LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 22–23, 2019, Page 2

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Question 3:

Whom do the bylaws empower to determine what constitutes domineering? Is this
something the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) defines? Is this
something Scripture defines? Does a panel decide this or individual District Presidents
and/or the President of Synod?

Opinion:
See Op. 18-2871. Ultimately, if there were to be a suspension and an appeal of the
suspension, it would be the hearing panel that would, after hearing the facts and considering them in light
of the Scriptures, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod
(Bylaw 2.14.7.8 [a]), make the determination as to whether or not the behavior alleged is demonstrated and
is grounds for expulsion under Const. Art. XIII 1. An opinion requested of the CTCR in such a process
must be followed (Bylaw 2.14.7.8 [k][4]).
Question 4:

Is what constitutes a substantial basis in Bylaw 2.13.2.1 to make the conclusions of (a), (b),
or (c) a determination made solely by the district president (unless a petition for review
requires a panel to make such a determination)? Is “substantial basis” really not a legal
term referencing the quality, quantity, or significance of evidence, nor a reference to any
Scriptural judicial requirements and precedents such as Deuteronomy 19: 15–21 or 1
Timothy 5: 19–21?

Opinion:

See Op. 18-2871, responses to questions 1 and 2.

Question 5:

Article XIII of the constitution mentions “offensive conduct.” Do the bylaws define what
is meant by “offensive conduct”? If not, who defines what constitutes “offensive conduct”?
Does 2001 Res. 7-17 (recognizing Walther’s Church and Ministry as “the definitive
statement under Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions of the Synod’s understanding
on the subject of church and ministry,” “the official position of the LCMS”) have any place
in these opinions on restricted status or any effect on these bylaws? In particular does not
Thesis X state that “laymen have this right, and for this reason they also have a seat and
vote with the preachers in church courts and councils”? Thesis IX speaks of a pastor not
dominating over the Church by making new laws, arranging ceremonies arbitrarily, or
imposing excommunication alone but does insist on “unconditional obedience” when “the
preacher is ministering the Word of God.” This ties to Thesis X because it deals with
judging whether something is indeed doctrine and should be obeyed or is in truth
domineering.

Opinion:
Ultimately each case is unique, and the determination would be made by a hearing panel
if, after an investigation, a district president suspended a member and that member appealed the suspension.
The panel would reach its determination on the basis of the facts established in light of the Scriptures, the
Lutheran Confessions, and the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod (Bylaw 2.14.7.8 [a]).
Asked in 1972 “to define what constitutes ‘persistence in an offensive conduct’ referred to in Article XIII
of the Constitution,” the commission ruled: “It is not the responsibility of the Commission on Constitutional
Matters, but of others—District Presidents, Commissions of Adjudication, and the Board of Appeals [now,
Bylaw section 2.14–17 hearing panels]—to decide what constitutes ‘persistence in offensive conduct’ in
specific instances and to determine whether offensive conduct has taken place and whether it has been
persistent” (Ag. 371, Sept. 22–23, 1972). A later commission wrote (Op. 98-2130; cf. Ag. 2014 B, Oct. 22,
1995): “The ‘offensive conduct’ of Article XIII may therefore be understood to include an array of
misbehaviors, bearing in mind that ‘giving offense’ according to the Scriptures includes any serious matter
which causes a fellow Christian to stumble in his or her faith (2 Cor. 6:3; 1 Cor. 10:32).”
Question 6:

Does not 2001 Res. 7-17 mean that the panel of Bylaw 2.13.3.2 (a) that is making
judgments on the ministry of a pastor should include laymen?

Opinion:
Such a panel is not a “church court or council,” but an administrative hearing in which
ecclesiastical supervisors from other districts review the decision of one of their peers that a substantial
CCM Minutes – March 22–23, 2019 – Page 150