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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 440

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

440

ROUTES TO MINISTRY
istry within that same timeframe. An extension of the above deadline
for those currently licensed can be granted by the appropriate district
president in extreme circumstance, upon consultation with and approval of the President of the Synod.

3. All the current Synod and district tracks, programs, licensing procedures, and the like which train men for Word and Sacrament ministry without benefit of being publicly called to, and placed in, the
Office of the Ministry will be discontinued as soon as possible, but
no later than the end of 2019, in favor of either the residential programs at our two seminaries or the SMP program.
4. The districts in which men currently serve as licensed lay deacons
will ensure that these men be provided reasonable assistance in pursuing ordination or finding an alternative vocation.

Central Illinois District
13-06

To Accept and Act on Recommendations of 2013
Res. 4-06A Task Force Report
Whereas, The matter of licensed lay deacons has been a matter
of contention within the Synod for years; and
Whereas, As a result of 2013 Res. 4-06A, a task force has issued
an extensive and informed report that includes eight helpful recommendations addressing not only the subject of licensed lay deacons
itself but also the wider and important subject of evangelism training
within the Synod; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Carrollton Circuit Forum calls upon the Synod
in 2016 to accept the recommendations of the Res. 4-06A Task Force;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Carrollton Circuit Forum urge the Synod to
implement these recommendations as soon as possible.
Carrollton Circuit Forum
Missouri District
13-07

To Accept and Implement
4-06A Task Force Report
Whereas, The 2013 LCMS convention adopted Res. 4-06A; and
Whereas, The 4-06A Task Force has completed its report and
given its recommendations; therefore it be
Resolved, That the Synod in convention accept the 4-06A Task
Force report; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod implement the recommendations of the
4-06A Task Force and specifically recommendation 1, “that those
licensed lay deacons who are regularly preaching and administering
the sacraments be required to apply for a colloquy to examine their
ability to teach and overall fitness for ministry. Upon certification
by the Colloquy Committee they will be called by the congregations
where they have been serving, ordained into the Office of the Public
Ministry, and placed on the roster of specific ministry pastors.”
St. Paul
Hamel, IL
2016 Convention Workbook

13-08

To Address Lay Ministry According to Confessions
and Constitution of LCMS
Whereas, The LCMS Constitution states that “[t]he Synod, and
every member of the Synod, accepts without reservation…[a]ll the
Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and
unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God” (Art.
II 2), which are otherwise known as the Lutheran Confessions; and
Whereas, The Constitution of the LCMS is also the constitution
of each district of the Synod (Art. XII 2); and
Whereas, Each individual pastor of the LCMS has vowed to perform the duties of his office in accordance with the Holy Scriptures
and these Lutheran Confessions; and
Whereas, “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod requires
that its member congregations accept the confessional standard of
the Synod” (“Guidelines for Constitutions and Bylaws of Lutheran
Congregations,” May 2006, p. 5, accessed online Aug. 5, 2011; a
PDF of the document can be found in the Helpful Documents tab of
Resources of the Commission on Constitutional Matters at lcms.org);
and
Whereas, The original German of Article 5 of the Augsburg
Confession of the Lutheran Confessions states that “God established the preaching office (Predigtamt) for teaching the Gospel and
administering the sacraments,” which was understood historically as
the pastoral office (AC V 1, Concordia Triglotta ed., Northwestern
Publishing House, 1927, pp. 44-45); and
Whereas, The original Latin of Article XIV of the same Augsburg
Confession states that “no one should publicly teach in the church or
administer the sacraments unless he be called by the public ceremony”
(nisi rite vocatus), which was understood historically as referring only
to the pastoral office (AC XIV, Triglotta, pp. 48−49); and
Whereas, The 1989 LCMS convention at Wichita, Kansas,
allowed for lay people to preach and administer the sacraments publicly in LCMS congregations at worship—though this is contrary to
Scripture and Lutheran Confessions; and
Whereas, Later conventions of the LCMS have tried to resolve
this issue with overtures/resolutions both in favor of and opposed to
allowing lay people to publicly preach and administer sacraments; and
Whereas, District and Synod programs currently offer lay
ministry training for lay people to publicly preach and administer
sacraments; and
Whereas, The Constitution of the LCMS states: “Members who
act contrary to the confession laid down in Article II and to the condition of membership laid down in Article VI, or persist in an offensive
conduct shall, after previous futile admonition, be expelled from the
Synod” (Art. XIII 1), which can even result in a congregation that
supports and defends such a member forfeiting its rights of membership in the LCMS “if all negotiations and admonitions fail of their
purpose” (Art. XIII 3); and
Whereas, There is a great division in the LCMS over lay people publicly preaching, baptizing in a church service, or consecrating
communion elements; and
Whereas, The Constitution of the LCMS states: “All matters of
doctrine and of conscience shall be decided only by the Word of God”
(Art. VIII C); therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention insist that district,
Synod, or other programs that result in lay people publicly preaching or administering sacraments should be suspended from further