LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 115

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
ship in the Synod have subscribed the three general creeds
of the church—the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian—as correct exposition of the Scriptures (LCMS Constitution, Art. II); and
WHEREAS, Some congregations are not making regular
use of these historic creeds in their public worship services;
and
WHEREAS, Informal statements of faith are subject to an
imprecise and even erroneous confession of the faith of the
Christian church; therefore be it
Resolved, That we beseech one another by the mercies
of God not to substitute informal statements of faith for the
regular use of the three general creeds of the church in our
public worship services.
Action: Adopted as amended (6)
(By amendment, the word regular which had been deleted by
the committee in the resolve was restored. Following adoption, a
motion to reconsider for further discussion was defeated.)

To Reaffirm Our Practice of Admission
to the Lord’s Supper
RESOLUTION 3-05
Overtures 3-02–25, 3-27–31 (CW, pp. 153–64)
Preamble
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has stated and
reaffirmed on the basis of Scripture (1 Cor. 11:26; 1 Cor.
10:21; 1 Cor. 11:17ff; 1 Cor. 4:1–2) that the Lord’s Supper is
an expression of the oneness of the congregation in Christ
and in His Gospel; that one who eats and drinks at an altar
confesses what is taught from that altar; that each communicant is called on to avoid creating divisions within the assembly; and that pastors are called by God through the congregation faithfully to administer the Sacrament according
to the Lord’s institution; and, as part of this practice the
pastor will seek to prevent a profession of confessional
unity in the faith where there is, in fact, disunity and disagreement (see 1995 Res. 3-08).
The Synod affirmed in 1986 Res. 3-08, and reaffirmed in
1995 Res. 3-08, “that the pastors and congregations of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod continue to abide by the
practice of close Communion, which includes the necessity
of exercising responsible pastoral care in extraordinary situations and circumstances,” and beseeched the Synod in
love to remember that “situations of emergency, and special cases of pastoral care, or extraordinary situations and
circumstances” are, by their nature, relatively rare.
The Synod affirmed in 1995 Res. 3-08, “that because we
are ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace’ (Eph. 4:3), any members of the Synod who advocate a
different practice of Holy Communion be fraternally reminded of the commitment all the members of the Synod
make to one another by subscribing to the Constitution of
the Synod to honor and uphold its doctrine and practice
and, if there is disagreement, to follow the channels of dissent as outlined in synodical Bylaw 2.39 c.”
WHEREAS, A Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding
and Practice has been circulated throughout The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod; and

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WHEREAS, Foremost among our concerns with A Declaration is its failure to recognize the following two essential
elements of our practice:
1. Pastoral Oversight
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in
stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:1–2 NKJV);
“Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are
keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give
account” (Heb. 13:17a RSV);
“Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the
church of God which He obtained with the Blood of His own
Son” (Acts 20:28 RSV);
“The Mass is preserved among us in its proper use, the
use which was formerly observed in the church and which
can be proved by St. Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 11:20ff, and
by many statements of the Fathers. For Chrysostom reports how the priest stood every day, inviting some to Communion and forbidding others to approach” (Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, 36); and
2. Public Confession of the Faith Is Reflected by Participation in the Sacrament
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26);
“It must be remembered that he who communes at the
altar of a church thereby confesses the faith of that church
[Abendmahlgemeinschaft ist Glaubengemeinschaft]. We
have the right to assume that those who commune at our
Lutheran altars confess the faith of the Lutheran church.
The Lord Himself demands that every Christian should believe all the Word of God and not only some of it, Mt. 28:20.”
(C. F. W. Walther “Supper Fellowship with Those Who Believe Differently,” Proceedings of the Western District, 1870;
cited by John Fritz, Pastoral Theology, [St. Louis: CPH,
1932], p. 135); therefore be it
Resolved, That A Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and Practice is not an adequate basis for addressing questions about admission to the Lord’s Supper; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations provide, in a timely fashion, a careful response to
A Declaration, with special emphasis on pastoral oversight
and the role that agreement in the public confession of faith
participation in the Lord’s Supper entails; and be it further
Resolved, That this response be used as the basis for
study and discussion of this issue throughout the entire
Synod; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod pleads with its members by
the mercies of God to abide by the historic practice of the
church and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod concerning admission to the Lord’s Supper.
Action: Adopted as amended (7)
(Discussion on the resolution was begun in session 6 and resumed in session 7 after delegates in session 7 had declined to
continue debate at the close of 30 minutes or continue debate
until the matter was concluded. A motion to consider Ov. 3-13, to
rescind 1986 Res. 3-08, was lost as was an amendment to add the
words and condemns after the word rejects in the first resolve. An
amendment calling for deletion of the first whereas and the first
resolve was before the convention at the close of debate in session