LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 45

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
While work with the “parochial service report” continues and
we hope to have a significant report ready for floor committees on
patterns of pastoral service and ordained minister supply and demand, we have not made the progress we’d like on supplying the
Synod with deep and broad analysis or work with the entities to
achieve an “enterprise data” approach of value to the Synod. Other areas of work—principally legal and governance matters—have
taxed our capacity. Intention remains firm, and with a new triennium at hand, hope is being renewed.

C. Nominations and Elections
The office supports the nomination and election processes of the
Synod convention (Bylaw 3.12), performing the preliminary and
final work for the Committee on Convention Nominations (CCN)
as well as the administration of the processes for nomination of the
President and his election and for the nomination of the vice-presidents of the Synod—these latter nomination processes being ballot-based and numerical.
In the CCN process, a total of 459 individuals (210 ordained, 59
commissioned, and 190 lay), including incumbents, were nominated for at least one of the 62 officer, board, or commission positions
to be filled by the convention through the work of the Committee on Convention Nominations (excluding the seven praesidium
positions). Despite about 25 percent more nominations (including
more duplicates), the total is the same as the previous triennium
(though those were comprised of slightly more ordained, more
commissioned, and fewer lay) but up from 347 the one previous.
A new electronic system supported the process, enabled gathering
of more complete and more timely information, eased the work of
the committee, and reduced the amount of staff time required to be
devoted to the process. We could still use more, and more thoughtful, nominations.
The nominating process for President and vice-presidents, conducted electronically for the second time through YesElections
(formerly Election America, the contractor used by the Synod since
2013 to conduct the election of the President), will be reported on
separately. Registration of presidential voters, also online for the
second time, is underway at the time of this report’s preparation.
The accustomed, relatively low level of participation in these processes remains of concern for the Synod. The last two triennia, this
office again provided a detailed report on participation in the online
presidential election (2019 Today’s Business [TB] 2B:239–45; 2023
TB 2B:286–90). The pre-convention election of the President continues to deserve the convention’s careful review.
The office continued its revised approach to convention-related communications this triennium, focusing on official notices
and electronic communications with congregations, which can be
more timely and have a broader reach than print. Districts were
engaged to strongly encourage submission of congregational and
congregational leader emails at lc.lcms.org, which have been used
consistently and with timely information from online processes to
remind multiple leaders in each congregation of opportunities to
participate. There remain a small number of generally smaller congregations without many means of email contact and initial, “official” communications are still made on paper. Our evaluation is that
this works probably better than the old postcard approach, although
participation rates continue, across the board, on their accustomed
downward trend—also a concern for the convention.

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D. Facilitation of Appointment Processes,
Vacancy and Regular
The office facilitates appointment processes for positions elected by the convention that become vacant mid-term and for positions
appointed by the Board of Directors and Council of Presidents. Annual appointments include Concordia Plans / Plan Services Boards
of Trustees / Members and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund
Board of Members; triennial appointments, the LCMS Foundation
and Commissions on Constitutional Matters and Handbook, as well
as various appointments by the Council of Presidents. This triennium saw a decline to a more typical rate of vacancy appointments
under Bylaw 3.2.5: Board for National Mission, 2; Board for International Mission, 2; LCMS Foundation Board of Trustees, 1; Concordia University Chicago, 2; Concordia University, Nebraska, 1.
District boards of directors and others often have the opportunity to
participate in the nomination processes, and their input is generally
low in volume but greatly appreciated. These processes, too, have
been supported with a new electronic system, which is still working
its way to full realization in the time we have to give it.

E. Dispute Resolution and Expulsion Processes
The office administers the Synod’s processes of dispute resolution and expulsion, provides associated training, and has a key
practical role, with the Commission on Constitutional Matters and
Council of Presidents, in maintaining the processes’ Standard Operating Procedure Manuals. The triennium now drawing to a close
saw the conclusion of hearing panel proceedings as follows: two
expulsion proceedings under Bylaw section 2.14 (one is underway
and one concluded by resignation after a panel was requested but
before the hearing). Many suspensions of workers and congregations do not result in a panel, resolving instead in a removal by default or resignation. Reconcilers on the Synod’s roster function extensively in the districts, whether in informal or formal capacities;
this activity is not regularly reported to the Office of the Secretary.
Appeals from panel decisions were requested in three of four concluded expulsion proceedings, but no review hearings were granted
by an appeal panel.
Given infrequent activation of reconcilers and hearing facilitators by blind draw for panel roles, the office, together with the
Commission on Constitutional Matters and Council of Presidents,
is engaged in review of the training apparatus and size of the pools.
Ambassadors of Reconciliation, Synod’s training partner, will be
providing the January 2027 training online in an effort to increase
accessibility and retention of material, as well as to shift cost from
travel and lodging to the creation of “off-year” continuing education for hearing facilitators and already-rostered reconcilers.

F. Other Roles Reported Elsewhere
The Secretary of the Synod serves ex officio on the Board of Directors of the Synod and the Concordia Historical Institute Board of
Governors, as Secretary of both the Commission on Constitutional
Matters and the Commission on Handbook. He regularly assists the
Council of Presidents and is involved in many task forces and other
efforts (including particularly, this triennium, the 2023 Res. 9-06A
work on electoral circuit requirements); as these are reported on
elsewhere and by others, these activities are not reported here. Suffice it to say that in everything touching on the Bylaws or the polity
of the Synod, the office is usually in some way involved.
Unusually extensive litigation this triennium as well as a change
in legal counsel, the present vacancy in the Chief Administrative
2026 Convention Workbook