LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — May 27–31, 2026, Page 4

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A pastor who is not a member of the Synod or of a church body with which the Synod is
in altar and pulpit fellowship is ineligible either to be called by a congregation or to serve
a congregation by leading worship. For a congregation to so call or be served would be a
violation of the conditions of membership under Const. Art. VI 3. Bylaw 2.5.2 requires
congregations to “call and be served only by” individuals listed in the three following
categories (i.e., ordained ministers on the roster of the Synod; candidates certified for initial
placement, for example, by successful completion of colloquy; and ordained ministers in
good standing on the roster of church bodies in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Synod),
the word “only” highlighting the exclusive nature of this requirement. A congregation may
not call an excluded individual. The words “and be served by” indicate that a congregation
also may not be served by an excluded individual in a pastoral capacity (such as by his
leading worship), even if it does not call him (Cf. Op. 20-2957). By calling or being served
by an excluded individual, the congregation puts its membership in the Synod in jeopardy
(Bylaw 2.5.4; Const. Art. VI 3; XIII 1).
The commission finds this opinion to be directly applicable here. A district president who “becomes aware
of information or allegations that could lead to expulsion of a member from the Synod,” which the above
would constitute, “shall commence” the action of Bylaw section 2.14, “Expulsion of Congregations or
Individuals from Membership in the Synod.” Part of this process is admonition and reproof, in the hope
that the offensive conduct may cease and expulsion prove unnecessary.
Question 3:

Rostered workers establish a seminary “in response to requests from congregations and
church leaders for a quality, affordable, effective online degree program that would equip
potential pastors and church workers for missional ministry in areas that are not currently
being served.” Is this contrary to Bylaw 2.5.2 and/or Bylaw section 2.7, and if so, what
recourse does the Synod have?

Opinion 3:
Again without commenting on the particular fact pattern, the commission distills two
distinct questions and a broader concern. All of them it addresses under one fundamental presumption,
namely, that the doctrine and practice taught by a member of the Synod in any such scenario is in every
respect consonant with the doctrine and practice of the Synod; otherwise this alone would constitute a clear
violation of the expectations of membership in the Synod.
First, do the conditions of membership in the Synod prohibit a member of the Synod from participating in
or promoting the training of church workers, outside institutions approved by the Synod for this purpose,
who are either not drawn from, or not to be commended for the service of, Synod congregations?
This question the commission has answered above under Opinion 1. Provided the member’s teaching and
practice is orthodox and free of “activities inviting the reasonable inference that the exclusive teaching and
practice of Synod’s confession (Const. Art. II) may, as a matter of indifference or insignificance, be laid
aside, replaced by, or comingled with other teachings or practices,” such participation or promotion is not
contrary to the conditions of membership in the Synod.
Second, do the conditions of membership in the Synod prohibit a member of the Synod from participating
in or promoting the training of church workers, outside institutions approved by the Synod for this purpose,
who are drawn from and to be commended for the service of congregations of the Synod?
As stated in Bylaw 1.7.1, “The Constitution, Bylaws, and all other rules and regulations of the Synod apply
to all congregational and individual members of the Synod.” Further, “While congregations of the Synod
are self-governing (Constitution Art. VII), they, and also individual members, commit themselves as
members of the Synod to act in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod under which
they have agreed to live and work together and which the congregations alone have the authority to adopt
or amend through conventions” (Bylaw 1.3.4.1). As stated above under Opinion 1, those Bylaws under
which all have agreed to “live and work together” and which “apply to all congregational and individual
CCM Minutes – May 28–31, 2026 – Page 155