LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 2, 2007, Page 3

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Opinion: Bylaw 3.3.1.3(k), in discussing the powers of the President, states:
He shall be authorized in the event that the affairs of the Synod require the exercise of
executive power for a purpose for which there is no specific directive of the Synod, to
exercise such after consultation with the vice-presidents, the Board of Directors of the
Synod, or the Council of Presidents, whichever in his judgment is most appropriate. Any
member of the Synod shall have the right to appeal such action to the Commission on
Constitutional Matters and/or the Synod in convention, whichever is appropriate.
Bylaw 3.3.1.2 requires that the President oversee the activities of all officers, executives and agencies of
the Synod to see to it that they are acting in accordance with the Constitution, Bylaws and resolutions of
the Synod. The Commission has previously held that, in fulfilling these responsibilities, “[t]he President
may exercise executive power in the absence of a specific directive of the Synod should affairs of the
Synod require it in his opinion after appropriate consultation with the vice-presidents, Board of Directors,
or Council of Presidents of the Synod” (06-2462). In the absence of other provisions to carry out the
terms of vacating an office under Bylaw 1.5.12.1, should a board pass a resolution identifying the reasons
for the vacating of a position of one of its members serving on such board pursuant to Bylaw 1.5.12.1(b)
(5), appropriately documenting that such member engaged and continues to engage in inappropriate
action detrimental to the Synod and its agencies, the President pursuant to Bylaw 3.3.1.3, after
consultation with the Board of Directors and/or the Council of Presidents, and/or the vice presidents, may
choose to exercise his executive power to vacate the position on the board held by such member.
It should also be noted that, in lieu of exercising such authority, a President may instead choose to
exercise his constitutional authority under Article XI B in supervising the administration of officers of the
Synod by submitting appropriate matters between conventions of the Synod to a written vote of its
member congregations as provided in Article XI B 8:
When matters arise between meetings of the Synod in convention which are of such a
nature that action thereon cannot be delayed until the next convention, the President is
authorized to submit them to a written vote of the member congregations of the Synod
only after full and complete information regarding the matter has been sent to member
congregations by presidential letter and has been published in an official publication of
the Synod. If such matters are related to the business affairs of the Synod, such a vote
shall be conducted only after the President has consulted with the synodical Board of
Directors. In all cases at least one-fourth of the member congregations must register their
vote.
178. Bylaw 1.10.1.1 and Conflict Resolution Procedures (06-2482)
A member of the Synod in an E-mailed letter dated August 24, 2006, submitted the following series of
questions to the Commission regarding Bylaw 1.10.1.1: "The Synod, in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 6, calls
upon all parties to a disagreement, accusation, controversy, or disciplinary action to rely exclusively and
fully on the Synod'
s system of reconciliation and conflict resolution. The use of the Synod'
s conflict
resolution procedures shall be the exclusive and final remedy for those who are in dispute."
Question 1A: Can a member of a congregation of the LCMS holding a position within the Synod itself
avail and/or be subject to the dispute resolution process of the Synod?
Opinion: Bylaw 1.10.2 indicates that the dispute resolution process is the exclusive process, subject to the
exceptions provided by Bylaw 1.10.3, to resolve disputes involving as parties “(1) members of the Synod,
(2) the Synod itself, (3) a district or an organization owned and controlled by the Synod, (4) persons
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