LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 10–11, 2017, Page 4

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Question 3:

Is there any other authority in the Synod (district convention, Synod convention, etc.) that
can approve a congregation’s transfer between districts, other than the district boards of
directors, or any mechanism of review that could compel a district board of directors to
revise its decision in such a matter?

Opinion: The Constitution and Bylaws of Synod make no provision for any means of transfer of a
congregation from one district to another except through the request of the congregation and the approvals
of the boards of directors of both the district wherein the congregation currently is a member and the district
to which the congregation requests a transfer.
While normally this is a simple administrative matter subject to the approval of the respective boards of
directors, a transfer from one district to another depends upon the good judgment and good will of all
involved, including the respective district presidents, the congregation, and the districts’ boards of directors.
The commission notes two possibilities for a congregation that feels it has been inappropriately denied a
transfer:
1. While Bylaw 4.1.1.4 gives authority over transfers to district boards of directors, the objectives of
the Synod and the reasons for Synod’s formation of districts do provide a basis for such decisions
to be made, for the benefit of congregation(s) involved. A congregation that disagreed substantively
with its district board of directors’ decision not to release it to another district might seek to resolve
the disagreement through Synod’s dispute resolution process (Bylaw section 1.10). However,
Bylaw 4.1.1.4 presumes that reasonable discretion is allowed to the boards of directors involved.
Pursuit of reconciliation through the Bylaw section 1.10 process is itself a proper goal. In order for
such a process to decide the matter, however (e.g., to compel the board of directors to grant
transfer), a substantive case would have to be presented, basing the decision on how membership
in one district or another best serves the objectives of the Synod in relation to the congregation(s)
involved.
2. Should a district board of directors deny the request of a congregation to transfer to another district,
the congregation may petition the district convention, by way of an overture, to direct its district’s
board of directors to approve the transfer. Should the request be frustrated, the congregation’s last
recourse would be, similarly, to the convention of the Synod.
99. Council of Presidents Circuit Visitor’s Manual Review (17-2860)
By a Nov. 3 e-mail, the Clergy Call and Roster Committee of the Council of Presidents submitted a draft
of the 2017 Circuit Visitor’s Manual, a policy manual, for review. The commission noted the following
points where further attention may be required:
•

On p. 8 (in the red-lined edition): in the paragraph beginning “All organized congregations…”,
“cast by a pastor” should read “cast by the pastor.”

•

On p. 12, “The Circuit may determine how many additional representatives a congregation may
send.” It should be clarified that these additional representatives, however, have no vote in matters
assigned to the circuits by the Bylaws of the Synod.

•

On p. 21, a reference to the 2012 Circuit Visitors’ Manual should be corrected.

•

On p. 43, the citation Bylaw 4.4.3 [e] needs to be updated to include part-time service.

•

On p. 50, under 2 a, a general reference to the files of the district office or district secretary might
be in order (Bylaw 2.4.2), not necessarily the file of the district’s committee on constitutional
matters.

•

On p. 54, provisions that the interim pastor is “not eligible for the call” and that a former pastor
“may not remain a member” are unenforceable. (See also pp. 194 and 226.)

CCM Minutes – November 10–11, 2017 – Page 77