LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — April 6–7, 2018, Page 12

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constitutional officers (secretary, vice-presidents) need to be treated specially, as well. These are
not simply “district staff.”
Under Bylaw 2.5.3, it may be helpful to note that the (voting) representation of each congregation
is as specified in LCMS Bylaw 5.3.2.
The term “circuit counselor” needs to be changed to “circuit visitor” in Bylaws 3.1.4, 4.5.1, 5.1 and
5.4.1.
In Bylaw 3.1.1, the word rostered may be less susceptible to misunderstanding than professional.
In Bylaws 3.3.2–3 and 5.5.1, while the district president is nominated from the clergy roster of the
Synod, the vice-presidents and Secretary are nominated from the clergy roster of the district.
Bylaws 3.3.4 and 3.3.10 conflict with regard to the possibility of floor nominations for regional
vice-presidents.
In Bylaw 3.4.6, the ranking of the vice-presidents should be conducted as specified in LCMS Bylaw
3.12.2.7 (g), “by separate ballots with a simple majority of voting delegates determining the second,
third, [etc.] in succession.”
In Bylaw 5.5.2, the Secretary’s duties should include or reference, in addition, those items included
in the Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws.
With regard to Bylaw section 5.7, the responsibility for the financial affairs of the district rests
natively with the board of directors. While administrative responsibilities may be delegated
instrumentally to the district president, they may not be finally so delegated, and the board must
take care not to overburden the district president with administrative and fiscal responsibilities, to
the detriment of his primary ecclesiastical duties.

The district is thanked for its cooperation with the review process. Presuming the above changes are made
to the proposal, the commission gives its approval for presentation to the convention and requests a clean
copy of the bylaws as adopted by the convention.
154. Minnesota South District Articles and Bylaws Resubmission (17-2831A)
The Secretary of the Minnesota South District, in response to the commission’s previous review, submitted,
by a February 22 e-mail, a new edition of his district’s proposed amendments to its articles and bylaws. The
commission finds its previous concerns to have been satisfactorily addressed, with the exception of the
following:
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Bylaw 4.2.15.2 still seems to pose congregational membership and not residence as the criterion
for region membership. The phrase “from its region” may more clearly read “with residence in its
region,” although the district may well understand the existing wording in this sense. In the phrase
“members of member congregations of the district or region,” the words “or region” should be
removed. In either case, LCMS Bylaw 4.3.1, one of the “primary bylaws of the district,” governs
here.
In Bylaws 4.5.16, the inclusion of “full-time assistants to the district president, chaplains, and others
under the immediate direction of the board of directors” into a bylaw intended to deal only with
officers is confusing, especially with the addition of the subsequent comment “Non-rostered
workers are considered at will employees, etc.” In the Bylaws of the Synod, officers may be
removed for cause; staff serve “at the pleasure of the appointing authorities” (LCMS Bylaw 3.11).
If the district wishes to present a procedure for removal of staff for cause, the commission
recommends that the district do so in a separate bylaw.

With the above change made, the commission approves the district’s articles and bylaws for presentation
to the convention. The district is thanked for its cooperation in the review process (and especially for the
clear and very helpful presentation of the changes made in response to the commission’s previous review)
and is asked to submit a clean copy of its articles and bylaws, as adopted by the convention, for the
commission’s files.
CCM Minutes – April 6–7, 2018 – Page 119