LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 30, 1998, Page 7

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The answer to the second part of your question is therefore "yes." Due process must be followed and a
written statement must be prepared and provided.
5. If the officer of the District fails to perform his duty as defined in Bylaw 2.27, section 2, therefore
offering no proof or substance to his charge, or reason for suspension, how can the illegally suspended
member end this action against himself without the "guilty until proven innocent" approach of the
Synodical Dispute Resolution?
As noted above, the suspended member has the recourse provided by Bylaw 2.27, c through f, which
incorporates "the provisions of Chapter VIII of these Bylaws."
Can an officer of the Synod use threats or coercion to force a member of the Synod to act in a manner
that is contrary to the doctrine of the LCMS as defined under Article II? If the member holds fast to the
doctrine of the LCMS as defined under Article II and is not in violation of Article XIII, can he be
suspended? If so, use the doctrine as defined under Article II and the Constitution and Bylaws of the
LCMS to defend your position.
Assuming that by "officer of the Synod" you are referring to a District President, the obvious answer to
your question is, of course, "no." On the contrary, it is the business of the District President, according to
Article XII, 8, "to suspend from membership ordained and commissioned ministers for persistently
adhering to false doctrine or for having given offense by an ungodly life, in accordance with such procedure
as shall be set forth in the Bylaws of the Synod."
The District President, according to Bylaw 4.73, shall accordingly "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. Bylaw 4.75 also provides that "the District President, even
without formal request therefor, may through the proper channels arrange for an official visit or
investigation when a controversy arises in a congregation or between two or more congregations of the
District, or when there is evidence of a continuing unresolved problem in doctrine in practice."

Such measures are not to be considered coercive. At the same time they are never to be used to force a
member of the Synod to act in a manner that is contrary to the doctrine of the LCMS.
16. Questions Submitted by a Dispute Resolution Panel Regarding Process (98-2130A)
A letter was received on October 23, 1998 from the Secretary of a Dispute Resolution Panel regarding the
case before their panel. After recalling a time line of events of the case, the panel asks the following
questions.
Assuming that the above facts (an outline precedes this question) are true, do the actions of the District
Secretary and the District President, including his letter of October 7, 1998, provide adequate due
process and notice to the Pastor of the grounds for his suspension in accordance with Synod's bylaws?
The Commission notes that Bylaw 2.27 pertains to this question and is clear in its requirements. Suspension
under this Bylaw does not include involvement by the District Secretary, as would be the case had this
Dispute Resolution Panel originated out of Bylaw 8.07. In this case the panel has been formed as a result of
Bylaw 2.27, d, upon request of the member of the Synod who has been suspended. Therefore any prior
actions of the District Secretary are pertinent to this case only insofar as they may have been included in the
District President's investigation according to Bylaw 2.27, a through c.