LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — May 17, 2001, Page 3

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elected three-year terms, unless otherwise provided in the Bylaws.” The Commission notes that no
distinction is made or exception granted if the appointing or electing entity changes. While the person in
question may be appointed or elected to a position on another board or commission (Bylaw 3.61, c),
eligibility for service on the same board or commission begins again after an interval of three or more years
(Bylaw 3.61, b).
200. Request for Evaluation of Constitution/Bylaws Resource (01-2224)
The Commission, in response to requests made to the Office of the Secretary of the Synod, provides the
following brief commentary regarding the publication, Flexible, Missional Constitution/Bylaws by Alan and
Cheryl Klaas. The publication is intended to address (1) concerns raised by congregations regarding
difficulty filling boards and committees, (2) disagreements over what a congregation’s constitution allows
or does not allow, (3) dated structure that is getting in the way of ministry, and (4) the lack of time and
energy on the part of congregations to undergo the years of meetings required to examine and change
existing constitutions and bylaws. The publication offers helps to congregations to address these concerns
“in one day, not two years.”
While Bylaw 3.905 narrows the attention of the Commission on Constitutional Matters to the Constitution,
Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod, the Commission provides a brief response to this request for a review
of said document, given the fact that the Commission also publishes its own “Guidelines for the
Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation” to assist congregations in developing or revising their
official documents. For the most part the Commission will respond in a general manner based upon the
announced intentions of the authors.
(1) The publication intends to address concerns raised by congregations regarding difficulty in filling
boards and committees. It recommends an organizational structure that centers most of the decisionmaking in a “senior leadership group,” reserving overall direction and only major decisions such as
church worker calls or property matters to the voters’ assembly (the “twenty-percenter decisions”). The
Commission recognizes that, other than the office of Pastor and the right of the congregation to govern
itself, the internal structure of a congregation is a matter of self-determination, so long as existing laws
for non-profit charitable organizations are not violated. The Commission further recognizes that in the
cases of small or new congregations, it can be futile to try to have boards and committees for every
purpose. The Commission also recognizes the propensity for voters’ assemblies to get bogged down by
too much detail. But the Commission expresses caution that the structure that is being suggested, like
any system, may not suit every situation, may lend itself to top-down leadership, and may in effect
discourage the members of a congregation from participation or even taking an active interest in the
affairs of the congregation.
(2) The publication intends to address concerns about what a congregation’s constitution allows or does not
allow. It minimizes the involvement of the congregation in the development of the constitution,
explaining that the congregation needs to make “relatively few key decisions” (“about ten”) without any
need to discuss wording. It also provides a procedure for creating bylaws that “accomplishes a great
deal in a short period of time.” The Commission expresses concern that the key documents of a
congregation are treated with such casual haste, suggesting that whatever length of time it may take to
do this properly is worth the effort. The Commission also observes that the helps provided to address
what should be allowed or not allowed, intended to be general enough to reach a broader market of
congregations of varied denominational associations, fall short of the specific help that congregations
will need in developing their documents. In the case of LCMS congregations, for example, it will be
necessary to do further study to learn of the expectations associated with synodical membership.

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