# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S186 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 186 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS WuerEAS, God has blessed our Synod with the LCMS Interim Ministry Conference that offers specially trained rostered LCMS pastors to guide and support a congregation through difficult tran- sitional periods; and WuereasS, A congregation claims a divine right when it calls a pastor, even if for a limited tenure (as the Synod does when it calls elected candidates for a specific term of office) to address its im- mediate needs, in consultation with its Circuit Counselor and Dis- trict President; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod affirm and respect the night of a con- gregation to duly call an Intentional Interim Minister; and be it fur- ther Resolved, That the Synod commend the LCMS Interim Min- istry Conference for its high pastoral, confessional. and profes- sional standards; and be it finally Resolved, That the Synod encourage congregations anticipating disruptive issues and emotions during pastoral transitions to con- sider calling an Intentional Interim Minister. Redeemer Cuyahoga Falls, OH 3-92 To Urge Seminaries to Carry Out Res. 3-07A of 1995 Convention WHEREAS, Res. 3-07A of the 1995 synodical convention as- signed to the seminaries of the Synod the responsibility of devel- oping a program for the training and licensing of laymen to “per- form functions belonging to the pastoral office”; and WHEREAS, It appears that the aforementioned assignment has not been implemented; therefore be it Resolved, That the seminaries of the Synod again be instructed to develop and implement a program that would fulfill the require- ments of Res. 3-07A; and be it further Resolved, That this program be presented for approval to the 2004 convention of the Synod. St. John Topeka, KS 3-93 To Complete CTCR Study before Establishing ‘Assistant Pastor” Position WuHeREAS, The holy ministry is a divinely instituted office and thus an article of faith; and WHEREAS, Any innovations in our application of this article must, therefore, be addressed theologically and not simply prag- matically; and WHEREAS, The memorial proposed by the Task Force on Dia- conal Ministry, “‘To Establish the Position of ‘Assistant Pastor’ Where Full-Time Pastoral Ministry Cannot Be Maintained,” intro- duces a number of innovations in application of the doctrine of the ministry; and WHEREAS, These innovations raise serious theological issues in- cluding the following: 1. The provision that an “assistant pastor” retain his position only “provided his work is satisfactory to his District President, su- pervising pastor, and congregation” as established by an annual review (thus a temporary cal]) severely undermines the biblical relationsnip between pastor and people as our Synod has long understood (Walther, Pastoral Theology, 25-28). . The requirement that the “assistant pastor” demonstrate only pre-seminary level competence in Scripture, Confessions, and Christian doctrine before ordination calls into question his ability to rightly administer Holy Communion, since he is to admit to the Lord’s Table only those united in the Gospel and all its arti- cles (AC VID), and he himself will not yet have demonstrated his ty 2001 Convention Workbook own understanding of all articles of the Gospel. 3. Declaring that a man who has been called and ordained may serve only in one location seems to separate the call of the con- gregation from the call of Christ, suggesting, likewise, that an individual congregation’s actions are not valid for the whole church, and WHEREAS, The memorial of the Task Force gives only a practi- cal rationale for its proposal and does not address the above and other theological concerns; and WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations is currently studying the doctrine of the call, a study which could be helpful in resolving these and other issues; and WHEREAS, The Synod has available at present various means to serve Congregations in which full-time pastoral ministry cannot be maintained, including the following: |. Lay readers of sermons prepared by seminary-trained pastors 2. Adjustment of service times so that congregations may be pro- vided Word and Sacrament ministry by neighboring pastors 3. The significantly increasing number of deferred vicars, who have completed their theological training at our seminaries and have demonstrated personal and theological maturity 4. Expansion and further utilization of Distance Education Lead- ing to Ordination (DELTO) and Wuereas, A change in practice as significant as creating a new roster position will quickly become institutionalized and thus be extremely difficult to reverse should it in the future prove unwise or theologically unsound; therefore be it Resolved, That the Commission on Theology and Church Re- lations be encouraged to complete its study of the doctrine of the call as efficiently as possible, taking into consideration the above and other theological issues raised by the Task Force proposal; and be it further Resolved, That the convention take no action to establish the new position of “assistant pastor” until this study has been com- pleted; and be it finally Resolved, That the church proceed aggressively to use lay read- ers, adjustments in worship times, deferred vicars, DELTO, and al] other available means to serve congregations in which full-time pastoral ministry cannot be maintained. Zion, Corunna, IN; Faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN 3-94 To Reject Proposed Office of Assistant Pastor WHEREAS, Enrollment in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s two seminaries is rising; and WHEREAS, The LCMS only covers approximately three percent of the operating expenses; and WHEREAS, The LCMS was founded primarily for the training of pastors in seminaries; and WHEREAS, It has been the belief and conviction of Lutherans since Martin Luther’s Saxon visitation that a thorough theological education is necessary to prepare men for the pastoral office; and WHEREAS, The proposed “assistant pastor’ position under con- sideration by the LCMS would omit a thorough seminary educa- tion in favor of placing men directly into the pastoral office with only minimal training; and WuerEAas, The “assistant pastor” position would carry all the duties and authority of a Minister of Religion—Ordained, including the right to preach, teach, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, baptize, and administer the Keys, and the right to marry and officiate at funerals; therefore be it