# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1983_S243 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION 243 laymen, 65 LCMS teachers, 18 other ordained ministers, 18 ethnics, and 22 LCMS graduates of other seminaries. The number of men certified for ministry was 32in 1976, 30in 1977, 43 in 1978, 45 in 1979, 78 in 1980, 51 in 1981, and 63 in 1982. During the past biennium 120 men have been certified for ministry by the committee: 52 at Concordia Theological Semi- nary, Ft. Wayne; 59 at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: 8 who were not assigned any academic work, 2 at Concordia Theolog- ical Seminary, St. Catharines, Canada; and 7 at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon, Canada. Entrance and program requirements have been made more stringent during the past several years. Greek is now arequired course. Persons admitted to the program are terminated after five years if they take no steps toward completing their academic or vicarage requirements during this period of time. Also, the screening process before admitting pastors of other Lutheran church bodies has been intensified. The latter has resulted in polite rejection of several applicants and in assign- ments of additional study and supervised ministries. While the average number of pastors from other Lutheran church bodies seeking admission has been four to five a year, a total of 38 made inquiries regarding the program since July 1981. (This does not include six pastors who were transferred from The PRESENT WORDING 5.77 Eligibility Only such applicants shall be considered eligible for admission to the pastoral colloquy program as are: 1. ministers, or candidates for the ministry, who are in good standing in other Christian church bodies and are graduates of established theological seminaries; 2. men who are graduates of the Synod’s colleges, whose names appear on the roster of the Synod as teacher members of the Synod, and who have had at least 10 years of successful experience as a Lutheran teacher or director of Christian education and are in good standing in a congregation of the Synod; 3. members in good standing of synodical congre- gations who are graduates of an established non- synodical seminary; 4. members in good standing of synodical congre- gations who are over the age of 40, are college graduates, and have had considerable experience in church work; 5. members in good standing of a synodical con- gregation who belong to a special ethnic or linguistic group, who have a college-level education, and who have had considerable experience in church work. None can argue that the extra year on campus is not desirable. Such candidates would enroll as regular students and graduate with the M. Div. degree. The large number of men in the colloquy program answered a particular need in the last decade, but the increased enrollment of regular students during the past few years seems to assure us that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the demand will not exceed the supply. Floor Committee Three of the 1981 convention recom- mended: “that the Council of Presidents and the Pastoral Colloquy Board be asked to review our policy regarding acceptance of pastors from all Lutheran church bodies and report to the Synod with appropriate recommendations with a view toward uniform practice” (Proceedings, page 82). Both groups recommend: Receiving Lutheran Pastors Under Bylaw 4.77 (Eligibility), 1, and 5.81 (Program of Instruction), d: 1. Ministers, or candidates for the ministry, who arein good standing in other Lutheran church bodies and are graduates of established theological seminaries must be sponsored by a District President (5.75, d). The sponsor is obligated, if at all possible, to arrange for the applicant’s assignment through the American Lutheran Church during the same period, a process that did not necessarily involve colloquy and usually only required the approval of the two national church body Presi- dents and the two appropriate District Presidents.) There seems to besome wrong information being circulated regarding colloquy candidates. The majority are assigned courses of study in consultation with colloquy advisers and registrars of the seminary faculties. They are instructed by the same professors that teach the so-called “regular” students who are awarded the master of divinity degree. Their year of supervised ministry is monitored by experienced pastors who help them function in a parish. Coming from various walks of life, their past experience in working with people enhances their ministry. Of course, the additional theological training in the regular seminary program is still to be preferred. When younger men, especially, apply for admission to the colloquy program they are usually persuaded to complete the third year of resident study and be awarded the M. Div. degree. Colloquy men who are certified in the program are also gifts of God to the church and, like all pastors who work hard, are worthy of double honor (1 Tim. 5:17). The committee does recommend, however, that, at this point in time, the eligibility Bylaw which allows for college graduates over the age of 40 to enter the program (5.77, 4) be dropped. PROPOSED WORDING 5.77 Eligibility Only such applicants shall be considered eligible for admission to the pastoral colloquy program as are: 1. ministers, or candidates for the ministry, who are in good standing in other Christian church bodies and are graduates of established theological seminaries; 2. men who are graduates of the Synod’s colleges, whose names appear on the roster of the Synod as teacher members of the Synod, and who have had at least 10 years of successful experience as a Lutheran teacher or director of Christian education and are in good standing in a congregation of the Synod: 3. members in good standing of synodical congre- gations who are graduates of an established non- synodical seminary; 4. members in good standing of a synodical con- gregation who belong to a special ethnic or linguistic group, who have a college-level education, and who have had considerable experience in church work. Council of Presidents to a supervised ministry (‘deferred vicarage’) and in due time arrange for his assignment as a candidate with a regular call. 2. Applicants must be interviewed by the Colloquy Commit- tee or its representatives (5.81, e). At least one member of the Colloquy Committee must be present along with the sponsoring District President in this interview process. 3. Those who have completed successful interviews are to submit the usual documents (5.75, 1, 2, 3, and 4, if possible). 4. They are to be assigned a supervised ministry for 12 months, during which time they are to engage in an academic program which may include courses in pastoral theology, church polity, dogmatics, and exegesis, depending upon the need, as determined by the Colloquy Committee (5.81, a, b, c). The supervised ministry may be handled by a seminary. A special report form is to be sent to the supervisor and returned to the director of vicarage, who recommends to the Colloquy Committee whether or not the supervised ministry should be accepted as partial fulfillment of requirements for completing the colloquy program. The District President shall be consulted before the final decision for certification by the Colloquy Committee. 5. In some situations it is advisable that the candidate