# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S443
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

ROUTES TO MINISTRY
13-13

To Affirm, Encourage, and Continue Ministry
of Licensed Lay Deacons
Whereas, As Jesus shared the purpose of His ministry to be saving the lost, “for the Son of man came to seek and to save what was
lost” (Luke 19:10); and
Whereas, As Jesus left this world at His ascension, the primary
job He gave His Church is mission work, the sharing of Jesus’ saving love with all creation: “Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age” (Matt. 28:19−20); He told them, “This is what is written:
The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and
repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46−47); “But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8); and
Whereas, God tells the Early Church that He wants all to be
saved: “God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come
to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3b−4); “The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9); and
Whereas, Jesus calls His Church to pray for workers: “When
He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to
His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask
the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (Matt. 9:37−38); and
Whereas, A list of servants and offices to guide and lead and
equip and serve God’s Church is listed in Ephesians 4: “It was He
who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph.
4:11−12); and
Whereas, Deacons are appointed in Acts 6 to wait on tables, but
the Spirit leads Philip and Stephen to spread the Good News as they
baptize and teach (Acts 6−8); and
Whereas, Martin Luther considered those listed in Acts 6:1−6
who were appointed to assist in the food distribution to be deacons;
and
Whereas, The ministry of deacons, contrasted to the ministry of
bishops and overseers, is noted in Holy Scripture in such passages as
Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8–15; and
Whereas, Throughout the history of the Church, God’s people
have prayed for pastors to preach and teach, bring God’s sacraments,
and equip God’s people for the work of ministry. However, in times of
need and appropriate opportunity, others such as Origen in Jerusalem
and Melancthon in Wittenberg preached and brought the sacraments
to God’s people; and
Whereas, As Lutheran Christians who subscribe to the Lutheran
Confessions, we affirm our commitment to the Augsburg Confession
and Article XIV but do not see the word ordain in this article; and
Whereas, As Lutheran Christians who subscribe to the Lutheran
Confessions, we read the Introduction to the Formula of Concord and
see that Scripture has final authority among us (sola Scriptura); and

443

Whereas, While in Scripture those being called to ministry
receive the laying on of hands; nevertheless, C. F. W. Walther identified ordination as a man-made rite; and
Whereas, Walther recognized “auxiliary/helping” offices as
offices to assist ordained pastors and to further the ministry of the
Gospel; and
Whereas, In the LCMS, ordained pastors supervise vicars, faculty, staff, and volunteers who serve the flock of God as extensions
of the one Office of the Holy Ministry and help to spread the saving
Gospel of Jesus; and
Whereas, Supervising pastors who guide the word of licensed
lay deacons are well within their scope as “episkopos” or “presbyteros” as deacons also serve as extensions of the one Office of the
Holy Ministry; and
Whereas, Licensed lay deacons serving under supervising pastors are doing so under the direction and blessing of the autonomous
congregation; and
Whereas, Deacon training programs have provided an effective
and economically efficient means to equip laity to serve pastors and
congregations in a variety of ministries including small, remote, or
cross-cultural congregations; and
Whereas, With careful oversight by the district president, faithfully enforcing the policies and guidelines for the use of licensed lay
deacons as provided in the Council of Presidents Manual regarding
the tasks of supervising pastors, etc., there need be no concerns or
debate concerning AC XIV; and
Whereas, Many who have received the training as a licensed
lay deacon have then been led to seek ordination through one of our
Synod’s fine seminaries; and
Whereas, Congregations have been formed through the supervised work of licensed lay deacons—congregations which, by the
grace of God, have grown and are now being served by ordained
pastors; and
Whereas, Some congregations would need to close if the ministry of licensed lay deacons were discontinued; and
Whereas, Those who did not know or believe in Jesus have, by
God’s grace, at least in part through the supervised work of licensed
deacons, come to repentance and saving faith in Jesus so that they
might be saved, and some of these believers might not know Jesus if
licensed lay deacons had not been available; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2016 LCMS convention again continue, affirm,
and encourage the proper training, licensing, and supervised ministry
of licensed lay deacons in districts that desire to provide such training and oversight; and be it further
Resolved, That district presidents who have ecclesiastical oversight impress upon those ordained pastors who supervise licensed
lay deacons to be diligent and faithful in their supervision; and be
it further
Resolved, That licensed lay deacons who serve in geographically
remote or ethnically diverse settings (and therefore without the benefit of immediate pastoral supervision) be helped to seek ordination
through colloquy through the SMP, EIIT, CHS, or another appropriate route provided by the Synod in order to continue their service in
that setting; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod in convention thank the 2013 Res. 4-06A
Task Force for its report, while nevertheless continuing the ministry
of licensed lay deacons as an auxiliary office to help share the saving love of Jesus.
St. Mark, Flint, MI; St. John, Palmer, AK; St. John’s,
Dover, DE; St. Mark, Saginaw, MI; Circuit 3, California2016 Convention Workbook