Official Workbook report source text
Official Workbook source-navigation report record. No analysis has been added.
- Report number/id
- R5.1.2
- Report title
- R5.1.2 Human Resources
- Workbook start page
- 49
- Workbook end page
- 49
- Source pages
- 49
- Source status
- source_checked
- Committee
- Not available
R5.1.2
Human Resources Christ Is Risen Indeed! The LCMS Department of Human Relaws, and resolutions. For this reason, the BOD is always steadfast in maintaining that all officers and agencies of the Synod must always respect and serve the congregations by complying with the decisions the congregations have made in the Synod Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions.
Another challenge faced by the BOD is the apparent lack of appreciation of some Synod agencies and officials of the breadth of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Historical and recent opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court have consistently affirmed the great protections given to us as a church body in the U.S. to both freedom of religion and the avoidance of government compulsion on how we conduct our affairs as a Christian church body. The First Amendment is not just an individual right—the First Amendment broadly protects the church’s power to decide internal matters of faith, doctrine, and governance free from state interference. It is a limitation on government authority founded in the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause. The BOD, from time to time, encounters arguments or resistance to how Synod congregations have chosen to organize and conduct their business. Sometimes these arguments incorporate a lack of understanding of the broad scope of our First Amendment rights. Bylaw 1.2.1 (f)(2) reminds us of the congregations’ directive in this regard: While the Synod “intends to acknowledge its responsibility to be subject to civil authority, in all such references [to laws] the Synod intends to retain all authority and autonomy allowed a church under the laws and Constitution of the United States and the State of Missouri.” To ensure a better understanding of our First Amendment rights across the Synod, the BOD intends to continue to highlight the importance of our First Amendment and other religious rights. This will be done with the training provided to the Concordia university boards of regents under Bylaw 3.10.6.2.2 and when the opportunity otherwise arises.
The members of the BOD express their sincere thanks to the Synod for the special privilege afforded them to serve the Lord by serving the Synod’s congregations and other members.
Christian A. Preus, Chairman
