LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 132

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132

RESOLUTIONS

in love (Eph. 4:15) for the sake of our brothers and sisters
in Christ; and
WHEREAS, Article III of our synodical Constitution states:
“The Synod, under Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions,
shall — 1. Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith
(Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 1:10), work through its official structure
toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, and
provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism (Rom.
16:17), and heresy . . . ”; therefore be it
Resolved, That we receive the report and acknowledge
the concerns addressed by the Praesidium, as assigned by
the 2001 convention; and be it further
Resolved, That we authorize the Praesidium to continue
to monitor current concerns and potential directions of the
ELCA; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage the President of the Synod
and our representatives on the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC) to pursue substantive conversations between representatives of the ELCA and the LCMS, in a
continuing effort to bear witness to the truth of the Scriptures and the Confessions in the hope that agreement can
be reached in those areas where we disagree; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of Synod report to the next
synodical convention any recommendations concerning
changes in joint activity with the ELCA; and be it finally
Resolved, That we commit ourselves as members of
Synod to walk together in supporting the leadership of the
President in consultation with the Praesidium of Synod regarding this relationship between conventions.
Action: Adopted (8)
(During discussion, Overture 3-65 (CW, p. 183) was offered as
a substitute motion, which the assembly voted not to consider
[Yes: 496; No: 602]. After further discussion debate was ended
and the resolution was adopted as presented [Yes: 672; No: 479].)

To Affirm the Conclusions of the 1994
CTCR Report:
The Service of Women in Congregational
and Synodical Offices
RESOLUTION 3-08A
Overtures 3-88, 3-98–100 (CW, pp. 191, 194–195)
WHEREAS, The Synod at its 1969 convention declared,
“those statements of Scripture which direct women to keep
silent in the church and which prohibit them to teach and
to exercise authority over men, we understand to mean
that women ought not to hold the pastoral office or serve in
any other capacity involving the distinctive functions of this
office” (1969 Res. 2-17); and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Constitutional Matters
(CCM) in 1970 issued an opinion (“by human right rather
than divine right”) which has been reaffirmed by the Synod
at subsequent conventions that a woman “shall not serve
. . . as chairman or vice-chairman of the congregation”; and
WHEREAS, The CCM, in this opinion, indicated that the
Synod “may further define its position in the future”; and
WHEREAS, The Synod at its 1989 convention requested
“that the CTCR, in consultation with the Council of Presidents, prepare a study on the eligibility of women for ser2004 Convention Proceedings

vice in all offices of the congregation, including that of
chairman, vice-chairman, and elder and District and synodical boards and commissions where their official function
would in effect involve public accountability for the function[ing] of the pastoral office” (Res. 3-13A, Proceedings, p.
118); and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) completed its 1994 report on The Service of
Women in Congregational and Synodical Offices, in which
the Commission concluded on the basis of the Scriptures
that women may not “assume responsibility for or carry out
in behalf of the congregation (that is, ‘publicly’), and in the
stead of Christ, those functions in the local congregation
that would involve them in the exercise of authority inherent in this authoritative public teaching office in the church
[pastoral office]”; and
WHEREAS, This 1994 report also stated that “these considerations imply and even require, that in determining the
eligibility of women for services in all congregational, District, and synodical offices, attention be given to the functions attached to a given office. As the Commission stated
in the 1985 report on Women in the Church, ‘For other offices [other than the office of public ministry of Word and
sacraments] we have no express “thus saith the Lord” and
everything depends on the functions assigned to these offices’”; and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations has stated in a recent (April 2004) opinion requested by the Minnesota South District that “the Scriptures clearly teach that God has given the pastoral office
and the exercise of pastoral authority to men and not to
women” and that “Scripture does not prohibit women who
possess the requisite gifts from holding these humanly established offices, assuming that the occupants of these offices do not ‘perform those functions that are distinctive to
the public exercise of the ministry of Word and sacraments,’
or carry out ‘official functions [that] would involve public
accountability for the function of the pastoral office’”; and
WHEREAS, The Commission in this same opinion counseled that congregations, in filling these offices, keep in
mind the family structure and encourage “men not to neglect their leadership responsibilities in their congregations. Since the church encourages husbands to exercise
their God-given headship in a God-pleasing way at home”;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the CTCR be commended for its work in
this area; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod affirm that women on the
basis of the clear teaching of Scripture may not serve in the
office of pastor nor exercise any of its distinctive functions,
and that women may serve in humanly established offices
in the church as long as the functions of these offices do not
make them eligible to carry out “official functions [that]
would involve public accountability for the function of the
pastoral office”; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod urge the members of the
Synod, in making decisions regarding which offices women
may hold, to bear in mind the CTCR’s counsel that congregations organize “themselves in ways that complement and