LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 6–7, 2010, Page 11

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3.9.2.2.2 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall be represented at the meetings of national
convention floor committees considering constitution and bylaw matters to ensure that they are
in accord with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod.
3.9.2.2.3 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall examine the articles of incorporation, bylaws,
and policy manuals of every agency of the Synod to ascertain whether they are in harmony with
the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod.
(a) Agencies intending to make amendments to articles of incorporation or bylaws shall
make such intentions known and receive approval from the commission in advance.
(b) The commission shall maintain a file of the articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policy
manuals of all agencies of the Synod.
[Appendix B]
BYLAW 3.9.2.2 (c) GUIDELINES
Overtures may be submitted to a convention of the Synod requesting the overturn of a formal opinion of
the Commission on Constitutional Matters. Floor committees assigned such overtures must consider them
in light of the provisions set forth in Bylaw 3.9.2.2 (c):
(c) An opinion rendered by the commission shall be binding on the question decided unless and
until it is overruled by a convention of the Synod. Overtures to a convention that seek to overrule
an opinion of the commission shall support the proposed action with substantive rationale from the
Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod. All such overtures shall be considered by the
floor committee to which they have been assigned and shall be included in a specific report to the
convention with recommendations for appropriate action.

In order to assist floor committees receiving such assignments, the commission respectfully offers the
following background and information outlining how, based on substantive rationale, the commission
arrives at its opinions.
1. Understanding the Role of the Commission on Constitutional Matters and its Responsibility
for Interpretation
Dr. C.F.W. Walther stated in his 1879 essay, “Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Synod,”
presented to the first Iowa District convention: “Therefore, anyone who joins a synod knows in
advance: ‘I am now becoming a member of an organization that is charged with the responsibility
of supervising church affairs; I am also joining an organization that operates with a specific
system of regulations [Ordnung], for without regulations it could not exist’” (Essays for the
Church, C.F.W. Walther, Vol. II, CPH, 1992).
Through the delegation of responsibilities, the members of the Synod carry out what they
themselves decide, which is expressed and set forth in the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions. Historically, the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) has been responsible
for providing the important service of interpretation of the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions, thereby assisting the members of the Synod in carrying out in a fitting and orderly
manner the Synod’s “church affairs” through its “system of regulations.”

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