LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 192

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

192 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

To Affirm That Only Men
Are Eligible for Certain Offices

WHEREAS, St. Paul wrote by divine inspiration: “I do not per-
mit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather,
she is to remain quiet” (1 Tim. 2:12 ESV); and

WHEREAS, 1969 Res. 2-17 stated:

4. We therefore conclude that the Synod itself and the con-

gregations of the Synod are at liberty to alter their policies and *

practices in regard to women’s involvement in the work of the
church . . . provided the polity developed conforms to the gen-
eral Scriptural principles that women neither hold the pastoral
office nor “exercise authority over men”; and
WHEREAS, In recent conventions the Nominations Committee
has nominated women to Synod’s Board of Directors, Commission
on Theology and Church Relations, and the Board of Regents for
one of the seminaries; and

WHEREAS, Persons in these positions definitely exercise author-
ity over men, because:

1. The Board of Directors “shall exercise supervision over all
the property and business affairs of the Synod” except where this is
delegated to another agency of Synod. But even in those cases “the
Board of Directors shall have general oversight responsibilities as
set forth in the Bylaws” (Constitution, Art. XI, section F; see also
Bylaw 3.183).

2. The CTCR “shall provide guidance to the Synod in matters of
theology and church relations” (Bylaw 3.925 b). To do this the
CTCR produces special studies and documents, which are sent to
all the pastors and congregations of the Synod, which are intended
to teach them how God’s Word is to be applied to current issues.

3. The seminary boards of regents are obligated to “participate
fully in the procedure for the selection and regular review of the
president of the institution and of the major administrators; approve
of the appointment of faculty members who meet the qualifications
of their positions” (Bylaw 6.03 section h), “serving as the govern-
ing body corporate of the institution vested with all powers which
its members may exercise in law . . .” (section j 5), “requiring reg-
ular reports from the president of the institution . . .” (section j 10).

4. The people who are taught and overseen by these boards and
the commission include the pastors of the Synod, and the seminary
presidents, professors, and pastoral ministry students, all of whom
are men; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod affirm
that only men shall be eligible to hold membership on the Synod’s
Board of Directors, the CTCR, and the seminary boards of regents;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod, in convention, call on all who have
allowed women to be nominated and/or elected to such boards and
the commission in the past to believe what St. Paul wrote and re-
nounce their former decisions; and be it further

Resolved, That the Nominating Committees be directed not to
consider women for membership on these boards and the commis-
sion in the future; and be it finally

Resolved, That, recognizing our error, we take heart in God’s
promise of forgiveness of sins to all who repent (Acts 2:38) and
rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to produce fruits worthy of repen-
tance (Matt. 3:8).

Quincy Circuit Forum
Central Hlinois District

3-91

To Restudy Doctrine of Holy Ministry
WHEREAS, The mission of the church incorporates all the faith-
ful in ministry; and
WHEREAS, Maximizing service in our congregations and com-
munities is essential for twenty-first-century mission and ministry;
and

Wuereas, Dialogue continues in The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod concerning appropriate roles for ministry; and

WHEREAS, The Northwest District of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod has been and will be better directed in the utiliza-
tion of all the gifts the Spirit has made available through the rich re-
sources of all God’s people in the District; and

WueREAS, A large and significant number of people within The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod continue to wrestle with theo-
logical judgments that the Synod has made with respect to the Of-
fice of the Holy Ministry; and

WHEREAS, Even the most recent CTCR reports on the Holy
Ministry continue to receive significant criticism from many indi-
viduals and groups within the Synod; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Commission on Theology and Church Re-
lations restudy the biblical and theological basis of the doctrine of
the Holy Ministry, including the question of the ordination of
women to the pastoral office; and be it further

Resolved, That the CTCR engage more adequately the criticisms
and judgments of those members of the Synod (including the laity
within member congregations of the Synod) who have serious ques-
tions and concems on the basis of Holy Scripture about the present
position of the Synod on the doctrine of the Holy Ministry.

Board of Directors
Northwest District

3-92

To Study Ordination of Women Issue

WHEREAS, The LCMS has never permitted women to be or-
dained to the office of pastor; and

Wuereas, The Synod has reacted to the practice of ordination
in other Christian and Lutheran denominations by asserting that
such a practice is contrary to Scripture; and

WHEREAS, The Synod has relied heavily on a theory of system-
atic theology known as “the order of creation” (derived from
Calvinistic theology) and a concept that is a rational deduction and
not a clear biblical teaching; and

WHEREAS, Some of the same arguments and same passages used
today against the ordination of women were used in the history of
our Synod years ago against women’s suffrage; and

WHEREAS, The subject of the ordination of women is not ad-
dressed in the Lutheran confessional writings contained in the
Book of Concord, and limiting the office of pastor to males only is
not an article of faith according to any of the ancient ecumenical
creeds; and

WHEREAS, There is evidence in archaeology and ancient docu-
ments indicating that women were ordained in the earliest centuries
of the church; and

WHEREAS, The Bible teaches an equality of genders in Gen.
1:26-28 and that no “subordination” appears until after the fall in
Genesis 3, and that anyone in Christ is “a new creation,” so any “‘order
of creation/redemption” supersedes the effects of the fall; and

WHEREAS, Much of the writing on women’s roles in the church
is based on a single Greek New Testament word, the meaning of
which is unclear; therefore be it

Resolved, That the LCMS meeting in convention in 2004

a. direct the President of the Synod to appoint a special committee,
comprised of theologically trained men and women of the
Synod, some of whom support our traditional position and some
of whom understand the Scriptures to enable ministerial roles
based on gifts, not gender; and that

b. this committee prepare study documents that accurately present
both sides of the issues; and that

c. these documents be shared with congregations for study, with the
intent that a future convention of the Synod might consider chang-
ing our traditional position based on the written Word of God.

Ascension
Littleton, CO