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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 358

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

358 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

16. When teaching the doctrine of justification, pastors some-
times remind their congregations that our relationship with God
through Christ is “Just as if 7’d never sinned.”

17. The Eighth Commandment also compels pastors and layper-
sons alike to hold in strict confidence incriminating communica-
tions from friends and others who confide in them.

18. Lutheran Worship Agenda (St. Louis: Concordia Publish-
ing House. 1984), 212 (emphasis added). This same vow is also
spoken in the installation rite (225). This promise of confidentiality
stands in the context of the following vows: “Will you faithfully
instruct both young and old in the chief articles of Christian doc-
trine; will you forgive the sins of those who repent, and will you
promise never to divulge the sins confessed to you, will you minis-
ter faithfully to the sick and dying; will you demonstrate to the
Church a constant and ready ministry, admonishing the people to a
lively confidence in Christ and holy living?” (emphasis added)

19. Agenda, 212, 225.

20. It should be noted that in the previous The Lutheran Agenda
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, n.d.), the ordination rite is
parallel except for the paragraph cited in the preceding footnote that
refers to the “seal of the confession.” Thus, many pastors in the
LCMS were not ordained with this vow or promise at their ordina-
tion, although many may have made this promise since 1984 in their
installation in a new parish if the new installation rite was used.

21. See, e.g., 735 ILCS 5/8-803 (Ii.).

22. See, State v. Martin, 959 P. 2d 152 (Wash. App. 1998).

23. This document does not address counseling by pastors who
are recognized by certifying or licensing authorities as “counselors”
(e.g., marriage counselor, family counselor, etc.).

24. In appropriate circumstances a pastor should consider en-
couraging the penitent to reveal his or her sinful conduct to those
harmed by it or even to the authorities. Also, referral to other pro-
fessionals for help in dealing with the behavior and its underlying
cause(s) may be appropriate. This responsibility would become
even more acute in instances where, for example, a penitent may
truly be “sorry” for his or her sinful conduct but the pastor deter-
mines that the penitent is likely to repeat that conduct. Persons who
have abused children or who have embezzled funds must not be
left in positions where temptation may overcome them. See also
footnotes 25 and 26 below.

25. Consider, for example, a church member who “confesses”
to swindling numerous elderly members in a variety of investment
scams and is now intending to move to another city where, the pas-
tor suspects, he will undertake the same nasty business.

26. An example of this is the member who embezzled funds
from the church and, after suspecting that the pastor may be on to

2001 Convention Workbook

him, hurriedly “confessed” his sin before restoring the loss through
monies stolen elsewhere. The pastor has every right to institute
church discipline in accordance with Matt. 18:15-18.

27. It is interesting to note that provision 7.45 in the Constitu-
tion, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America declares: “In keeping with the his-
toric discipline and practice of the Lutheran church and to be true to
a sacred trust inherent in the nature of the pastoral office, no or-
dained minister of this church shall divulge any confidential dis-
closure received in the course of the care of souls or otherwise in a
professional capacity, nor testify concerning conduct observed by
the ordained minister while working in a pastoral capacity, except
with the express permission of the person who has given confiden-
tial information to the ordained minister or who was observed by
the ordained minister, or if the person intends great harm to self or
others.”

28. The Synod should consider offering through its legal coun-
sel or the legal counsel of its Districts appropriate legal representa-
tion to pastors facing difficult questions or dilemmas in this area.

29. Confidential communications may also be in written form.

30. These guidelines should be read and considered as a whole.

31. Cf. footnote 24.

32. Such a communication may, for example, be made by a
spouse and consist of an acknowledgment that he or she is suscep-
tible to pornography, gambling, or had committed adultery years
earlier. Certainly a pastor may encourage the person to share with
or “confess” this to his or her spouse and others harmed by the sin,
but the pastor should not divulge it.

Such a communication may also refer to a past sin or crime
(such as income tax evasion) that the person uses as an example of
his or her conduct in life prior to coming to faith in Christ as Savior.

33. We are mindful of guidelines followed by some of our pas-
tors who will only counsel with members of the opposite sex in the
presence of a third person. We also recognize that in such instances
the applicable law may not protect the pastor from being compelled
to disclose the communication. See footnote 28.

34. Of course, in such circumstances a pastor should first spend
the available time with the penitent urging and admonishing that
person against any such threatened harmful acts. Also, the person
in the greatest danger of harm may be the penitent himself or her-
self (e.g., where the penitent may be under the influence of alcohol
or drugs).

Generally, a pastor should seek that course of action which least
impacts on the confidentiality of communications made to him as
pastor.