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August 19, 2008
CCM and DPs OK Suspension of LCMS Voter Supremacy for Baptist Structure
The LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) is agreeing that 2,000 LCMS congregations may suspend their by-laws and traditional structure of LCMS congregational polity and voter supremacy for Baptist polity.
The CCM published on June 6-7, 2008, The intent is to put the pastor, not a committee, in a position of responsibility and authority for the congregation to pursue a new vision for mission and ministry. This could just as easily be said of Catholic Priests and Mega-Church gurus.
Again the CCM published on June 6-7, 2008 Since part of the Synods Ablaze! initiative includes the revitalization of 2,000 congregations, the Transforming Congregations Network was put together. It stems from a process begun by Dwight Marable, President of Missions International. It comes primarily from a Baptist background and has a different polity behind it, enabling it to perhaps do things the LCMS is not able to do, or at least may not be able to do as easily.
In other words, the CCM finds that Baptist polity is an acceptable replacement for traditional Voter Supremacy taught by C. F. W. Walther, the Synods founder.
Most Baptists claim that their clergy are called directly by God. Just as the members claim they become Christians by experiencing an inner call from God, so also their ministers claim to experience an inner call from God to the ministry. Therefore, many Baptist ministers claim their call is directly from God as well as the authority to lead the congregation. The LCMS practice is congregations being governed by voter supremacy.
The people are supposed to believe God is directing the pastor. We have heard this song before.
The CCM makes no mention of the fact that congregational polity is required for membership in the LCMS.
The 2001 LCMS Convention voted to reaffirm Walthers Church and Ministry, a book that clearly teaches Voter Supremacy, as the official teaching of the LCMS by 73%.
We quote: For when our Savior Christ says, Tell it to the church, He by these words commands the church to be the supreme judge. From this it follows that not only one state, namely that of the bishops, but also other pious and learned persons from all states are to be appointed as judges and have decisive votes. (Church and Ministry" C.F.W. Walther, 1851, CPH 1987, page 343)
This is to be understood in the sense not only that the church has the power to excommunicate impenitent sinners but also that the congregation has the supreme authority in all church matters such as reproof, church discipline, divisions, judging doctrine, and appointing pastors, to mention only these things ("Church and Ministry." C.F.W. Walther, 1851, CPH 1987, page 343)
There is no question that the promotion of Baptist polity by the CCM; the Synods Ablaze! initiative to revitalize 2,000 congregations; and the LCMS District Presidents are deconstructing the LCMS.
The CCM titled their ruling, Congregations Right to Suspend Bylaws. They may as well have titled it the Congregations right not to be Lutheran.
The CCM published that Dwight Marable, a Baptist and President of Missions International, is the inspiration for 2,000 LCMS congregations voting out their own by-laws and congregational authority.
We read about Dwight Marable, Dwight had a personal encounter with Christ and devoted his life to Him in 1963. After finishing high school he spent the next two summers in training under Donald McGavran and doing missionary work in Asia. After a year of college, Dwight spent two years in Tokyo, Japan, serving as a missionary to students. He returned to the USA, married, finished college and a masters degree and worked on a church staff for 9 years before serving as a church planter for 5 years. http://www.missions.com/aboutstaff_dwightmarable.htm
You can read how many LCMS traitors to Lutheranism worked together with Dwight Marable at the Transforming Congregations Network, Consultation Training Super-week, April 2-6, 2008, Sacramento CA at the following website. http://www.missiontrainingcenter.com/Revitalization/sacramentobrochure.pdf
The President Kieschnick and the LCMS District Presidents are using Ablaze! funds to change LCMS Congregations into Baptist Congregations. It is a brilliant plan. They get laymen from the entire Synod to pay for destroying Lutheran polity and Voter Supremacy and replace it with divinely inspired leaders. Thus the layman pays for his own enslavement.
With 2,000 congregations being revitalized and nearly as many being led by pastors who think they have the sacrament of ordination, the Convention and the LCMS, as founded by Walther, have been essentially dismantled by the Kieschnick administration. The Synod is doomed. Thieves and liars have gained control of the LCMS. They will not be removed.
