LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — April 24, 2020, Page 2

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Question 2:

Is it allowable (considering especially but not only Bylaw 1.5.1.2 and the precedent of
CCM Op. 03-2340 and 12-2662) for the Board of Directors to designate one of its own
members to serve as its representative?

Opinion:
It is allowable, since the individual in question is not an appointed or elected member of
that board to which he or she is designated as a representative. That individual is simply representing the
Board of Directors, which possesses the position.
CCM Op. 03-2340, which answered what may appear to be a similar question in the negative, does not
apply to this situation because that opinion was referencing a case in which the Board of Directors was
appointing someone to fill a vacant elected or appointed position. In that instance the position did not belong
to the Board of Directors per se, as in the current situation.
Question 3:

Is it allowable for the Board of Directors to designate any suitably qualified member of a
member congregation of the Synod, other than the above, to serve as its representative? To
what extent do Bylaws 1.5.1.1 and 1.5.1.2 apply to such persons?

Opinion:
answers.

Yes; Bylaws 1.5.1.1 and 1.5.1.2 do not apply in regard to this designation. See above

Question 4:

Is it allowable within the meaning of “the representative designated” for the Board of
Directors to designate, with regard to a single board position, more than one individual,
with the intention of them serving on an as-available or rotating basis, or does the sense of
the bylaw require designation of no more than one individual to a given position at any
given time?

Opinion:
It is allowable. While appointed and/or elected membership to a board is for a specified
term, this is not the case for an individual who has been designated as the representative of the one who
possesses the position. The one possessing the position has the freedom to change its representative as is
seen fit.
(Note: This opinion on designated representatives of the Board of Directors does not apply to Bylaw
3.6.6.3, which specifically states that the Board of Directors appoints up to two individuals to the Concordia
University System Board of Directors.)
17. Texas District Proposed Bylaw Revisions as a Result of the 2019 Convention (20-2926)
By an e-mail of February 5, 2020, the Secretary of the Texas District forwarded such proposed changes to
the Texas District Bylaws as the district found necessary to bring them into alignment with changes made
by the 2019 Synod convention to the Bylaws of the Synod.
The commission notes, in Texas Bylaws 6.002 and 6.003, that the term “administrative area” appears to be
used interchangeably with “region,” the term used consistently in Synod bylaws. The commission suggests
standardizing usage to the term used in the Synod bylaws: region.
The commission approves the changes proposed as submitted for adoption by the Texas District Board of
Directors under its Bylaw 15.001(c), as changes necessitated by the 2019 Synod Convention’s own
Constitution and Synod Bylaw amendments. The commission thanks the district and its secretary for
submitting these changes for review and looks forward to review of the district’s further proposed revisions.
18. Nomination Ballot and Voter Registration Processes for Synod Conventions (20-2930)
The Office of the Secretary, for a variety of reasons, hopes to replace, beginning with the 2022 convention
cycle, the present paper form and ballot processes for the registration of presidential voters and for the
nomination of the President and vice-presidents of the Synod with electronic processes. It intends to replace
the former using an in-house system and the latter using a reliable, impartial election contractor. The change
would be in pursuit of the following chief aims:
CCM Minutes – April 24, 2020 – Page 8