LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 199

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UNPRINTED REPORT AND LATE OVERTURES
tion of the Sacraments require a regular call. Ordination is
an apostolic custom and not a divine requirement. Ordination, which confirms the call of a pastor, does not require
seminary preparation. It must also be noted that while the
Office of the Public Ministry is a divine institution, the
church may organize the clergy by human arrangement to
correspond to their specifically assigned responsibilities.
The task force discussed and weighed a number of concerns related to the proposed assisting pastor: the doctrine
of the call, nomenclature for a new category, historical
precedent and ministry options such as circuit riders and
retired clergy, educational requirements and delivery, certification procedures, and present practices of supplying
Word and Sacrament to congregations that cannot maintain a full-time pastor. The integrity of the ministry of the
assisting pastor lies with a regular call, ordination, and
pastoral preparation.
After careful consideration of the potential options to address the issue, the task force determined that it would be
most appropriate for the LCMS, in convention, to adopt a
resolution authorizing the position of assisting pastor
under the category of Minister of Religion—Ordained. It is
the recommendation of the task force that this position be
considered as a new approach to address the above listed
pastoral needs of our Synod.

199

the synodical Pastoral Colloquy Committee shall develop
the necessary manuals. A manual for supervising pastors
will provide guidelines for providing appropriate supervision and for mentoring an assisting pastor. A manual for
assisting pastors will describe expectations regarding their
relationships to their supervising pastors, to their Districts,
and to the Synod.
C. Pastoral Activities
The assisting pastor performs all the customary activities of a pastor. However, he does so with a clear awareness
that his supervising pastor is to be consulted on a regular
basis for guidance and growth. The assisting pastor is ordinarily bi-vocational and ordinarily is not fully supported by
the congregation. There is no transition from the position
of assisting pastor to the position of Pastor, associate pastor, or assistant pastor apart from formal seminary preparation and certification.
D. Admission

An assisting pastor serves a local congregation that cannot maintain a full-time pastor, with the approval of the
District President, by providing a ministry of Word and
Sacrament. Eligible situations would be either congregations unable to support a full-time seminary-prepared pastor, or specialized ministries (especially linguistic groups)
requiring ministry that could not reasonably be provided
by a full-time seminary-prepared pastor.

The synodical Pastoral Colloquy Committee has the authority and responsibility to oversee and complete the
process of certification of applicants to the position of assisting pastor. The synodical Pastoral Colloquy Committee
is responsible for all application documents and processes.
The character and spiritual maturity requirements for
an applicant to the position of assisting pastor are the same
as for any applicant to the pastoral colloquy program. He
must currently be a member in good standing of the LCMS
congregation intending to offer him the initial call, and
must have been a member of that congregation for at least
two years. There are no specific requirements regarding the
age or formal education of the applicant, but his District
President will provide needed counsel regarding his readiness for pastoral ministry.

B. Supervising Pastors and Assisting Pastors

Admission Process

Guidelines for the New “Assisting Pastor” Position
A. Eligible Situations

A supervising pastor must be an LCMS clergyman in good
standing who has completed an M.Div., pastoral colloquy, or
alternate route program. The congregation selects a supervising pastor (in consultation with the District President).
An assisting pastor is an ordained and rostered man,
raised up from within a congregation and called by that
congregation to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. An
assisting pastor serves in a specific place under the direct
supervision of a supervising pastor and is not eligible to receive a call to a different congregation. In order to serve as
an assisting pastor he must complete the process of application, certification, and ordination as described in detail
below. An assisting pastor must be authorized by his District President to serve in a requesting congregation, fit the
description given by St. Paul in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1,
be interviewed by the District Pre-Seminary Interview
Committee, be called to serve as an assisting pastor, accept
the supervision of a supervising pastor, and serve under the
ecclesiastical supervision of the District President. An assisting pastor shall be an advisory member of the Synod
(1998 Constitution V A-B; Bylaw 2.37).
In order to provide guidance and structure for the relationship between supervising pastors and assisting pastors,

1. Submit the appropriate application to the synodical
Pastoral Colloquy Committee.
2. As soon as reasonable after submitting the application, complete an interview with the District Pre-Seminary Interview Committee, with the results to be forwarded to the chair of the synodical Pastoral Colloquy
Committee.
3. Study the materials jointly prescribed by the seminaries and coordinated by the Board for Higher Education,
and pass the required examinations to demonstrate
competencies in Scripture, Confessions, Christian doctrine, homiletics, and worship.
4. The synodical Pastoral Colloquy Committee will give
certification for ordination as an assisting pastor
when all requirements have been fulfilled.
Admission Process for Deacons Who Were Licensed Prior
to 20 July 2001
1. By 1 November 2001, submit the appropriate application to the synodical Pastoral Colloquy Committee.
Authority to continue serving as a deacon is automatically extended for three years after the deacon’s li200l Convention Proceedings