw
8.09 c 4 d, that decision is then publicized as deemed appropriate
by the District or synodical President.

When a decision is issued by the panel, any party to the dispute,
or the President of the Synod (in recognition of the President’s
power and responsibility under Article XI B 1-3), if a question of
doctrine or practice is involved, may request reconsideration, and
the President may request an opinion of the CCM or CTCR.

Assuming that all persons involved have scrupulously followed
the provisions of Bylaw 8.21 e and the CCM’s prior opinions, the
President may learn of the basis of the action of the investigating
officer only after completion of the work of the Dispute Resolu-
tion Panel, when he is expressly required to be apprized. If the in-
vestigating officer has failed to follow his responsibilities under
Bylaw 2.27 c, or erred in his interpretation of the doctrines of the
church, the Constitution, Bylaws and resolutions of the Synod, the
appeal process is designed to discover and correct such failures or
errors, and the President’s need to call up the action of the investi-
gating officer for review or the need to report by a pastoral letter
such calling up for review would be moot.

If the investigating officer under Bylaw 2.27 commits a proce-
dural error, primary responsibility for correction of that error is
vested in the Secretary of the Synod, who is to administer the
Synod’s dispute resolution process under Bylaw 3.143 o.

Were the President of the Synod to become aware, before an-
nouncement of a decision of the Dispute Resolution Panel under
8.09 c 4 d, that an investigating officer has misstated a doctrinal
position of the church or acted in violation of the Constitution, By-
laws, or resolutions of the Synod, a President of the Synod has re-
sponsibility to act. Article XI B 1-4 of the Constitution sets forth
his duties: Subsection 1 imposes on him duties regarding the su-
pervision of the doctrine of the church and administration of all of-
ficers of the Synod. Subsection 2 requires that he see to it that all
act in accordance with the Synod’s Constitution and admonish all
who depart from it. Subsection 3 provides that “the President has
and always shall have the power to advise, admonish, and reprove.
He shall conscientiously use all means at his command to promote
and maintain unity of doctrine and practice in all the Districts of
the Synod.” Subsection 4 requires that the President see to it that

- the resolutions of the Synod are carried out.

In fulfilling his duties, the President would normally be ex-
pected to rely on the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Bylaws to
correct errors occurring during the dispute resolution process. This
is particularly so in view of the responsibilities given others under
Article XIII, and the bylaws flowing from that article. We previ-
ously recognized in CCM Opinion 02-2251 that the President’s
duty and power “to advise, admonish, and reprove is tempered by
the provisions of Article XIII and the bylaws that flow from it.”
Recognizing the procedural protections embodied in the dispute
resolution process, including the initial review by a Dispute Reso-
lution Panel, and subsequent appeal to an Appeal Panel, which may

2007 Convention Workbook