# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2010_S136
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

136

RESOLUTIONS

examining the candidates for certification . These additions will provide input on the effectiveness of the
candidates’ preparation .
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3 .8 .3 .5 ColloquyCommissioned ministry colloquy programs prepare men and women who are currently serving in
ministry roles for membership in the Synod .
(a) Colloquy programs ensure that those who seek to join
the Synod have been educated in theology, have become oriented to service to the Synod, and have demonstrated the professional and spiritual attributes that the Synod expects of its
members .
(b) Qualified applicants are those who are competent workers in the field for which they seek colloquy .;therefore, colloquy
does not provide basic preparation for the field of service . For
example, colloquy does not provide courses in lesson preparation; rather, it provides a theological education to professionally
qualified teachers .

Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry
3 .8 .3 .5 .1 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry shall consist of a
vice-president the First Vice-President of the Synod as chair,the
executive director of the Board for University Education a representative of Concordia University System, and two college/
university presidents . appointed by the The President of the
Synod, two Concordia University System faculty involved in
colloquy appointed by the president of Concordia University
System, and one representative from CUEnet . shall appoint the
vice-president of the Synod and the two college/university presidents serving on the committee . The vice-president appointed
by the President shall be the chairman of the committee .
(a) The committee shall direct the Synod activity in matters
of colloquies for commissioned ministers . For each minister of
religion–commissioned category, the colloquy committee shall
oversee the prerequisites for applications, required courses of
study, and internship expectations .
(b) The committee shall also establish and monitor academic and theological standards for each of the colloquy programs .
The committee shall consult the directors of the programs at the
Synod’s colleges and universities when establishing or reviewing the standards .
(c) The committee shall render a report on the commissioned-minister colloquy activities to each convention of the
Synod .

Application and Certification
3 .8 .3 .5 .2 Each individual college or university shall be responsible for acting upon applications and for establishing a
prescribed program of study (including the requisite courses in
theology) for each person admitted .
(a)Each of the Synod’s colleges and universities shall have a
colloquy examining committee .
(b)The institution’s president shall appoint the committee,
and it shall include the directors of the commissioned-ministry
programs .
3 .8 .3 .5 .2 .1 Persons seeking membership in the Synod
through a colloquy program for commissioned ministry shall
2010 Convention Proceedings

submit an application to one of the Concordia campuses offering the desired colloquy program or to Concordia University
Education Network (CUEnet) when applicable . Determination
of the applicant’s eligibility to begin a course of study shall rest
with each institution and/or with CUEnet . The student shall also
be notified regarding the remaining procedures outlined in this
section .
(a)After the student’s application has been reviewed and accepted and a course of study has been prescribed, the student
may begin taking courses .
(b)As the student begins taking the courses prescribed, the
endorsement of the district president (and others, depending
upon program) shall be sought by the student .
3 .8 .3 .5 .2 .2 After the prescribed course of study has been
completed and all endorsements have been finalized, the student
shall be examined by a faculty colloquy examining committee .
(a)If the faculty colloquy examining committee finds the
student satisfactorily prepared for ministry, the committee shall
recommend the student to the full faculty for certification .
(b)After the student has been certified, the chairman of the
colloquy examining committee for commissioned ministry shall
cause the name of the student to be published in an official periodical of the Synod .
(c)The chairman of the Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry shall notify the Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry of any objections received from the church .
3 .8 .3 .5 .2 .3 The Colloquy Committee for Commissioned
Ministry, in its sole discretion, shall decide whether an objection is valid .
(a)The decision of the committee cannot be appealed .
(b)If no valid objection is submitted to the chairman of the
Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry within a period of four weeks following publication of notice, the student
shall be declared eligible for placement .

Placement
3 .8 .3 .5 .3 When all requirements have been met, including a
final oral examination, the faculty of the respective educational
institution shall declare that the student is a candidate for placement as a minister of religion–commissioned .
(a) Such action shall be reported to the chairman of the Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry and the appropriate district president .
(b)Notice of the action shall be published in an official periodical of the Synod .
3 .8 .3 .5 .3 .1 The Council of Presidents, acting as the Board of
Assignments, shall assign a call to the candidate .

Teacher Colloquy Admission and Curriculum
3 .8 .3 .5 .4 Before submitting an application to the teacher
colloquy program, each prospective applicant shall have been a
communicant member in good standing of a congregation of the
Synod for at least the past two years and shall possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution . He or she shall have
completed student teaching under the supervision of a Synod institution offering a bachelor’s degree in teacher education or one
year of successful teaching in a school recognized by the Synod .
3 .8 .3 .5 .4 .1 Students shall complete eight courses in biblical
interpretation, church history, the Lutheran Confessions, doc-