LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 3–4, 2017, Page 6

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payment in the Concordia Plans are, likewise, settled by its own Board of Trustees
(Bylaw 3.7.1.4 [f]).
d. The Synod’s dispute resolution process (Bylaw section 1.10) applies to disputes when
they have as parties: members of the Synod; corporate Synod or an agency of the
Synod; members of congregations challenging the procedure used in their
excommunication; or members of congregations of the Synod elected or appointed to
positions with the LCMS Board of Directors or an agency of the Synod (Bylaw 1.10.2).
If the process applies to both complainant and respondent, and to the type of dispute at
hand (Bylaws 1.10.2–3), the complainant shall consult his / her / its ecclesiastical
supervisor as to how to proceed under the Bylaw section 1.10 dispute resolution
process.
e. Other disputes, to which the dispute resolution process does not apply to both parties
involved, may be investigated and mediated by the district president (Bylaws 4.4.4–
4.4.6) or, within a circuit, by the circuit visitor as his representative and at his request
(Bylaw 5.2.3 [i]).
A president or board of regents of a college, university, or seminary of the Synod receiving a
“complaint or accusation” will consider the following in determining which bylaw procedure is
applicable:
1. An accusation consists of information that “could lead to the expulsion of a member from the
Synod under Article XIII of the Constitution” (consult Constitution Articles XIII 1, VI 1–5,
and II; and relevant Bylaws, especially Bylaw sections 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, and 2.1; and Bylaws 2.14.1
and 2.17.1).
“Any person connected with an institution who is a member of Synod shall also remain under
the ecclesiastical supervision of the Synod” (Bylaw 3.10.6.7.5.2). The president of the
geographical district in which the school is located is the ecclesiastical supervisor of members
of the Synod who serve a college, university, or seminary of the Synod (Bylaw 2.12.1.5). He
is to be informed immediately of the accusation. He may act immediately upon the accusation
or may wait for the results of an on-campus investigation and / or hearing (cf. Bylaw 3.10.5.7.9
[g]).
Should a faculty member be removed from the roster of Synod, Bylaws 3.10.5.7.8 and
3.10.6.7.5.1 indicate that such a member is also considered removed from the position held,
and is to be terminated forthwith by the board of regents.
An accusation may also entail a complaint or a dispute—that is, a reason for the board of
regents also (and perhaps simultaneously) initiating procedures under (2) and (3), below. That
is, a faculty member may be terminated for a cause that might result in expulsion from the
Synod before that expulsion can be carried out.
2. A faculty or administration complaint deals with a dispute, disagreement, or offense having to
do with an individual’s faculty or administration campus responsibilities, whether the
complainant is part of, or not part of, the educational institution. If such a complaint entails or
uncovers circumstances (e.g., conduct unbecoming a Christian or advocacy of false doctrine)
that could result in an accusation, these must be conveyed to the appropriate ecclesiastical
supervisor.
a. In the case of a seminary, the complaint shall be handled under Bylaws 3.10.5.7.5–9
and the corresponding Standard Operating Procedure Manual. The decision of the
board of regents in such a case is final; that is, there is no access to the Synod’s dispute
resolution process in such matters.
CCM Minutes – February 3-4, 2017 – Page 25