TO:      LCMS District Presidents

FROM:      Dr. Betty Duda
                  Dr. Jean Garton
                  Mr. Oscar Hanson
                  Dr. Ed Trapp, Jr.

DATE:    September 5, 2002

RE:         Action by the Board of Directors

      The minutes of the recent Board of Directors meeting are now public.  As a result, some district presidents, as well as pastors and lay people in various districts, have asked about an action taken by the Board from which we dissented and for which we registered our negative votes.  In order to provide you with the basis for our action, we have prepared the following memo.

      As members of the LCMS Board of Directors, we did not support the Board's adoption of  "A Statement to the Church" which appears in the Board minutes of August 15-18, 2002.  The minutes record our negative votes against the "Statement," and we regret that a majority of Board members chose to publicly air their differences with a fellow Board member, namely, the President of the Synod, and also with one of the Synod's distinguished boards, the Board for Communication Services.

The Board's "Statement" takes issue with and publicly criticizes the actions of the BCS and the Synodical President, in violation of Board Policy 5.7.1.2.  That is especially regrettable now that the authority of both the President and the BCS (to take the specific actions questioned by the Board of Directors) has been upheld by the recent ruling of the Synod's Commission on Constitutional Matters.  [Opinion 02-2282 - 8/20/02]

      Moreover, in order to disseminate and publicize the "Statement," the resolution authorizes the expenditure of funds from "the surplus included in the budget for the current year."   This comes at a time when our Synod's financial situation is so critical that the Board has had to cut back on funding for missions, education and other programs as well, resulting in the elimination of approximately 70 staff positions at the national level.

      Finally, we believe that this Board action exceeds the authority vested in the Board by the Synod, especially as that authority was clarified in the CCM opinion of August 20th.  These concerns and others were presented to our colleagues on the Board before a vote was taken.  Our desire to submit a minority report was expressed, and even though some stated that their opposition was a matter of conscience, that request was denied based on an erroneous interpretation of BOD policy 2.2.5.   Those registering negative votes agree to corporately "follow decisions" of the Board but, nevertheless, always retain the right of individual dissent and disagreement.  The LCMS has historically advocated "full disclosure" and has not condoned holding in secret the workings of the church.  Surely this "open book" practice ought be continued, especially at this time of severe tensions in the Synod.

      Valiant efforts are being made to resolve those tensions through a series of conferences, and it is our prayer that the Board's action will not make the reconciliation process more difficult.  Your prayers are urged for all members of the Board and for our entire Synod.  May God's Holy Spirit guide us all as we seek to achieve a greater measure of unity for the sake of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.