# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S139 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) CONGREGATIONAL SERVICES 139 Resolved, That pastors and congregations be encouraged to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest field” (Matt. 9:38). Wheaton Circuit Forum Minnesota North District 2-18 To Establish Placement Process for CRM Pastors WHEREAS, There are many qualified pastors on candidate status who desire to receive a call to serve a congregation; and WHEREAS, The church at large is continually reminded of the number of vacant congregations currently in the Synod; and WHEREAS, Pastors on candidate status often go for long periods without receiving any calls; and WHEREAS, These pastors could help alleviate the number of va- cancies; and Whereas, Many vacant congregations are either unaware of the availability of pastors on candidate status or for some reason are reluctant to call such pastors; therefore be it Resolved, That the Council of Presidents be directed to estab- lish a suitable placement process for pastors on candidate status who request such placement; and be it further Resolved, That District Presidents encourage vacant congrega- tions to request the placement of a pastor on candidate status when appropriate. St. Peter Vincennes, IN To Provide Alternative Pastoral Placement Wuereas, The current call system does not always provide calls to pastors who are in need of a different congregation; and WueREAS, The number of calls pastors receive throughout their ministry varies greatly; and WHEREAS, Congregational conflict may necessitate rapid movement of pastors to alleviate pastoral resignations; and WHEREAS, Ministerial health may be better encouraged and promoted as pastors recognize there are options available for them to avoid the difficulties of intractable and virtually irreversibly hostile situations offered within the called ministry of the LCMS; therefore be it Resolved, That the District Presidents be encouraged to continue to provide suitable pastoral placements that are sensitive to the gifts and needs of pastors and congregations; and be it further Resolved, That District Presidents continue to provide such suitable placements especially when an immediate need for a new placement is necessary; and be it further Resolved, That the Council of Presidents develop an alternative system of pastor placement that will offer the option for the immediate placement of pastors who find it immediately necessary to leave; and be it further Resolved, That the Council of Presidents present such proposal to the 2001 LCMS convention; and be it finally Resolved, That the Council of Presidents consider such alternative system to be based on placement procedures currently in use in the LCMS (e.g., current seminary placement, colloquy vicarages, missionary placements, and so on) and which exude and uphold the biblical teaching and LCMS practice of the divine call. St. John Midland, MI 2-20 To Place Candidates by Drawing Lots WHEREAS, The assignment of calls for new graduates from the synodical seminaries to congregations in the LCMS has become politicized by the Council of Presidents as typified by the 32 grad- uates who were not placed in May 1992; and WHEREAS, Students have been reluctant to enroll in the synodi- cal seminaries because they do not want to subject themselves to four years of study only to become political pawns of the COP; and WHEREAS, There has been a marked decline in enrollment at the Synod’s seminaries resulting in a shortage of pastors, which is in part due to the politicizing of the call process by the COP; and- WHEREAS, The present process of assigning calls gives the ap- pearance, if it is not in fact, of being marred by subjectivity and fa- voritism; and WHEREAS, The 1998 LCMS convention agreed to choose be- tween two candidates for the Board of Higher Education by lots in- stead of a politicized election process; and WHEREAS, The convention was encouraged that selection by lots was biblical and God pleasing; therefore be it Resolved, That all new graduates be placed by drawing lots in order to remove the appearance of politics, subjectivity, and fa- voritism from the call process; and be it further Resolved, That placement by lots of new graduates is biblical and God pleasing; and be it further Resolved, That the assigning of all pastoral candidates and the selection of the calling congregations be completed by drawing names of the candidates and congregations by lots simultaneously from the official list of candidates and calling congregations; and be it finally Resolved, That all candidates be notified of their calls at the same time. Redeemer St. Clair Shores, MI 2-21 To Make Completed SETs Available to Calling Congregations WHEREAS, Pastors are to be of sound doctrine and practice (1 Tim. 1:3; 4:13; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:15; 3:14-4:5; Titus 1:9; 2:1, 7-8; SC III 5; LC Preface 19, [ 54; If 41; FC SD Rule and Norm 14); and Wuereas, God warns the church that she ought always be on guard against false prophets and false teachers (Matt. 7:15, 24:23-24; Mark 13:21-22; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 4:1; Ap VII 48; Tr 41; LC Preface 19; III 47); and WHEREAS, God commends to the laity that they verify that their pastors are preaching and teaching in accord with His Word (Acts 17:11); and ; WHEREAS, Ascertaining each candidate’s doctrine and practice is of the highest importance when considering whom to call (1 Tim. 5:17); and WHEREAS, The Pastor’s Information Form (PIF) contains very little information of a theological nature, but the Self Evaluation Tool (SET) contains many theological questions covering doctrine and practice; and WHEREAS, The PIF often contains confidential information, but the completed SET usually contains little or no confidential infor- mation; and WuereEas, The PIF is not completed by the candidate, but the SET is completed by the candidate and thus contains his own words and reflects his own thinking; and WHEREAS, Currently both the PIFs and completed SETs are made available to cal] committee members; and 2001 Convention Workbook