# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2013_S406 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 406 Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Task Force p. 143). It noted that 19 districts had developed lay ministry education and training programs and recognized, affirmed, and encouraged such work by districts. It also instructed the Council of Presidents and the new Board for Pastoral Education to develop (with the guidance of seminary faculties) “a standardized core curriculum for district laytraining programs and coordinate a national listing of participants.” 2007 Res. 5-01B, which established the SMP program, also called for a study of “situations currently served by licensed lay deacons to determine whether there continues to be a genuine need for this program within the Synod and to present a report with recommendations to the 2010 convention of the Synod.” As a result, 2010 Res. 5-03A, “To Address Lay Deacons” (Proceedings, pp. 132ff.), proposed accepting the report and recommendations of the requested study, i.e., that district deacon instructional programs be retained in the LCMS and that a series of recommendations be implemented following the 2013 Synod convention. The resolution also provided a plan through which deacons would be permitted to preach and administer the sacraments in certain cases, and ultimately be examined, called, and ordained within three years as “assisting pastors.” This resolution was not adopted but was referred back to the floor committee. It was not brought back to the floor of the convention for further consideration. • Specificity • A. 2007 Res. 5-01B 2007 Resolutions 5-01B and 5-02 along with a videotaped record of the presentation of the resolution to the 2007 convention of the Synod have served as primary sources of information for the task force. They reveal the content and intentions of the SMP program as explained to and understood by the convention’s delegates at the time of the resolutions’ adoption. The following are excerpts from the resolution and from the floor committee’s presentation and responses to questions that relate to current discussions of issues associated with the SMP program. • Specific Ministry Pastor Concept: • • Res. 5-01B: “Historically, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its antecedents have attempted to meet [Word and Sacrament] needs by preparing men as quickly as possible to be called and ordained in order to meet the urgent mission needs of the church. Such men were prepared to catechize, preach, and provide pastoral care. Within the LCMS, the need for such a track to ordination was initially embodied in the seminary begun by F. C. D. Wyneken and Wilhelm Loehe in Fort Wayne, Indiana... The Specific Ministry Pastor program seeks to address the needs of the church by reinstituting a multiple-track approach... [E]merging needs and economic pressure often make it impossible to call a pastor who has received a broad and thorough theological understanding to every congregation or mission station where, nevertheless, people need to hear the Gospel.” Committee 5: “[An] improvement on the DELTO program... designed to meet specific needs which in part are not being filled by traditional seminary graduates... speaking to the needs for pastoral ministry in specific contexts... doing so in a theologically responsible way... the next level of doing distance education... and in that regard will supersede DELTO... In short, the Specific Ministry Pastor program is an in-ministry program of pastoral education that leads to call and ordination within and for special ministry situations, and thus it meets specific needs for pastoral ministry that are not being met by traditional seminary students.” Theological Integrity • Res. 5-01B: “Amidst today’s mission challenges, including the persistent need to provide pastoral ministry in ways that go beyond the current residential models, we will do well to engage the best collaborative thinking and creativity that we can muster to provide missional pastoral leadership driven by the depth of theological integrity that 2013 Convention Workbook remains a hallmark of our church and its ministerium... This proposal is offered as a sincere and thoughtful attempt to address real-world needs with an urgency for bringing the Gospel to a dying world and to do so with theological integrity with respect to the doctrine of the ministry and our commitment to high standards of pastoral education and formation.” (p. 133) Committee 5: “Unlike other programs that have been designated specifically for ethnic membership, we are not setting any kind of lower standard for ethnic ministry. We are setting the same standard for everybody... In short, he is a specific ministry pastor, a called and ordained servant of the Word for one specific ministry area. He is a pastor ably prepared to serve his congregation faithfully, taught by the teachers who teach all our pastors.” Res. 5-01B: “The mission focus ignited by the Ablaze! movement has generated the need to identify laymen already in place in local community to serve as church planters and missionaries... In addition to the original objective of the Distance Education Leading To Ordination (DELTO) Program to provide pastoral ministry where full-time ministry cannot be maintained, such specific ministries will include such categories as church planter, staff pastor, and others as needs arise... Specific ministry pastors are recognized as just that: pastors certified for calls into specific ministry contexts, who serve under the supervision not only of the district president but also of a designated general ministry pastor. As such, they are eligible for calls into a similar specific ministry context, where they continue under the supervision of a general ministry pastor... The needs for providing pastoral ministry in specific and specialized situations where a traditionally prepared seminary candidate or pastor is not available continue to multiply... Our Synod needs to find a way to provide for an increase in pastoral ministry to meet such needs of the church, especially in light of the mission challenges of today’s world... Our Synod has resolved to plant 2,000 new congregations by 2017, for which a net gain of 2,000 pastors will be needed.” (pp. 133, 135, 136) Committee 5: “In short, the Specific Ministry Pastor program is an inministry program of pastoral education that leads to call and ordination within and for special ministry situations, and thus it meets specific needs for pastoral ministry that are not being met by traditional seminary graduates... Because his theological foundation is educational and because his education is limited to a specific ministry context in which he is being formed, his service is restricted to this place and under supervision... [L]imited to a specific context, but within the boundaries of his specific ministry where he provides Word and Sacrament, he is a pastor... An example of this in-service preparation was demonstrated in the introduction video to Saturday evening’s worship with the Lutheran Church and the Liberians settling in Virginia.” Specific Ministry Context • • Res. 5-01B: “‘[S]pecific ministry pastor’ will be the designation for those educated for a specific ministry context through distance education... by developing a program that combines a commitment to faithfulness to a Lutheran theological confession with a missionary perspective and that is tailored by the preparation of men for service in specific kinds of ministries... [T]his foundational core will be both contextualized and specialized within and for a specific ministry... [T]he student will participate in several residential and field seminars aimed at cultivating the requisite ministry skills for his specific ministry context...” (pp. 133, 134). Committee 5: “Because his theological foundation is educational and because his education is limited to a specific ministry context in which he is being formed, his service is restricted to this place and under supervision... In short, he is a specific ministry pastor, a called and ordained servant of the Word for one specific ministry area... As a specific ministry pastor, his ministry is restricted to that specific congregation, which would be represented at a district convention, but a delegate to a national convention represents several congregations from the circuit.”