LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 237

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VII. 2013 RES. 4-06A TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE SYNOD
pastors and congregations. Subsequent LCMS conventions featured
further studies, proposals, and resolutions that attempted to address
concerns raised by the 1989 resolution. In 1992, provision was made
for laymen who had served for ten years or more in a pastoral capacity to apply for colloquy (Res. 3-08).17 Then 1995 Res. 3-07A required
laymen performing pastoral functions “to apply for admission into the
pastoral ministry in the Synod” within two years unless there were
“extreme and unusual circumstances” preventing such application—
a resolution that, in effect, ended LCMS endorsement of the LLD
programs. The 1998 convention called for a task force to study the
“growing number of congregations whose pastoral needs cannot be
provided by full-time pastors” (Res. 5-09). The task force reported to
the 2001 convention and suggested a mediating approach to the theological and practical concerns, an approach that would have rescinded
the 1989 and 1995 convention actions regarding laymen serving in
a pastoral capacity. A resolution to act on the task force recommendations was presented, but a substitute resolution from the floor was
passed instead, rescinding only 1995 Res. 3-07A and authorizing the
districts of the Synod to continue training lay deacons “as directed
by the spirit of the 1989 Wichita Res. 3-05B.” It also called for the
appointment of an oversight Committee to revise DELTO “in order to
help address the needs to recruit and train more ordained pastors.”18
Also, 2004 Res. 5-09 “To Affirm District Programs that Equip
Laity for Ministry” affirmed the LCMS District lay-training programs “for mission work.” The resolution addressed “ministry” in
a general sense, without specifically referring to preaching or the
administration of the Sacraments. It also resolved that “the new Board
for Pastoral Education with the guidance of the seminary faculties
develop a standardized core curriculum for District lay-training programs and coordinate a national listing of participants.”19
The study of revisions needed for DELTO, called for in 2001, was
completed by the 2007 convention, which established the Specific
Ministry Pastor (SMP) program as a successor to DELTO. The SMP
program was designed to provide a way of training candidates for
specialized ministries, including the kinds of ministries in which the
deacons of various LCMS districts were serving (2007 Res. 5-01B).
In addition, 2007 Res. 5-02 asked the Board of Parish Education and
Council of Presidents “to study the situations currently served by
licensed lay deacons to determine whether there continues to be a
genuine need for this program” and to report its findings to the 2010
convention. Based on its report, a resolution to the 2010 convention
was proposed (2010 Res. 5-03A, “To Address Lay Deacons”). After
extensive debate, the resolution was returned to its floor committee
without convention vote.
The 2013 LCMS convention once again took up this matter
and called for the CTCR to develop resources on this topic and for
the president to promote its study and to establish a task force that
would “resolve questions about the service of licensed lay deacons”
in LCMS congregations (Res. 4-06A). The task force report was to be
submitted to the members of Synod one year in advance of the 2016
convention. President Matthew Harrison appointed the members of
the task force (TF 4-06A) in the fall of 2013. They are Deacon Jason
Kiefer (New Jersey District), Dr. Herbert Mueller (Praesidium), Dr.
Roger Paavola (Mid-South District president), Rev. Russ Sommerfeld
(Nebraska District president), Dr. James Voelz (CS-St. Louis faculty
member), Dr. Roland Ziegler (member of the faculty of CTS-Fort
Wayne and the CTCR), and Rev. Larry Vogel (CTCR staff and chairman of the task force). The members of the task force have sought to
fulfill their assigned responsibilities and are hereby reporting to the
convention as required.

237

In assessing our responsibilities, TF 4-06A recognizes that the
matter of licensing lay deacons for preaching and sacramental administration has been a divisive, polarizing aspect of Synod’s life for over
a quarter century. Sadly, in some cases, ill will and animosity have
developed. Therefore, the task force has attempted to take seriously
its assignment to address the concerns and causes of division. We have
sought to determine the extent to which laymen are currently serving in a pastoral capacity and the stated reasons for such service, to
understand the nature of the theological concerns that are relevant to
this matter, to remove stereotypes of both proponents and critics of
the service of deacons, and to suggest a way forward that is faithful
to Scripture and the Confessions, nurtures the mission and ministry of the church, and promotes the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace (Eph 4:3).
Current Status
A Spring 2014 survey of LCMS districts found that about 525
individuals have completed district training programs for lay deacons20 and are currently involved in congregational ministries or
mission efforts (see Appendix A). Of these, 331 men are serving in
some pastoral capacity in the Synod as licensed lay deacons (LLD)—
either regularly or occasionally preaching and/or administering the
Sacraments—and 194 individuals (men and women) are serving in
various ways other than preaching or administration of Sacraments.
(By comparison, in 2009 540 individuals were then involved in mission or ministry in general terms, with 320 preaching or administering
Sacraments and 220 involved in other ways.)
Visitations of six districts with the largest number of active deacons and/or graduates of district training programs provided helpful
insights. The rationale for the programs emphasized during the visits generally included three points:
1. Most frequently mentioned was the number of small congregations—
particularly those in rural and urban areas—that are unable to support
a pastor financially and have difficulty finding supply or vacancy pastors to serve them.
2. Next in importance was the shortage of ordained pastors available to
serve LCMS congregations in certain isolated geographic locales, both
in terms of their availability for calls and also their ability to serve with
minimal remuneration.
3. Finally, few LCMS pastors are equipped for ministry, church planting,
and mission outreach in urban settings and elsewhere among racial
and ethnic minorities. Moreover, such missions tend to have minimal
financial resources and frequently cannot support the costs of a fulltime minister.

Proponents of the districts’ programs frequently mentioned the
need for and value of specially trained laymen who work under pastoral supervision to supply these needs. They often suggested that
such programs have developed a neglected aspect of pastoral responsibility because the pastors who serve as mentors to deacons exercise
episcope—pastoral supervision—of the deacons and also, thereby,
expand their pastoral scope beyond what they can do by themselves.
One district president suggested that deacons trained within the
district better understood the cultural environment and people than
individuals who came from outside the district. Similarly, a mentor
pastor indicated his belief that a deacon from his congregation would
understand the church and could serve in his absence better than an
ordained supply or vacancy pastor from elsewhere. Others believe
that the Scriptures refer to an office of deacon in Philippians 1:1
and in 1 Timothy 3:8–13 and that the establishment or maintenance
of such an office is needed.21 Moreover, the number of individuals
who served as a licensed lay deacon and then went on to become
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