LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 172

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172 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
3-56 6. Pastors, teachers. directors of Christian education, direc-
oe se tors of Christian outreach, deaconesses, certified lay ministers,
To Amend Constitutional Art. VI—Conditions or candidates for these offices not coming from recognized or-
of Membership thodox church bodies must submit to a colloquium before being

WHEREAS, Art. VI paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Constitution of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has been used as a basis for
church discipline and a basis for separating and dividing Christ’s
church, and

WHEREAS, The terms unionism, mixed confession, heterodox,
and doctrinally pure are not defined by the Constitution and vary-
ing interpretations cause confusion and misunderstandings; and

WHEREAS, Jesus prayed that Christians would be “one”:

John 17:11b: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your
name—the name You gave Me—so that they may be one as We
are one”; and

WHEREAS, Paul urged the church to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the God of Peace:
Ephesians 4:3-6: Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one
Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were
called—one Lord, one faith, orie baptism; one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all;
and

WHEREAS, Rom. 16:17 is not a biblical basis for separating
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Christians from the larger body
of Christ; and

WHEREAS, “... Synod is not an ecclesiastical government exer-
cising legislative or coercive powers and with respect to the indi-
vidual congregation’s right of self-government it is but an advisory
body. Accordingly no resolution of the Synod imposing anything
- upon the individual congregation is of binding force if it is not in
accordance with the Word of God or if it appears to be inexpedient
as far as the condition of a congregation is concerned” (Art. VII
Constitution,); and

WHEREAS, Art. VI, paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Constitution of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have the potential for
abuse and have long been a basis for separation of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod from the larger body of Christ; and

WHEREAS, Art. VI, paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Constitution of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod serves no beneficial pur-
pose because the basis for the Confessions of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod is clearly stated and defined in Art. I;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod be amended by deleting paragraph 2 and 4 from Arti-
cle VI of the Constitution, which is fully stated as follows:

Article VI Conditions of Membership

Conditions for acquiring and holding membership in the
Synod are the following:

1. Acceptance of the confessional basis of Article If.

2. Renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every de-
scription, such as:

a. Serving congregations of mixed confession. as such. by
ministers of the church;

b. Taking part in the services and sacramental rites of het-
erodox congregations or of congregations of mixed confession,

c. Participating in heterodox tract and missionary activities.

3. Regular call of pastors, teachers, directors of Christian ed-
ucation, directors of Christian outreach, deaconesses. and certi-
fied lay ministers, and regular election of lay delegates by the
congregations, as also the blamelessness of the life of such.

4. Exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and
catechisms in church and school.

5. A congregation shall be received into membership only
after the Synod has convinced itself that the constitution of the
congregation, which must be submitted for examination, con-
tains nothing contrary to the Scriptures or the Confessions.

received.

7. Congregations and individuals shall be received into
membership at such time and manner. and according to such
procedures. as shall be set forth in the Bylaws to this Constitu-
tion;

and be it further

Resolved, that paragraphs 3, 5, 6, and 7 be renumbered 2, 3, 4,
and 5, respectively.

Upon adoption, said amendment shall be presented to the con-
gregations of Synod in accordance with the Constitution of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Immanuel
Attalla, AL

3-57

To Impose No Impediment to Service of Women

WHEREAS, The Synod’s CTCR and CCM have stated that deny-
ing the congregational offices of president (chairman) and vice-
president (vice-chairman) to women is de jure humano and not de
jure divino; and

WHEREAS, These two offices normally exercise authority over
the temporal rather than the spiritual matters of a congregation and
are therefore excluded from discussions about the role of women in
spiritual matters; and

WHEREAS, Denying these offices to women is more restrictive
than necessary, as there is no sound scriptural reasons to do so and
other reasons are beside the point, and

WHEREAS, Many women are capable of and willing to serve
their congregations in these offices to the glory of God and the ben-
efit of their congregations: therefore be it

Resolved, That our Synod accept decisions and opinions almost
30 years old and impose no impediment to the service of women in
these two offices.

Berea
Richfield, MN

3-58

To Increase Positions of Service for Women

Wuereas, The Lord has called His children to varying aspects
of service in His church, with varying gifts (Rom. 12:4ff; 1 Cor.
12:4ff); and

WuerEas, The free gift of God’s salvation is offered to His cre-
ation without partiality (Gal. 3:26-2%); and

WHEREAS, The Lord of the church has used women as well as
men to be agents of ministry, such as Deborah (Judges 4-5), Hul-
dah (2 Kings 22:14ff), Anna (Luke 2:36ff), and Priscilla (Acts
18:26; Rom. 16:3); and

WHEREAS, The greatest Christian truth of all, i.e., that Jesus rose
on the third day, was first entrusted to women to share with the 11
disciples (Matthew 28:5ff; Mark 16:1f; Luke 24:1 ff; John 20:10ff):
therefore be it

Resolved, That we give great thanksgiving to our gracious God
for the gift of women in His Christian church; and be it further

Resolved, That we seek Christian women to serve alongside
their Christian brothers in positions of service in their local LCMS
congregations in all lay positions.

Ascension
Burnsville, MN