# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S224 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 224 ; HIGHER EDUCATION Resolved, That those individuals teaching theology and in other departments at Concordia, Portland (or at any other Concordia Uni- versity System school), who have spoken favorably for the ordina- tion of women be granted the opportunity for final repentance by publicly recanting of this false doctrine by Sept. 1, 1998, or be summarily removed from office and from the roster of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Bethany, Fort Wayne, IN; St. John, Topeka, KS 5-55 To Evaluate Concordia Seminary, St. Louis WHEREAS, Both our St. Louis and Fort Wayne seminaries have some of the best confessional professors in the world; and WHEREAS, Despite the fact that our St. Louis and Fort Wayne seminaries are sending out many faithful young pastors, rumors continue to circulate that not all is well at one of our seminaries; and WHEREAS, A group of 102 Michigan pastors signed and circu- lated a newsletter which expressed their concerns about what some of our seminarians are being taught concerning the doctrine of the public ministry (An Evangelical Lutheran Newsletter, 1997); and WHEREAS, Reports continue to circulate throughout our Synod that Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, has professors who are advo- cating a heretical doctrine of the public ministry which promotes the unscriptural view that women may hold the pastoral office; and WuerEAS, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, has a professor who is a woman and who is teaching at the seminary; and WHEREAS, Such rumors and accusations can only hurt our Con- cordia Seminary, St. Louis, in its attempt to fulfill its responsibili- ties of training young men for the pastoral ministry; therefore be it Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in its 1998 convention instruct the synodical president to establish a spe- cial fact-finding committee to study, evaluate, and determine if the faculty of the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is faithfully teaching the scriptural and confessional view that only men may be pastors (Acts 6:3; 1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:12; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:14; AC XXIII; SA III XI, p. 499:1-3; SC Appendix II, $61:1-2 Concordia Triglotta); and be it further Resolved, That the members selected for this evaluating com- mittee be selected from the following three groups: (1) faculty from the Systematic and Exegetical Departments of Concordia Theolog- ical Seminary, Fort Wayne; (2) District Presidents from the fol- lowing three districts—Central Illinois, Montana, South Dakota; (3) dedicated laymen; and be it further Resolved, That after this evaluating committee has finished its study of the St. Louis seminary, they report their study's findings to the synodical President, who shall then take the needed steps to bring about a God-pleasing scriptural solution; and be it finally Resolved, That the synodical President inform the entire Synod through its official periodicals (Reporter and The Lutheran Wit- ness) the findings of the evaluating committee and what steps were taken to bring about a God-pleasing, scriptural, confessional con- clusion of the entire theological concern. Salem Taylorsville, NC 5-56 To Investigate Concordia Seminary, St. Louis WHEREAS, The Commission on Appeals (COA) ruled on Dec. 12, 1984, that Rev. Herman Otten (Otten) was the prevailing party at the Board of Appeals vote of Nov. 11, 1960; and Wuereas, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (hereinafter Concor- dia Seminary) has not honored the COA ruling of Dec. 12, 1984, to the present day; and Wuereas, Concordia Seminary has not approved Otten for cer- tification to this date; and WHEREAS, Under the Bylaws as of Dec. 12, 1984, all members of Synod under then prevailing Bylaw 8.69 were bound to accept rulings of COA as binding; and WHEREAS, The 1986 synodical convention approved all acts of COA for the preceding biennium; and WHEREAS, Concordia Seminary for its 1997 Theological Sym- posium had Dr. Martin Marty as a featured speaker; and WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Marty allegedly holds unorthodox views on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Sixth Commandment; and WHEREAS, The President of Concordia Seminary, the Rev. Dr. John F. Johnson, allegedly claims the Scriptures nowhere mandate the obedience of wives to their husbands; and WHEREAS, It is uncertain whether the professors at Concordia Seminary subscribe without reservation to Art. II of the synodical Constitution; and Whereas, A former member of the faculty at Concordia, while there employed, allegedly fostered false witness against another member of the faculty; and WHEREAS, Concordia Seminary took no apparent action to in- vestigate the alleged false witness; and WuerEAS, The Board of Regents of Concordia Seminary has taken no action to remedy the noncompliance of Concordia Semi- nary to the COA ruling of Dec. 12, 1984; and WHEREAS, The Board of Regents has not taken action on the al- legations presented above; therefore be it Resolved, That the synodical President appoint a special com- mittee of his choosing and number to investigate Concordia Semi- nary to determine why the COA ruling of Dec. 12, 1984, has not been honored; and be it further Resolved, That the special committee determine whether all the faculty at Concordia Seminary subscribe without reservation to Art. II of the synodical Constitution; and be it further Resolved, That the special committee determine if false doctrine is taught or tolerated at Concordia Seminary in view of the false doctrine allegedly expressed by its President; and be it finally Resolved, That the special committee report its findings to the synodical President and that the synodical President make recom- mendations concerning what remedial action, if any, ought to be taken to the next synodical convention. St. Paul Paterson, NJ 5-57 To Give Thanks to God for His Blessings on Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne WHEREAS, In the first half of the 1990s our seminary in Fort Wayne experienced a decided decline in enrollment and financial support; and WHEREAS, This decline led some in our Synod to suggest that the seminary should be closed and even sold (similar to the situa- tion that existed in the depression years of the 1930s, when the Synod in convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935 actually did vote to close the seminary but then relented and kept the seminary alive, thus helping Synod in its years of doctrinal tribulation in the 1970s to remain faithful to the Word of God); and WHEREAS, Within the past several years our gracious Lord has granted a remarkable tumaround in Fort Wayne, resulting in a 50 percent increase in the enrollment in the seminary 1 class in Sep- tember 1997 over the two previous years with prospects of another sizeable increase in the enrollment in the seminary 1 class this fall; and WHEREAS, An increasing flow of students from the former So- viet Union and from many other nations around the world has cre- ated a truly global excitement for the spread of the Gospel of Christ on the Fort Wayne campus; and