Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 205

2026 Convention Workbook
170 
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Opinion:  Bylaws 2.13.2.4 and 2.13.4.3 (b) require the district 
president to “minister to [a restricted or suspended] member ei-
ther directly or through others, concern himself with the spiritual 
well-being of [the] member, and continue efforts to resolve those 
matters which led to the imposition of [restricted or suspended] sta-
tus.” This activity is the responsibility of the district president and 
originates from his office. The advisors provided for in the proce-
dures of Bylaw sections 1.10, 2.14, and 2.17 are selected by the 
respective parties, subject to those Bylaws and Standard Operating 
Procedures Manuals. There is no formal advisor provided in the 
2.13.2 or 2.13.3 process. This does not preclude the restricted or 
suspended member from seeking advice from other sources of his 
or her own choosing. 
Question 3: 
 Is the 
individual member of Synod who is placed 
on restricted status free to choose her or his advi-
sor in the same manner that is permitted under By-
law 1.10.7.4 (a), Bylaw 1.10.18.1 (e), and Bylaw 
2.14.7.8 (h)? If not, how do the bylaws ensure due 
process, fairness, and impartiality?
Opinion: 
 There is no advisor 
provided in the 2.13.2 or 2.13.3 pro-
cess. 
Question 4:  Must any 
advisor to an individual member of the 
Synod who is on restricted status be appointed by 
the applicable district president or approved by the 
district president? If “yes,” how does this ensure due 
process, fairness, and impartiality?
Opinion: 
 There is no advisor 
provided in the 2.13.2 or 2.13.3 pro-
cess. 
Question 5:  May a 
district president prevent an individual mem-
ber of Synod from serving as an advisor to another 
individual member of Synod by exercising ecclesi -
astical discipline against her or him? If “‘yes,” how 
does this ensure due process, fairness, and impar -
tiality?
Opinion: 
 There is no advisor 
provided in the 2.13.2 or 2.13.3 pro-
cess. Should the case of an individual who had been placed on re-
stricted status proceed to a Bylaw section 2.14 or 2.17 process, the 
member, who is now on suspended status, may choose anyone as an 
advisor in accordance with the Bylaws and the controlling Standard 
Operating Procedures Manual. 
Any such advisor, if a member of the Synod, remains even in his 
or her conduct as an advisor under the ecclesiastical supervision of 
his or her district president. It is conceivable that a member of the 
Synod in serving as an advisor could act in such a way that he or 
she would put his or her own membership in the Synod in jeopardy.
It was unclear to the commission if this question is also intended to 
be in relation to the advisor referenced in the following question. If 
so, see the response to Question 6. 
Question 6: 
 The February 
2020 edition of the Circuit Visitors’ 
Manual states the following concerning the choice 
for an advisor when a pastor might be facing possi-
ble removal from office by a congregation’s voters 
assembly: “The district president is encouraged to 
appoint a pastoral adviser [sic] for the pastor to as-
sist him in examining the charges and preparing bib-
lical responses to charges” (5 a, p. 275). “The pastor 
is encouraged to have an advisor with him during 
this meeting to assist him in preparing his biblical 
process for expulsion from membership in the Syn-
od. Bylaw 1.10.7.4 (a) and Bylaw 1.10.18.1 (e) also 
permit an advisor in dispute resolution cases. Is the 
use of an advisor also permitted under Bylaw 2.13.2 
when an individual member of Synod is placed on 
restricted status? If it is prohibited, how do the by-
laws ensure due process, fairness, and impartiality?
Opinion: 
 There is 
a significant difference in the purpose of Bylaw 
sections 2.14, 2.17, and 1.10. Bylaw section 1.10 is for resolving 
disputes among members of the Synod. It may lead to the formation 
of a formal panel, which will hear the case and render a binding de-
cision. Both parties in the dispute, if they so choose, are allowed to 
select an advisor of their choice, who will assist in the formal pro-
ceedings subject to the applicable bylaws. Bylaw sections 2.14 and 
2.17 deal with the process for removal of a member of the Synod 
from membership in the Synod. These sections conclude with for -
mal proceedings, as the result of which a hearing panel will render a 
binding decision. Both parties in the process, if they so choose, are 
allowed to select an advisor of their choice, who will assist in the 
preparation for the formal hearing and at the formal hearing operate 
subject to the applicable bylaws. 
The purpose of Bylaw 2.13.2 is to facilitate the ability of a dis-
trict president to exercise proper ecclesiastical supervision by con-
ducting an investigation when he becomes aware of substantive 
information that could lead to the expulsion of a member from the 
Synod under Article XIII or the removal of a member of the Synod 
from a called position by a congregation. An individual on restrict-
ed status is eligible to continue in his current call and any other 
position currently held in the Synod at the time he was placed on 
restricted status. He may not accept a call to any other position of 
service in the Synod. While in certain cases restricted status can be 
extended, restricted status is intended to last for no more than one 
year with either the situation being resolved and restricted status 
removed, or the member suspended which leads to an expulsion 
process described in Bylaw section 2.14 or 2.17.
An individual on restricted status may petition the Council of 
Presidents for removal of restricted status as described in Bylaws 
2.13.3–2.13.3.2. In the event that the petition to remove restricted 
status fails, the member simply continues on restricted status and 
the investigation by the district president continues. 
Bylaws 2.13.3–2.13.3.2 make no provision for an advisor in the 
process, since in essence the question is whether or not the district 
president should proceed in determining the facts of the case in 
order to enable him to conclude the process either with a lifting 
of the restricted status or suspension of the member. The role of 
the advisor comes at the time the formal proceedings begin under 
Bylaw section 2.14 or 2.17. At this point an advisor is available to 
each party, intended to assist both parties in the presenting of their 
cases before the hearing panel. 
The only formal proceeding involved in Bylaws 2.13.2–2.13.3.2, 
dealing with restricted status, is the hearing of a petition for remov-
al of such status (Bylaw 2.13.3.2). The attendance at that hearing is 
fixed by Bylaw 2.13.3.2 (e) and, in notable contrast to procedures 
under Bylaw sections 1.10, 2.14, and 2.17, does not allow for atten-
dance of an advisor to either party.
Question 2: 
 If the 
answer to Question 1 is “yes,” in what way(s) 
is this advisor different from the spiritual care that 
is mandated in Bylaw 2.13.2.4 and Bylaw 2.13.4.3 
(b)?