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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 437

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

FLOOR COMMITTEE REPORTS AND OVERTURES ASSIGNMENTS

13. Routes to Ministry

Whereas, Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession states, “Our
churches teach that no one should publicly teach in the church or
administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call”; and
Whereas, In 1989, our Synod at Wichita adopted Res. 3-05B, regularizing under particular circumstances that the following be done
by men who do not hold the Office of the Public Ministry: composing
and delivering sermons, leading public worship services, and administering Holy Baptism and Holy Communion (1989 Proceedings, pp.
111−113); and
Whereas, There has been tension over this issue for the past 25
years; and
Whereas, In 2007, the Synod established the “Specific Ministry
Pastor Program” in which men are trained, examined, certified,
called, and ordained in order to preach the Gospel and administer
the Sacraments (Res. 5-01B, 2007 Proceedings, pp. 133ff); and
Whereas, This program was designed to meet the objective,
among others, of providing pastoral ministry where full-time ministry cannot be maintained and doing so without conflicting with Article
XIV of the Augsburg Confession; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Northern Illinois District respectfully request
the Synod to discontinue the new licensing of laymen to preach the
Gospel and administer the Sacraments (1989 Res. 3-05B); and be it
further
Resolved, That those who are currently licensed be encouraged
to enroll in the regular or SMP track leading to ordination; and be
it further
Resolved, That those who are currently licensed but not enrolled in
the regular (i.e., residential seminary) or SMP track discontinue publicly preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments within
three years of the adoption of this resolution by the Synod in convention; and be it further
Resolved, That an extension of the above deadline for those currently licensed can be granted by the appropriate district president in
extreme circumstance, and this upon consultation with and the agreement of the President of the Synod; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Northern Illinois District in convention submit this resolution as an overture to the Synod for consideration by
its 2016 convention.
Northern Illinois District

This position is expressed in 1989 Res. 3-05B: “[W]hen no pastor is
available, and in the absence of any specific scriptural directives to
the contrary, congregations may arrange for the performance of these
distinctive functions [preaching and administering the Sacraments]
by qualified individuals”; and
Whereas, The Augsburg Confession’s Article XIV reads:
“Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper
[public] call”; and
Whereas, The systematic theology faculties of both seminaries, acting jointly, have published the detailed statement “The Office
of the Holy Ministry” (Concordia Journal 33.3 [July 2007]: 242–
255), which states in part, “The Confessions never use the truth that
the whole church possesses the power of the keys to make the office
of the holy ministry unnecessary or merely useful. On the contrary,
this truth serves as the basis for the church’s right to call, choose, and
ordain ministers. … The point is that the Treatise [on the Power and
Primacy of the Pope] does not imagine churches without ordained
ministers of some kind even in emergency situations or when no one
else will call and ordain men for the office. As confessors of the same
doctrine, neither should we. … Call and ordination are essential for
conduct of the ministry. … What is the sign of authority for ministers
today? It is their call and ordination, which assure they act by divine
right and on the authority of Christ. This truth makes such ideas as lay
ministers’ invitations for difficulties and troubles to ministers whose
authority is doubtful and to laypersons whose assurance of God’s
grace may be questioned” (pp. 253–254, 255); and
Whereas, The Synod has established a specific ministry pastor
(SMP) status to enable ministry of called and ordained pastors in a
variety of ministry settings, and the Synod through its seminaries has
established SMP programs of study to allow a nonresidential path to
ordination into the Office of the Holy Ministry; and
Whereas, The Synod has a Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral
Ministry to determine qualifications and suitability of applicants for
pastoral service in the Synod, and this committee has the responsibility to “establish and monitor academic, theological, and personal
standards for admission to the office of the pastoral ministry by colloquy” (Bylaw 3.10.2.2); therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2016 LCMS convention direct the Council of
Presidents to develop and implement a plan to ensure that all men
who are currently engaged in Word and Sacrament ministry without
being publicly called to and placed in the Office of the Holy Ministry
be enrolled in the SMP program to fulfill the standards necessary for
call and ordination or if applicable apply for colloquy, or cease from
all forms of Word and Sacrament ministry by the end of 2017; and
be it further
Resolved, That all current Synod and district tracks, programs,
licensing procedures, etc. that train men for Word and Sacrament
ministry without the benefit of being publicly called, ordained, and
placed into the Office of the Holy Ministry be phased out in favor of
the SMP program or colloquy by the end of 2017.
Southern Illinois District

13-02

13-03

REPORTS
R1, R1.1, R1.2, R2, R2.1, R2.2, R11, R56, R59, R61,
R62, R64
OVERTURES
13-01

To Address Licensed Lay Administration
of Word and Sacrament

To Assure That All Men Who Serve
as Pastors Are Pastors

To Support Resolution 4-06A
Task Force Recommendations

Whereas, In certain situations today, the Synod approves of
preaching and administration of the Sacraments by men who have not
been publicly called to and placed in the Office of the Holy Ministry.

Whereas, The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions teach that
while our Lord gave the Keys of the Kingdom to His whole Church,
the royal priesthood of believers (Matt. 16:15−19; 18:18−20; 1 Pet.

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2016 Convention Workbook