LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 1, 1999, Page 1

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The Commission received from Synod's legal counsel copies of resolutions to amend the Articles and
Bylaws of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Foundation, actions approved by Synod's Board of
Directors at its December 4-5, 1998 meeting. The amendments are intended to conform the Articles and
Bylaws of the Foundation to Synod's Bylaws as amended by the 1998 convention, to delete references to
the Synod's high school because the school is in the process of becoming a recognized service organization,
and to further clarify the Foundation's Articles and Bylaws.
The Commission ratified the letter sent by its Secretary granting approval to the amendments to the
Foundation's Articles and Bylaws. The letter also included the following recommendation, requesting that it
be addressed at the Foundation's next appropriate meeting:
The Commission also recommends, however, that the LCMS Foundation make an additional
amendment to its Articles of Incorporation in due time, calling its attention to part SIXTH on
page 4 of the materials provided. This paragraph speaks of the transferal of all assets at such
time as the corporation is liquidated and dissolved, naming The Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod as the receiving entity. It also provides a course of action in such case as the Synod is no
longer in existence at that time and stipulates that any successor organization(s) be exempt
under the provisions of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Commission
recommends that a second requirement be added, one which stipulates that any successor
organization(s) also accept without reservation the confession of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod as presently described in Article II of the LCMS Constitution.
28. Questions Regarding a District President's Authority (98-2139)
The Commission received the following inquiry from a Dispute Resolution Panel regarding a District
President's authority under Bylaw 2.23, b (1998 Handbook, p. 27):
Whereas the Synodical Handbook Section 2.23 b, Restricted Status states: "An individual member of
the Synod on restricted status is ineligible to 1. Perform functions of ministry except in the position of
service, if any, held at the inception of restricted status and otherwise only if approved by the District
President;" does a District President have the authority, in the case of a pastor called by the District
Board for Missions as a Mission Developer, to a.) order a brief leave of absence in which the pastor is
instructed to step back from ministry and not involve himself during this time in any ministry and
pastoral matters; and b.) does the District President when later placing this pastor on restricted status
have the authority to declare, "In placing you on restricted status, meaning that you are not to engage in
further pastoral work or ministry at _________ Lutheran Church (which the pastor had been serving) or
elsewhere until the restricted status is removed."
The Commission notes that two questions are being asked. The first is whether a District President has the
authority, in the case of a pastor called by the District Board of Missions as a mission developer, to order
the pastor to take a brief leave of absence and further step back from ministry and not involve himself
during this time in any ministry and pastoral matters.
Article XII, 7, of the Constitution of the Synod states in part: “The District Presidents shall, moreover,
especially exercise supervision over the doctrine, life, and administration of the office of the ordained and
commissioned ministers of their District….” (1998 Handbook, p. 15). Bylaw 4.73 uses much the same
language: “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,….” (Handbook, p. 90).
Bylaw 3.51, k, defines the term “supervision” as follows: “For the purpose of these Bylaws, other than
those pertaining to ecclesiastical supervision, to have authority over, to direct actions, to control activities.
The definition of ecclesiastical supervision shall be determined exclusively by those Bylaws pertaining to