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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 325

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

III. RESOLUTION 3-04 TASK FORCE REPORT
R60 A

III. Resolution 3-04 Task Force Report
Introduction
The 66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (Milwaukee, Wis., July 9–14, 2016) adopted Res. 3-04
(“To Create Task Force for Study of Issues Relating to Procreation,
Fertility, and Care for the Unborn”), which affirms the Bible’s
teaching that God’s creation of human life begins at conception and
that “children are a blessing from the Lord” (Ps. 127:3). This resolution also identified the complexities and ever-changing landscape
of procreation, fertility and care for the unborn. It noted that science and technology have significantly changed since the publication several decades ago of various Commission on Theology and
Church Relations (CTCR) documents and reports on life issues.
The adopted resolution called for the President of Synod to appoint a task force to take up these issues and report back to the next
convention. The members of this task force (including representatives from pertinent Synod offices and entities, Lutherans For Life,
the seminaries, and laypersons who have expertise in the fields of
medicine, procreative science, theology, ethics, etc.) were specifically asked to do the following:
•

identify the important issues to be addressed to best help
and support families and parents dealing with the issues
of procreation, fertility and care of the unborn.

•

identify specific actions leading to the production of appropriate LCMS responses to these issues.

Task Force Membership
The resolution specifically defined task force membership to
include the Director of Life and Health Ministries from the Office of National Mission; representatives from Lutherans For Life,
the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and each of
the Synod’s seminaries; and rostered LCMS church workers or
laymembers of LCMS congregations who are respected for their
expertise in the fields of medicine, procreative science, theology,
ethics, etc.
Unfortunately, the position of LCMS Director of Life and
Health Ministries was vacant during the duration of the work of this
task force. Also vacant at the beginning of the task force’s work was
the position of Executive Director of the Office of National Mission. Full-time task force members, all appointed (per Res. 3-04)
by the President of the Synod were:
Rev. Dr. James Bachman, Concordia University Irvine, emeritus
Dr. Debra Grime, OB/GYN Physician
Dr. Donna Harrison, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Rev. Dr. Gilbert Meilaender, Senior Research Professor, Valparaiso University
Rev. Dr. Joel Okamoto, Concordia Seminary (St. Louis)
Dr. Andrea Pitkus, Commission on Theology and Church Relations (lay representative from the CTCR)
Rev. Dr. John Pless, Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort
Wayne)
Rev. Michael Salemink, Lutherans For Life
Ann Stillman, Concordia Plan Services (advisory member)
Rev. Dr. Kevin Voss, Concordia Center for Bioethics, Concordia
University Wisconsin

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Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, Commission on Theology and Church
Relations (staff)
Rev. Larry Vogel, Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(staff)
Dr. Lehenbauer was asked to serve as chairman of the task
force. Rev. Kevin Robson, Chief Mission Officer of the Synod, attended and actively participated in the May 25–26, 2017, meeting.
Rev. Robert Zagore, Executive Director of the Office of National
Mission (as of May 2018), also attended and actively participated
in the final two meetings of the task force.

Task Force Meetings and Discussion
The task force met three times: December 8–9, 2017; May
25–26, 2018; and September 28, 2018. Below is a summary of the
discussion that took place at each of these meetings.
December 8–9, 2017: At its initial meeting on December 8–9,
2017, each member of the task force was given an opportunity to
share his or her own thoughts and ideas about how the task force
might best serve the church within the framework of the assignment given by the Synod, speaking from the vantage point of that
individual’s own particular area(s) of expertise, interest, and concern. Questions posed were: What are the most pressing or critical
issues? What resources would be most helpful in addressing them?
Which LCMS individuals or entities are best equipped to produce
such resources? What is the most appropriate target audience for
such resources, and how can they most effectively be disseminated
and used?
In the course of these conversations, the members discussed
the breadth of the issues raised both directly and indirectly by Res.
3-04. Although the items raised all relate to human procreation and
tend toward a consideration of technological “advances,” there are
also underlying cultural assumptions and questions that challenge
the Christian. There are also important terminological issues that
need clarification, such as the fact that “conception” should be understood to mean the union of sperm and egg rather than implantation. The task force agreed that it was important to try to address
“foundational matters” relative to these questions and assumptions.
For example, the biblical view that parents are blessed with a child
as a gift of God today faces a competing view wherein children are
viewed more as a parental reproductive project and an entitlement.
Toward this end, Dr. Meilaender was asked (and agreed) to prepare
a brief paper on such “foundational issues” for consideration by the
task force.
After seeking to address such substantive and foundational
matters, the task force agreed to turn to a discussion of some of the
moral and ethical questions about human procreation and the reproductive technology that is now in use. Toward this end, it asked
several members of the task force to make presentations at the
May meeting on certain specific issues such as procreation, medical advances in areas such as genomics, questions raised by medical consent forms, and questions and concerns about reproductive
technologies such as in vitro fertilization. Following consideration
and discussion of these issues at its May meeting, the task force
resolved to begin the process of seeking to “identify actions leading
to the production of appropriate LCMS responses to these issues
... with the CTCR and/or other appropriate LCMS entities” (Res.
3-04). Additional specific topics may include infertility, embryo
adoption, and genetic therapy (CRISPR/Cas9), among others.
May 25–26, 2018: Prior to this meeting, a paper titled “The
Child as a Gift of God,” authored by Dr. Meilaender at the request
of the task force, was distributed to all members of the task force.
2019 Convention Workbook