LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 4-5, 1994, Page 4

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The District Presidents shall, moreover, especially exercise supervision over the
doctrine, life, and administration of office of the pastors and teachers of their District
and acquaint themselves with the religious conditions of the congregations of their
District.
Bylaw 4.73 of the Synod similarly states:
Each District President, in accordance with the Constitution of the Synod, shall
supervise the doctrine, the life, and the official administration on the part of the
ordained or commissioned ministers who are members through his District or are
subject to his ecclesiastical supervision, and shall inquire into the prevailing spiritual
conditions of the congregations of his District.
Further, Article XIII of the Constitution of the Synod, entitled "Expulsion from the Synod," in Section 1
states that a member of the Synod may, after previous futile admonition, be expelled from the Synod if:
(a) He acts contrary to the confession laid down in Article II of the Constitution of the Synod
and to the conditions of membership laid down in Article VI thereof, or
(b) persists in an offensive conduct.
Bylaw 2.15 does not purport to define conduct which might affect one's candidate status or expose one
to supervision under Bylaw 4.73 and Bylaw 2.23. Rather it is Bylaw 2.23 which sets forth the rules
governing restricted status. Accordingly, the Commission holds that a reference to an inappropriate
bylaw does not, in and of itself, serve as a basis to negate the placement of a pastor on restricted status
by a District President.
Bylaw 2.23 c requires that an individual member of the Synod shall be notified in writing as to the
specific reasons for having been placed on restricted status. In considering the appeal of the pastor, the
Council of Presidents must determine: a) whether the pastor was given written notice of the specific
acts which caused the District President to place him on restricted status, and b) whether such acts are:
1) conduct which would lead to expulsion from the Synod under Article XIII of the
Constitution; or
2) of such a nature that they indicate the pastor is incapable of performing the duties of the
office or position because of physical, mental or emotional disability; or
3) evidence that the pastor neglects or refuses to perform the duties of the office or position.
Whether, under the facts of the case, serving a congregation which is not a member of the Synod,
contrary to the counsel of the District President, is conduct which could lead to expulsion from the
Synod for persisting in an offensive conduct, is a factual determination which must be made by the
committee of the Council of Presidents.
The Commission concludes that it is proper for the hearing panel of the Council of Presidents to
examine the facts involving the restricted status of the pastor and to render a decision which is final and
without right of appeal as specified in Bylaw 2.29 e.
The Commission further points out that restricted status does not automatically lead to expulsion of the
member from the Synod. Rather, restricted status is a restriction on the individual member's ability to