LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 128

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128

RESOLUTIONS

of ordained and commissioned ministers as well as other
professional church workers for the Synod (Bylaw 3.601);
and
WHEREAS, “The Board of Regents of each institution
shall consider as one of its primary duties the defining and
fulfilling the mission of the institution” (Bylaw 6.03) directly as set forth in Bylaw 3.601, noted above; and
WHEREAS, There is broad interest in the Synod to increase both the quantity and quality of solidly Lutheran
academics at these institutions; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod remind the BHE/CUS that its
central purpose is to train men and women for full-time
church work and that this central purpose is to be clearly
reflected in its public relations; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage and support the
BHE/CUS in the area of recruitment and training of fulltime church workers; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod instruct the BHE/CUS, in cooperation with the Board for Congregational Services and
the Council of Presidents, to evaluate current recruitment
processes and to develop a broad-based (i.e., congregation,
District, the Synod, BHE/CUS) recruitment process; and be
it finally
Resolved, That the BHE/CUS present a report on recruitment of full-time church workers to the 2001 convention.
Action: Adopted as amended (2)
(By common consent, the words full-time were added before
church work in the first resolve and the word vocations was
deleted. In the final resolve the words of full-time church workers
were added after the word recruitment.)

To Amend Bylaw 6.91 1 a
RESOLUTION 5-04
Overture 5-44 (CW, pp. 221–22)
WHEREAS, Bylaw 6.91 provides a process for ministers
who were ordained in a non-LCMS church body to become
rostered members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, under the supervision of the Colloquy Committee;
and
WHEREAS, Bylaw 6.91 1 a requires that “ministers who
are in good standing in other Christian church bodies, are
graduates of established seminaries, and have served at
least three years in a recognized ministry of their church
body.” The term “established seminaries” does not require
that applicants have graduated from an educational program that meets the standards for service in the LCMS;
and
WHEREAS, A change was requested by the Pastoral Colloquy Committee and is supported by that Committee;
therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 6.91 1 a be changed to read: “ministers who are in good standing in other Christian church
bodies, are graduates of programs of study leading to ordination of no less than 60 semester hours or the equivalent
thereof, in length, and have served at least three years in a
recognized ministry of their church body”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Synod be authorized
to bring other parts of the synodical Handbook into conformity with this change as needed.
Action: Adopted (2)

To Amend Bylaw 6.91 1
RESOLUTION 5-05
Overture 5-43 (CW, p. 221)
WHEREAS, The 1995 Handbook of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod contains no category of eligibility
for admission to the colloquy program to the pastoral ministry for graduates of nonsynodical seminaries unless they
are “ministers who are in good standing in other Christian
church bodies, are graduates of established seminaries, and
have served at least three years in a recognized ministry in
their church body” (Bylaw 6.91 a); and
WHEREAS, The alternate route programs at both LCMS
seminaries are designed only for those who are either Ministers of Religion-Commissioned with at least 8 years of experience or laymen with at least 10 years of significant experience related directly to Word and Sacrament ministry
with the LCMS; and
WHEREAS, Graduates of nonsynodical seminaries who
want to become pastors in the LCMS have no program of
preparation open to them within the LCMS other than
completing an additional Master of Divinity degree or applying to the alternate route program after they have accumulated 10 years of significant experience related directly
to Word and Sacrament ministry with the LCMS; therefore
be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 6.91 1 of the 1995 synodical Handbook be amended to add an additional category of eligible
applicants for colloquy by adding the following: “Men who
are graduates of programs of study leading to ordination of
no less than 60 semester hours or the equivalent thereof,
in length, and who have been communicant members in
good standing of synodical congregations for at least 2
years”; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Synod be authorized
to bring other parts of the synodical Handbook into conformity with this change, as needed.
Action: Adopted (4)

To Revise Bylaws 6.01–85
on Higher Education
RESOLUTION 5-06
Overture 5-01 (CW, pp. 203–210)
Rationale:
The Synod convention in 1992 (Pittsburgh) clearly expressed its desire that the Board for Higher Education
should assume greater responsibility for the effective and
efficient operation of higher education in The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. The convention put into place a
system that developed a relationship of mutual trust and
cooperation between Boards of Regents, presidents, administrations, and faculties of the Concordias. The Board for
Higher Education accepted the convention action as a man-