LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — June 23, 1998, Page 1

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In responding to the eight questions placed before the Commission on Constitutional Matters, it must be
noted that a Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) is created under Chapter VIII of the Bylaws of the Synod.
Other chapters of the Bylaws deal with many other aspects of the operations of the Synod. It is assumed
that all of the Bylaws are intended to operate collectively and not in isolation of each other. Thus, one
bylaw cannot negate another unless there is specific language to that effect.
Disputes brought before a DRP are so varied that, to a large extent, questions of application of the
bylaws set forth in Chapter VIII must be responded to on a case by case basis. However, the
Commission notes that Bylaw 8.09, c, 2, requires the DRP to ". . . state the facts determined by the
panel and the reasons for its decision." Therefore, the primary function of a DRP is to establish the facts
to serve as a basis upon which action can be taken by the appropriate party.
Having stated these basic premises, the Commission now responds to the questions.
1. Can a DRP direct a district president to resign from his office?
A resignation by its very nature is a voluntary act whereby a person agrees to terminate a
position he/she now occupies. Since resignation is a voluntary act, another party cannot
order the resignation. Such an order is an empty pronouncement. Surely an officeholder can
be asked to resign but the response thereto is the choice of the one to whom the request was
made, not of the one who made the request. Therefore, a DRP cannot direct a District
President to resign his office.
2. Can a DRP direct the synodical president, acting on behalf of the Synod, to suspend a
member of the Synod, should that member fail to heed the directive of a dispute resolution
panel?
Section 2.27 of the Bylaws sets forth a very specific procedure to commence an action to
terminate a congregational or individual membership in the Synod. Suspended status is a
byproduct resulting from commencement of an action under Bylaw 2.27. Suspended status
is defined in Bylaw 2.25. Since Bylaw 2.27 establishes the criteria and procedure necessary
to commence an action to terminate membership, the directive of a DRP does not supersede
that bylaw.
Under Bylaw 2.27, b and c, it is the District President who makes the decision as to
whether or not an action should be commenced to terminate membership. If the District
President is a party to the matter or has a conflict of interest, the next qualified district
officer is substituted for the District President. If the District President declines to suspend
the member or fails to act within 90 days, the complainant can appeal to the Praesidium of
the Synod.
Therefore, since the Bylaws only authorize a District President (or a District Vice-President
as previously stated) or the Praesidium of the Synod to commence an action to terminate
membership in the Synod, a directive by a DRP to the President of the Synod to do so is
null and void.
3. Can a DRP direct the synodical president to require a synodical district to pay all legal
expenses accrued by a party to a dispute?