# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S398
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

398

INTERNATIONAL WITNESS

WHEREAS, CCM Op. 14-2724 incorrectly restricts the mission
outreach of congregations and others to give bold witness by word
and deed to the love and work of God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit; and
WHEREAS, The above-noted overture (2015 Texas District Res.
02-01-15A) appears in the 2016 Workbook as Overture 2-04; and
See 2019 Ov. 2-03, above, for the complete text of 2016 Ov. 2-04,
“To Overrule CCM Opinion 14-2724.”
WHEREAS, Three other districts, three district board of directors,
one circuit, and seventeen congregations also adopted this
resolution; and
WHEREAS, 2016 Overtures 2-07 and 2-09 also requested that
CCM Op. 14-2724 be overruled; and
WHEREAS, LCMS Bylaw 3.9.2.2 (c) regarding the CCM says, in
part, “An opinion rendered by the commission shall be binding on
the question decided unless and until it is overruled by a convention
of the Synod. Overtures to a convention that seek to overrule an
opinion of the commission shall support the proposed action with
substantive rationale from the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions
of the Synod. All such overtures shall be considered by the floor
committee to which they have been assigned and shall be included
in a specific report to the convention with recommendations for
appropriate action”; and
WHEREAS, No such report was given to the 2016 Synod
convention; and
WHEREAS, No disposition of these overtures whatsoever is
recorded in the 2016 Proceedings; therefore be it
Resolved, That the resolution in question be submitted as an
overture to the 2019 Synod convention by the adoption of this
current resolution; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod be directed to assure
that the provisions of Bylaw 3.9.2.2 (c) are followed with respect to
this resolution and any other resolution that becomes an overture to
the Synod asking for a Committee on Constitutional Matters
opinion to be overruled; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Eastern District in its 99th convention
memorialize the 2019 Synod convention to adopt this resolution and
to overrule CCM Op. 14-2724, to be thereby declared null and void
and of no effect.
Eastern District
Ov. 2-10

To Amend Synod Bylaws to Recognize Authority
of Congregations to Send Missionaries
WHEREAS, The Lord Jesus Christ sent us into His mission field
with the words, “Go you, therefore, and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19); and
WHEREAS, The last words that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
spoke on earth were, “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon 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), clearly charging all of His people to bear brave witness
and to proclaim the Gospel to all the world, giving all of us, the
Synod, congregations, and individuals, the promise of the power of
the Holy Spirit to carry out this command; and

2019 Convention Workbook

WHEREAS, The church at Antioch, while worshiping, was
instructed by the Holy Spirit to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which God had called them. The congregation recognized
this divine call to missionary service and released Saul and
Barnabas to serve in this evangelistic mission (Acts 13:1−3). This
is the basis for the right of congregations to call and send
missionaries; and
WHEREAS, God’s Word does not say that the church at Antioch
consulted with the church in Jerusalem or any of the other apostles
before releasing Paul and Barnabas to their missionary service; and
WHEREAS, The Treatise on the Power and the Primacy of the
Pope states, “For wherever the church exists, the right to administer
the Gospel also exists. Wherefore it is necessary for the church to
retain the right of calling, electing, and ordaining ministers. This
right is a gift given exclusively to the church, and no human
authority can take it away from the church. It is as Paul testifies to
the Ephesians when he says, ‘When he ascended on high he gave
gifts to men’ (Eph. 4:8, 11, 12). He enumerates pastors and teachers
among the gifts belonging exclusively to the church, and he adds
that they are given for the work of ministry and for building up the
body of Christ” (Tr 67, ed. Tappert). Ephesians 4 also lists apostles,
prophets, and evangelists as those gifts which God has given to His
Church. By extension, it is the right of the congregation to call
missionaries for the expansion of the Kingdom of God; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)
recognizes the congregation as the entity through which God calls
pastors to proclaim the Gospel; and
WHEREAS, The Board for International Mission (BIM), the
districts of the Synod, and other non-congregational entities derive
their authority to call from the congregations they represent; and
WHEREAS, CCM Opinion 14-2724 states, “Foreign missions is a
jurisdiction that the Synod has retained for itself (Bylaw 4.1.5).
Districts and congregations may not call rostered church workers
for service in foreign areas, as supported throughout the Bylaws of
the Synod.” This interpretation impinges on the rights of
congregations to serve as the agency through which God calls His
workers; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention affirm and encourage
the biblical right of each congregation to call pastors and
missionaries to serve the congregation locally and/or to serve on
their behalf anywhere there is a need for the Good News of Jesus
Christ; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod in convention affirm the rights of those
who represent congregations (such as the BIM, districts of the
Synod, Recognized Service Organizations, and LCMS mission
agencies) to call workers on behalf of the congregations they
represent; and be it further
Resolved, That the Northwest District memorialize the Synod in
convention to amend its bylaws to reflect this theological truth.
Specifically, Bylaw 3.8.3 (regarding the BIM) and Bylaw 4.1.5
(regarding Synod/district jurisdiction) should be amended as
follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Board for International Mission
3.8.3
The Board for International Mission is charged with
developing and determining policies in support of mission and
ministry in foreign countries for the Office of International Mission
(Bylaw 1.2.1 [m]). …