LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 235

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ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
2. Four ministers of religion—ordained elected at-large by the Synod in
convention
3. One minister of religion—commissioned elected at-large by the
Synod in convention
4. Up to three at-large laypersons appointed by the elected members of
the Board of Directors to obtain needed additional skill sets (legal,
financial, investment, administration, etc.)
5. The President and the Secretary of the Synod

With the exception of the President and Secretary of the Synod,
no more than one voting member from each category and no more
than two voting members total may be elected from any one district.
The First Vice-President of the Synod shall be a nonvoting member.
Central Illinois District
6-14

To Amend Bylaw for Filling Board
and Commission Vacancies
Whereas, Between conventions, vacancies arise on Synod boards
and commissions. Usually these vacancies are filled by the Synod
Board of Directors. Until 2004, lists of candidates for these vacant
positions were developed by a “three-member committee,” as it were,
consisting of the chair of the previous Synod convention’s nominating
committee, the Secretary of the Synod, and the Synod’s Director of
Human Resources—that is, a person with knowledge of the previous
convention’s nomination process, a national officer of the Synod, and
a staff person who knows the field of human resources. This arrangement served the Synod well for years; and
Whereas, With 2004 Res. 7-14, the Synod changed the pertinent bylaw to provide that the “three-member committee” consist
of the chairman and two other members of the previous Synod convention’s nominating committee—all three of whom were elected
to the nominating committee by only one district—with the proviso
that the Director of Human Resources be consulted in the work; and
Whereas, In 2010, the Synod abolished all its program boards,
creating two new mission boards, members of whom are not nominated by the nominating committee; and
Whereas, The nominating committee’s scope of responsibilities
has been reduced by the 2010 LCMS convention but its authority
in filling vacancies was increased by the 2004 LCMS convention;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the Missouri District memorialize the Synod to
amend Bylaw 3.2.5 to read as follows:
3.2.5 Unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws, vacancies that occur on elected boards or commissions of the Synod shall be filled by the
Board of Directors of the Synod.
(a) The Secretary of the Synod shall be responsible for gathering a list
of nominees from the board or commission where the vacancy occurs, the President of the Synod, the district boards of directors, and
the slate of candidates from the previous convention of the Synod
within 90 days of notification of the vacancy.
(b) A list of at least three but no more than five candidates shall be submitted as soon as possible to the appropriate appointing body.
(c) This list shall be determined by the Secretary of the Synod, the Synod’s Director of Human Resources, and the chairman and two members of the Committee for Convention Nominations as determined
by the committee. The Synod’s Director of Human Resources shall
be consulted in developing the candidate list.
(d) The appointing board may nominate from the floor before appointingnot amend the list of candidates.

Missouri District

235

6-15

To Amend Bylaw Procedure for Filling Vacancies
Rationale
Between conventions, vacancies arise on Synod boards and commissions. Usually these vacancies are filled by the Synod Board of
Directors. Until 2004, lists of candidates for these vacant positions
were developed by a “three-member committee,” as it were, consisting of the chair of the previous Synod convention’s nominating
committee, the Secretary of the Synod, and the Synod’s Director of
Human Resources—that is, a person with knowledge of the previous
convention’s nomination process, a national officer of the Synod, and
a staff person who knows the field of human resources. This arrangement served the Synod well for years.
With 2004 Res. 7-14, the Synod changed the pertinent bylaw to
provide that the “three-member committee” consist of the chairman
and two other members of the previous Synod convention’s nominating committee—each of the three of whom were elected to the
nominating committee by only one district—with the proviso that
the Director of Human Resources be consulted in the work. This
change may have seemed good on the surface since the Secretary is
also a member of the Board of Directors and the Director of Human
Resources is a non-elected staff member. However, the “three-member committee” simply proposes nominees. It does not actually
appoint them to office, so having the Director of Human Resources
as a member of this committee need not present a concern. Moreover,
the Synod’s Secretary can always recuse himself in any Board of
Directors vote. It should be noted, however, that the Synod does not
expect nominating committee members who are also voting delegates
at conventions to recuse themselves from participating in convention elections.
In 2010, the Synod abolished all of its program boards. It created
two new mission boards, but almost all of their members are elected
on the basis of regional nominations. None of the mission board members are to be nominated by nominating committee. Thus, the Synod
nominating committee is now processing far fewer board nominations than it has in the past. Whatever sense it made in 2004 for the
“three-member committee” to be composed entirely of nominating
committee members, it makes much less sense today.
This resolution would return to the previous composition of the
“three-member committee,” with the proviso that any appointing body
retains the standard parliamentary privilege of nominating from the
floor. Floor nominations help to ensure that minority voice(s) can
be heard. Moreover, floor nominations can become important when
unforeseen circumstances present themselves just before an appointment is to be made; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Carrollton Circuit Forum memorialize the
Synod to make Bylaw 3.2.5 read as follows:
3.2.5 Unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws, vacancies that occur on elected boards or commissions of the Synod shall be filled by the
Board of Directors of the Synod.
(a) The Secretary of the Synod shall be responsible for gathering a list
of nominees from the board or commission where the vacancy occurs, the President of the Synod, the district boards of directors, and
the slate of candidates from the previous convention of the Synod
within 90 days of notification of the vacancy.
(b) A list of at least three but no more than five candidates shall be submitted as soon as possible to the appropriate appointing body.
(c) This list shall be determined by the Secretary of the Synod, the Synod’s Director of Human Resources, and the chairman and two members of the Committee for Convention Nominations as determined
by the committeee. The Synod’s Director of Human Resources shall

2013 Convention Workbook