# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1975_S247 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS 247 5-106A To Provide for Seminex Students and Professors to Serve in LCMS WHEREAS, Some graduates and professors of Seminex desire to serve within The Lutheran Church -— Missouri Synod: and WHEREAS, Some graduates and professors of Concordia Seminary-in-Exile may not actually accept the anti-Scriptural position of Seminex and have simply been misled by liberal professors: therefore be it Resolved. That The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod allow all graduates and professors of Seminex to serve congregations and schools in the LCMS provided these Seminex students and professors: 1. Accept the Scriptural position of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod including A Statement of Scriptural and Confes- sional Principles: 2. Acknowledge and repudiate the false doctrine in Semi- nex’s Faithful to Our Calling — Faithful to Our Lord. which was recognized as being contrary to Scripture by the LCMS 1973 convention: 3. Admit that it is contrary to Scripture and not to be tolerated within the LCMS to hold that: a. Man evolved from an apelike creature. b. Man does not have an immortal soul. c. The first five books of the Bible came from various sources designated as J, E, D, and P. d. The eighth-century B.C. prophet Isaiah did not write chapters 40 —66 of the Book of Isaiah. e. Jonah was not actually swallowed by a large fish. f. There are no direct rectilinear prophecies in the Old Testa- ment. g. Christ did not pay the ransom to God the Father for the salvation of all men. h. Men can get to heaven without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. i. There are errors in the Bible. Trinity Lutheran Church New Haven, Mo. Orville Meyer, Secretary Identical or similar: 3-106B Messiah, Detroit, Mich. C. Hoffmeyer 5-107 To Reevaluate Calling Procedures WHEREAS, The present system of placing candidates and calling pastors and other church workers has been in effect for over 100 years: and WHEREAS, It is always advisable to reevaluate existing orga- nizational procedures: therefore be it Resolved. That the President of the Synod in consultation with the Vice-Presidents of the Synod and the District Presi- dents appoint a commission to study, reevaluate, suggest, or make necessary changes in our calling and placing procedures: and be it further Resolved, That consideration be given to allowing the grad- uating church workers to be placed directly through their respective authorized schools: that avenues be explored to allow church workers a more active personal voice in securing a call: and that congregations be given an opportunity for interviewing a church worker before he is called: and be it finally Resolved. That we thank God for the many dedicated work- ers He has placed in our midst. Pastoral Conference Wyoming District Paul R. Bundschuh, Secretary 3-108A To Certify Graduates of Saskatoon Seminary WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has provided a staff member to teach at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon and has through the Board for Higher Education approved the idea of an additional staff member: and WHEREAS. This support has been given with the purpose that Missouri Synod students may qualify for service in their own church body: and WHEREAS, There is as yet no provision for regular certifica- tion of the Missouri Synod students graduating from the Saska- toon seminary: therefore be it Resolved. That the Council of Presidents, in consultation with the Missouri Synod Commission on Constitutional Matters and the other Lutheran church bodies involved (Evangelical Lu- theran Church of Canada, Lutheran Church in America— Canada Section), draw up procedures by which graduates of the Saskatoon seminary can be certified for calls within The Lutheran Church-— Missouri Synod: and be it further Resolved. That special provisions be made to certify the 1974 and 1975 graduates. Christ The King Lutheran Church Edmonton, Alta. R. Anderson, Secretary Identical or similar: 5-108B Faith, Saskatoon, Sask. Wm. Kienzler 3-109 To Support District Presidents WHEREAS. There is question within the church about the actions of certain District Presidents concerning the ordaining and installing of graduates of Concordia Seminary-in-Exile, we desire to speak strongly in support of those actions: and WHEREAS. These men were duly called by the congregations they are serving, in accordance with the doctrine of the call: and WHEREAS, This action by the congregations is totally in accor- dance with Article VII of the Constitution of the LCMS, and this action is thus legally sound: and WHEREAS, The confessional writings of the LCMS state: “It is clear that the Church retains the right to elect and ordain ministers . .. if the bishops either are heretics, or will not ordain suitable persons, the churches are in duty bound before God, according to divine law, to ordain for themselves pastors and ministers’ Power and Primacy of the Pope, 72), and thus we understand the theological basis of said congregations and District Presidents to be sound: and WHEREAS. These District Presidents were instructed by their respective Districts in convention to ordain and install graduates of Concordia Seminary-in-Exile who had received calls: there- fore be it Resolved. That we recognize the present situation as a diffi- cult and perplexing time for the LCMS and that we accept the actions of District Presidents who have ordained and installed graduates of Concordia Seminary-in-Exile as a fulfillment of their office and an act of love for the congregations concerned and the church at large. St. Paul's Ev. Lutheran Church Cohocton, N.Y. William Jackman, President David VanGesen, Secretary 5-110 To Protect and Defend District Presidents from Censure or Dismissal WHEREAS. It has been proposed by the President of the Synod that District Presidents who ordained or installed grad- uates of Seminex repent of this act or resign their office: and