LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 22–23, 2019, Page 3

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basis exists for an investigative hold or “restriction” on a rostered worker. The Synod in convention, in
which member congregations are represented equally by pastors and lay delegates, has set forth the
procedure of Bylaw 3.12.3.2 to evaluate petitions for removal of restricted status. This is not in conflict
with Synod’s position in Church and Ministry.
196. Board for International Mission Ends Policy Review (18-2897)
By a letter of Sept. 10, 2018, the chairman of the Board for International Mission forwarded his board’s
ends policies, as adopted Oct. 5, 2017, for review by the commission under Bylaw 3.9.2.2.3. The
commission finds the policies to be in harmony with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod
and thanks the board and its chairman for the opportunity to review its policies, as well as for the board’s
significant and fruitful effort, spanning the past several years, to elaborate and to fulfill its proper role in
the post-2010 Synod structure.
197. Board for National Mission Policy Review (18-2898)
By an e-mail of Nov. 27, 2018, the chairman of the Board for National Mission forwarded his board’s
policies for review by the commission under Bylaw 3.9.2.2.3. The commission finds the policies, structured
along the lines of Synod’s seven mission priorities, to be in harmony with the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod and thanks the board and its chairman for the opportunity to review its policies, as
well as for the board’s significant and fruitful effort, spanning the past several years, to elaborate and to
fulfill its proper role in the post-2010 Synod structure.
198. Appointment of Pastoral Delegate by District President (19-2906)
A district president faced with a necessity of appointing a replacement voting pastoral delegate for the 2019
Synod convention posed the following situation: An electoral circuit, consisting of two triple-congregation
parishes and four others, duly elected eligible pastoral and lay delegates and alternates for the 2019
convention. Since the time of the circuit forum, the pastoral delegate has developed a medical issue and the
alternate is also unable to attend the convention, necessitating the appointment of an alternate delegate by
the district president (Bylaw 3.1.2.1 [j]). The availability of the circuit’s remaining pastors to attend the
convention is such that the only option for appointment of an alternate delegate is a pastor of a congregation
or parish already providing the circuit’s lay delegate. This prompts the following questions:
Question 1:

Can the district president, acting under Bylaw 3.1.2.1 (j), appoint as a pastoral delegate a
pastor whose congregation or parish is also providing the lay delegate, such that both the
elected lay delegate and the appointed pastoral delegate may serve, Bylaws 3.1.2.1 (d)(3),
(e), (e)(3), (f), (f)(3), (g), and (h) notwithstanding?

Opinion:
It is important at the outset to recognize that the system set forth in Bylaw 3.1.2.1, as a
whole, is designed to fairly ensure a breadth of representation from the circuits. Hence, those congregations
whose pastor has been chosen as a pastoral delegate are thereby excluded from consideration in the election
of any other voting delegate during this process (see Bylaw 3.1.2.1 [d][3]). Similarly, during the election
of lay delegates from the remaining eligible congregational nominees, selection of any individual nominee
as lay delegate precludes consideration of other nominees from that congregation in the selection and supply
of alternate delegates under this process of election (see Bylaw 3.1.2.1 [e][3]). Finally, the election of a
pastor as alternate pastoral delegate renders the congregation(s) he serves ineligible for consideration in
election of alternate lay delegates.
All of the foregoing speaks only to the process of election of pastoral and lay delegates under Bylaw 3.1.2.1.
It is not explicitly and fully determinative of what may take place where an individual delegate is unable to
serve and a vacancy must be filled. Authority is granted by Bylaw 3.1.2.1 (j) to the district president to fill
such a vacancy. This is in order to ensure that the circuit’s right to representation, as the circuit took all
necessary steps to secure by the due and timely election of delegates and alternates, is protected and
preserved. The filling of the vacancy is not an election.
CCM Minutes – March 22–23, 2019 – Page 151