LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 102

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102

SYNOD REPORTS
c. Forming individuals to serve in categories 6-8 (see table) in
local ministry sites; and
d. Preparation of men for category 1-5 Word and Sacrament
ministry (see table) in cases deemed to be exceptions by
a committee of the LCMS Council of Presidents (see #3
below).

2) Apart from those cases deemed to be exceptions (see #1d
above and #3 below) district presidents should encourage men
who are preparing for category 1-5 Word and Sacrament ministry to enroll in one of the pastoral formation programs offered
by the LCMS seminaries, including SMP.
3) In exceptional cases, where a district president concludes that
enrolling in a pastoral formation program offered by the LCMS
seminaries, including SMP, is not a feasible means to form a
candidate for category 1-5 service,
a. The district president will request confirmation of this
assessment by a designated committee of the Council of
Presidents to authorize a graduate of a district program to
serve in Word and Sacrament ministry as a deacon; and
b. Within three years, a deacon serving in category 1-5 Word
and Sacrament ministry will apply for examination and
certification through the Synod’s colloquy committee. Following successful completion of the examination process,
he would be certified as eligible to receive a call to serve as
an assisting pastor.

4) Those deacons already serving in categories 1-5 should be
“examined” by the Synod’s colloquy committee (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) An assisting pastor would be subject to the same limitations
of authority and autonomy as are SMPs, including supervision by a general pastor, and he will not be rostered and will
not 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 same
Council of Presidents committee referenced in #3 above and
district presidents may submit individual, exceptional cases
for consideration and confirmation by the committee.
6) Assuming that the recommendations above are implemented,
then current LCMS Bylaw 3.8.2.4.2 (a) (2) (2007 Handbook,
p. 124) allowing for the examination, certification, calling, and
ordaining of laymen who have had full Word and Sacrament
responsibilities for ten years (see below) should no longer be
necessary and should be eliminated. It reads as follows:
In exceptional cases, laymen who have carried out the full
responsibilities of the pastoral ministry for at least 10 years,
who are currently licensed for such ministry by a district president, and who have been recommended by a congregation
holding membership in the Synod on the basis of that congregation’s observation and experience, and with the stated
assurance that such congregation will extend a divine call asking the recommended individual to serve as their pastor.
7) The task force recommends 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 more accessible, particularly in cases involving men who are serving small groups of
Lutherans in remote geographic areas. The cost and adaptability of the program should be primary focal points for the SMP
Committee’s efforts. The task force is optimistic that these
issues can be resolved prior to the next LCMS convention.

8) The task force recommends that the SMP Committee encourage and oversee a process through which the districts and the
seminaries could:
a. Agree on desired formational outcomes for SMPs; and
b. Gain greater knowledge and understanding of the curricula
in use at the seminaries and in the districts, especially as
these curricula are designed to produce the formational outcomes referenced in 8a.

9) The task force recommends that the Committee on
Constitutional Matters formulate the necessary changes to
LCMS bylaws and present them to the delegates at the next
LCMS convention and that the Council of Presidents formulate the necessary changes to its policy manual prior to the next
convention so that the recommendations above will be ready
for implementation six months following the conclusion of the
next LCMS convention.
Resolution 5-02 Task Force
R6-01

LCMS World Relief and Human Care
Vision Statement
• ONE Mission—showing Christ’s mercy to all with fidelity.
• ONE Message—reflecting Christ’s love in Word and deed with
integrity.
• ONE People—united in Christ with capacity to show mercy.
Convention Theme
• ONE People—Forgiven
“Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you”
(Ephesians 4:32).
• Because Christ has forgiven us and died for all people, we love
our neighbor and show mercy to those in need. LCMS World
Relief and Human Care—Mercy Forever.
“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is
right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every
one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast
about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith”
(2 Thessalonians 1:3–4).
It is impossible to adequately express the profound honor, thankfulness, and joy that we at LCMS World Relief and Human Care
have and experience as a result of the unfathomable generosity of
you, the dear members and congregations of the LCMS. Your kindness through the 2006 tsunami, Katrina, Haiti, and hundreds of other
disasters has been as encouraging as it has been amazing. Stewarding
LCMS World Relief and Human Care is a sacred task. This institution has been a blessing to millions, literally.
As a result of a series of strategic decisions over the past nine
years, we have vastly increased the capacity of the LCMS to act
immediately in times of disaster and other need. The response to
Haiti illustrates this in spades. In virtually everything we do, we seek
to increase local Lutheran capacity to care for their communities,
because when local Lutherans do this, they share the love of Christ
in word and deed.
It has been a blessed endeavor, but a very hard road. Our offices
have had more direct contact and involvement with the ELCA than
any other in the LCMS. The complications brought about by the
recent decision on homosexuality are only the most recent high-water
mark of what has been a rising tide of pain, sorrow, and frustration

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