So-called LCMS conservatives were so concerned about which one of them would be the President after Dr. Barry, they refused to elect competent man to be his successor as the First Vice President. The Kieschnick administration has made so many changes to the Handbook and plans so many more for the next Convention; it now only requires a few men to maintain a permanent grip on the Synod.
Those in the LCMS who wish to follow the teachings of the Synods founder, C. F. W. Walther, should be making plans to leave the Synod with their church property, while they still have the opportunity.
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The following is the full ruling from the CCM:
CCM 47. Congregations Right to Suspend Bylaws (08-2519)
As a result of the proposed congregation transformation process that is currently underway in some districts and is being considered by several more, a number of district presidents, in an e-mailed June 2, 2008 letter following their participation in a training session, raised a series of questions regarding some of the recommendations proposed as part of the revitalization process. Included with the questions was the following paragraph providing background regarding said process: The revitalization process recommends that congregations suspend those portions of their bylaws that address election, officers, and governance structures. All other bylaws and, of course, the Constitution and/or Articles of Incorporation remain intact.
The intent is to put the pastor, not a committee, in a position of responsibility and authority for the congregation to pursue a new vision for mission and ministry.
Also included with the questions were the following comments from the questioners:
Since part of the Synods Ablaze! initiative includes the revitalization of 2,000 congregations, the Transforming Congregations Network was put together. It stems from a process begun by Dwight Marable, President of Missions International. It comes primarily from a Baptist background and has a different polity behind it, enabling it to perhaps do things the LCMS is not able to do, or at least may not be able to do as easily.
The intent of the above paragraph is to enable a congregation to implement an accountable leadership model of governance for an interim period. If it proves successful, then a congregation may choose to adopt that model as a more permanent structure for mission and ministry. Please note that it calls for the suspension of only certain bylaws, not the entire set of bylaws.
Question 1: May a congregation of the Synod suspend or hold in abeyance some of their bylaws, specifically those dealing with elections, officers, and governance structure, in order to pursue a new vision for mission and ministry?
Opinion: The Commission on Constitutional Matters is allowed to give opinions only regarding issues arising under the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod. The conditions for membership in the Synod are contained in Article VI of the Constitution and Bylaws 2.2 through 2.4. Assuming the constitution and bylaws of an individual congregation allow the suspension or holding in abeyance of some of its bylaws, then so long as a congregation does not seek to suspend or hold in abeyance those bylaws necessary for membership in the Synod, the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod do not prohibit such holding in abeyance or a temporary suspension. Should the congregation determine to amend its bylaws or constitution, however, the proposed constitution and/or bylaw changes would need to be submitted for approval as required by Bylaw 2.4.1 (a).
In the more likely situation where there is no provision in the existing governing documents allowing for such suspension or holding in abeyance, no matter how well intended and no matter how short term the suspension is intended to last, such action would result effectively in an amendment of those governing documents. Bylaw 2.4.1 (a) requires such amendments to be submitted to the district president, who in turn is required to refer the proposed amendments to the districts constitution committee for review and to provide a recommendation to the districts board of directors for final action under Bylaw 2.4.1 (c). This is not to say, should it determine that the proposed experimentation is to be encouraged, that the district could not adopt an expedited procedure to facilitate a speedy review of such proposed governance changes.
Question 2: If a congregation were to suspend or hold in abeyance select bylaws, would this have a negative impact on its 501 (c) (3) status?
Opinion: The answer to this question is not dependent upon the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod. Questions regarding this issue should be addressed to local legal counsel or the Internal Revenue Service.
Question 3: If a congregation were to suspend or hold in abeyance select bylaws, would this have a negative impact on its membership in the Synod?
Opinion: As described above, so long as the congregation honors the conditions of membership as set forth in Article VI of the Constitution of the Synod and the eligibility requirements of Bylaws 2.2 through 2.4, a congregations action to suspend or hold in abeyance select bylaws would not have a negative impact on a congregations membership in the Synod.
Question 4: Is it legal in the eyes of the state, which has granted nonprofit corporation status, for a congregation to suspend or hold in abeyance select bylaws?
Opinion: This question is again a matter of state law and not an issue under the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod. Questions should be submitted to local legal counsel or the state corporation governing body.
