LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 245

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VII. 2013 RES. 4-06A TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE SYNOD
commitment and competence as they join and enhance the ministerium of the LCMS. The goal of pastoral formation and preparation
of every type is always to enable a man to be “able to teach” and to
serve faithfully as a Lutheran pastor in the ministry to which he has
been called.
F. Limitations on Colloquized Specific Ministry Clergy
Only those male deacons who are age 55 or older will ordinarily be admitted to the SMP colloquy program.67 Colloquized specific
ministry pastors will be either bi-vocational or retired from another
profession. Pastors colloquized as SMP will be limited to the place
to which they were initially called. If they wish to move, they will
need to enter the alternate route at one of our seminaries. Deacons
under the age of 55 who are currently serving on a regular basis in
preaching and officiating over the Sacraments and are not eligible for
colloquy will be required to enter the SMP program or another seminary-provided alternate route.
G. Transition Period
Certainly an adequate transition period will be needed.
Congregations, licensed lay deacons, and district presidents will need
time to digest and implement the details of the plan outlined herein.
The task force proposes that the Synod adopt the following schedule
to enable this to take place:
1. No new deacons will be licensed by district presidents for Word and
Sacrament ministry after January 1, 2018.
2. Lay deacons licensed for Word and Sacrament ministry prior to July
1, 2017, will have until July 1, 2018, to do one of the following:
a. Apply to one of the seminaries for an “alternate route” or the
Master of Divinity degree.
b. Apply to one of the seminaries for the regular SMP program.
c. Apply to the Colloquy Committee for admission to the SMP roster by colloquy in the manner herein described.
d. Allow his license to lapse and discontinue service as a licensed
lay deacon by July 1, 2018.
3. Deacons licensed for Word and Sacrament ministry between July 1,
2017, and January 1, 2018, will be required to enter the full seminary
SMP program or to apply to the “alternate route” or Master of Divinity
program.
4. Lay deacons licensed for Word and Sacrament ministry who have
applied for colloquy to the SMP roster prior to July 1, 2018, shall
continue to serve under their current district licensure until the colloquy process is complete and certification is given by the Colloquy
Committee.

The task force cautions those who may believe that there should
be an immediate cessation of Licensed Lay Deacon programs and
the current practice, in some places, of having deacons serving congregations in a pastoral capacity. Concern for practice that is fully
consistent with doctrine is always appropriate, but it is also necessary
to recognize that teaching and “convincing” require time. It is most
important that there be a theological consensus on this matter within
our Synod that is scriptural and confessional. Only on that basis can
real progress toward common practices be achieved. While this report
seeks to lay forth a measured, responsible plan to address concerns
about the practice of licensing lay deacons based on biblical truth, no
Synod plan, proposal, or resolution can take the place of joint study
of God’s Word and our confessions with respectful and prayerful discussions that enable us to achieve genuine agreement and appropriate
practices (1 Cor. 1:10).

245

H. Certification, Call, and Placement
Men certified by the special Colloquy Committee for the Specific
Ministry Pastor roster will be called by their congregation and placed
in that call by the Council of Presidents in the normal manner. Then,
to the joy of these men, their congregations, and the wider church,
these pastors will be ordained, blessed by the gifts given through the
laying on of hands (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), committed by vow to
their sacred responsibilities, and assured of the prayers and support
of their congregation.
I. General Comments Regarding Further Education
and Certification
Individuals colloquized as specific ministry pastors are strongly
encouraged to attend all circuit and district conferences, thus engaging in continuing education. It is also incumbent on the Synod to
provide opportunities for continuing education for pastors who are
part-time and working other jobs. Distance-learning opportunities
may be helpful here (e.g., iTunes U at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis).
Should the applicant wish, a path to further education and certification
through the seminary programs must be provided (SMP and MDiv).
Men colloquized to the SMP roster should be able at some point to
apply at least to the normal SMP route and, if academically qualified,
to the seminary for alternate route or MDiv to be a “general pastor.”
Continuing education in some form is strongly recommended for all
pastors, but should be required of men colloquized to the SMP roster, the content determined by their supervising pastor in consultation
with the district president.
Process for the Future
The task force recognizes that congregations and missions will
continue to experience the challenges we have identified (financial, geographic, and demographic), and the Synod must address the
need to provide the ministry of Word and Sacrament in such circumstances. There will always be a need for men to serve part-time, under
supervision of a “general pastor,” for small, out-of-the-way places.
In such cases, the seminary SMP programs should be the normal
means (beyond July 1, 2018) by which the church raises up and prepares pastors “on site.”
However, the Synod has always recognized the existence of difficult and exceptional cases. Other solutions may also be explored.
Perhaps it may be desirable for the Synod to provide an ongoing
means for a limited number of individuals to be colloquized to the
SMP roster of pastors in difficult cases (once the present pool of
licensed lay deacons has been brought through the colloquy process).
Certainly, there will be new questions and challenging circumstances
will continue to arise. What will a small, remote congregation do at
the time of the retirement of a colloquized specific ministry pastor
who has served them for years? What mechanism will provide for
their needs if they remain unable to call a full-time pastor or a seminary-trained specific ministry pastor? Will a locally trained (i.e.,
trained in the district) leader be able to be colloquized to the SMP
roster? Some questions are beyond the purview of this task force and
will need to be answered in the future. For example, the task force
leaves open such questions as whether there may arise special situations of an extreme nature that require expeditious approaches in order
to authorize a man to preach and/or administer the Sacraments to a
group that cannot be served for the foreseeable future by a called and
ordained minister.68 However, this principle should always apply: If
we ask a man to go and do pastoral work, we should make him a pastor, certified as “able to teach” in a manner appropriate to the situation,

2016 Convention Workbook