LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 132

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132

SYNOD REPORTS

control. In his first presidential address (1848), C. F. W. Walther said,
“According to the Constitution under which our synodical union
exists, we have merely the power to advise one another, that we only
have the power of the Word and of convincing.”
At the founding of the Synod, the 1847 Constitution 3 stated:
Article IV. I. Business of the Synod.
1. Supervision of the purity and unity of the doctrine within the synodical constituency, and opposition to false doctrine.
2. Supervision over the administration of the preachers and teachers
of the synodical constituency.
Article V. I. Execution of Synodical Business.
7. The Synod requires a report from the president on the result of
his visitations in the preceding year in conformity with instruction [viz.
from Synod], in order to supervise [the] doctrine, life, and administration of the preachers and school teachers (see under Article VI. A.,
Para.7)
Article VI. Rights and Duties of the Officers and Remaining
Members of the Synod.
Of The President
7. He is to make use of all diligence during his three year administration to visit every parish of the synodical constituency at least one time,
whereupon he presents his report at the annual synodical convention.
13. In his supervisory capacity he himself is to act strictly according
to the written instructions, which he hereto received from the Synod.
(emphases added)

In his presidential address to the 1848 Synod convention, reviewing the importance of the 1847 action, Walther stated, “We can hardly
consider any other constitution as the most salutary but one under
which the congregations are free to govern themselves, but enter into
a synodical organization such as the one existing among us with the
help of God, for enjoying fraternal consultation, supervision, and aid
and to spread the kingdom of God jointly and to make possible and
accomplish the aims of the Church in general” (emphasis added).
In 1854, seven years after the founding of the Synod, and with only
89 congregations and 15,000 baptized members, the 73 voting delegates resolved to reorganize the Synod, providing a new “outward
means of assistance” by “arranging” and establishing the structure
and governance of districts and the office of the district president as
ecclesiastical supervisor in the district. It was understood that administrative matters (ecclesiastical supervision) could be dispatched with
much greater ease if broken down to the district level with greater
participation of both pastors and congregations anticipated in district sessions.
In 1866, 19 years after the founding of the Synod, with 205 congregations and over 65,000 baptized members, the 215 delegates at
the Synod convention resolved to reorganize the Synod, providing yet
another “outward means of assistance” by “arranging” and establishing the structure and governance of circuits and the office of the circuit
visitor as assistant to the district president in his function as ecclesiastical supervisor in the district. This new circuit structure was for
the purpose of more effectively carrying out ecclesiastical administration and to broaden the engagement of pastors and congregations.4
Thus, the 1854 and 1866 Synod conventions placed the matter of
the office of the visitor into the hands of the individual districts. By
1866 President Walther deplored the fact that only two of the district
presidents had salaried assistants (Western and Eastern) and encouraged that others follow suit. The district presidents by this time were
so overburdened with other responsibilities that they could no longer adequately supervise the parishes in their districts on a planned
visitation program.

2013 Convention Workbook

The Office of Visitation

With visitation circuits established as early as 1866, this “lower
level” of Synod administration (office) came into being to lessen the
duties of the district president. Creating the circuits was left to the discretion of the districts. (Nineteen years after the establishment of the
Synod, the responsibilities of parish visitation had been shifted twice.)
A. The Visitor

While the parish pastor is the bishop/visitor de jure divino, the
President of the Synod, the district presidents, and the circuit visitors
(counselors) are the bishops/visitors de jure humano.
In the administrative pyramid existing in the Missouri Synod, the
visitor (counselor) has taken the place as next in line to the district
president. The key person in the relationship of the circuit to the local
congregation has been, naturally, the visitor. Originally, the function
of the circuit visitor was a spiritual one. He was to be concerned with
the unity of faith and life in the congregations of the circuit. He had
the responsibility to assist and be accountable to the district president (who holds the office of ecclesiastical supervisor in the district)
in the supervision of doctrine and practice among the pastors and
teachers within his circuit.
As servants of the Word, visitors (representing the district president/ecclesiastical supervisor) bring the Word to bear upon given
circumstances, situations, and people. Thus great emphasis was
placed upon the qualifications and selection of such visitors/ecclesiastical supervisors in view of their gifts and experience of applying
the Word to given situations.
Visitation in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is circumscribed by the truth that Christ alone has the power in His kingdom
and Christ exercises His power through His Word. As the power in a
congregation does not rest in the pastor, the power in the Synod does
not rest in church government, in votes, or the Synod’’s elected visitors. As this is the very heart of the relationship between a pastor
and congregation, it is also the heart of the Synod’s polity, as evidenced in the relationship between the Synod and its members and
the relationship between ecclesiastical supervisors and those supervised. God’s Word is to rule—not the “visitor”! A congregation and
a synod have no pope(s)!
The Synod also expects a responsible exercise of ecclesiastical
supervision without any member, entity, agency, officer, board, or
commission meddling (1 Pet. 4:15; cf. 1 Pet. 5:2–3—“assigned portion”) in the responsibility of the ecclesiastical supervisor/visitor. In
the Synod’s polity, the office of visitation, ecclesiastical supervision,
is exercised only by those “called” (entrusted, charged) to do so and
not by vigilante groups and political forces (constituency), neither
public opinion nor public agitation.
B. The Nature and Function of Visitation

In his 1879 essay, “Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Synod,”
Walther indicated, “A Synod that is ‘faithful to the Confessions’ must
also ‘supervise the faithfulness of its members.’” In this convention
essay, Walther clearly bases the supervision polity of the Synod on
Scripture and the Confessions as well as the provision and practice
of the Early Church and the Reformation as evidenced by “churchvisitations,” “visitorial responsibility,” and the “true episcopal and
supervisory Office.”
In this essay, Walther stated, “However, for the welfare of the
church we set up a system of supervision. … The church must be
beautifully united by the bond of love; it must work together under
the best possible system of supervision.” Walther also quoted Gerhard,
“In our churches, however, we maintain a system of supervision
among church workers, … and we insist that such supervision must
be continued, so that there are ‘some bishops’ [supervisors], ‘some
presbyters’ [pastors], ‘some deacons’ etc. … The establishment of a