LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 21-22, 1975, Page 12

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7. A District President who deliberately acts contrary to the Bylaws may have the effect of creating
an unrest and a schism in the Synod.
8. Any member of the Synod (which includes District Presidents) whose deliberate acts have the
effect of creating a schism.in the Synod may be guilty of an offensive conduct (Rom. 16, 17-18), which, if
persisted in after proper admonotion, may lead to expulsion. Those seeking to remove a District President
from office on the basis of a complaint of "offensive conduct" must be prepared to document the
seriousness of the complaint, the degree of resistance to proper admonition, and the failure or refusal to
correct improper action.. Whether the. complaint of alleged "offensive conduct" was serious enough to
justify the expulsion of the District " . President from membership in the Synod is subject to review and
decision by a Commission of Adjudication and, if the appeal process is pursued further, by the Board of.
Appeals.
9. Bylaw 5.13 lists in detail the procedure that is to be followed in such a case. In brief, if the
District President complained of does not consent to expulsion, the first vice president or the next
qualified District officer is 'authorized to suspend the president and is then obligated to submit the case to
the Commission of Adjudication as herein provided. However, the President shall have been given written
notice of the proposed suspension 15 days in advance of the effective date thereof. Within seven. days
after the effective date of such suspension the. District vice-president shall submit the case to the District
Commission of Adjudication in accordance with the provisions of the bylaw. If the said District
vice-president (who is required to act under Bylaw. 5.13 if the District President is disqualified or unable
to act) fails to act on the complaint at all or if, in the opinion of the complainants., the said District
vice-president failed to give serious. consideration to the complaint and/or treated the complaint in a sham
or frivolous manner, then the complainants may present the complaint to the President of the Synod who
shall review the substance and the facts of the complaint and review the. actions of the said District
vice-president which were taken in regard to the complaint, and if the President of the Synod: determines
that the said District vice-president failed to act at all, or failed to give serious consideration to the
complaint and/or treated the complaint in a sham or frivolous manner, then the President of the Synod, by
virtue of the power given him in the Constitution, may on his own initiative institute proceedings, take
administrative action, and if necessary, present charges to the appropriate District Commission of
Adjudication; until the charges `are disposed of (Bylaw, 5.15) the District President shall be suspended
from membership and from performing the duties of his office.
B. Direct Removal from Office
Without Expulsion from Membership in the Synod
1. The Constitution states in Article XI, 2: "The Synod at all times has the right to call its officers
to account and, if circumstances require it, to remove them from office in accordance with Christian
procedure."
2. The Commission rules that a District President is not simply an officer of a District but also an
officer of the Synod and therefore comes under the provisions of this article.
3. "If circumstances require it" is a rather broad statement involving a considerable degree of
judgment on the part of the Synod and those acting in its behalf. Included in the "circumstances" is
certainly the cause(s) for initiating action leading to censure or in extreme cases to removal from office.
The Commission holds that the following, while not necessarily requiring expulsion from membership,
could qualify as proper grounds for censure or removal from office: maladministration, loss of
confidence, refusal to cooperate in carrying out the decisions and objectives of the Synod, incompetency,
incapacity because of physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.