LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 233

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synod structure and governance
8-34

233

8-35

To Clarify Voting Rights of the Preaching Office

To Preserve Fifty Percent Lay Vote

Whereas, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1851
declared C. F. W. Walther’s Theses on Church and Ministry to be
the position of the LCMS; and
Whereas, The 1852 LCMS convention also declared C. F. W.
Walther’s book The Voice of the Church on the Question of Church
and Ministry to be the pure doctrine (reine Lehre) of church and ministry; and
Whereas, The 2001 LCMS convention adopted Res. 7-17A, “To
Affirm Synod’s Official Position on Church and Ministry”; and
Whereas, The first resolve of Res. 7-17A states, “That The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod meeting in convention in the
year of our Lord 2001 affirm the above referenced writings of C. F.
W. Walther as the definitive statement under Holy Scripture and the
Lutheran Confessions of the Synod’s understanding on the subject
of church and ministry”; and
Whereas, The second resolve of Res. 7-17A states, “That the
LCMS in convention reaffirm the decision of the 1852 convention
in recognizing C. F. W. Walther’s book, The Voice of Our Church
on the Question of Church and Ministry, as the official position of
the LCMS”; and
Whereas, Thesis X of Part Two, “Concerning the Holy Ministry
or the Pastoral Office,” in Walther’s Church and Ministry affirms the
following: “To the ministry of the Word, according to divine right,
belongs also the duty [Amt] to judge doctrine, but laymen also possess this right. Therefore, in the ecclesiastical courts (consistories)
and councils they are accorded both a seat and vote together with
the clergy”; and
Whereas, The Ministry: Offices, Procedure, and Nomenclature,
a 1981 report of the LCMS CTCR, does not equate the Office of the
Public Ministry and “auxiliary offices” but rather asserts the opposite when it asks and answers the following question (p. 30): “5. May
teachers be franchised at synodical and district conventions? We see
no theological reason why they may not be allowed to vote, provided
that this is not done to the exclusion of those who hold the office of
the public ministry. In that case the church would be making its decisions without the advice and registered voting opinions of those who
are specifically trained, called, and charged with the spiritual and
doctrinal oversight of the churches. Likewise, to exert an egalitarianism that equates all ‘professional’ offices in the church is to ignore
the divinely ordained nature of the office of the public ministry and
equate it with those offices that are auxiliary to it”; and
Whereas, Even the final report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force
on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG) cites evidence that
“clergy will increasingly become the guardians of denominationalism” and that the LCMS “is a pastor-led synod” (p. 47); therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2010 LCMS convention clarify that the duty
to judge doctrine belongs to the “ministry of the Word” and to “laymen” and that it is by divine right and not a matter of adiaphora; and
be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS clarify that the Office of Public Ministry
(i.e., the Predigtamt or “minister of religion—ordained”) is not to be
equated with auxiliary offices; and be it finally
Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm and apply its position that the
“duty to judge doctrine” belongs to the “ministry of the Word” and
to “laymen” by rejecting any voting rights being given to “auxiliary
offices” that result in depriving either ministers of religion-ordained
or laymen of their divine right.
Circuit 3 Forum
South Wisconsin District

Whereas, Since its beginning, the Synod has wisely provided that
50 percent of votes at Synod conventions are to be cast by laypeople,
members of the “priesthood of all believers”; and
Whereas, Several proposals currently under consideration would
open up the lay vote to professional church workers; and
Whereas, These proposals would almost certainly cause the lay
vote to become a minority in district and national Synod conventions; and
Whereas, God has richly blessed the Synod by using faithful lay
voting representatives to preserve our Synod in times of doctrinal
controversy; and
Whereas, Lay members of our Synod’s congregations vastly outnumber the professional church workers who are members of Synod;
and
Whereas, Such lay members provide the vast majority of the
financial support to the church when compared with professional
church workers; and
Whereas, Opening the lay vote to professional church workers
would often put those who receive their living from the church (i.e.,
professional church workers) in the majority when district salary
scales and other financial matters are determined; and
Whereas, Professional church workers are really not laypeople in the strictest sense, since they serve the church by means of a
divine call (as do pastors) and the auxiliary offices flow from the one
divinely established office—the Office of the Public Ministry (the
pastoral office); therefore be it
Resolved, That proposals to open up the lay vote to professional
church workers be respectfully declined; and be it further
Resolved, That 50 percent of votes at Synod conventions continue
to be reserved for laypeople.
St. John
New Minden, IL
8-36

To Expand Voting Membership to Other Members
of Synod
Whereas, Article V of the LCMS Constitution provides for
membership in the Synod for “congregations, ministers of religion—
ordained, and ministers of religion—commissioned”; and
Whereas, Article V A provides for representation of congregations at district meetings and groups of congregations at national
Synod meetings by pastoral and lay delegates; and
Whereas, Article V of the Constitution does not allow ministers of religion—commissioned, who also are members of Synod, to
serve as voting representatives of their congregations at district meetings or of groups of congregations at national Synod meetings; and
Whereas, Allowing ministers of religion—commissioned to be
voting members would allow districts and the national Synod to make
full use of the talents of ministers of religion—commissioned; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Kansas District meeting in convention in 2009
recommend to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and
Governance that it continue its study of the right of franchise of commissioned ministers of the Synod; and be it further
2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 233

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