LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 286

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286 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION

following overture to the 2001 convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod:

WHEREAS, The COP made a legal error by disregarding ex post
facto law in regard to the term originally granted Dr. Theodore
Jungkuntz (three years); and

Wuereas, The COP made a pastoral error by not properly in-
forming Dr. Jungkuntz, of any anticipated or actual change in his
CRM status; and

WuerEAS, The COP made an ecclesiastical error when it disre-
garded the CCM ruling on ex post facto matters even after this had
been brought to its attention relative to Dr. Jungkuntz; therefore be
it

Resolved, That the COP immediately restore the “lost year” of
his CRM status to Dr. Jungkuntz; and be it further

Resolved, That during this year the President of the appropriate
District (Indiana) meet with Dr. Jungkuntz to work together for a
God-pleasing resolution; and be it finally

Resolved, That the convention direct the COP to apologize to
Dr. Jungkuntz for its procedural error as well as for its failure to
rectify the situation after the facts of the case had been brought to
its attention.

Our Savior
Albany, NY

7-139
To Certify Herman J. Otten for the Holy Ministry

WHEREAS, Pastor Herman Otten graduated from Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis, in 1957 with a diploma that says “he is fit and
suitable to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments”;
and

WuereaS, Pastor Otten received an M.Div. from Concordia
Seminary and an M.A. from Washington University in 1957 and
an S.T.M. in 1958; and .

Wuereas, In 1957, Section 6.163(d) of the bylaws of the LCMS
declared what qualifications a graduate must possess in order to be
certified as a pastor in the LCMS. It provided:

“d. Candidates eligible for calls are students who have com-
pleted the prescribed courses of studies, have received their
diplomas from their respective institutions, and have in every
respect been declared qualified for their specific type of service
in the Church”; and

WHEREAS, The Board of Appeals of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod ruled in 1960 that Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
was not able to show just cause for refusing to certify Pastor Otten
for the ministry; and

Whereas, The LCMS Commission on Appeals (successor to
the Board of Appeals), the highest adjudicatory authority in the
LCMS, unanimously ruled in 1984 that Pastor Otten was the pre-
vailing party in the 5—5 vote in 1960, because Concordia Seminary,
having the burden of proof to justify denying certification, failed
to sustain it; and

WHEREAS, Several conventions of the LCMS from 1962 to 1995
have considered the Concordia Seminary—Otten case, but nothing
was finally resolved; and

WHEREAS, The “walkout” of 45 out of 50 professors at Concor-
dia Seminary, St. Louis, and the formation of Seminex, which
many consider to be one of the most significant events in American
church history during the twentieth century, showed that what Pas-
tor Otten reported about the antiscriptural theology of various pro-
fessors at Concordia Seminary was correct; and

WHEREAS, Both “liberals” and ‘“‘conservatives” have said that
had it not been for Pastor Otten and Christian News, which he and
Mrs. Otten founded in 1962, there never would have been a Semi-
nex, conservatives would not have been elected to the Board of Re-
gents of Concordia Seminary and top positions in the LCMS, and
liberals would still be in control of Concordia Seminary and the
LCMS would now most likely be part of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America; and

2001 Convention Workbook

Wuereas, Res. 7-18A of the 1995 convention of the LCMS
called for the appointment of a five-member committee to take ap-
propriate action to conclude the Concordia Seminary—Otten matter
in accord with the bylaws of the LCMS; and

WHEREAS, Immediately after the [995 convention several Dis-
trict Presidents who opposed Pastor Otten’s certification for the
ministry submitted a request to the Committee on Constitutional
Matters (CCM): “Is Res. 7-18A in conformity with the Bylaws of
the Synod relative to the certification of a person for ministry in
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod?”; and

WHEREAS, The opinion of the CCM highly influenced the com-
mittee appointed by the 1995 convention. This committee accepted
President Ralph Bohlmann’s disregard of the opinion of the LCMS
Commission on Appeals and apparently agreed with President
Bohlmann that ncither he nor the LCMS ever asked the Commis-
sion on Appeals to take up the Concordia Seminary—Otten matter;
and

WHEREAS, The major defect in this accommodation of assess-
ment by Dr. Bohlmann is that it is controverted by no less than
seven separately signcd declarations, signed under penalty of per-
jury by the same members of the Commission on Appeals who ap-
proved the decision on November 26, 1984, that Pastor Otten was
the prevailing party in the Seminary vs. Otten case. The declara-
tion signed by each of the seven says: “(Name) declares under
penalty of perjury as follows: That the Commission on Appeals
(COA) met at a breakfast at LCMS headquarters at St. Louis, MO,
to the best of my recollection in the fall of 1983; that at said break-
fast meeting nine members were prcsent; said members were as
follows: Mr. Richard Bodenstab, Mr. Walter Dissen, Rev. Harlan
Harnapp, Rev. Victor Hellman, Rev. G. G. Mueller, Rev. Paul
Mueller, Mr. Ronald Ruff, Rev. Marcus Stehschein, Mr. Robert
Wahl; that at said meeting at breakfast, Dr. Ralph Bohlmann orally
requested that the COA once and for al] render a decision on the
November 11, 1960, BOA decision conecrning the case of Rev.
Herman Otten”; and

WHEREAS, The Washington Circuit where Pastor Otten has been
a pastor for 42 years and that knows Pastor Otten better than the
professors at Concordia Seminary said in an overture (“To Certify
Pastor Herman Ottcn,” 1998 Convention Workbook of the LCMS,
p. 267) “Resolved, that the 1998 convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod itself take whatever action is necessary to
have Pastor Herman Otten certified for the pastoral ministry in the
LCMS”; and

Whereas, All four of the last circuit counselors of the Wash-
ington Circuit have promoted the certification of Pastor Otten; and

WHEREAS, Many have advised Pastor Otten to take this entire
matter to civil court; and

WHEREAS, Pastor Otten has been our pastor for 42 years; there-
forc be it

Resolved, That the 2000 convention of the Missouri District and
the 2001 convention of the LCMS tell Concordia Seminary, St.
Louis, to recognize the meaning of the diploma it gave Pastor Otten
in 1957 and the 1960 and 1984 rulings of the LCMS Commission
on Appeals, which the LCMS Handbook requires the seminary to
accept, and certify Pastor Otten for the Holy Ministry.

Trinity, New Haven, MO; Washington Circuit, Missouri
District

7-140

To Certify Herman J. Otten by Amending Bylaw 2.09

Wuereas, In 1957 Rev. Herman J. Otten (hereinafter Otten)
successfully completed the prescribed course of studies at Concor-
dia Seminary, St. Louis (hereinafter Concordia Seminary), includ-
ing a year of vicarage, and was granted his Theological Diploma,
which on its face stated that he is fit and suitable to preach the
Word of God and administer the Sacraments as a pastor in The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; and