LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 244

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

244

VII. 2013 RES. 4-06A TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE SYNOD
continuing education units (CEUs) and of other noncredit academic
and professional experiences completed. The Colloquy Committee
reserves the right to seek independent validation of credit.

10. The district president shall attach a cover letter to the application
package that declares his strong endorsement and sponsorship of the
applicant. The district president’s letter must also give clear and cogent
reasons why the colloquy applicant cannot enter the seminary alternate route or the seminary SMP program. The district president shall
make sure all requested information has been provided and shall send
the completed package with appropriate signatures to the First VicePresident of the Synod as chairman of the Colloquy Committee for
the Pastoral Ministry. The applicant (and, if married, his wife) and the
sponsoring district president must sign this application form where
indicated.

C. Expanded Colloquy Committee
According to the Bylaws of the Synod, the Colloquy Committee
for the Pastoral Ministry consists of four individuals—a representative
of the Council of Presidents, the two seminary presidents (or their representatives), and the First Vice-President. A process for licensed lay
deacons to enter the SMP roster by colloquy would require expanded
colloquy interview committees. The task force proposes the creation
of at least two colloquy interview committees (in addition to the regular Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry) specifically tasked
with interviewing licensed lay deacon applicants for colloquy to the
SMP roster. The membership of these two extra committees would
include
•

two additional district presidents selected by the Council of Presidents
(district presidents emeriti would be eligible to serve), one for each
committee;

•

two additional seminary professors (normally the head of each seminary’s SMP program to provide continuity; seminary professors
emeriti would qualify); and

•

two parish pastors who have experience with licensed lay deacons,
appointed by the President of the Synod.65

These additional Colloquy Committees appointed to work with the
districts to colloquize licensed lay deacons to the SMP roster could
meet in the parts of the country convenient to the deacons applying (e.g., not only St. Louis, but also in Portland, Irvine, etc.). Other
ordained men should be asked to help with the interviews on an ad
hoc basis (as is done now with the regular colloquy interview process).
In fact, the task force believes this feature of our recommendations
will be essential for understanding the context in which the colloquy
applicants are working and the specific needs of the congregations
these deacons presently serve. In other words, pastors who are more
familiar with the cultures of a specific area should be involved in
the certification process of the men from that area, as they are colloquized to the Specific Ministry Pastor roster. The process (including
selection of the ad hoc assistants for the interviews) would still be generally overseen by the First Vice-President as chair of the Colloquy
Committee for the Pastoral Ministry, who would need to allocate time
adequate to the task. Such oversight would help to assure transparochial examination and approval.
Extensive revisions are needed to the Colloquy Policy Manual to
reflect these changes. For instance, the current policy manual allows
for application for colloquy by licensed lay deacons, but only after
ten year’s service in full responsibility for Word and Sacrament. The
proposal outlined in this report requires all present licensed lay deacons, if they do not enter a seminary program, to undergo colloquy
to be ordained and placed on the roster of specific ministry pastors.
2016 Convention Workbook

D. Colloquy Interview
Each application, once received, would be reviewed by one of
the special Colloquy Committees and, if acceptable, the applicant
would be invited to an interview (these could take place at locations
other than St. Louis). The interview committee would have authority to certify immediately; to certify while also requiring additional
study after certification; to require further study before certification;
to require further study with eventual reconsideration; or to decline
to certify. Men who take the vow of ordination pledging faithfulness
to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions must know what they
are promising by that vow.
E. Theological Preparation, Continuing Education,
and Ongoing Supervision
Because colloquy is based on individual capabilities and needs,
some, and perhaps many, candidates will exhibit a fully acceptable
level of theological competence and would then be immediately certified for congregational call, ordination, and rostering. It may also
be that many other applicants for SMP colloquy will require further
study to enable them to be “able to teach” at a basic level. At its discretion, the Colloquy Committee may require such study either prior
to or after certification for ordination. To insure some uniformity of
preparation and for the sake of efficiency, however, the task force
proposes that the seminary faculties jointly prepare an intensive (one
week) course for all SMP colloquy candidates,66 taught by two professors (one from each seminary) and offered in geographic locales that
make participation simple and viable. The course would be offered
in a retreat setting and would focus on the Lutheran approach to
Scripture and doctrine. This course may also be an aid to identifying
areas of required future study.
Further study beyond such an intensive course should be individually determined and may be engaged under the guidance of a mentor
(perhaps utilizing the establishment of a cohort of LLDs preparing for
ordination), according to the determination of needs by the Colloquy
Committee. Moreover, after ordination, as specific ministry pastors,
these colloquized men will continue to serve under a mentor for the
duration of their ministry. Gaps in the preparation of candidates may
readily be filled by mentored readings based on the application and
the interview. As an individualized process, the Colloquy Committee
must endeavor to take into account the particular abilities, needs, attitudes and level of knowledge of each individual applicant. However,
the mentored study requirements should not be arbitrary, and the task
force proposes that the Colloquy Committee also develop standard
reading courses for the applicants to work on as a form of continuing education with their mentors, utilizing basic resources (e.g., the
entire Book of Concord, Koehler’s Summary of Christian Doctrine,
Luther’s 1535 Lectures on Galatians (AE 26–27), Walther’s Law and
Gospel, The Lutheran Difference, in-depth studies of biblical books,
Christian Dogmatics). Sponsoring district presidents should recommend necessary mentors and be kept informed as to the progress
made by the applicant, sharing that progress in regular reports to the
Synod’s Colloquy Committee.
It must be recognized that while SMP colloquy applicants must
meet a minimum level of understanding to make with integrity the
promises required by the ordination vow, these men most likely
will not possess the same level of knowledge as a general pastor. Of
course, it is also true that not all seminary-trained pastors are equal in
their ability to teach and that competent ministry involves more than
intellectual or doctrinal understanding. The task force fully expects
that the godly men who are serving as deacons today will serve with