LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — April 1–2, 2016, Page 8

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Article III, Section B, paragraph c of Bylaw 3.2.9: The parenthetical “(pastor)” remains in this
paragraph although the commission had already advised that it should be removed. In the
nomenclature of the Synod, “pastor” is generally understood to be “parish pastor.” An inactive
ordained minister is not a parish pastor. In addition, however, the commission also recognizes
that this specific district bylaw provision is redundant with and confuses the intent of Synod
Bylaw 4.3.3 and could/should just be deleted altogether.
Article III, Section B, paragraph a of Bylaw 3.601: This bylaw is mistaken in including first vicepresident nominations under the requirement that they be from the clergy roster of the Synod.
Synod Bylaw 4.3.1 provides that vice-president nominations are to be from the clergy roster of
the district. Paragraph a will therefore better read: “a. Nominations for these two offices are made
by each member congregation of the district. Congregations shall be entitled to nominate from the
clergy roster of the Synod two candidates for president and from the clergy roster of the district
two candidates for first vice-president.”
Article III, Section B, paragraph d of Bylaw 3.603: This paragraph should use the word “elected”
rather than “selected” to be consistent with Synod nomenclature (see bullet 4 above).

159. Service of CUS Faculty Members on Boards of the Synod and Its Agencies (16-2783)
With a January 13, 2016 email, an ordained minister of the Synod submitted a question regarding the
service of a faculty member from a Concordia University System (CUS) institution serving on the board
of regents of another CUS institution. The commission offered the following response.
Question:

Considering the possible conflict of interest or relevant bylaws, may a faculty member from
one Concordia University System school serve on the board of regents of another CUS
institution?

Opinion: This question has already been addressed by bylaw and by convention and by the Commission
on Constitutional Matters in the past. In response to an earlier request for an opinion, the commission
concluded that there was nothing explicit in the Bylaws at the time that prevented the then-president of
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, from serving on the Board for Mission Services (May,
1983). The commission was asked to reconsider its conclusion based upon another bylaw, but after
review, the commission did not change its opinion (December, 1983).
The commission again reviewed this issue when the question of eligibility was raised in light of the
designation of the president of a seminary or college as an executive officer of the board of regents. The
commission interpreted the term “executive” to mean a staff person of a board or commission directly
responsible to a board or commission of the Synod as created according to then-Bylaw 2.67 e, and such
other officers or positions as are created by the Bylaws which would constitute an executive staff for a
board or commission such as designated by then-Bylaw 6.03 a. Pursuant to paragraph h of Bylaw 2.67,
the commission ruled that such executives “shall not be members of the board or commission under
which they serve or of any other board or commission of the Synod.” The commission also reviewed
Bylaw 2.67 k and interpreted the word “staff” to be limited to only those staff positions as defined above.
In 1986, the Synod adopted Res. 5-05, thereby amending Bylaw 2.6.7, with paragraph h now to read:
“Unless otherwise specified or permitted by the Bylaws, executives, faculty, and staff on either the
national or district level shall not be members of the boards or commissions under which they serve or of
any other board of the Synod, as identified in Bylaws 2.53 and 2.55.” In addition, the resolution added
Bylaw 2.212 to entitle the board of regents of each seminary “to designate a representative on the Board
for Mission Services to serve as an advisory member.”
In 1989, the Synod convention further revisited the issue (Res. 5-01) and amended then-Bylaw 3.69 h to
read, “Unless otherwise specified or permitted by the Bylaws, executives, faculty, and staff on either the

CCM Minutes – April 1–2, 2016 – Page 122