LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — August 28, 1996, Page 7

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The Commission's opinion is that a congregation may be expelled from membership
because the Synod has stated as its position that woman suffrage is not contrary to the
Scriptures. To teach and state publicly that woman suffrage is contrary to the Scriptures
would be to elevate a matter of human opinion to the level of Scriptural doctrine-which
from the point of view of the Synod would be contrary to the Scriptures, i.e. to declare that
what the Synod has included in the category of an open question is, in fact, a closed
question (clearly prohibited by the Scriptures). The congregation may decline to practice
woman suffrage, but it may not persist in teaching that it is contrary to the Scriptures. If it
were permitted to do so, every congregation would have the same right to determine which
of the positions of the Synod in similar matters it wishes to accept and which to reject. In
respect to these matters, the following bylaws are especially relevant: Bylaw 1.09, b; Bylaw
2.39, b and c, which state
1.09 Doctrinal Resolutions and Statements
b. Doctrinal resolutions may be adopted for the information, counsel, and guidance of
the membership. They shall conform to the confessional position of the Synod as set
forth in Article II of its Constitution and shall ordinarily cite the pertinent passages of
the Scriptures, the Lutheran Confessions, and any previously adopted official
doctrinal statements or resolutions of the Synod. Such resolutions come into being in
the same manner as any other resolutions of a synodical convention and are to be
honored and upheld until such time as the Synod amends or repeals them.
2.39 Relation of the Synod to Its Members
b. The Synod expects every member congregation to respect its resolutions and to
consider them of binding force if they are in accordance with the Word of God and if
they appear applicable as far as the condition of the congregation is concerned. The
Synod, being an advisory body, recognizes the right of the congregation to be the
judge of the applicability of the resolution to its local condition. However, in
exercising such judgment, a congregation must not act arbitrarily, but in accordance
with the principles of Christian love and charity.
c. While retaining the right of brotherly dissent, members of the Synod are expected
as part of the life together within the synodical fellowship to honor and to uphold the
resolutions of the Synod. If such resolutions are of a doctrinal nature, dissent is to be
expressed first within the fellowship of peers, then brought to the attention of the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations before finding expression as an
overture to the convention calling for revision or recission. While the conscience of
the dissenter shall be respected, the consciences of others, as well as the collective
will of the Synod, shall also be respected.
13. May a pastor on the roster of the LCMS as a minister, ordained be suspended and expelled
from membership in Synod for publicly stating that women's suffrage is contrary to Holy
Scripture?
The response to question twelve also constitutes a response to this question.
65. Permitted Actions of Suspended Pastor (Ag. 2046) : A District President had posed the following
questions for consideration by the Commission: