LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 116

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116

RESOLUTIONS

Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the opportunity
to give witness to God’s care for all people through such cooperative work; and be it further
Resolved, That the CTCR, in consultation with the
Praesidium and other entities and individuals as needed,
develop more in-depth theological criteria for assessing
cooperative endeavors, determining what would necessitate
termination of such cooperative efforts; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Praesidium, in consultation with the
CTCR, provide an assessment of the current state of cooperation in externals and a full report of criteria for ongoing
assessment of the same by July 13, 2011 .
Action: Adopted (9)
(During initial discussion during Session 6, an amendment deleted the words “the next convention” at the end of the final resolve
and replaced them with the words “July 13, 2011” [Yes: 783; No:
359] . After further discussion, a motion was introduced to consider
Ov . 3-05 (CW, p . 166) as a substitute resolution . The assembly
declined to consider the substitute [Yes: 495; No: 653] . During
continued discussion during Session 7, John Nunes, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran World Relief spoke in support of the resolution . An amendment to delete the words “and conscience” at the end of the fifth whereas paragraph was ruled out of
order by the chair, the words in question being a part of a quotation
from the Synod’s position . An amendment was proposed to add a
final resolve “that the President of the Synod, the Praesidium, and
the Council of Presidents develop a plan to sever those joint actions with the ELCA to present to the next Synod convention if the
ELCA does not listen to the pleading of their brothers and sisters
from the Word of God .” During extended discussion of the proposed amendment, an amendment to the amendment was proposed
to insert the word “contingency” before the word “plan .” This
change was agreed to by the maker of the amendment as a friendly
amendment . The motion to amend was not carried [Yes: 415; No:
723] . A motion to strike the word “Lutheran” in the second resolve
was accepted by the floor committee as a friendly amendment . A
motion to replace the date “July 13, 2011” from an earlier amendment with “September 1, 2011” was ruled an improper motion unless changed to a motion to reconsider the amendment made earlier . The assembly was asked whether it wished to reconsider the
earlier amendment and declined [Yes: 400; No: 708] . When discussion was continued in Session 9, debate was ended and Res . 3-03
was adopted as amended [Yes: 961; No: 175] .)

To Amend Bylaw 3.9.6.2.2 re Altar and Pulpit
Fellowship with Small, Formative, or Emerging
Confessional Churches
RESOLUTION 3-04A
Overture L3-34 (TB, pp. 32–33)
Whereas, The Synod gives to the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) the responsibility
to “assist the President of the Synod at his request in discharging his constitutional responsibilities for maintaining
doctrinal integrity as he relates to other church bodies” (Bylaw
3 .9 .6 .2 .2); and

2010 Convention Proceedings

Whereas, This responsibility includes CTCR approval
before a church body may apply “for formal recognition of
altar and pulpit fellowship with the Synod” at a Synod convention (Bylaw 3 .9 .6 .2 .2 [b]); and
Whereas, Current procedures for establishing altar and
pulpit fellowship are designed to address the circumstance of
an established church body seeking altar and pulpit fellowship
with the Synod (e .g ., ecclesial autonomy and “institutional
viability” are required and eleven procedural steps are outlined; see “Policy for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Declaring Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Another Church
Body” in Appendix II, 2010 Convention Workbook (CW), pp .
299–300); and
Whereas, The CTCR has prepared the document, Church
Relations in the 21st Century (Appendix II, 2010 CW, pp .
301–303), for the President’s consideration and use in his
responsibility as chief ecumenical officer of the Synod (Bylaw
3 .3 .1 .1 .2), particularly with reference to smaller, formative,
emerging confessional Lutheran church bodies; and
Whereas, Church Relations in the 21st Century seeks
to address such new circumstances as requests from small,
emerging confessional Lutheran church bodies that seek a
closer ecclesial relationship with the LCMS, including altar
and pulpit fellowship, but do not necessarily have the established structures (e .g ., theological commissions, seminaries)
that the Synod has previously related to in the process of establishing church fellowship; and
Whereas, Current procedures require a time-consuming,
costly, and often unwieldy process before altar and pulpit fellowship with such small, formative, or emerging confessional
Lutheran church bodies could be considered by the Synod in
convention; and
Whereas, Closer ecclesial relationships with small, formative or emerging confessional Lutheran church bodies provide
a valuable avenue for the LCMS to encourage and be encouraged by these churches; therefore be it
Resolved, That Church Relations in the 21st Century be
commended by the Synod for use by the President in determining the possibility of establishing altar and pulpit fellowship
with small, formative, or emerging confessional Lutheran
church bodies where theological discussions have provided
convincing evidence that the LCMS is in doctrinal agreement
with the church in question; and be it further
Resolved, That the President, following consultation with
the Praesidium and approval by the CTCR, be enabled to
declare recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with such
formative confessional Lutheran church bodies, subject to the
endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention; and be it
finally
Resolved, That Bylaw 3 .9 .6 .2 .2 be amended to read as
follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3 .9 .6 .2 .2 The Commission on Theology and Church Relations shall assist the President of the Synod at his request in