# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S275
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION 275

7-118

To Change Designations Minister of Religion,
Ordained, and Minister of Religion, Commissioned,
in Synodical Literature

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus teaches us to “render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”
(Mark 12:17), and St. Paul instructs us to “render to all their due:
taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to
whom fear, honor to whom honor’ (Rom. 13:7); and

WHEREAS, The Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod was amended in 1992 to designate its members by the IRS
terminology ministers of religion—ordained and ministers of reli-
gion—commissioned, replacing the term ministers of the Gospel;
and

WHEREAS, The IRS titles its Publication 517 “Social Security
and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious
Workers”:

“If a church or denomination ordains some ministers and li-
censes or commissions others, anyone licensed or commissioned
must be able to perform substantially all the religious functions
of an ordained minister to be treated as a minister for social se-
curity purposes’;

and

WuHerEAS, The men and women listed as “ministers of reli-
gion—commissioned” in The Lutheran Annual are not “able to per-
form substantially all the religious functions” that the men listed as
“ministers of religion-ordained” may perform, since they are not
“given the authority to conduct religious worship, perform sacer-
dotal functions, and administer ... sacraments according to the pre-
scribed tenets and practices of [our] church or denomination” (IRS
Publication 517); and

WHEREAS, The Nomenclature Study Committee has recom-
mended replacing the designations, ministers of religion—ordained
and ministers of religion—commissioned with more biblical and
confessional terms; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod recog-
nize that nonordained teachers in the parochial grade schools, high
schools, colleges, and universities of the Synod; directors of Chris-
tian education; deaconesses; and directors of Christian outreach are
not authorized to administer the sacraments and are therefore not
ministers of religion—commissioned according to IRS definition;
and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in con-
vention amend the Synod’s Constitution “Article V Membership”
as follows:

PRESENF/PROPOSED WORDING

Membership in the Synod is held and may be acquired by
congregations, ministers of selg+ : +f
+e $95t the Gospel and others serving in of-
fices which involve part of the ministry of the Gospel, such as
teachers, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian
outreach, deaconesses, and certified lay ministers of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church who confess and accept the confes-
sional basis of Article IT,

and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Annual and other publications of
the Synod no longer list teachers, directors of Christian education,
directors of Christian outreach, and certified by lay ministers as
“commissioned ministers”; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod direct its legal counsel to inform all
members of the Synod (as listed in Art. V of the Constitution) of
any consequences this action may have on the members’ obliga-
tions to the IRS.

Quincy Circuit Forum
Central Illinois District

7-119

To Change Nomenclature for Classifying

Church Workers

WHEREAS, the Lord of the Church has richly blessed the church
with the gifts of men and women who have committed their lives to
full-time service in the Lord’s Kingdom as workers in congrega-
tions and other entities of the Synod; and

WHEREAS, it is important that the Synod maintain a roster of
church workers that includes only those persons who have been de-
clared eligible through a certification process for service by our
Synod, and are on the roster of the Synod, thus eligible for calls,
and under the supervision of the Synod’s elected officials; there-
fore be it

Resolved, that the Synod in convention adopt a two-fold classi-
fication of all its professional, certified and rostered church workers
which consists of the following two categories:

1. Pastors

2. Teachers and Associates in Ministry;

and be it further

Resolved, that Chapter VII of the Synod’s Bylaws be removed;
and be it further

Resolved, that the Synod’s Constitution be changed in Article
V, to reflect this new nomenclature as follows: “... membership
may be acquired by congregations ... and by pastors, teachers and
associates in ministry ... who confess and accept the confessional
basis of Article II ...”; and be it finally .

Resolved, that the Secretary of the Synod be instructed in the
preparation of the 1998 Handbook to reflect this nomenclature
change throughout the Bylaws.

Nomenclature Study Committee

7-120

To Affirm Continued Use of Current
Nomenclature for Commissioned Ministers

WHEREAS, The process of addressing Res. 5-21, “To Study
Classification of Professional Church Workers,” adopted by the
1992 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has led
to the appointment of a special committee by the Synod’s Presi-
dent, which has been studying roster classifications and has sug-
gested alternative nomenclature titles, especially for commissioned
ministers, the result of which might remove historically affirmed
and significant terms such as minister or ministry from called work-
ers who are not ordained; and

WuereEasS, Removal of these terms minister and ministry could
be confusing to the church and quite likely hurtful and dishearten-
ing to those serving in the officially rostered, commissioned min-
istry of the church; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in con-
vention affirm the continued use of nomenclature which incorpo-
rates the terms ministry and minister in the title of commissioned
ministers; and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod con-
vention reaffirm Resolution 5-09A, “To Classify Ministers of Re-
ligion,” adopted by the 1983 convention of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod, “to declare unequivocally which positions are
regarded by the Synod as contributing vitally to discharging the of-
fice of the public ministry,” by continued use of the classifications
“ministers of religion, ordained” and “ministers of religion, com-
missioned.”

Principals Conference
Michigan District