LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 28–March 1, 2014, Page 5

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the Secretary of the Synod to the President of the Synod for appointment and subsequent
ratification by the council.”
Chapter 3, Section 3.5: Part II C, paragraph (a): The words “in pastoral responsibilities” is
contrary to the position of the Synod regarding the service of laypersons and should be removed
from this paragraph.
Chapter 3, Section 3.8: Paragraph 6 should be restated to reflect current Bylaw 1.5.2 (b) (4) which
charges the Board of Directors of the Synod with the responsibility for establishing policy for the
acceptance of gifts.
Chapter 3, Section 3.9.1: The Bylaws of the Synod do not speak of “certification” (as in the first
and second resolve paragraphs) but of graduates being “declared qualified.” In addition, the first
whereas paragraph contradicts Bylaw 2.7.4 which does not speak of recertification but of annual
interviews without limitation to ascertain that seminary graduates remain qualified. Note that it
will also be necessary to check with the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry to
determine whether the time limitations in the second resolve paragraph are accurate.
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.1: An additional sentence should be added to the words already in
[brackets] at the end of the second paragraph, as follows: “Where a bylaw or a Standard
Operating Procedures Manual is referenced, the mandatory nature of bylaws and official
procedures manuals is not negated by their mention in these ‘guidelines.’”
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.1: At the beginning of the first sentence of paragraph IV A, if appointing
advocates is a good and important idea, the commission suggests that such appointments should
not hinge on resources being available.
Chapter 7, Section 7.3.1: The position titles listed are not solely and exclusively “active member”
position titles, since some of the positions may also be held by emeritus members (e.g., vicepresidents, circuit visitors, etc.).
Chapter 9, Section 9.1.4: Under the subsection, “Understanding of the Synod,” the COP should
consider adding to both paragraphs the additional thought that such appointments or contracts
should be regarded as calls “for the purposes of the Synod’s roster.”
Chapter 9, Section 9.1.4: Under the subsection “3. Temporary Service to Congregations,” the
requirement that a congregation be governed by guidelines for vacancy pastors impinges upon the
principle of congregational self-governance and will need to be changed.
Chapter 10, Section 10.2.1: The third bullet paragraph under “The Call” should note that this is
“for the purposes of the Synod’s roster,” as in 9.1.4 above.
Chapter 11, Section 11.1: The commission notes that the Internet links in this section are no
longer operative.
Chapter 14, Section 14.1: The content of subsection 4 will need to be re-evaluated in light of
2013 Res. 5-04B “To Continue and Strengthen Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program.”
Chapter 15, Section 15.2: Use of the terminology “regular call” in the fourth paragraph is
inconsistent with the language used in the Synod’s Constitution (Art. VI 3). This entire section
should be submitted to the Commission on Theology and Church Relations for review of its
theology and terminology.
Chapter 15, Section 15.3: The last major paragraph of this section, whereby the licensed deacon is
inducted into office “on behalf of…The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod” creates a liability
issue for the Synod. The Synod as a whole has nothing to do with choosing and licensing
individual deacons. Deacons are licensed by district presidents (which in turn creates additional
liability issues).

CCM Minutes – Feb. 28–March 1, 2014 – Page 11