LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 271

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IX. REPORT OF THE RES. 5-14A TASK FORCE
of his own volition. He must be called by Christ through the Church.
This is foundational to the understanding of everything that follows.
As will become clear, the most complete means of preparing a man
for the general responsibilities of the pastoral office and a lifetime of
service is the master of divinity route at our two seminaries. This full
residential experience has always been our “gold standard” for pastoral formation. That said, from the beginning, our Synod has developed
a variety of means by which pastors are recruited and trained for the
Church, then called, set apart, and placed in office (i.e., ordained).
Both of our seminaries actually predate the Synod. From their inception, each of the two seminaries had complementary but different
emphases. St. Louis was called the “theoretical seminary” and Fort
Wayne/Springfield the “practical seminary.”28 Colloquy has also
served the Synod well, from the beginning of our fellowship. Both
seminary and colloquy involve training, examination, and certification by a competent authority before one is called and ordained. Every
pastor called, placed, and ordained in our Synod will have been certified for call and placement—either by the Colloquy Committee for
the Pastoral Ministry or one of our two seminary faculties—through
one of the following “routes to the pastoral office”:
•
•

•

Certification by the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry
(Bylaw 3.10.2)
Certification by Faculty, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (Bylaw
3.10.4.7.10)
• Master of Divinity (three years residential, plus a vicarage)
• Alternate Route (certificate, generally two years residential, plus
a vicarage)
• Center for Hispanic Studies (certificate via distance learning and
residential intensives)
• Cross-Cultural Ministry Center (a certificate program at Concordia University, Irvine, under the aegis of Concordia Seminary, St.
Louis)
• Deaf Institute of Theology (certificate via distance learning and
residential intensives)
• Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (certificate via distance
learning and residential intensives)
• Specific Ministry Pastor Program (SMP—certificate via distance
learning and residential intensives)
Certification by Faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
Wayne (Bylaw 3.10.4.7.10)
• Master of Divinity (three years residential, plus a vicarage)
• Alternate Route (certificate, generally two years residential, plus
a vicarage)
• Specific Ministry Pastor Program (SMP—certificate via distance learning and residential intensives). Concordia Theological
Seminary, as a distinct track within its SMP program, also offers
“Bilingual Pastoral Formation for Latinos” (an SMP track via
distance learning and residential intensives in cooperation with
Concordia College—New York).

Each one of these initiatives prepares a man to be a general pastor
except for the SMP programs at both seminaries. General pastors may
receive a call to any ministry in the Synod for which they are qualified. They are also eligible for election to synodical office. Specific
ministry pastors are fully ordained pastors, but they are limited in
their service to specific contexts and always serve under the supervision of a general pastor (see Bylaw 2.13.1). They are ineligible for
election to synodical office.
Regardless of their resulting roster status as general pastor or
specific ministry pastor, the men involved in each of these aforementioned “routes” are always certified for call and placement by
either (1) the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry or (2)

271

one of the two seminary faculties.
The task force received extensive documentation from “subjectmatter experts”—district presidents and program directors of the
various routes to the pastoral office—as well as from several participants. Each of these routes has a number of people from our Synod
fully invested in that particular route. Each one serves an important
constituency and has valid reasons for existence. The various routes
are summarized below. For greater ease in comparing them, see also
the charts in Appendix B.
Colloquy
[From the Policy Manual for the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry:]
General Requirements
Applicants for colloquy must be male, men of good moral character
who have been prepared for the pastoral ministry in some manner
apart from the various routes leading to ordination existing within The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. An applicant must “be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle,
uncontentious, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all
dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how will he take care of the church of God?); and not a new convert,
lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by
the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the
church, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil”
(1 Timothy 3:2–7; see also 4:1–16; 2 Timothy 4:1–5; Titus 1:5–9, etc.).
The Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry will, as it considers
each applicant, be the final authority for determining eligibility according to these biblical requirements.
Specific Requirements for Eligibility for Colloquy
To be eligible to apply for colloquy, applicants must fit into one of the
three categories listed below (the applicant will indicate under which
category he is applying, but the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral
Ministry is responsible for the final determination of the category in
each individual situation):
1. Active Pastors from Other Christian Church Bodies: Men who,
at the time of application are in good standing and in active service as pastors in another Christian church body/denomination may
apply for colloquy. Such applicants must be graduates of a program of
study that leads to ordination, from an accredited institution,* with no
fewer than 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of required academic
credit. Such applicants must also have served at least three years in
a recognized ministry of their church body, and must supply suitable
documentation of their active status and good standing in their current
church body/denomination. Pastors of congregations that are not affiliated with a church body/denomination (are “nondenominational” or
“independent”) also may apply, but must supply suitable references
and documentation of their authorization to perform pastoral ministry. In all cases, the academic requirements will apply.
2. Men from Other Christian Church Bodies Who Have Prepared
for Pastoral Ministry but, at the Time of Application, Are Not
in Active Service as Pastors: Such applicants must be graduates of
a program of study that leads to ordination, from an accredited institution,* with no fewer than 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours)
of required academic credit. Applicants with prior pastoral service
must provide the date (month and year) and the reason (e.g., retirement, resignation, dismissal) their active service ended. References
and suitable documentation will be required. Such an applicant also
must have been a communicant member in good standing in a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for at least two
years* immediately prior to the time of application. This category
does NOT apply for LCMS members who while members of LCMS

2016 Convention Workbook