LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 324

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324

PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES

WHEREAS, The Lord used Phillip (Acts 8:4–40) to preach in
Samaria and to the Ethiopian eunuch, as well as Stephen who
preached to the people, Freedmen, and the council (Acts 6:8–7:60);
and
WHEREAS, Men who would be called to this preaching ministry
must meet certain qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9); and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has
been blessed by God with two seminaries that are training men to
fulfill this preaching office as either general pastors or Specific
Ministry Pastors (SMP); and
WHEREAS, The LCMS has recognized for over 40 years a future
and now present need for additional men, over and above those
currently attending our seminaries, to be inducted into the preaching
office, due to the additional requests that are received each year for
preachers than the number of men who are graduating from our
seminaries; and
WHEREAS, Additional opportunities to establish new
congregations and preaching stations are often not realized due to
the lack of sufficient number of men to fill the preaching office; and
WHEREAS, The Synod in convention has repeatedly requested
that the members of Synod increase their recruitment efforts to
expose the benefits of the preaching office to men who meet the
scriptural qualifications; and
WHEREAS, The type and level of formal and informal training
required by the church for a man to be admitted to the preaching
office (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9) has varied throughout the
centuries since Christ’s ascension into heaven, as has the level of
training provided at our seminaries over the 175 years of the
Synod’s existence; and
WHEREAS, The 1989 Synod convention established the office of
lay deacon to assist in addressing the need for additional men in the
preaching office, to serve under the direction of an ordained pastor;
and
WHEREAS, The 2016 Synod convention reaffirmed its
subscription to Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession, our
churches “teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or
administer the Sacraments” without a rightly ordered call; and
WHEREAS, Despite these efforts, sufficient numbers of men to
fulfill the needs of the preaching office within the LCMS has not
occurred for many years and is forecast not to be fulfilled in the
foreseeable future; therefore be it
Resolved, That the work of recruiting men for the preaching
office continue; and be it further
Resolved, That a task force be established to study the potential
options for training additional men for the preaching office in order
to meet the multiple needs for additional preachers; and be it further
Resolved, That this task force be made up of one ordained and
one lay member from each district of the LCMS, appointed by the
respective district presidents; and be it further
Resolved, That this task force organize itself into committees
made up of at least one ordained and one lay member from each
region of the LCMS for the purposes of evaluating the training of
men for preaching offices available through the regular seminary
process, the SMP training process, the institutions of the Concordia
University System (CUS), and other means within the various
districts of the LCMS, including the training of lay deacons, along
with other topics the task force shall determine as necessary or
beneficial; and be it further
2023 Convention Workbook

Resolved, That this task force begin its work no later than four
months after the close of the 2023 Synod convention; and be it
further
Resolved, That this task force work with and receive input from
the various seminaries, institutions of the CUS, other boards and
commissions of the Synod, the offices of the Synod President and
district presidents in developing its recommendations; and be it
further
Resolved, That this task force take into account the
recommendations developed by the previous SMP task force and
task force on Licensed Lay Deacons; and be it further
Resolved, That this task force provide to either the 2026
(preferred) or the 2029 Synod convention recommended additions
and modifications to the existing training programs for men
entering preaching offices within the Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That the preliminary recommendations of this task
force be made available to members of the Synod no less than nine
months prior to the presentation of the final recommendations at a
future Synod convention; and be it finally
Resolved, That each member of the LCMS continue to adhere to
Jesus’ admonition in Luke 10:2: “The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Pastors’ Conference
Michigan District
Ov. 6-06

To Strengthen and Expand Routes to Ministry
WHEREAS, The Master of Divinity program is the preferred route
to training pastors in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS); and
WHEREAS, In 2006, the Atlantic District in convention passed
resolutions designed to strengthen and expand the scope of mission
and ministry by resolving to prepare 100 home-grown mission
leaders for service to Lord and Church; and
WHEREAS, By God’s grace well over 100 men and women have
been developed, trained, and sent to serve in congregations of the
Atlantic District as lay deacons, deaconesses, commissioned
rostered workers, and pastors; and
WHEREAS, The benefits of this leadership development model
have been visible signs of God’s grace in more than half of the
congregations of the district exercising various spiritual gifts in
service; and
WHEREAS, Mission opportunity remains at the highest level in
the district even as transitions in leadership demand more strong
Lutheran Christian leaders in our congregations and their
communities; and
WHEREAS, The Atlantic District Lay Deacon Program, the
Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program, the Ethnic Immigrant
Institute of Theology (EIIT), the Center for Hispanic Studies
(CHS), Concordia University Irvine’s Mission Training Center
(MTC), and others have provided excellent avenues for continuing
the development toward service of “home-grown mission leaders”
in the district; and
WHEREAS, The pastors being developed, ordained, and called to
the district through these programs—and others for commissioned