Lawsuits and More . . . ?

Board of Directors’ Majority Chooses Biblical Course of Action

By Mike Ramey

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?  I Corinthians 6:1

            The minutes of the November 2004 meeting of the Board of Directors (BOD) of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod reveal that a majority of the Board turned down a resolution “To Seek Legal Remedy to Confirm Board’s Authority.”  Nine voted against the resolution and five for it.  (Visit www.lcms.org to read the complete minutes.)

            A very detailed resolution, its closing statement summarizes the gist of its content: “Resolved, That the Board of Directors seek legal remedy through the courts of the State of Missouri to confirm the authority granted to it by the Constitution and Bylaws of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.” 

 

A Step in the Right Direction

            What did the BOD majority’s vote accomplish?

• Not taking the Synod to court
• Upholding the time-honored understanding that the Synod in Convention is our church’s legislative body
• Honoring the following resolutions adopted at the July 2004 Convention:

               Resolution 7-02A  “To Amend Synodical Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws Regarding Office and Board Responsibilities”

                 Resolution 7-21  To Amend Constitution Regarding Officer Board and Responsibilities”  (This resolution, adopted by 71% of Convention delegates, is currently before member congregations of the Synod for ratification.)

• Upholding the biblical admonition not to take our differences to secular courts

What the Apostle Paul Is Getting At

            The congregation in Corinth to whom Paul addresses his comments was a most contentious group.  They were ready and willing to take their differences to pagan courts.  Paul’s words make clear what was happening:

1.     They had “disputes,” a reference not to criminal cases but to arguments over such things as property rights

2.     They “dared” to go to court when they should have been working matters out among themselves.

3.     Their disputes were “with another.”  In other words, each of the parties has something against the other.  It’s not a one-sided disagreement.

God intends Christians to settle their disputes using Christian love,

godly justice and moral patience.  To believe that the “mutual conversation and consolation” of the saints is unable to carry out such judgment is to disregard God’s presence among His people.  Paul is not questioning whether disputes arise among believers.  Rather, he is challenging the manner in which they address their differences.

Why the BOD Minority Voted to Go to Court

            The five BOD members who voted for the resolution to go to court maintain that Resolutions 7-02A and 7-21 “ignor(e) the not-for-profit statutes of the State of Missouri.”  They base this belief on legal opinions rendered by the Bryan Cave law firm, at the request of the BOD earlier this year.  It is significant that neither the BOD’s specific questions to the Bryan Cave firm nor the Cave opinions, given in response to those specific questions, have ever been made public.

            Of further significance is the fact that the Synod’s regular legal counsel has not indicated that Resolutions 7-02A and 7-21 in any way jeopardize the Synod.  Furthermore, the not-for-profit statutes of the State of Missouri are not being violated.  Other legal counsel (funded by private donors, not by the Synod) agrees.  The BOD’s scope of authority is clearly delineated in these resolutions and need not be contested:  “The Board of Directors . . . shall exercise supervision over all the property and business affairs of the Synod except in those areas where it has delegated such authority to and agency of the Synod or where the voting members of the Synod through the adoption of Bylaws or by other convention action have assigned specific areas of responsibility to separate corporate or true entities . . .” (author’s emphasis).

            By God’s grace, the Synod in Convention has spoken.  We salute the BOD majority for following the Scriptures, while wondering why a resolution that would drag the Synod into the secular courts wasn’t unanimously defeated.  All of us need to heed St. Paul’s clear admonition: The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already.  Why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be cheated?  Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. . . But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  (I Corinthians 6: 7-8, 11)

 

Dr. John Mike Ramey is pastor of Family of Faith Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas.