LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — May 17, 2001, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
May 17, 2001

195. Call to Order
Chairman Walter Tesch called the conference call meeting to order. All members were present except Alan
Barber who was unable to participate due to a schedule conflict. Gerhard Bode was asked to provide an
opening prayer.
196. Additional Questions re District Convention Resolution (00-2211)

At its October 26, 2000 meeting the Commission responded to a request for an opinion from the
chairman of a Board of Regents of a synodical university (00-2211) regarding the propriety of a
convention action taken by a District (see #176 of CCM Minutes). This Board of Regents, in
response to the opinion provided by the CCM, has requested an additional answer to two new
questions. The Commission discussed an initial draft response.
197. Question re Length of Terms of Members of Boards of Regents (01-2221)
A secretary of a Board of Regents of a college of the Synod has requested an opinion regarding his board’s
understanding of the application of Bylaw 3.59, Term of Office, paragraph a:
“The term of office of all elected synodical officers shall be three years; of the members of all
elected synodical boards six years, and of all appointed boards, commissions, and standing
committees three years, unless these Bylaws shall hereinafter provide otherwise.”
He calls attention to the asterisked footnote to this paragraph, which indicates that “six-year terms for
elected Board of Regents members for colleges and universities will take effect with the next elections.” His
question for the Commission:
Question: “The ‘next elections’ following the 1998 national election by the Synod in convention for
Board of Regents members were the ‘local elections’ held in 1999 for four lay members of
the Board. It would follow, then, that those members were chosen through 2005, rather
than through 2002 as is printed in The 2001 Lutheran Annual. (page 20) Please confirm
this understanding, as it is congruent with what is stated in the Handbook.”
Opinion: If the Commission understands correctly that the reference to “local elections” in the question
refers to those four persons identified in Bylaw 6.01, b, 3, who are “elected by the Board of Regents in a
nonconvention year,” then the understanding of this Board of Regents and its secretary is incorrect. Bylaw
3.75, b, provides that “an office shall be regarded as elective only if it is an office filled through election by
a national or a District convention.” Since the offices in question were not filled by a national or District
convention, they are to be regarded as “appointed” even though they may have been filled by an elective
process. As appointed offices, the terms of these offices according to Bylaw 3.59, a, are three years. The
information provided in the The 2001 Lutheran Annual is therefore correct.

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