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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 464

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

464

ROUTES TO MINISTRY

13-49

To Uphold Our Stated Confession
of Office of the Ministry
Whereas, We are called to speak the truth in love; and
Whereas, Practices of individual congregations have the potential to affect our entire Synodical Union and others in fellowship with
us around the world; and
Whereas, The Augsburg Confession, one of our Synodical
Union’s subscribed confessions, states in Article XIV (14) under the
title “ecclesiastical order” that “our churches teach that nobody should
preach publicly in the church or administer the sacraments unless he
is regularly called”; and
Whereas, The Synodical Union has always recognized the
theological truth and ability for a nonordained person to administer
Baptism in an emergency; and
Whereas, There is a need to see that pastors in the pulpit are
properly prepared; and
Whereas, There are currently means to be regularly called for
public preaching and administering the Sacraments, such as the
Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program and training from our
Synod’s seminaries; therefore be it
Resolved, That congregations with lay men (nonordained men) not
under a supervisor in a field education or vicarage program who are
preparing sermons and preaching publicly and/or administering the
sacraments be instructed by their district presidents, for the sake of
the Gospel and our agreed confession, to stop no later than October
1, 2016; and be it further
Resolved, That all LCMS district training programs preparing lay
men to preach publicly and administer the sacraments in the church
be brought to an end no later than October 1, 2016; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Montana District in convention memorialize
the Synod in convention in 2016 to make this resolution its own.
Montana District
13-50

To Develop Better Understanding
of Office of Public Ministry
Whereas, Art. 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”
(Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, p. 41); and
Whereas, In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article
XIV, the confessors were primarily dealing with the Refutation’s call
for “canonical ordination” rather than with the concept of “rightly
ordered call”; and
Whereas, The matter of who prescribes a proper ordination is
taken up in the Smalcald Articles’ article regarding “Ordination and
Call,” and simply states, “as the ancient examples of the Church and

2016 Convention Workbook

the fathers teach us, we ourselves should ordain suitable persons to
this office” (ibid., p. 412); and
Whereas, In the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope,
Luther writes, “[67] Wherever the Church is, there is the authority
to administer the Gospel. Therefore, it is necessary for the Church to
retain the authority to call, elect, and ordain ministers. This authority
is a gift that in reality is given to the Church. No human power can
take this gift away from the Church” (ibid., p. 438); and
Whereas, The right to call and the right to determine who is
“rightly called” is placed into the hands of the Church to determine
in accordance to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions
only; and
Whereas, The LCMS has struggled with the matter of licensed
lay deacons/ministers for a number of years, culminating in the recommendations of the 2013 Res. 4-06A Task Force’s Report to the
Synod which, in effect, essentially eliminates this “office” that was
earlier adopted by the Synod in convention; and
Whereas, A number of alternative routes to “ordination” have
been adopted by Synod in order to provide pastors in a variety of settings (e.g., specific ministry pastor [SMP], Ethnic Immigrant Institute
of Theology [EIIT], Hispanic School of Theology) that differ in
requirements for application and course work to be completed; and
Whereas, There is such disagreement over the implications of the
Office of Public Ministry within the LCMS; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2016 LCMS convention establish a task force
regarding the study of the Scriptures, Confessions, and Walther’s
Kirche und Amt (Church and Ministry) which state the doctrine of
the Synod, for the express purpose of providing
(1) consensus on what the term “rightly called” actually conveys;
(2) determination of whether a set, singular curriculum should be presented for any person preparing for the Office of Public Ministry;
(3) consideration of whether there can or should exist differing “levels”
of ordination into the Office of Public Ministry (e.g., specific ministry pastors unable to serve beyond the specific ministry to which
they are called while an EIIT graduate is eligible to serve the churchat-large).

and be it further
Resolved, That this task force be made up of one (1) professor
from each of the LCMS seminaries; one (1) district president; three
(3) members of the LCMS CTCR, to include the executive director;
and four (4) parish pastors from each of the Synod’s “regions” who
have participated as mentors in the SMP, licensed lay deacon, EIIT,
or Hispanic School of Theology programs; and be it finally
Resolved, That this task force prepare and present its report to the
Synod no later than August 2018 for dissemination, discussion, and
debate prior to the 2019 LCMS convention.
Circuit 16, Southeastern District; Circuit 17, Southeastern
District