LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 163

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS : 163

a
3-13

To Conserve and Promote Only True Faith

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod subscribes
to the Great Commission and to be an apostolic church; and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to Art. III of our Constitution, the objective
of the Synod is to aid congregations by providing a variety of re-
sources and opportunities for recognizing, promoting, expressing,
conserving, and defending their confessional unity in the true faith;
and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to Art. III of the Constitution of The
Lutheran—Church Missouri Synod, the objective of the Synod is to
recruit and train faithful pastors, teachers, and other professional
workers, and provide opportunity for their continuing growth in the
true faith; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod will stringently work to conserve and
promote the unity of the only true faith (Eph. 4:3-6; 1 Cor. 1:10),
work through its official structure toward fellowship with faithful
Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against
schism, sectarianism (Rom. 16:17) and heresy; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod will actively work to strengthen con-
gregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and
deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and extend that faithful Gospel witness into all the world.

Bethel
Lander, WY

3-14

To Request Answers to Questions
re Non-Christian Prayers

WHEREAS, The participation of an LCMS pastor in the Yankee
Stadium inter-religious prayer gathering has resulted in controversy
within the Synod; and

WuEREAS, A particular point of confusion within said contro-
versy is the question concerning the efficacy of prayers offered to
false gods; and

WHEREAS, The current confusion among the members of the
LCMS concerning the prayers of those who do not believe in the
one true, triune God (i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) can be prop-
erly addressed by providing biblically faithful answers to the fol-
lowing three-part question; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod, in convention, assign to the faculty of
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, the faculty of Concordia Theolog-
ical Seminary, Fort Wayne, the Praesidium of the Synod, and the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations the task of pro-
viding a clear, biblically faithful response to the following three-
part question: ;

Part 1: Does God hear the prayers of those who neither believe
in, nor offer their prayers to, the one true, triune God (i.e., Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit); and

Part 2: If God does hear such prayers, does He respond to such
prayers; and

Part 3: If God does respond to the prayers offered by unbeliev-
ers or the prayers offered to false gods, what is the nature of His
response?

and be it further

Resolved, That each of the entities listed above present its an-
swers to the Synod by Dec. 31, 2004; and make the answers avail-
able in one of the following two manners: Either printed in the Re-
porter and The Lutheran Witness or, if the responses are lengthy,
on the Synod’s Web site, with notification of availability and the
_ Web site location printed in the Reporter and The Lutheran Witness.

First
Blytheville, AR

3-15

To Request Answers to Questions re Acceptable Prayer

WHEREAS, Many horrific events have been taking place in our
world and nation, including the disastrous attack on the World
Trade Center in New York, causing many to pray; and

WHEREAS, Much doubt and confusion have arisen within our
Synod with regard to prayer that is acceptable to the actual God of
heaven and earth; and

WHEREAS, It would be helpful to the people of our Synod if they
were to receive a clear, simple, and scripturally faithful clarification
of this matter; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod assign to its Praesidium, to each sem-
inary faculty, and to the Commission on Theology and Church Re-
lations the assignment to give clear, simple, and scriptural answers
to the following question:

Are the prayers of people around the world who do not believe Jesus

Christ to be true God and true man and the Savior from their sin, in

fact, acceptable to the one, true, triune Deity and actually listened to

by Him?
and be it further

Resolved, That each of the above entities publish its own an-
swer to the people of the Synod by Feb. 28, 2005, in Reporter and
The Lutheran Witness.

Shepherd by the Lakes, Syracuse, IN; Circuit 26 Forum,
South Wisconsin District; St. John, Columbia City, IN; St.
Peter, Dorchester, WI

3-16

To Clarify Synod Res. 3-07A and Related Documents

WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) was asked by the 1998 convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod “to prepare a study to explain the
Synod’s position” on church fellowship; and

WHEREAS, The CTCR completed its task with its fine, carefully
wrought theological study The Lutheran Understanding of Church
Fellowship, a document firmly grounded on Scripture, the Lutheran
Confessions, and historic LCMS practice; and

WHEREAS, The Synod’s 2001 convention adopted Res. 3-07A,
commending this study; and

WHEREAS, The CTCR’s subsequent “report” (a document that
summarizes responses to and discussion of the study and is mainly
descriptive of fellowship concerns in our pluralistic culture) was
also included in the resolution; and

WHEREAS, The combining of these two documents, very differ-
ent in purpose and scope, in the same resolution has proved to be a
source of confusion; and

WHEREAS, Section V of the response document includes am-
biguous wording, such as “cases of discretion” and “once-in-a-life-
time situations” that can be easily misunderstood and misapplied;
and

WtereEAS, Such unclear and ambiguous wording in an official
document of the Synod gives opening to heterodox practice; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the Missouri District of the LCMS memorialize
the 2004 convention to reaffirm its appreciation for the CTCR’s
work; and be it further

Resolved, That the Missouri District memorialize the 2004 con-
vention to clarify the ambiguities of Res. 3-07A of the 2001 con-
vention, especially the fourth Resolved: “Resolved, That we com-
mend this study and response for continued use and guidance to
build that unity where it is still lacking.:.”; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Missouri District also ask the Synod for clari-
fication in regard to Section V of the response document to The
Lutheran Understanding of Church Fellowship, giving careful atten-
tion to the phrases “cases of discretion” and “once-in-a-lifetime situ-
ations.” For example, the Synod might declare that nothing in 2001