LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 121

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RESOLUTIONS

Synod against the President and other members | of
the Synod; and

Wuereas, Such statements have sown suspicion, mis-
trust, and discord and serve only the kingdom of Satan;
and

Wuereas, Such statements are especially reprehensi-
ble when made against God’s leaders in the church;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod call to repentance those
who issue such statements and evangelically ask them
to seek forgiveness from and reconciliation with God
and the persons sinned against.

Action: Withdrawn by the committee upon request
of the assembly (18) since these concerns had been met
by the adoption of Res. 5-23 (8).

(This action was taken after the convention had decided
317 to 304 to strike the final resolved, which had read: “Re-
solved, That those who persist in their sin should be brought
under the discipline of the church through the office of the
District President. [Although no one has in his own per-
son the right to judge and condemn anyone, yet if they whose
duty it is fail to do so, they sin as much as those who take
the law into their own hands without such a commission”
Luther, Large Catechism, Tappert, p. 402].”)

To Adopt “Handbook” Revision of Section
XIV on Fraternal Organizations

RESOLUTION 2-25

Report 2-01, Appendix E; Overtures 2-147—2-152 (CW,
pp. 40, 90—92)

Wuereas, Synodical Handbook Section XIV (Fra-
ternal Organizations) requires updating in order to
reflect adequately the scope of the work of the Commis-
sion on Fraternal Organizations; and

Wuereas, The format of Section XIV has not previ-
ously conformed to other sections of the synodical
Handbook; therefore be it

Resolved, To adopt synodical Handbook revision of
Section XIV (CW, pp. 30—91, Overture 2-150):

XIV. COMMISSION
ON ORGANIZATIONS

14.01 Statement of Purpose

a. The Synod has declared itself firmly opposed
to all societies, lodges, and organizations of an un-
christian or antichristian character.

b. The Commission on Organizations shall assist
the pastors, and the congregations of the Synod in
fulfilling their commitment to witness publicly and
privately to the one and only Gospel set forth in
the Holy Scriptures.

14.03 Responsibilities of Pastors and
Congregations

a. Pastors and laymen alike must avoid member-
ship or participation in any organization that in its
objectives, ceremonies, or practices is inimical to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ or the faith and life of the
Christian church.

b. It is the solemn, sacred, and God-given duty
of every pastor properly to instruct his people con-
cerning the sinfulness of all organizations that —

1. explicitly or implicitly deny the holy Trinity,
the deity of Christ, or the vicarious atonement;

121

2. promise spiritual light apart from that re-
vealed in the Holy Scripture;

3. attach spiritual or eternal rewards to the
works or virtues of men; and/or

4. embrace ideologies or principles that clearly
violate an express teaching of the Holy Scriptures
concerning the relationships of men to one another.

c. The responsibility of diligent and conscientious
pastoral care requires that pastors of the Synod do
not administer Holy Communion nor admit to com-
municant membership members of such organiza-
tions who, after thorough instruction, refuse to sever
their affiliation with the organizations, since Holy
Communion expresses an exclusive spiritual rela-
tionship of the communicant to his Lord and to his
brethren (Matt. 10:32; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 1 Cor. 11:25).
Earnest continuous efforts should be put forth to
bring individuals to a clear-cut decision regarding
their contradictory confessions, in order that they
may become or remain communicant members of
the congregation, as the case may be.

d. The responsibility of conscientious pastoral
care recognizes that a pastor will occasionally en-
counter an exceptional case in which he is called on
to administer Holy Communion to a person who is
outwardly connected with such an organization.
Such exceptional cases ordinarily involve an indi-
vidual who —

1. has accepted the pastoral care of the congre-
gation and is being instructed by its pastor in an
effort to lead him to see the inconsistency of his
contradictory confession and witness, and

2. has renounced to the pastor and/or church
council the unchristian or antichristian character of
the organization of which he is a member.

In such exceptional cases the pastor should con-
sult with his brethren in the ministry or with offi-
cials of the Synod, as the case may require. He
should, furthermore, beware of procrastination and
the giving of offense to members of either the con-
gregation or sister congregations.

e. The Synod instructs its officials to exercise
vigilant care and urges all pastors and congregations
to carry out these provisions and faithfully eradicate
all compromise or negation of the Gospel through
members’ identification with objectionable organiza-
tions. It shall be the duty of every member, pastor,
and especially officials of the Synod to admonish
those pastors and congregations that fail to offer
countertestimony and take decisive action in matters
pertaining to this subject. Refusal to heed brotherly
admonition shall lead to suspension and eventual
expulsion from the Synod.

14.05 The Commission on Organizations

A Commission on Organizations consisting of
five members — one pastor, one teacher, two lay-
men, and one seminary professor —shall be ap-
pointed by the President of the Synod after con-
sultation with the Vice-Presidents.

14.07 Functions and Duties
The commission shall —

a. gather and provide information, advice, and
literature concerning all organizations, both objec-
tionable and nonobjectionable, about which pastors
or congregations may make inquiry relative to
ceremonies, tenets, programs, practices, or objec-
tives.

b. seek to explain the Synod’s concerns to those
organizations that have unchristian or antichristian
features, with the goal of persuading them to discard
their objectionable features.

c. prepare and disseminate periodic reports con-
cerning new organizations, changes within existing
organizations, and developments relative to organi-
zations in general.

d. assist pastors and congregations, insofar as it
is able, by publishing study materials, serving as