LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 303

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
submit a proposal to clarify and affirm or amend Article VI to the
next convention of Synod.”
(Adopted Feb. 10–11, 2012)

Implementation of New Synod Structure (11-2600)
In a letter received July 21, 2011, a member of the Synod submitted a series of questions regarding the restructuring that was taking place following the 2010 convention of the Synod, questions
prompted by articles in the Synod’s Reporter.
Question 1: The June 2011 issue of Reporter on page 3 indicates
that Rev. John Barton Day “will join the Synod staff…
as executive director of the church body’s new Life
Together department,” and later the article states, “The
executive director of Life Together is one of two new
executive-level positions created to support the LCMS
churchwide emphasis of WITNESS, MERCY, LIFE
TOGETHER,” and the article further states, “The other
position, executive director of Witness and Mercy—yet
to be filled—will oversee international missions.” Is this
(the above) in harmony with the Bylaws and resolutions of the 2010 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
convention?
Opinion: The Synod has historically recognized and has variously
defined “departments.” For example, corporate Synod includes in
Bylaw 1.2.1 (d) “…the departments operating under the supervision of the Board of Directors…” Bylaw 1.5.4 recognizes an “accounting department” while not specifically creating that entity.
The board of directors under Bylaw 3.3.4.5 is authorized to allocate
available funds to the “…mission boards, commissions, councils,
offices, and departments of corporate Synod…” Concordia Historical Institute, under Bylaw 3.6.2, is declared to be the “official
department of archives and history of the Synod,” and the Bylaws
recognize that colleges and universities will have various departments. Bylaw 4.1.1.3 contemplates the existence of a “Department
of Planning and Research,” and Bylaw 4.6.1 (a) contemplates a
“Department of Stewardship.” While the Synod itself has not created a “Life Together Department” and nothing in the Constitution
or Bylaws of the Synod provides for the creation of a new “Life
Together Department,” the creation of such a department is not expressly prohibited.
At its 2010 convention, the Synod created two new offices—the
Office of National Mission and the Office of International Mission.
Based upon information provided by LCMS President Matthew Harrison, Rev. Bart Day will head the Office of National Mission. With
respect to the use of the title “executive director,” Bylaw 1.2.1 (h)
defines such a position as the “top staff administrator of a mission
board or commission of corporate Synod.” The term has also been
employed in other contexts, however, consistent with the human resources policies of the Synod. As head of the Office of National
Mission, it is not inappropriate to use that title for Rev. Day.
With respect to the focus and emphasis of the Offices of National
Mission and International Mission, Bylaws 3.8.2.4 and 3.8.3.4 allocate responsibility for establishing that focus:
3.8.2.4 In carrying out its mission responsibilities, the Office of National Mission shall receive its primary focus from the mission
and ministry emphases developed triennially by the national
Synod in convention and from the policies developed and determined by the Board for National Mission…
3.8.3.4 In carrying out its mission responsibilities, the Office of International Mission shall receive its primary focus from the
mission and ministry emphases developed triennially by the
national Synod in convention and from the policies developed
and determined by the Board for International Mission…

303

It appears that the referenced Reporter article may have misunderstood the source and scope of an emphasis on WITNESS, MERCY,
and LIFE TOGETHER. The triennial emphasis for the Synod, as well
as for the Boards and Offices of National and International Mission,
must originate from a process which begins with congregations and
circuits and is to be finally determined by conventions of the Synod.
Because the 2010 convention adopted the structural changes described
in this opinion without having adopted a triennial emphasis before
adjournment, and because the newly established mission boards had
not yet had opportunity to organize themselves, the President of the
Synod took the lead in attempting to formulate for and on behalf of
the Synod such an emphasis for the national office for the current
triennium. Because of the responsibility of the two mission boards,
it is incumbent on the mission boards to take the lead in developing
a current mission emphasis, from which goals will be established
for the National and International Mission Offices, and from which
the mission boards will formulate policies embracing the triennial
emphases until the next convention has opportunity to develop new
mission and ministry emphases for the following triennium.
Question 2: The July 2011 issue of Reporter on page 3 speaks of
Rev. John Barton Day as “[the one who] will head the
Office of National Mission” and later in the article uses
the words “until a head is appointed” and then the article
goes on to speak of “leading the unit.” Are these terms
and references in harmony with the Bylaws of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod?
Opinion: As discussed above, it would be appropriate to refer to
Rev. Day as the executive director of the Office of National Mission.
Question 3: What is the correct title for the two top staff positions
for the Office of National Mission and the Office of
International Mission according to the Bylaws of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod?
Opinion: As described above, the top staff positions for the Office
of National Mission and the Office of International Mission may
be designated as the Executive Director of the Office of National
Mission and the Executive Director of the Office of International
Mission.
Question 4: The above cited issues of Reporter seem to indicate
that the appointment of Rev. John Barton Day to the
Office (“Department”? “Unit”?) of National Mission
and that the appointment, yet to be made, to the Office
(“Department”? “Unit”?) of International Mission was
and will be made by the President of the Synod. Does
the President of the Synod have the authority to NOT
create or NOT recognize an Office of National Mission
(and Office of International Mission) and, rather, create
a “department” or “unit” to take on the responsibilities of that office? Who has the authority to appoint/
call these two positions (executive directors of the
two offices) according to the Bylaws of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod? Does anyone other than
the Board for International Mission and the Board for
National Mission have the authority, according to the
Bylaws of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, to
make these appointments?
Opinion: Neither the President nor anyone else in the Synod has
authority to disregard or overrule actions of the convention. The
Office of National Mission and the Office of International Mission
were created by convention action. The President is charged with
the responsibility for seeing to it that the resolutions of the Synod
are carried out (Constitution, Art. XI B 4; Bylaw 3.3.1.1.1). This
2013 Convention Workbook