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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 67

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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SYNODICAL REPORTS 67

5. The Pastoral Colloguy Committee will give certification for
ordination as an Assistant Pastor when all requirements have
been fulfilled.

The applicant will be expected to pass examinations in scrip-
tural knowledge, the Lutheran Confessions, and Christian doctrine.

In order to assure uniform quality, the synodical Pastoral Col-
loguy Committee will work with the Board for Higher Education
office to provide (1) an application form, (2) a list of approved in-
structional materials, and (3) examinations.

E. Continued Service and Education

An Assistant Pastor shall be reviewed annually by the congre-
gation he is serving. in consultation with the Supervising Pastor
and the District President.

An Assistant Pastor will regularly participate in Circuit, Dis-
trict, and synodical events as appropriate under the synodical
Handbook.

Study Requirements following Ordination

An Assistant Pastor will participate in no less than 30 contact
(instructional) hours of specified educational activity within each
and every two-year time period, offered through opportunities co-
ordinated and specified by the BHE/CUS Board. Failure to meet
this requirement will result in removal from office by the District
President.

The basic list of courses to be completed will include the fol-
lowing:

* Scripture (OT theology, NT theology, Genesis, Isaiah, Luke.
John, Romans, Galatians)

* Doctrine (Confessions, Christian doctrine, religious bodies)

¢ History (Reformation era, Lutheran Church in America)

¢ Practice (homiletics, worship, pastoral theology, counseling, cat-
echesis)

Ralph Reinke, Chair

James Holste, Secretary

Board for Higher Education/

Concordia University System

R5-02

Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support
Convention Report

The Mission

The mission of the Commission on Ministerial Growth and
Support (CMGS) is to provide opportunity for the continuing edu-
cation and vocational growth of the church’s workers, to advocate
and facilitate care and counsel for the church’s workers, to support
them in the performance of their official dutics, and to advocate
and facilitate support for the personal well-being of the church's
workers and their family members.

Triennium Goals

The triennium goals for the CMGS included

(1) To administrate the Growth in Excellence in Ministry (GEM)
initiative, generously funded by Lutheran Brotherhood, bring-
ing to completion the following programs: Professional Church
Worker Grant Program, District Program Support, Synodical
College/Seminary Program Support.

(2) To expand and develop the Growth in Excellence in Ministry
initiative by creating a continuing education initiative involv-
ing pastors who have received and accepted their first call into
parish ministry.

(3) To research the continuing education, vocational growth, and
personal well-being needs of the church’s teachers and, on the
basis of that research. to design strategies that will support the

church’s teachers and increase the church’s retention of these
teachers.

(4) To identify the areas of expertise and interest in continuing ed-
ucation offerings among the synodical seminary and Concordia
University System faculties, and to publish such a listing for
the benefit of the church as a whole.

(5) To promote a culture among the church’s workers and congre-
gational leaders that values and supports lifelong learning and
personal well-being.

(6) To develop larger church-wide strategies for the support of the
church’s workers that will lead to improved levels of worker
retention, growth, and vocational satisfaction.

CMGS Membership

The CMGS is composed of nine voting and five advisory mem-
bers. All nine voting members and one advisory member are ap-
pointed by the President of the Synod. Four of the five advisory
members are members because of the inclusion of their position on
the advisory membership roster.

Voting Members:

Bruce Schuchard (Chair and Seminary Representative)

Roger Gallup (Vice Chair and Parish Pastor Representative)

Daniel Jastram (Corresponding Secretary and CUS Faculty
Representative)

William Dunk (Commissioned Minister Representative)

Richard Wenzel (Commissioned Minister Representative)

Robert Rodeteld (Layperson Representative)

James Fandry (Parish Pastor Representative)

Dan Gard (Seminary Representative)

Herbert Mueller (District President, Council of Presidents’ Rep-
resentative)

Advisory Members:

Bruce Hartung (LCMS Health Ministries)

William Meyer (Board for Higher Education)

Barbara Ryan (LCMS Human Resources)

Edwin Suelllow (Synodical President’s Representative)
Leroy Wilke (Board for Congregational Services)

Staff:
Bruce Hartung (Executive Director)
Sheila Soucy (Coordinator)
Judy Voelz (Manager, Post-Seminary Applied Learning and
Support)

Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support

The goal of the Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support
(PALS) initiative is to assist newly placed pastors in the application of
their learning that ministry might be faithful, competent, and joyful; to
assist pastors in the development of their knowledge. skills, and per-
son in relationship to those they serve in the specific context of their
ministries; and to assist and support both pastors and their wives in
the transition from life in the seminary to life in the parish context.
PALS is a synodical initiative (1998 Synodical Resolution 5-
02, 1995 Synodical Resolution 5-09A).
The specific desired outcomes of the PALS initiative are the
following:
¢ Pastors whose personal, spiritual. and professional formation is
regularly fostered and enhanced.

* Pastors and wives who are helped to make a successful transition
from seminary life to parish ministry.

* Pastors and wives who do not experience the sense of isolation
that often accompanies the transition from seminary life to parish
ministry.

2001 Convention Workbook