LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 29, 1995, Page 1

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Minutes of the Commission on Constitutional Matters - November 29, 1995 Telephone Conference
108. Use of Word Lutheran in the Name of Lutheran Congregations (Ag. 1999) : The Board of
Directors of the Michigan District had requested the Commission on Constitutional Matters to respond to
the following questions:
1. Do the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod insist that the name LUTHERAN be included in the
legal name of a congregation before the congregation can be accepted into synodical membership?
2. If the answer is YES, what Constitutional Articles or Bylaws are to be used to discipline a
congregation that does not meet this requirement?
3. If the answer to #1 is YES, does it also apply to all ethnic congregations and recognized service
organizations of a District?
4. If the answer is NO, what Articles or Bylaws can be used to defend congregations or recognized
service organizations that choose not to use LUTHERAN in their legal name?
The Commission had also received correspondence from the President with the inclusion of an article by
Dr. C. F. W. Walther entitled, "Concerning the Name 'Lutheran'." It had also received a study by the Barna
Research Group entitled, "Never on a Sunday: The Challenge of the Unchurched" in which it was stated
that the unchurched want to know, in a clear and unambiguous fashion, what a church body stands for and
what its denominational affiliation is.
After considering all of the information presented to it and recognizing its commission to interpret the
Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod, the Commission decided to respond as follows:
Nowhere do the Constitution and Bylaws of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, by means of a
specific word or sentence, explicitly direct or require of a member congregation the use of the name
LUTHERAN to designate its denominational identity before a congregation can be received into
synodical membership.
However, the very intent of the Constitution and Bylaws of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, to
which the congregation has voluntarily subscribed, make it implicitly clear that member congregations
are expected to use the name LUTHERAN in designating their denominational identification. We refer
you to the following Articles and Bylaws:
1.

Article 11, 1 & 2 obligates new and present congregations to abide by the Holy
Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions both in doctrine and in practice.

1.

Article 111, 1 & 7 requires that member congregations, under the Scriptures and the
Lutheran Confessions, conserve and promote the unity of faith and encourage
congregations to strive for conformity in church practices which are in harmony with our
common profession of faith.

1.

Article VI states the conditions of membership in the Synod. One of these is
acceptance of the confessional basis of Article II.

1.

Bylaw 1.05 (d) provides strong support for what is the evident intent of the synodical
Constitution and Bylaws . . . "Congregations together establish the requirements of
membership in the Synod (Article VI). In joining the Synod, congregations and other