LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 141

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HIGHER EDUCATION
m. Monitor RSO (Recognized Service Organization)
standards and follow up in cases of inadequacy;
n. Establish and maintain a system of colloquy and certification for commissioned ministers;
o. Foster continuing education for commissioned church
workers;
p. Have authority, after receiving the consent of the
Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod by its two-thirds vote and also the consent of either
the Council of Presidents by its two-thirds vote or the appropriate board of regents by its two-thirds vote, to consolidate, relocate, separate or divest a college/university; and
be it finally
Resolved, That the Board for Pastoral Education serves
the members of Synod by coordinating pre-seminary education programs, seminary education, and post-seminary
continuing education, and by providing advocacy for pastoral education within the church. To that end and in keeping with the objectives and the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of Synod, the Board for Pastoral Education
shall:
a. Advise on pre-seminary education programs in the
colleges/universities;
b. Coordinate institutional planning and approve master plans for each seminary;
c. Develop coordinating policies and procedures for coordinating roles and responsibilities of the seminaries;
d. Review and approve new programs and manage peer
review of programs in the interest of the seminaries and
the church;
e. Establish policy guidelines for distribution of synodical grants (unrestricted and restricted) and efforts for securing additional financial support from other sources;
f. Obtain data on pre-seminary, seminary, and post-seminary theological education, including current trends in
pastoral education and other graduate programs;
g. Grant approval for initial appointments of seminary
faculty members;
h. Approve capital projects in relation to campus property–management agreements and institutional master
plans;
i. Establish and monitor criteria for determining institutional viability, fiscal and otherwise;
j. Foster continuing education for pastors;
k. Recommend to the Synod, in convention, actions related to consolidation, relocation, or divestiture of a seminary;
l. Visit seminaries on a periodic basis to identify
strengths and weaknesses on the basis of agreed standards
and provide support for their growth in excellence;
m. Serve as a resource for the development of lists of potential teaching and administrative personnel.
Action: Adopted (2)
(During discussion, an amendment to the sixth resolve to
delete the second-last sentence was adopted: The newly elected
members of the Board for University Education and the Board for
Pastoral Education shall assume office and responsibility as the
constituted board for the respective entities upon election in order
to provide an orderly transition from the old governance structure
to the new. The resolution was adopted as amended [Yes: 684; No:
507].)

141

To Increase the Number of SynodCertified Teachers
RESOLUTION 5-03A
Overtures 5-37, 5-40 (CW, pp. 234–236)
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
places extremely high value on children and youth; and
WHEREAS, Full-time Christian education for children and
youth in a Lutheran context is strategic for congregations
and associations of congregations whose purpose it is to
nurture disciples and to touch the lives of those who do not
know the hope that the Gospel gives; and
WHEREAS, One of the Synod’s constitutional objectives is
to “recruit and train pastors, teachers and other professional church workers” (Art. III 3); and
WHEREAS, Throughout most of its history the Synod has
been able to meet this objective by providing congregations
and associations of congregations with graduates trained
and certified for the teaching ministry through its own system of higher education, but in recent years growth in the
number of Lutheran schools and a reduction in the number
of Synod-certified candidates available have made it necessary for congregations and associations of congregations to
staff their classrooms with non-Synod-trained teachers; and
WHEREAS, Eleven thousand teachers are practicing in
Lutheran schools without benefit of a complete and formal
training in the doctrine and practice of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has created a Teacher Colloquy
Program, including studies in the Scriptures, the Lutheran
Confessions and the doctrine and practice of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod, to prepare non-Synod-trained
teachers for Synod certification; and
WHEREAS, The Teacher Colloquy Program is offered on
the campuses of the 10 colleges and universities of the Concordia University System; and
WHEREAS, The 10 colleges and universities have also
agreed to deliver the Teacher Colloquy Program via distance learning so as to reach every congregation and school,
making it possible for a teacher who has not been certified
by the Synod for teaching in a Lutheran school to work toward certification without leaving the classroom; and
WHEREAS, Research reveals that congregations and associations of congregations have in large measure failed to
provide incentives great enough to motivate non-Synod-certified teachers to finish the education required to become
certified in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as ministers of religion−commissioned; therefore be it
Resolved, That we the delegates to the 2004 convention
of the Synod reaffirm the Synod’s historic commitment to
full-time Lutheran education as a most significant way to
pass on to the next generation those valued scriptural
truths that are foundational to the confessional Lutheran
heritage and a powerful tool for reaching out to the
unchurched in our communities with the Gospel of Christ;
and be it further
Resolved, That when a Synod Lutheran Teacher
Diploma graduate is not available, congregations and associations of congregations be encouraged to require their
2004 Convention Proceedings