LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 151

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
dent having ecclesiastical supervision of peer institution
faculty, all with demonstrated excellence in advancing and
achieving the Standards. It shall also include representation
drawn from the member congregations and ministerium of
the Synod and representative of their interests in the institutions. The Institution Advisory Council, the Council of
Presidents, the Board for National Mission, and the Board of
Directors and President of the Synod may nominate accreditors, as may members of the commission.
(h) An institution receiving an accreditation team shall be notified in advance of the membership of the team. Either the
institution or any member of such a team may challenge the
participation of any member on the basis of actual partiality or the appearance thereof. The commission shall have in
place a procedure for responding to any such challenge within 30 days. A finding by the commission of actual partiality
or the appearance thereof shall disqualify the member from
participating in the accreditation. The commission may as its
option replace any member so disqualified or continue with
the reduced accreditation team.
(i) The commission, with the assistance of its council, shall provide training for members of accreditation teams, according
to policies established by the commission.
(j) Direct costs of the accreditation process shall be borne by
the institution accredited.
And be it further
Resolved, That the Commission for University Education (CUE)
shall, no later than Sept. 1, 2024, on the basis of the Lutheran Identity Statement adopted in 2016 Res. 7-01A and draft materials
presented to the convention and in consultation with its Institution
Advisory Council, release the first operational edition of the institutional Lutheran Identity and Mission Outcome Standards; and be
it further
Resolved, That the CUE shall, no later than Sept. 1, 2024, in
consultation with its Institution Advisory Council, release the first
edition of uniform standards for the commissioned ministry and
preseminary programs offered by affiliated colleges and universities accredited by the Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That accreditation be granted herewith to the colleges
and universities presently assuming affiliated status and to the
ministry programs currently approved, with the report of the first
reaffirmation process for each institution and program scheduled
for accreditation review in the upcoming triennium to be prepared
and available to the Synod no later than 20 weeks prior to its 2026
convention, together with a report of the scheduling of, and process
made toward, accreditation review for the other institutions in the
subsequent triennium; and be it finally
Resolved, That the CUE and affiliated colleges and universities be instructed to make every effort to complete the process of
development, reaffirmation, and reporting as scheduled, with the
understanding that the initial implementation is the first step in a
developmental process.
D. TO PROVIDE FURTHER FOR CHURCH WORKER
EDUCATION THROUGH ACCREDITED, AFFILIATED
SCHOOLS
In keeping with the charge of 2019 Res. 7-03 to “strengthen all
CUS institutions’ connection to the Synod” and to “strengthen the
confessional Lutheran identity of all CUS institutions,” the follow-

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ing clarifies that affiliated institutions’ ability to declare graduates
or those undergoing colloquy qualified for placement as ministers
of religion—commissioned depends upon continued accreditation
of such programs, and revises the minister of religion—commissioned colloquy process to reflect the affiliate relationship of the
schools with the Synod. The accreditation program, as established
above, will provide a transparent, structured, and accountable
framework within which the affiliated colleges and universities
and their individual church worker training programs, operating
on campuses with strong Lutheran identity, will grow in their accomplishment of a higher education mission outcome critical to
the Synod: the thorough preparation and ample provision of church
workers for Synod’s congregations, schools, and other ministries.
The authority of the Colloquy Committee for Commissioned Ministry to establish standards for the colloquy processes it oversees,
relative to the programs offered for this purpose by the several
schools, is also clarified. Therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaws 2.5.3, 2.7.1, 2.7.3–4, 2.8.1 (a), 2.8.2, and
2.9.1 be amended as follows (including the division of existing Bylaw 2.8.2 into Bylaws 2.8.2–2.8.3), and Bylaw 2.8.4 be added, to
clarify that only LCMS faculty of affiliated colleges and universities currently accredited by the Synod have the authority to declare
church workers qualified for rostered service within the Synod, and
then only within programs so accredited:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
2.5.3
Congregations that are members of the Synod, association schools, agencies, affiliated colleges and universities, auxiliaries, and recognized service organizations shall call only (1)
commissioned ministers who have been admitted to their ministries in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in
these Bylaws and have thereby become members of the Synod;
(2) candidates of LCMS affiliated colleges and universities
accredited by the Synod who have satisfied the qualifications
and requirements for assignment of first calls by the Council
of Presidents acting as the Board of Assignments; or (3) commissioned ministers (or those holding positions comparable to
commissioned ministers) who are members in good standing of
church bodies that have been formally recognized to be in altar
and pulpit fellowship with the Synod when agreements for such
calls are in place.
2.7.1
A graduate of an authorized educational institution
seminary of the Synod or of a Synod-accredited program of an
affiliated college or university must be declared qualified for
a first call and recommended by the respective faculty of the
respective educational institution before the effective date of the
first call to service in the church, as assigned by the Council of
Presidents acting as the Board of Assignments as provided in
Bylaw section 2.9.
2.7.3
Candidates who have satisfactorily completed an approved educational program of the Synod for the ordained or
commissioned ministry involving extensive use of distance
learning and/or a mentoring system must be declared qualified
for a first call and recommended by the respective faculty of one
of the seminaries, colleges, or universities of the Synod before
the effective date of the first call to service in the church, as
assigned by the Board of Assignments as provided in Bylaw
section 2.9.
Graduates of one of the colleges, universities, or
2.7.4
seminaries of the Synod or of a Synod-accredited program of
an affiliated college or university who desire to continue their
2023 Convention Workbook