LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — May 5, 1999, Page 4

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37. Propriety of RSO Status for and Participation in Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots
(99-2145)
A pastor questioned whether Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP), which employs both
LCMS and ELCA clergy, should continue to be granted Recognized Service Organization (RSO) status by
the Synod and whether LCMS pastors should be part of LAMP:
Given bylaw 14.03a (especially “respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and
practice of Synod”), and given Article VI.c. of the LCMS Constitution (“Participating in
heterodox tract and mission activities.”) may LAMP be given RSO status according to
the LCMS constitution? May LCMS pastors be part of LAMP, a mission organization by
self definition, determined to spread the gospel of Christ, even though the organization
welcomes clergy of heterodox church bodies as part of its professional staff?
The Commission’s response to these questions follows. First, “may The Lutheran Association of
Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP) be given Recognized Service Organization (RSO) Status under Bylaw
14.03?”
Bylaw 14.03, a, states that RSO status may be granted to a service organization that extends the mission and
ministry of the Synod. It then states that RSO status signifies that the service organization:
while independent of the Synod, fosters the mission and ministry of the church,
engages in program activity that is in harmony with the programs of the boards of the
Synod,
respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod.
Bylaw 14.03, c, states that within the area of its responsibility, each board of the Synod may determine
those organizations to which RSO status will be given according to policies adopted by Synod’s Board of
Directors (Bylaw 14.03, d).
The Bylaws of the Synod require that for a service organization to be given RSO status, it must meet the
three criteria set forth in a previous paragraph of this opinion and the procedure for granting RSO status
must be in accord with applicable policies of the Synod’s Board of Directors. Whether or not this was done
relative to LAMP is a factual question that cannot be determined by this Commission. Such questions
should be presented to the board that granted RSO status. If new information is available that may call into
question the continued RSO status of an organization, the board should be asked to review its decision.
If the member of the Synod is thereafter of the opinion that the board which granted RSO status did not
follow the prescribed procedure, he may proceed, if he so chooses, to utilize the synodical dispute
resolution process to resolve the question as to whether the granting board acted in accord with Bylaw
14.03 and the applicable policies of the Board of Directors.
It should be noted, however, that the wisdom of granting RSO status is within the sole purview of the
granting board. Only the procedure followed in granting RSO status can be tested in the synodical dispute
resolution process.
In answer to the second question, “may pastors of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod be a part of
LAMP?,” Article VI of the Synod’s Constitution indicates that one of the conditions of membership in the
Synod is the renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description, including participation in
heterodox tract and missionary activities. Whether being “part of LAMP” is participating in heterodox tract