LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 54

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54

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

Several adjustments were made to the application form during this
triennium. Two theological essays of 1500–1800 words each are now
required (one on the Six Chief Parts of the Catechism and the other
on basic Lutheran theological terms) in order to provide more initial
information to the committee as we evaluate applications. The essays
also give the committee more specific direction as to what needs to
be discussed in the interview.
There are three categories of men eligible to apply for colloquy
into the ministerium of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: (1)
ordained pastors with sufficient education who are presently actively
serving a congregation of another synod, who desire to colloquize into
the LCMS (normally, we seek to have them bring their congregation
along with them into the Synod, but that is not always possible); (2)
men who are graduates of a seminary program of sufficient academic
standards leading to ordination who have been members of LCMS
congregations for at least two years (often, these are men who have
resigned from pastoral positions in congregations of other synods and
have subsequently joined LCMS congregations); and (3) licensed deacons of the Synod’s districts who have served in the full Word and
Sacrament ministry of an LCMS congregation under license for at
least 10 years. The congregation he is serving must also certify that
it desires to call the individual once he is certified. The Colloquy
Committee is empowered by the Bylaws and the policy manual, at
the request of the sponsoring district president, to make some exceptions to the minimum requirements in categories 2 and 3. All others,
including commissioned ministers of the Synod, are directed to the
alternate route programs at one of our Synod’s seminaries.
During the previous triennium as well as the first part of the present triennium, the committee received a number of applications for
colloquy from lifelong LCMS Lutherans and/or commissioned ministers who had received Master of Divinity degrees from non-Lutheran
seminaries, sometimes locally, sometimes online. As a result of interviews conducted with many of these men, the committee decided,
as a matter of policy, that such men will normally be directed to
the alternate route at one of our seminaries instead of proceeding
through colloquy. In the committee’s experience, because such men
often needed extensive coursework to bring them up to the confessional standards of our Synod, the committee felt it simpler to direct
them to the seminary so that the seminary might design an appropriate alternate route for them.
During the course of the triennium, the Colloquy Committee met
4–5 times per year to examine applications, conduct interviews with
applicants (no applicant is ever certified without a personal interview),
and to transact business monitoring the progress of the various applicants. In the work of interviewing applicants, the committee often
draws upon other ordained men from the staff of the Synod for help.
Several Spanish-speaking pastors assist with Hispanic applicants.
The Korean Ministry Pastoral Conference—an informal group of
Korean-speaking LCMS pastors, together with Dr. Shang Ik Moon of
Concordia University, Irvine—conducts classes in Lutheran theology
for Korean speakers ordained elsewhere who wish to colloquize into
the Synod. These men are interviewed every January by the Chairman
of the Colloquy Committee, together with Dr. Moon and others, and
then presented to the full committee at a subsequent meeting. During
the triennium now ending, 11 men were certified through this Korean
colloquy program. In addition, as of this writing, a total of 46 men
were certified by the normal process during the present triennium,
for a total of 57 men certified for call and placement in the ministerium of the Synod. A total of 88 men (11 Korean and 77 regular)
applied for colloquy during this period. Of that total, 19 were declined
or withdrew and 27 are still in process as of this writing (a few from
the previous triennium).
2016 Convention Workbook

As we look to the future, there will be more men coming from
a wide variety of backgrounds, both within our country and from
around the world. Colloquy has always been a part of our life together
as a Synod and will always be a necessary and valued route to the pastoral office in the LCMS. Should the Synod adopt the proposals of
Task Force 4-06A, the workload of the Colloquy Committee will be
significantly increased as we put in place, under the supervision of
the committee, regional colloquy committees to interview licensed
lay deacons who will be required to apply for colloquy to the Specific
Ministry Pastor (SMP) roster. As always, we trust God to grant both
strength and wisdom for the task. It is the belief of the undersigned
that in the future, the Synod should give the Colloquy Committee the
discretion to decide whether a licensed deacon applying for colloquy
should be put on the roster as a “general pastor” or as an SMP pastor.
To conclude, the men who apply for colloquy come from a wide
variety of backgrounds. Many come from other Lutheran churches
here and abroad. Others were ordained in churches of other confessions but have been attracted to the truth of the confession our Synod
holds. All are thoroughly examined and, where necessary, given more
work to do to prepare for service in our Synod (often including further
interviews and examination), so that when the Colloquy Committee
for the Pastoral Ministry certifies them for call and placement they
are, to the best of our knowledge, fully ready to serve in our midst
as faithful Lutheran pastors. We thank God for these gifts to His
church, many of whom have come to us at great personal cost. Even
though they may have been trained in another church body, they come
because they are convinced by the Scriptures of the truth of our confession and are willing to commit themselves to that confession in
order to carry out ministry in our midst as faithful Lutheran pastors.
To God be the glory!
Herbert C. Mueller Jr., First Vice-President, Chairman
R2.2

Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry
The 2013 Handbook of the Synod provides for the following representatives on the Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry:
The First Vice-President of the Synod as chairman (the undersigned)
A representative of the Concordia University System (Dr. Paul Philp)
Two college/university presidents appointed by the President of the Synod
(Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich and Rev. Dr. Patrick Ferry)
Two CUS faculty involved in colloquy appointed by the president of the
Concordia University System (Dr. Rebecca Peters and Prof. Kevin
Borchers)
One representative from CUEnet (Dr. Heather Stueve)

The Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry met several
times by telephone or email and one time face-to-face during the triennium. The normal day-to-day work of colloquy for commissioned
ministry takes place at the districts, the individual institutions of the
CUS and CUEnet, though every application for commissioned ministry colloquy must pass through the office of the First Vice-President
for his signature.
The major work of the committee in its face-to-face meeting
(January 2015) was to approve revisions to the “Policy Manual for
Colloquy into the Commissioned Ministry.” The directors for the
Director of Christian Education programs of the various CUS schools
had made suggestions for adjustments in the policies for several of
the programs. The committee also spent considerable time reviewing
the version of the policy manual prepared in the previous triennium
and making necessary editorial changes.
One specific change is worthy of note: after significant discussion
of the need for teacher licensure for teacher colloquy applicants, the
committee voted to indicate in the manual the possibility of granting