LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 132

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132

RESOLUTIONS

Whereas, The Concordia colleges and universities are
committed to providing a quality Lutheran Christian education as they prepare leaders for our congregations, schools,
communities, and the world; and
Whereas, Significant endowments are needed to maintain
the fiscal strength of the Concordia colleges and universities and to provide income to reduce the educational costs of
Lutheran students; and
Whereas, The objectives of the For the Sake of the Church
initiative include increasing the number of Lutheran students
at our Concordias and developing endowments of $400 million for the support of student scholarships at our colleges and
universities; and
Whereas, Many Lutheran students attending a Concordia
college or university are in need of financial assistance to
reduce the cost of their education; and
Whereas, The Lord of the Church has blessed the For the
Sake of the Church initiative through the generous response
of His people; and
Whereas, The For the Sake of the Church initiative has
helped to increase the number of Lutheran students at our
Concordias and has provided over $200 million in endowment gifts, pledges, and intended deferred gifts over the past
ten years; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod give special thanks to the Lord
of the Church for blessing these efforts to recruit Lutheran
students for service to the church and society and for the
stewardship gifts of His people to assist Lutheran students
financially; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage congregations and
church leaders to assist in the recruitment of students to prepare themselves in a Lutheran Christian environment for a
lifetime of service; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod celebrate the efforts of the For the
Sake of the Church initiative, offering special encouragement
to congregations and individuals to continue their support of
this ministry program .
Action: Adopted (7)
(Res . 5-02A was adopted as presented after brief discussion
[Yes: 1,021; No: 33] .)

To Address Lay Deacons
RESOLUTION 5-03A
Overtures 5-01–15, 5-37, L5-38 (CW, pp. 189–194; TB,
pp. 25–26, 42–46)
Whereas, 2007 Res . 5-02 (“To Address Lay Deacons”)
stipulated that “the Board for Pastoral Education and the
Council of Presidents be requested to study the 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”; and
2010 Convention Proceedings

Whereas, The Board for Pastoral Education (BPE) and
Council of Presidents (COP) fulfilled this resolution through
the formation and operation of a Res . 5-02 Task Force; and
Whereas, The “Report of the Res . 5-02 Task Force” (TFR)
recommends that district deacon instructional programs be
retained (2010 Convention Workbook, pp . 98–102); and
Whereas, The TFR contains eight descriptions of service
offered by lay deacons and suggests that any man preaching
and administering the sacraments be “called and ordained”;
and
Whereas, The TFR provides a plan through which deacons
may preach and administer the sacraments in certain cases,
while engendering trust across district lines; and
Whereas, The TFR provides a reasonable way through
which deacons who are preaching and administering the sacraments might be examined, called, and ordained within three
years of beginning their service; therefore be it
Resolved, That district deacon instructional programs be
retained in the LCMS; and be it further
Resolved, That implementation of the following recommendations commences immediately after the close of the next
LCMS convention (recognizing the limited track record of the
SMP program, providing time for additional assessment and
refinement of the program and providing a buffer of time so
that district presidents can work evangelically and intentionally with situations where preaching and/or administration of
the sacraments is/are being done by a licensed deacon):
(1) District deacon programs should be retained for:
(a) Equipping laity who wish to grow and be enriched for Christian life and service;
(b) Preparation for men to demonstrate entry-level
competence prior to SMP enrollment;
(c) Forming individuals to serve in ways that do
not involve preaching and/or the administration of the sacraments; and
(d) Preparation of men for preaching and/or the
administration of the sacraments in cases
deemed to be appropriate by the COP .
(2) Apart from those cases deemed to be appropriate,
district presidents should encourage men who are
preparing to preach and/or administer the sacraments
to enroll in one of the pastoral formation programs
offered by the LCMS seminaries .
(3) In cases where a district president concludes that
enrolling in a pastoral formation program offered by
the LCMS seminaries is not a feasible means to form
a candidate for preaching and/or the administration of
the sacraments:
(a) The district president will request confirmation
of this assessment by the COP to authorize a
graduate of a district program to preach and/or
administer the sacraments as a deacon .
(b) Within three years, a deacon preaching and/
or administering the sacraments shall apply