# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S277
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

IX. REPORT OF THE RES. 5-14A TASK FORCE
Additional Fundamental Concerns
The life of the Church is found in the Word of God proclaimed and
the Sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution. This
is how the Spirit gathers people so that they may receive the life of
Christ in those means—and in turn participate in the giving of that
same divine life, forgiveness, and salvation to others. The Church is
ever inviting people into the worship of the triune God, for receiving
Him in worship we receive the only true life there is. Congregations
that are turned inward, concerned only with their own members, or
interested only in current “outsiders” who resemble present members, will not be able to grow and thrive. As a Synod, we must help
one another to be open to people unlike ourselves, to be ever inviting sinners to repentance and faith in Christ, whoever they are and
wherever they are from. This is why we have several efforts to form
pastors who are multilingual or who are from various ethnic immigrant groups and other minorities. This is fundamental to the life of
the Church. Because it is fundamental, the Synod should do more to
track, gather, and analyze data with respect to our district and congregational outreach efforts with, for instance, Hispanics and various
other ethnic groups. What we value, we count.
Another concern is that the position of Executive Director for
Pastoral Education should be filled as soon as possible.42 We need
someone in this position continually to raise up before the Synod
the necessity of a well-formed pastorate, as well as the needs of the
various pastoral formation efforts outlined in this report. This individual will work with the Pastoral Formation Committee proposed
below to help the seminaries coordinate programs and collaborate
with each other more effectively. In order to survive and to serve
the Synod in the best way possible, our two seminaries will need to
increase their present efforts at coordination and collaboration even
more. For instance, there could be theological working groups formed
around theological education issues for Hispanics and other ethnic
immigrants. Seminaries could coordinate courses, especially in their
certificate programs, for the most effective use of professors and staff.
Again, for example, the two current Hispanic programs, CHS and
BPFL, could share courses and resources to increase efficiency.
Ethnic pastoral formation programs need to be effectively bilingual to serve the complex needs of immigrant congregations with
multiple generations. First-generation immigrants appreciate the language of the homeland. Second generations are much more likely to
be bilingual and third generation folks even more so. As a result, while
the use of English as a second language (ESL) or another foreign language (e.g., Spanish) in certificate programs for ethnic immigrants
may be acceptable for a time, we need to encourage the use of English
in all routes to ministry. More than that, all of our pastors, no matter the route to ministry, must be trained and formed to the highest
standards pastorally and academically. By the way, this is also why
we must provide both realistic “growth paths” and effective encouragement for men trained in certificate programs to progress toward
alternate route certification or a master of divinity degree. Even as we
need all our routes to the pastoral office, we need to raise the standards
for all, providing realistic means to do so. All of this takes funding,
both for scholarships and for program support. Perhaps the Synod
should undertake something like a “Global Seminary Initiative” to
broaden the base of support for these efforts by our seminaries.
Specific Actions Recommended
The task force recognizes the need to ensure that all who are
ordained are well-qualified. Greater agreement is needed regarding the core components of the curriculum requirements for all the

277

programs by which the church prepares her pastors. Greater coordination and collaboration between our seminaries on pastoral outcomes
or core competencies would also be beneficial. To accomplish these
goals, the task force specifically recommends the following actions
for the Synod:
Recommendation 1—Define Clearly the Distinguishing
Characteristics of Each of the Means by Which Pastors Are
Recruited, Trained, and Formed
First of all, every pastor recruited, trained, and formed through
all the various routes to ordination in our Synod is prepared for the
one office Christ has given His Church, the office of preaching and
administering the Sacraments for and on behalf of God’s people. The
basic qualifications laid out in Scripture (e.g., 1 Timothy 3:1–7) are
the same for each. However, there are different levels of education
and training involved for the various categories since there are different circumstances in which men serve as pastors. In other words,
some routes to ordination prepare men who will focus on particular
ministry contexts. Others, often with greater academic requirements,
prepare men for broader, more general service across the Synod. The
task force believes it will be helpful to explain more clearly the distinguishing characteristics of the various means by which pastors
are raised up and formed by the Church. For the sake of clarity and
understanding, we discern three general categories of pastoral preparation and formation:
1. Pastors Prepared for More General Service across the Synod
2. Pastors Prepared for Service in Particular Ministry Contexts
3. Specific Ministry Pastors

These categories of pastoral formation may be summarized as
follows:
Category One—Pastors Prepared for More General Service
across the Synod
Several of our traditional residential routes to ordination provide
a level of education and pastoral formation that makes graduates of
these programs eligible for call to any position for which the calling
body may judge them competent. All other things being equal, the
following residential routes provide the most thorough pastoral formation, the graduates of which are all considered general pastors.
Master of Divinity
Our two basic residential programs, one at each seminary, provide a depth of education and pastoral formation that prepares men
for general service in the church. The MDiv residential programs are
the preferred routes for most pastors, providing a fulsome threeyear academic degree program, plus a full year of vicarage/internship.
Certification is by the seminary faculty.
Mobility: may accept a call to any field of service for which the calling entity deems the man qualified
Supervision: under the general supervision of the district president
with the assistance of the circuit visitors
Limitations: none beyond the general requirements for all pastors
(conditions of membership) in the Synod’s Constitution and Bylaws.

Residential Alternate Route
Both seminaries provide programs by which commissioned ministers of the Synod and/or men with significant parish experience may
study for up to two years at a seminary (plus a full year of vicarage)
and receive a theological diploma. Certification is by the respective
seminary faculty.
2016 Convention Workbook