To Study Ecclesiastical Supervision in Light of Lutheran Confessions

Official Workbook overture source text

10-10 
To Study Ecclesiastical Supervision  
in Light of Lutheran Confessions 
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions, particularly Augsburg 
Confession VII, VIII, and XXVIII , and the Treatise on the Power 
and Primacy of the Pope, set forth a rich and careful doctrine of the 
Church, the ministry, and church authority; and 
W
HEREAS, These confessional writings emphasize that churchly 
authority is given for the sake of the Gospel, that human ordinances 
are not to burden consciences, and that bishops/superintendents are 
not to lord it over the church; and 
WHEREAS, The Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod, including 
those portions concerning congregations, d istrict presidents, the 
President of the Synod, ecclesiastical supervision, discipline, and 
expulsion, are intended to reflect and operationalize these 
confessional principles; and 
WHEREAS, In recent years, difficult and highly visible cases of 
discipline and supervision have raised questions among pastors and 
laypeople about whether our current structures and practices fully 
and transparently embody our confessional teaching; and 
WHEREAS, It is fitting and salutary for the Synod, from time to 
time, to reexamine its polity and practice in the light of Scripture 
and the Confessions, that we may repent where needed and 
strengthen what is good; therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod request the Commission on Theology 
and Church Relations (CTCR), in consultation with the Council of 
Presidents, legal/handbook experts, and representatives of 
congregations, to undertake a comprehensive study of ecclesiastical 
supervision and discipline in the Synod, addressing at least: 
• 
the biblical and confessional foundations for church 
authority, oversight, and discipline; 
• the relationship between congregations, districts, and the 
Synod; 
• the proper reach and limits of the president’s supervisory 
authority; 
2026 Convention Workbook
505ECCLESIASTICAL SUPERVISION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION