Congressman William Dannemeyer, of Orange County, California, has studied
the current structure of Floor Committees at LCMS Conventions. As an attorney,
a six-term United States Congressman, congregational president, LCMS
Convention delegate, and Convention observer, he concludes that the current
structure is thoroughly to the advantage of the District Presidents and
clergy.
Even though the LCMS Constitution states there should be equal
representation between laity and clergy, the reality is that the clergy rule
the Convention through manipulative parliamentary procedures and by-laws that
predetermine the Convention proceedings.
Under the current structure, Floor Committees are hand picked and stacked
with delegates by the District Presidents who are appointed as Floor Committee
Chairmen by the LCMS President. The District Presidents then seek committee
members from the delegates who support their views. The Floor Committees
determine how resolutions are to be written and which resolutions will be
presented for a vote. The outcome of the Convention is thus predetermined by
the District Presidents.
For example, we can expect LCMS President Kieschnick to select a District
President who supports his views on President Benke's participation in the
Yankee Stadium worship service to be Committee Chairman. As Committee
Chairman, he will write the resolution on this issue for the consideration of
the 2004 Convention.
Congressman Dannemeyer encourages the following resolution be adopted at
next summer's District Conventions and then sent to the Synodical Convention.
The goal is to give the lay people equal representation with the clergy.
Do not be surprised that your pastor doesn't want this resolution adopted
by your Voters' Assembly and sent to your District Convention for
consideration. Your pastor needs the District President's friendship if the
next call he gets will be to the "right" congregation.
The following resolution was endorsed at the meeting
of Lutheran Concerns Association in Chicago the week after Easter 2002.
RESOLUTION RELATING TO HOW COMMITTEES IN SYNOD AND DISTRICT COVENTIONS ARE
TO BE ORGANIZED
WHEREAS, Holy Scripture makes no distinction between clergy and laymen:
"One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. Matthew
23:8." "The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and
they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among
you. Matthew 21:25-26;" and
WHEREAS, there is no provision in the LCMS Handbook on the structure of
committees which are formed at a Synodical convention, that is the
apportionment between clergy and lay people, nor is there any provision as to
how committees shall conduct their business; and
WHEREAS, there is a provision in the LCMS Handbook that District
Conventions shall be governed by the by-laws adopted by the Synod for its
convention; and
WHEREAS, since the LCMS Handbook is silent on how Synod shall form
committees at a Synodical Convention and conduct their business such has the
result that there is no direction to a District as to how to form committees
at a District Convention and how such committees will conduct their business;
and
WHEREAS, at the 2000 District Convention of the PSWD the District President
organized the committees with a majority of the persons on each committees
working for the church, which clearly discriminated against the lay people of
our church is a direct violation of Holy Scripture in that we are all equal in
the Kingdom of God; and
WHEREAS, there is a definite need to establish in the LCMS Handbook how
committees are to be formed at Synodical and District Convention, and how the
committees are to perform their functions so as to give life to the statement
of our Lord that we clergy and layman are equal in the Kingdom of God;
NOW THEREFORE, The Lutheran Concerns Association does hereby request that
the LCMS Convention in 2004 and each District Convention in 2003 adopt the
following recommendations:
(1) Committees appointed to a Synodical or District Convention should have
an odd number, between 9-15, and in order to bring the needed perspective of
the clergy and commissioned ministers, one pastor and one commissioned
minister shall be appointed. As to the balance of the members of the
committee, they are to be selected by drawing the names from a container
holding the names of the delegates to the convention.
(2) That votes of the members of the committee shall be public and recorded
by the chairman as a part of his report to the convention.
(3) That at any meeting of the committee, initial or otherwise, any person,
delegate or otherwise, who is a member of an LCMS congregation should have the
right to address the committee on Overtures which have been assigned to it. A
second or subsequent statement by a member to a committee shall be at the
discretion of the chairman.
(4) At the initial meeting of a committee, the committee members shall
elect the chairman. Any meeting of a committee shall be preceded by a notice
of at least two weeks of the intention to meet citing time and place.
(5) The so-called Behnken rule should be abolished. This rule is the means
whereby a chairman of a convention can arbitrarily rule from the chair that a
proposed amendment is a substitute, not an amendment, and then the proponent
has two minutes to explain why the convention's time should be consumed to
take up the measure. No part of the two minutes can be used to explain the
merits of the proposal, only why it should be taken up.
The existence of this rule is means whereby a committee chairman and the
presiding officer at a convention can effectively keep it buried in a
committee, a measure that a convention should discuss. It is the means whereby
an institution can sweep under the rug an issue which needs discussion in the
church but is considered controversial or politically incorrect; and
FURTHER, that the By-laws of each of the 35 Districts of the LCMS be
amended at the District Conventions in 2003 so that Committees organized at
the 2003 District Conventions will be consistent with the foregoing structure.