LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — July 21, 2020, Page 4

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removed by 1924. The current Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod make no general provision for disputes
within a congregation to be placed before the Synod for adjudication, 3 the Synod does provide one general
mechanism to address disputes within congregations. This responsibility belongs to the president of the
district of which that congregation is a member. District presidents are charged with the ecclesiastical
supervision of the members of their district, both congregations and individual members (Const. Art. XII
7). Bylaw 4.4.6 specifically deals with the responsibilities of the district president when controversies arise
within a congregation of his district. In carrying out this responsibility the district president is free to ask
the advice of whoever he wishes to get a full understanding of the situation. He could conceivably ask the
advice of the district Constitution Committee, should he so choose; however, any response he received
would be no more than advice and in no way would it be authoritative. The district president is also free at
his discretion to involve others (a circuit visitor or someone trained in dispute resolution) to assist and work
with those having the dispute in an attempt to bring about resolution. Nonetheless, dealing with these
disputes within the congregation remains the responsibility of the district president.
While the current Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod make no provisions for the Synod to reach and
enforce a decision regarding a dispute within a congregation, the Synod Bylaws do provide a process for
resolving disputes that involve as parties members of the Synod, both congregations and individual
members (ordained and commissioned ministers). This process is found in Bylaw section 1.10. All
members, congregations and individual members, by their joining of the Synod are bound to follow this
process in the event of a dispute between members of the Synod. When a dispute within a congregation
involves both the congregation on the one hand, which is a member of the Synod, and an individual member
of the Synod (pastor or commissioned minister) on the other, the provisions of Bylaw section 1.10 apply.
While the district president, who has ecclesiastical supervision over both the congregation and the
individual member, would likely already have been involved, this Bylaw section 1.10 process is available
to those members who are in dispute, and must be used and followed if requested. The goal of the Bylaw
section 1.10 process is for reconciliation to occur between the parties involved. However, if this cannot be
achieved, the process also provides for a panel to render a formal decision after hearing the facts presented
by both sides, and this formal decision is binding on all parties. Yet, even in this instance, because of the
advisory nature of the Synod, the Synod cannot force a congregation to follow the decision rendered (Bylaw
1.10.9). However, as a member of the Synod, the congregation has agreed to follow and abide by this
procedure, and its failure to follow the decision could put in jeopardy the membership of the congregation
in the Synod.
The Commission’s Prior Reviews (Op. 17-2862 and 17-2862A)
The Commission on Constitutional Matters reviewed the bylaws of the district at its November 2017
meeting (Op. 17-2862). District Bylaw 1.46 (e) [now 1.45 (e)], at the time of that review, listed as a function
of the district Committee on Constitutional Matters (as the district committee is known, to which the
responsibility of the district Constitution Committee, among other duties, is assigned): “Interpret and give

9. To give theological opinions, also to settle disputes between single persons or between parties in the
congregations. But the latter is to take place only in cases where all persons involved have applied to Synod
for arbitration.
Note that according to the 1847 Constitution, for the Synod to become involved in a dispute in a congregation, it
required that all of the parties involved would have requested arbitration by the Synod. This was because of the
advisory nature of the Synod. When the Constitution of the Synod was revised in 1854, this same wording was retained
now as Chapter IV, point 4. This same wording remained in the Synod Handbook through 1899. However, when the
Constitution was again revised and translated into English, between 1917 and 1924, this stipulation was removed.
3

Those specifically between a congregation as such and a rostered worker, however, are treated specially; see below.

CCM Minutes – July 21, 2020 – Page 23