# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S173
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

LATE REPORTS AND OVERTURES
Bylaw 3.19 2 b provides that reports and overtures must
be submitted not later than 18 weeks prior to the opening
day of the convention. March 6, 1998, was therefore the
deadline date for this information.
The same Bylaw goes on to state: “No report or overture
received subsequent to that date shall be accepted for convention consideration unless a committee consisting of the
President, the First Vice-President, and the Secretary adjudge it to be a matter of overriding importance and urgency which is not adequately covered by documents already before the convention.”
After a careful evaluation of these documents, the committee referred to in the Bylaw decided to approve the following for consideration by the convention (the text of each
of these is printed on these pages):
L1-19

To Promote Congregationally Based
Urban and Cross-Cultural Mission
WHEREAS, The Lord Jesus Christ equipped His church
with power from on high in order that they might be His
witnesses in every place on earth until the end of time; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in its
1992 convention in Pittsburgh formally recognized the
United States as a world mission field; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in its
1995 convention in St. Louis reaffirmed its commitment to
mission in the urban setting, to immigrants, and to various
ethnic groups, especially Latinos; and
WHEREAS, The flow of immigrants to this country continues and American culture is becoming further removed
from the Christian consensus it once had, so that we are increasingly living in a non-Christian society; and
WHEREAS, The methods that have proven successful in
foreign mission fields are being used with great advantage
in the United States, including Church Extension through
Leadership Development and Theological Education by Extension; and
WHEREAS, The ultimate success of mission in the United
States will depend on the effectiveness of the local people
and their pastors as they work in partnership with the Districts and the Synod that exist to serve them; therefore be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
in convention once again reaffirm that our primary responsibility is to our Lord and Savior, and that we are called
and equipped by God to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ
known throughout the world by the power and authority
which He has received for our sake; and be it further
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
reaffirm that the local congregation, a gathering of people
around Word and Sacrament, is the primary agency God
uses for mission and ministry in the world; and be it further
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
give thanks for the workers who have labored, often at con173

siderable personal costs, in urban, cross-cultural, and ethnic-specific ministries throughout this country; and be it
further
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
encourage congregations, schools, and ministries to innovate, to try new things, and especially to build relationships
in their local community as a means for developing contextualized mission strategies for their own situations; and be
it further
Resolved, That the new workers being sent to urban and
ethnic ministries receive subsidized mission training, similar to the specialized training that foreign missionaries receive, in order to give them the understandings and skills
needed for effective urban and ethnic mission work, to be
coordinated through North America Missions (perhaps in
cooperation with the seminaries, DELTO, or the Post-Seminary Applied Learning [PAL]) programs; and be it finally
Resolved, That criteria and procedures be established by
North America Missions and the Board for Evangelism Services for designating congregations and ministries of the
LCMS as mission stations that qualify to participate in Together in Mission or a similar program.
St. John the Evangelist
Brooklyn, NY
L5-64

To Establish an Ordained Diaconate
Rationale:
For several years the Board for Higher Education, the
Standing Committee for Pastoral Ministry, and the Council
of Presidents have been studying our Synod’s need for
church workers. There is a growing number of congregations whose pastoral needs cannot be provided by full-time
pastors. Frequently, this is due to financial constraints in
rural and urban areas, but now an increasing number of
immigrants need to be reached in their native language. It
is not unusual for a congregation to have immigrants from
places such as Sudan, India, and Asia, necessitating pastoral care in several languages. Our Synod needs to meet
these challenges in rural and urban congregations as well as
the rapidly growing opportunities among immigrant groups.
A consultation group was jointly convened by synodical
President Barry and the Board for Higher Education to define a solution to these needs. The consultation group includes the synodical President and First Vice-President,
both seminary presidents, five District Presidents, two
parish pastors, a representative of the Board for Mission
Services, and staff. A full report of the meeting of the consultation group appears in the Workbook, pp. 83–84.
The following proposal recognizes the validity of the
needs identified in the Wichita convention resolution that
authorized establishment of laymen annually licensed to
provide pastoral services. This proposal provides a more
structured approach to providing pastoral care in situations
where a congregation cannot utilize a full-time pastor.