LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — January 28, 2004, Page 11

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

8. But this time the District President places the pastor on suspended status for
reasons X, the very same reasons for which he originally placed the pastor on
restricted status.
Opinion: A District President may place on restricted status an individual member of the Synod under his
ecclesiastical supervision for reasons given in Bylaw 2.23 a. Restricted status continues for one year or a
lesser period if the matter is satisfactorily resolved (Bylaw 2.23 c). Restricted status may also be
extended, successfully appealed, or discontinued by the District President (Bylaw 2.23 c and d), or it may
become suspended status at the commencement of formal proceedings that may lead to the member’s
expulsion from the Synod (Bylaw 2.25 a).
Failure of the Council of Presidents to decide the matter within the prescribed six months is contrary to
the bylaw and therefore a matter of concern. However, the sequence of actions by the District President as
described meet the requirements of the bylaw.
Question 2:

After a District President has voluntarily dropped restricted status following the failure of
the Council of Presidents to hear its appeal in a fair and timely way, can the same District
President then change his mind and place the same pastor on suspended status for the same
charges as he originally placed the pastor under restricted status?

Opinion: Restricted status is a discretionary action of a District President. If he decides that a restriction
is no longer useful or appropriate, he may decide to lift it. If he finds at a later date that the conditions
provided by Bylaw 2.23 a continue to exist, he may restore the restricted status or he may decide to
commence action to terminate membership, thereby placing the member on suspended status. In cases in
which the member is on restricted status when formal Bylaw 2.27 suspension proceedings are
commenced, restricted status becomes suspended status (Bylaw 2.25 a).
Question 3:

Is it possible for the Council of Presidents to hear charges against a pastor on suspended
status in a fair and timely manner after the Council of Presidents has already failed to hear
these very same charges in a fair and timely manner while the pastor was on restricted
status?

Opinion: This question is based upon a misunderstanding. The Council of Presidents does not hear
charges against a pastor on suspended status. When a member of the Synod is placed on suspended status
and desires to have the matter heard and resolved, a Dispute Resolution Panel is formed to hear the matter
following the process described in Chapter VIII of the Bylaws. The Dispute Resolution Panel and not the
Council of Presidents hears and resolves the matter (Bylaw 2.27 c).
Question 4:

Bylaw 2.29 e states that in an appeal of restricted status, “The decision of the hearing panel
shall be the decision of the COP and shall be final with no right of appeal.” After the COP
has ruled on an appeal of charges placed against a pastor on restricted status, may a District
President then circumvent the finality of this decision of the COP by placing the pastor on
suspended status for the same charges?

Opinion: Restricted status and suspended status are two different actions. Even if the Council of
Presidents were to remove a member’s restricted status, the involved District President may begin
proceedings for the expulsion of the member from the Synod if he concludes that the same facts that led
him to place the member on restricted status form a basis for such expulsion under Article XIII of the
Constitution (Bylaw 2.27 c). The commencement of formal Bylaw 2.27 proceedings places the member
on suspended status (Bylaw 2.25 a).

173