LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — September 15–16, 2017, Page 8

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80. Constitutionality of Proposed District Resolution (17-2851)
On behalf of a circuit forum, a member of the Synod submitted to the commission for its approval
an overture adopted by that circuit forum for presentation to the convention of that district.
The first resolved of the overture calls on the district to “return to limited terms for the District
President not to exceed three consecutive terms of three years.” The second resolved makes the
term limit effective with the 2018 convention.
The commission notes that Bylaw 4.7.5, as it deals with terms of office of district officers and
boards, states: “Limitations of tenure, if any, may be determined by a district.” Thus if a district
adopted a resolution to place in its bylaws a limitation of three consecutive terms for the office of
district president, as this overture suggests, that resolution would not be in conflict with the Bylaws
of the Synod.
However, the proposed overture adopted by the circuit forum does not provide any bylaw language
to which the commission could give its approval. To give its approval, the commission needs to
be provided with a proposed bylaw which incorporates this change and indicates how the current
bylaws will be altered.
Therefore, based on the information the commission has received, at this point, the commission
can only indicate that the proposed change to the bylaws advocated by the overture from the circuit
forum does not contradict the bylaws of the Synod.
81. Kansas District Articles and Bylaws (17-2844)
By an August 8, 2017, e-mail, the Secretary of the Kansas District forwarded his district’s proposed
bylaw revisions, together with the district’s Articles of Incorporation. The commission noted that
the articles contain neither the relationship nor the asset disposition language required under Bylaw
1.5.3.6 and 2016 Res. 9-02A. The district is reminded of the need for its articles to be revised,
under the commission’s review, in the current triennium. The noted district operations manual will
also need to be reviewed by the commission.
With respect to the bylaws, the commission noted the following:
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Bylaw III 1 a: “Chief executive” (Bylaw 4.4.1) is preferable to Chief Executive Officer,
which has corporate connotations carrying a certain breadth of power and relationship to
the Board of Directors. It is unclear what it means that he is responsible “for oversight of
all functions of the Board of Directors.” Perhaps it would be clearer to say that he is
responsible, “as top staff administrator, for oversight of staff carrying out the directives of
the Board of Directors.” The district may wish to compare the definitions of oversight and
supervision in LCMS Bylaw 1.2.1 “o” and “t” in consideration of a precise wording. Later,
“congregations and professional workers” would be better stated “congregations and
ordained and commissioned ministers.”
Bylaw III 1 b: The proper criterion for region membership is residence alone, without
regard to congregational membership in the region. “All officers and members of boards
shall be members of member congregations of the district and, when appropriate, residents
of designated regions during the course of their tenure” (LCMS Bylaw 4.3.3; Cf. LCMS
Bylaw 3.12.1 [b]).
Bylaw III 1 e: It should be noted that nomination and election of circuit visitors are “as
prescribed by the Bylaws of the Synod.”

CCM Minutes – September 15–16, 2017 – Page 66