LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — August 17, 2000, Page 4

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Question 3:

“Can the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) give grants and funds (not
loans) to an independent organization which is not an RSO or an entity of the
Synod, according to Bylaw 3.503 of the Synodical Handbook?”

Opinion: The issue placed before the Commission by this question is what limitations, if any, are placed
upon LCEF in designating recipients of its financial resources and related services? Bylaw 3.503 states
that such financial resources and related services are to provide for ministry, witness, and outreach of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Who then is to determine whether a recipient of LCEF resources and
services provides ministry, witness, and outreach of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod? For
example, Bylaw 3.503, a, indicates that one of the purposes of LCEF is to provide financing and services
for professional church worker education. Does this mean that LCEF can evaluate, choose, and provide
financial resources (including grants) to any provider of professional church worker education which it
decides, in its sole discretion, qualifies as ministry, witness, and outreach of the LCMS?
If LCEF has sole discretion, without limitation, to determine appropriate providers of professional church
worker education, it would thereby assume to itself the authority to judge the doctrinal content of the
educational materials used by the provider. Nothing in the Constitution or Bylaws of the Synod gives any
indication that LCEF is vested with such decision making. Bylaw 11.01, c, states that the primary
responsibility for doctrinal supervision and review lies with the President of the Synod.
The bylaw provisions related to LCEF clearly indicate that the Synod created LCEF to be a financial
vehicle. This is pointed out in Bylaw 3.501, c, which addresses membership on the Board of Directors of
LCEF and provides that all Directors shall have an understanding of the church extension program and/or
demonstrate an expertise in fields or areas closely related to church-extension activities, such as
knowledge of real estate, management, and financial planning.
It has been said that LCEF should be given wide latitude in deciding who shall be the recipients of its
grants and financial resources. In this fashion it can provide seed money for new ministries which
otherwise could not be created for lack of funding. This may be so. However, if there is no limitation on
those to whom the LCEF can make funding available, the LCEF becomes a policy-making body by its
ability to determine which ministries and activities should be given financial support and which should be
denied, whether they be within or without The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Bylaw 3.501, a, provides that LCEF is operated “…to further the objectives and duties of the Church
Extension Fund within the Synod (emphasis added).” The word “within” indicates an exclusiveness of
recipients of the financial resources and related services of LCEF. Specifically, its financial resources and
related services are restricted to those within the Synod. Who then is within the Synod? It is those
identified in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod, namely, members of the Synod (Article V), the
Synod itself and its component parts, auxiliaries (Bylaw 14.01) and recognized service organizations
(Bylaw 14.03).
Bylaw 3.503, a, sets forth specific purposes for which LCEF can provide financial resources and related
services. Other purposes qualify only if (a) they are approved by the governing board of LCEF; (b) they
are consistent with the ministry and mission of the Synod; and (c) they qualify under policies approved by
the Board of Directors of the Synod. Thus, Bylaw 3.503, a, relates only to the purposes for which LCEF
can provide financial resources and related services. It does not address the appropriate recipients of such
resources and services.
Thus, to summarize: (1) Eligible recipients of LCEF grants and funds are limited to those within The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, namely: members of the Synod, the Synod itself and its component
parts, auxiliaries, and recognized service organizations. (2) The assets of LCEF must be used exclusively
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