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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 231

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

V. RES. 3-10A TASK FORCE REPORT
R60

V. Res. 3-10A Task Force Report
The 65th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, St. Louis, July 20–25, 2013, considered Resolution 3-10A,
“To Appoint a Task Force to Study the Call Process for Returning
Missionary and Military Chaplains and Other Rostered Church
Workers without a Call.” The resolution was adopted as presented,
Yes: 884; No: 25. (See Attachment A for complete resolution.)
Task Force Membership: The resolution defines that the task
force is to include, but not be limited to, representatives from the
Council of Presidents, the seminaries, and the Concordia University
System. Task Force members:
The Rev. Terry Cripe, President, Ohio District, task-force chairman
The Rev. John Fale, Executive Director, LCMS Office of International Mission, task-force secretary
The Rev. Dr. Dan Gard, President, Concordia University Chicago
The Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein, LCMS Office of International
Mission
The Rev. Dr. Dan May, President, Indiana District
The Rev. Dr. Joel Okamoto, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
The Rev. Dr. Brian Saunders, President, Iowa District East
Chaplain (Col.) Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, United States Army
Chaplain (U.S. Navy Capt. ret.) Rev. Dr. John Wohlrabe, LCMS
Second Vice-President
Addendum I to Task Force Membership: Dr. Gard accepted a call
during the task-force process from Concordia Theological Seminary,
Fort Wayne, Ind., to Concordia University Chicago. Chaplain Craig
Muehler, (U.S. Navy Capt. ret.), director of the LCMS Ministry to
the Armed Forces, served as a consultant and participated in three of
the four meetings.
Addendum II to Task Force Membership: LCMS first vicepresident Rev. Dr. Herbert C. Mueller Jr. communicated to the task
force that he received correspondence from a pastor on candidate
status who expressed disappointment that someone who is, or has
been, on candidate status was not appointed to the task force. Dr.
Grimenstein provided clarification that he was on candidate status
following his medical retirement from the United States Army as a
military chaplain and has a fresh perspective of what it means to be
on candidate status.
Prior to the first meeting, Rev. Cripe proposed to the task force that
he send a questionnaire to each district president. Additionally, taskforce members were encouraged to contact workers on candidate and
non-candidate status to listen to their concerns and recommendations.
The task force met by telephone conference call on three occasions: Sept. 2, 2014; Nov. 7, 2014; and Jan. 16, 2015.
Summary Observations of the Task Force
Through solicited and unsolicited communication from church
workers without calls, the task force was made aware of the specific
concerns outlined by the Synod in convention in Resolution 3-10A,
regarding ordained and commissioned ministers who are without
calls. The task force recognizes the urgent need to respond to this
complex matter with compassion and thoughtfulness. Moreover, the
task force shares the concern of Synod that individual workers and
their families endure significant hardship in their loss of vocational
call, which has financial, emotional, spiritual, and physical impacts.
While awaiting a call, a worker can hear that he or she is “overqualified” for secular employment and so find it difficult to be hired,
especially if the employer knows that the worker could accept a call
and leave at any time.

231

Marriage and family relationships are strained by this economic
hardship. Some workers did not know what process they should follow to get their names on call lists. The task force learned that workers
on candidate and non-candidate status at times feel abandoned by the
very church that they wish to serve, if they have not received communications from their district office. They are bewildered when they
read information from Synod offices stating that there are not sufficient graduates to fill placement calls, and they are eager to serve. Yet
first calls (placement calls) follow a very different process than calls
for those on candidate and non-candidate status, as outlined in our
bylaws. While there is no easy solution to the dilemma of qualified
and willing workers who are eager to serve in our Lord’s church yet
cannot obtain a call, the church can respond by learning more about
what being on candidate and non-candidate status means, listening
to them in the midst of their struggles, supporting them in meaningful ways with compassion and care of their souls, and speaking the
truth in love to those whose circumstances will make it difficult for
them to receive consideration for another call.
A survey of questionnaires returned from district presidents
reveals that there are 179 ordained ministers on candidate status and
198 ordained ministers on non-candidate status, for a total of 377. Of
those 377, the following primary reasons were listed for their status
with accompanying statistics:

Health matters
Age
Continuing Education
Employed in another field
Resigned due to lack of congregational funding
Resigned due to congregational problems not of
pastor’s making
Resigned due to congregational problems of the
pastor’s making
Retired

36
25
19
67
37
36
84
18

Of the 377 total, four were due to a military chaplaincy call that
ended and seven were due to a missionary whose position ended.
A survey of questionnaires returned from district presidents
reveals that there are 474 commissioned ministers on candidate status and 1,161 commissioned ministers on non-candidate status, for
a total of 1,635. Of those 1,635 total, the following primary reasons
were listed for their status with accompanying statistics:

Health matters
Age
Continuing Education
Employed in another field
Resigned due to lack of funding
Resigned due to congregation/school problems
not of worker’s making
Resigned due to congregation/school problems of
the worker’s making
Other—unknown reason
Other—care for family
Other—moved for spouse’s career
Other—marital/family difficulties
Other—candidate status expired

46
50
82
257
153
75
53
162
240
89
75
138

2016 Convention Workbook