LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 439

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ROUTES TO MINISTRY
Resolved, That the LCMS, while mindful of the need for continued conversation within the church, affirm the theological framework
of the 2013 Resolution 4-06A Task Force Report; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS establish and implement an expanded
colloquy program, administered by the Pastoral Colloquy Committee,
to regularize the status of those men ordinarily age 55 and older who
regularly preach and administer the Sacraments (who are de facto
pastors) so that these servants of Christ can be called and ordained
according to the order of the LCMS and be rostered as pastors with
SMP status (2013 Resolution 4-06A Task Force Report to the Synod,
pp. 15-21); and be it further
Resolved, That licensed lay deacons under age 55 who regularly
preach and administer the Sacraments will be required to enter the
SMP program or another LCMS seminary ordination-track program;
and be it further
Resolved, That no new deacons will be licensed by district presidents for Word and Sacrament ministry after January 1, 2018, and
that a lay deacon licensed for Word and Sacrament prior to July 1,
2017, will have until July 1, 2018, to either (1) apply to one of the
LCMS seminaries for an “alternate route” program or the Master of
Divinity program; (2) apply to one of the LCMS seminaries for the
SMP program; (3) apply to the Colloquy Committee for admission
to the SMP roster by colloquy if he is 55 or older; or (4) allow his
license to lapse and discontinue service as a licensed lay deacon by
July 1, 2018; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS provide funding to ensure that financial
constraints will not prevent any eligible candidate from participating in an LCMS seminary ordination-track program; and be it finally
Resolved, That the LCMS thank and commend the Res. 4-06A
Task Force for its work on the question of licensed lay deacons.
Faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, IN
13-05

To Direct the Council of Presidents to Enact a Plan
to Return to Faithful Practice
Whereas, The 2013 LCMS convention adopted Res. 4-06A,
which directed the following:
Resolved, That in faithfulness to God’s Word and Article XIV of
the Augsburg Confession regarding the Office of the Holy Ministry, the
President of Synod would direct the CTCR to develop resources for use
on the congregational, district, and Synod levels concerning this issue;
and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod, who has the responsibility “to promote and maintain unity of doctrine and practice in all the
districts of the Synod” (Constitution, Art. XI B 3), be encouraged to use
all means at his disposal to promote study and discussion of this vital
issue; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod establish a task force
consisting of members from the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations, the Council of Presidents, the Praesidium, and seminary
faculties to develop a plan anchored in the Word, in consultation with
licensed lay deacons and those who supervise and are served by them,
to resolve questions about the service of licensed lay deacons serving
congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod with the Word
and Sacraments of Christ; and be it finally
Resolved, That the plan and its proposed implementation be reported
to the Synod one year before the 2016 convention.

and

439

Whereas, The theological basis of Res. 4-06A remains Article
XIV of the Augsburg Confession, which states: “Our churches teach
that no one should publicly teach in the Church, or administer the
Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call,” and Article V of the same,
which states:
So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. Through the Word
and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given (John
20:22).

and
Whereas, The Central Illinois District of the LCMS in convention
in 2012 passed a resolution “To Require Uniformity of Practice with
Regard to Word and Sacrament Ministry” which expressed our regret
with the current practice within the LCMS of “men who are conducting Word and Sacrament ministry without being publicly called to,
and placed in, the office of the ministry”; and
Whereas, In that same resolution, the Central Illinois District
also memorialized the Synod in convention “to direct the Council of
Presidents to develop a plan and lay out procedures”:
(A) So that all men who are currently engaged in Word and Sacrament
ministry without being publicly called to, and placed in, the office
of the ministry may either be enrolled in the SMP program or cease
from all forms of Word and Sacrament ministry by the end of 2019,
and
(B) So that all current Synod and district tracks, programs, licensing
procedures, etc. which train men for Word and Sacrament ministry
without benefit of being publicly called to, and placed in, the office
of the ministry can be phased out in favor of SMP by the end of
2019 …

and
Whereas, The Task Force established by the 2013 Synod convention has been doing its work as directed and, based on updates
posted to the convention update webpage dedicated to Resolution
4-06A (http://www.lcms.org/convention/taskforceupdates/resolution-4-06A), is planning to distribute its report in hard copy and
electronically to each member of the Synod; and
Whereas, The task force intends for a synodwide discussion of its
report to take place prior to the 2016 Synod convention; and
Whereas, The scriptural and confessional basis of the 2013
Central Illinois District Convention’s resolution has not changed, as
the Word of God is unchangeable, “Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Central Illinois District thank the members
of the Resolution 4-06A Task Force for their work in studying the
ongoing challenge of men who are conducting Word and Sacrament
ministry without being publicly called to, and placed in, the Office
of the Ministry; and be it further
Resolved, That the Central Illinois District thank the men currently serving as licensed lay deacons for their service to Christ’s
Church for the sake of the Gospel, and that the chaplain of the convention lead us in prayer that our Lord would lead these men to seek
ordination according to His good and gracious will; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Central Illinois District memorialize the Synod
in convention to direct the Council of Presidents to enact the following plan to return the Synod to a faithful practice of her confession:
1. All the districts of the Synod shall immediately discontinue the licensing of lay deacons (1989 Res. 3-05B).
2. All men currently engaged in Word and Sacrament ministry without
being publicly called to, and placed in, the Office of the Ministry
will be enrolled in either a residential program at one of our two
seminaries by the end of 2019 or in the specific ministry pastor
(SMP) program, or will cease all forms of Word and Sacrament min-

2016 Convention Workbook