LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — September 3-4, 2011, Page 39

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(n) Party to the matter: A “party to the matter” is the accuser and the accused. Carrying out the
responsibility of ecclesiastical supervision does not make the ecclesiastical supervisor a party to the
matter, even if the accuser is the ecclesiastical supervisor.
(o) Persons involved: “Persons involved” includes the accuser or whoever brings the matter to the
attention of the ecclesiastical supervisor; also any parties to whom the matter is presented and who
are required to thoroughly investigate whether the allegations can be substantiated, i.e., any
ecclesiastical supervisor involved in the case, the accused, the Hearing Panel, the Final Hearing
Panel, a witness or advisor, or any others involved in the matter.
(p) Publicity: Any information or action, whether written, oral, or visual, that brings a person, cause,
or an alleged accusation to public notice, including information that results in public notice, whether
or not the person or persons delivering it gave approval to the bringing of the information to public
notice.
(q) Reconciliation Committee: A small committee appointed by the ecclesiastical supervisor (prior
to the determination whether or not to proceed to assist in reconciliation efforts) if the matter
warrants it.
(r) Referral Panel: A panel that may be formed of three circuit counselors or district presidents, who
shall be selected according to these bylaws to determine, according to the facts learned from the
investigation, whether or not to proceed.
(s) Statement of the matter: A written concise statement containing factual assertions involved in an
accusation with a request for expulsion from membership.
(t) Witness: A person called to give testimony regarding facts to a matter before a Hearing Panel or
Final Hearing Panel. A member of any reconciliation committee appointed by a district president or
the President of the Synod shall not testify as a witness before a Hearing Panel or a Final Hearing
Panel in the same matter or case.

D. Parties to the Matter: The parties to a matter in the Bylaw section 2.15 process are the accuser
and the accused. An ecclesiastical supervisor is not a party to the matter, even if he is the accuser.
A member congregation bringing forward information or allegations shall be represented by its
chairman or a designated member of the congregation. The congregation shall have identified and
authorized its representative prior to his/her signing of a formal complaint.
E. Filing a Complaint: In all cases under Bylaw section 2.15, the right to file a signed and dated
formal written complaint is limited to members of the Synod. The ecclesiastical supervisor may
also act based upon “his own personal knowledge.”
F. Required Consultation: Prior to any formal written complaint or accusation, when any person is
aware of information or facts that could lead to the expulsion of an individual member from the
Synod under Article XIII of the Constitution, the person shall consult with the appropriate
ecclesiastical supervisor to seek advice, direction, and spiritual ministry as the needs and
circumstances dictate. The purpose of the consultation will be to provide opportunity (1) for the
accuser to receive advice, direction, and spiritual ministry from an ecclesiastical supervisor; (2)
for the ecclesiastical supervisor to inform the ecclesiastical supervisor of the accused (or other
appropriate official) that a consultation is underway; (3) for the ecclesiastical supervisor to
consult with others; (4) for the ecclesiastical supervisor of the accuser to obtain opinions from the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations and/or the Commission on Constitutional
Matters; (5) for the ecclesiastical supervisor of the accuser to make certain that a face-to-face
meeting has taken place between the accuser and the accused (Matthew 18:15); (6) for the
persons involved to receive evangelical supervision, counsel, and care; (7) for the ecclesiastical
supervisor, in consultation with the ecclesiastical supervisor of the accused, to appoint a small
committee to assist in reconciliation efforts; and (8) for the ecclesiastical supervisor to fulfill the
Synod’s requirement for previous admonition (Constitution, Art. XIII).

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