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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 34

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

as was pointed out above, this does not portend a long-term trend
because SMP colloquies were only a short-term “bubble” resulting
from Res. 13-02A.

Colloquy for Those Whose First Language Is
Not English
The following will first provide a brief history of colloquy for
Korean pastors, then comment more broadly on conversations
during this triennium regarding colloquy for those whose first language is not English and whose pastoral training, in most cases,
occurred outside of the United States.
Beginning in 1986, CCPM minutes mention numerous discussions over the course of several years about starting a new program
for colloquizing Korean-speaking pastors. Dr. Shang Ik Moon, then
academic dean at Christ College in Irvine, California, was a key
figure in this effort. Though at least one draft version of a proposed
policy appears in CCPM minutes, unresolved questions about the
plan remained. Due to this, the press of other business, and perhaps
change in committee membership, the plan was never formally
adopted or incorporated into colloquy bylaws or policy. Still, portions of the plan were implemented, and Korean-speaking pastors
began being certified by the CCPM in 1990. For the first nine years,
the program consisted of six one-week courses over the course of
three years. Starting in 2010, two weeklong sets of three classes
each were taught one year apart in Irvine, with a concluding colloquy examination conducted by the chairman of the CCPM, and
others, after the second/final week of classes. From 1988, when the
first applicant was admitted to the program, until January 2019,
when the last examinations were conducted, some 74–79 men completed the program. [3] As the current triennium got underway, several situations and conversations led to a pause in the program in
order to give opportunity to reevaluate.
Concurrently, at the beginning of this triennium, representatives
of Chinese Lutherans in Mission Building (CLiMB) reached out to
the CCPM chairman to continue conversations that had been ongoing with then-Vice-President Mueller toward a goal of developing a
similar model for Chinese-speaking pastors. Lastly, though CCPM
minutes since the mid-1980s indicate still other ethnic groups
among whom there was special interest in colloquy during certain
periods (e.g., Haitian, Amharic, Oromo), today it is the Ethiopian
Evangelical Church, Mekane Yesus, that is the home church of the
greatest number of applicants whose first language is not English.
For all of these reasons, the CCPM spent a great deal of time
during this triennium considering how best to facilitate colloquy
for applicants whose first language isn’t English while still discharging its duties faithfully and functioning with limited resources. After considering but then dismissing the idea of a new policy
category for such colloquies, the committee made several policy
decisions regarding this (see below), and most recently has been
working with President Michael Gibson of the Pacific Southwest
District on an application process specifically for applicants whose
first language is not English. The hope is that such a process might
foster strong district investment of time and effort in such colloquies while also setting forth a clear and workable pathway from
the CCPM’s perspective, all while working within the current bylaws and colloquy policy.

Policy Revision
As conversations continued on this central question of colloquy
for those whose primary language is not English, the committee
2023 Convention Workbook

became convinced that certain other policy revisions and clarifications for all applicants would benefit the Synod as well. As of January 2023, the CCPM has selected a manageable number of these
revisions to implement during the remainder of this triennium and
is currently finalizing policy language. Some are new, while others
are a continuation and clarification of existing policy. An outline
of these revisions was presented to the COP in November 2022 as
follows:
•

There will be only one application in English maintained by
the CCPM.

•

Interviews will be conducted in English, in St. Louis, by the
regular four-member CCPM. In situations where a translator
would be beneficial, the CCPM will arrange that in consultation with the sponsoring district president.

•

Applicants will take the Christian Doctrine entry-level competency exam (ELCE) that is used by both of our seminaries.
The results will be used to gauge readiness for an interview
and additional work that might be needed.

•

Two sermons will be required as part of the application packet along with any essays that may continue to be required.

The CCPM policy manual is available at lcms.org/about
/leadership/president/pastoral-colloquy.