LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — August 17, 2000, Page 5

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for: [a] acquisition of sites; [b] construction of facilities; [c] purchase of buildings and equipment; [d]
operating expenses; [e] professional church worker education; [f] residential housing needs of
professional church workers; and [g] other purposes only if approved by the governing board of LCEF
consistent with the ministry and mission of the Synod under policies approved by the Board of Directors
of the Synod.
Question 4:

“Do the Articles of Incorporation of LCEF, prior to their amendment in 1998,
permit the giving of grants or funds to a non-synodical agency or corporation?”

Opinion: Bylaw 3.905, d, authorizes the Commission to interpret the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod. It does not have the authority to interpret the Articles of Incorporation of
synodwide corporate entities.
Question 5:

“Does the language of the 1997 Articles of Incorporation of LCEF, or the Bylaws of
the Synod which govern the objectives of LCEF, permit the staff of LCEF to become
involved with the creation of a non-synodical corporation for the purposes of
training pastors of the LCMS?”

Opinion: The Commission only responds to the portion of the question related to the Bylaws of the
Synod. Bylaws 3.501, 3.502, and 3.503 relate to LCEF but do not speak specifically of the duties and
responsibilities of the staff of LCEF. Bylaw 1.07, e, states,
Each staff develops procedures, recommends and reviews programs and ministries,
manages programs, and recommends policy and program modifications. It implements
decisions of its respective board in accordance with approved policy. It is responsible to
the Synod through its respective board or commission, which shall exercise supervision
in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws, resolutions of the respective convention,
and the decisions of the respective board or commission.
The staff of LCEF, therefore, would be permitted to become involved in the above-described activity only
by decision of its board.

Question 6:

“Does Article III of the Constitution of the Synod restrict the training of pastors,
teachers and other professional church workers of the Synod to the Synod itself, or
does it permit the organization of extra-synodical corporations for such training?”

Opinion: Article III, 3, states, first of all, that the Synod shall “recruit and train pastors, teachers, and
other professional church workers.” Bylaws 2.07 and 2.09 govern this process, setting forth the
educational requirements for membership in the Synod. The Synod reserves this formal training leading
to membership to itself and has made “the overall responsibility to provide for the education of ordained
and commissioned ministers and other professional church workers for the Synod” a function of its Board
for Higher Education (Bylaw 3.409).
Article III, 3, also requires the Synod to “provide opportunity for their continuing growth.” The
Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support has been charged with the responsibility for “providing
opportunities and settings for all professional church workers to continue growing in Christ and in the
knowledge, attitudes, skills, and personal well-being they need to serve Him in His Church” (Bylaw
3.915, a). Continuing growth opportunities are also provided by official church worker conferences
throughout the Synod, “conducted for the spiritual and professional growth of their members” (Bylaw
5.63). Article III does not, however, state that the Synod and its entities shall be the sole providers of
post-graduate education opportunities. Additional opportunities may be otherwise offered. Nothing in the
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