LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 133

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SEMINARY AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

for certification through the Synod’s colloquy
process . Following successful completion, he
shall be certified as eligible to receive a call
to serve as an assisting pastor (see following
resolve) and be ordained as such .
(4) Those deacons already preaching and/or administering the sacraments shall be “examined” by the
Synod’s Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry
(expanded to include district representatives for these
interviews only, and done regionally, if needed) and,
upon successful completion of the examination, be certified as eligible to receive a call to serve as an assisting
pastor and be ordained as such .
(5) Eligibility to continue preaching and/or administering
the sacraments is contingent upon successful completion of this process .
and be it further
Resolved, That an assisting pastor shall be subject to the
same limitations of authority and autonomy as are specific
ministry pastors (SMPs), including supervision by a general
pastor, but an assisting pastor will not ordinarily be eligible
for a call to a different ministry site . Requests to consider
exceptional cases (allowing an assisting pastor to serve in a
different location) would be considered by the COP . The district president may submit individual, exceptional cases for
consideration and confirmation by the COP; and be it further
Resolved, That the SMP Committee, augmented by deacons and/or district staff closely associated with district deacon
programs, endeavor to design ways through which the SMP
program might be adapted to be more accessible, particularly in cases involving men who are serving small groups of
Lutherans in remote geographic areas (particularly regarding
cost and scheduling flexibility); and be it finally
Resolved, That the Commission on Structure formulate the necessary changes to the LCMS Bylaws and present
them to the delegates at the next LCMS convention so that
the recommendations above will be ready for implementation immediately following the conclusion of that LCMS
convention .

133

[Yes: 240; No: 858] . The assembly voted to refer the resolution
back to the committee [Yes: 579; No: 521] .)

To Increase Impact of Vicarage Program
RESOLUTION 5-04
Overture 5-20 (CW, p. 195)
Whereas, The vicarage year of seminary formation is
intended to provide a comprehensive opportunity for the student to learn to apply theology in a practical and specific
context; and
Whereas, There are congregations whose context and
location would provide for a rich and meaningful vicarage
experience, but they may not be able to afford the cost of supporting a vicar; and
Whereas, It would be of great benefit to the seminaries,
seminarians, and the Synod to have excellent locations for all
vicars to increase the overall impact of this important year;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the seminaries work collaboratively with the
Council of Presidents to identify the most suitable locations
and pastoral supervisors for vicars; and be it further
Resolved, That the president of each district in which such
vicarage locations are identified ascertain the willingness and
the financial capacity to support a vicar in such congregations;
and be it finally
Resolved, That the Board for Pastoral Education report to
the next Synod convention its proposed plan for a Synod-wide
funding model to make such vicarages possible .
Action: Adopted (10)
(Discussion begun in Session 7 was continued in Session 10 . A
proposed amendment to add “and pastoral supervisors” after “locations” in the first resolve was accepted by the committee as a
friendly amendment . Res . 5-04 was adopted as changed [Yes: 885;
No: 182] .)

To Support Pastoral Formation
RESOLUTION 5-05A

Action: Referred back to committee (7) and not brought
back for action

Reports 5-03, 4-04-01, 5-01, 1-8-01 (CW, pp. 92, 75, 83,
48); Overtures 2-06, 5-21, 8-79, L1-13, (CW, pp. 154–
155, 195–196; 247–248; TB, p. 29)

(During discussion, an amendment proposed deleting “assisting pastor” in all occurrences, to be replaced with “ordained deacon .” An amendment to the amendment was offered to replace “ordained deacon” with “pastoral assistant .” The motion to amend the
amendment failed [Yes: 530; No: 533], after which the motion to
amend also failed [Yes: 326; No: 785] . As discussion continued, a
proposal to replace “authorize” with “nominate” in (3) (a) of the
second resolve; to replace “deacon” with “specific ministry pastor” in the same paragraph; to replace “Within three years a deacon
preaching and/or administering the sacraments” with “The graduate” in (3) (b) of the second resolve; to replace “assisting pastor”
with “specific ministry pastor” in the same paragraph and all other
occurrences; and to delete all of the third resolve paragraph was
ruled a substitute motion which the assembly voted not to consider

Whereas, The church both needs and desires a unified
vision for pastoral formation and education that encompasses
the aspects of pre-seminary education, seminary education,
and post-seminary continuing education for pastors; and
Whereas, The LCMS “Themes for Pastoral Education”
(developed by the Board for Pastoral Education) provide a
planning and guiding focus for the recruitment and preparation of pastors for the LCMS; and
Whereas, The church regularly identifies areas of necessary growth in pastoral formation (pre-seminary, seminary,
post-seminary) such as biblical languages, mission training,
leadership development, disability awareness, relationship and
equipping skills, etc . (CMGS Report, Progress Report of the
2010 Convention Proceedings