LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 70

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70 SYNOD REPORTS

(which inevitably involve left-kingdom realities and complexities).
For example, the commission says:

It might be noted that while the Scriptures speak unambiguously re-
garding the sinfulness of divorce (except in cases of unfaithfulness and
malicious desertion), the Synod has not felt compelled to speak directly
to the state regarding this issue or to urge the state to enact legislation
that reflects Scripture’s teaching on this matter. Similarly, the Synod
has clearly stated its position on the sinfulness of homosexual behavior
(1973 Res. 2-04) but it has not entered into debate in “the public square”
about whether such behavior should be legally prohibited. The CTCR
has stated: “The question whether homosexual acts between consent-
ing adults should be legally prohibited is one about which Christian cit-
izens may disagree. Not all matters of morality are fit subjects for
legislation” (Human Sexuality: A Theological Perspective, A Report of
the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod, 1981, 35). To stimulate further discussion, it
might be noted that in addition to Scripture’s clarity on these issues,
both divorce and homosexuality have obvious social consequences that
need to be considered as the church wrestles with how best to speak to
the state on these matters. (90; fn. 167)

In light of the above, the commission recognizes the possibil-
ity that Christians who fully agree (morally and theologically) that
“same-sex unions are, according to the Scriptures, contrary to the
will of the Creator” (1998 Res. 3-21) may disagree about the worth,
wisdom or necessity of particular legislation in the left-hand king-
dom that presupposes the existence of these (immoral and unscrip-
tural) unions. While Christians may disagree, the CTCR does find
compelling reasons against offering legal benefits to “people of the
same sex united in a legally recognized civil union.” Opposition to
such legislation in the civil realm is most properly founded not
solely on the basis of what the Bible says about the sinfulness of
homosexual unions, but also on the basis of concerns about the so-
cial consequences of such legislation. Such concerns include the
inevitable undermining of the institution of marriage, the granting
of “rights” solely on the basis of sexual orientation and/or behavior,
implications for adoption and the raising of children, the nature and
definition of the “family” as the foundational unit for society, etc.

These concerns are congruent with what God’s Word teaches
about marriage as a divine institution and about the foundational
role that this divine institution plays in society as a whole. As the
CTCR states in its 1981 report on Human Sexuality, marriage is
clearly defined in God’s Word as “the lifelong union of one man
and one woman entered into by mutual consent” (10). Through the
divine institution of marriage, God works to provide for “(1) the
relation of man and woman in mutual love (Gen. 2:18); (2) the pro-
creation of children (Gen. 1:28); and (3) the partial remedy for sin-
ful lust (1 Cor. 7:2). Both the fourth and sixth commandments
presume and support these purposes of marriage in human life”
(10). “The creation of human beings for covenant community,”
says the commission, “finds its original expression in the fellow-
ship of male and female” (33). By its very nature, therefore, mar-
riage is “subject to certain divine requirements which remain in
effect until the close of this age regardless of the social customs,
civil laws, or ecclesiastical rites which may come to surround it”
(10). Christians committed to the truth of God’s Word, therefore,
recognize and regret the fact that the very existence of same-sex
civil unions serves to undermine God’s intention to bring blessing
to society and all of humanity through the institution of marriage as
he created it.

Adopted May 2, 2006
Expressions of Dissent
1. CTCR Response to Dissent to 2001 Resolution 3-08B

In response to a January 2002 expression of dissent to 200] Res.
3-08B, “To Address Needs and Opportunities for Pastoral Ministry
in Specialized Situations,” submitted by a pastor of the Synod, the
commission stated the following:

2007 Convention Workbook

In January 2002, a pastor in the Synod submitted his dissent to
2001 Resolution 3-08B To Address Needs and Opportunities for
Pastoral Ministry in Specialized Situations. |n this letter, he stated
that “my dissent concerns the continued endorsement by the Synod
of so called ‘lay ministers’ or ‘lay deacons’ preaching, teaching,
and administering the sacraments without a ‘regular call’ (Augs-
burg Confession and Apology Article X1V).” He continues: “Arti-
cle X1V of the Augsburg Confession seems quite clear and leaves
no room for exceptions to this doctrine of the whole Christian
Church of all ages and places... No exceptions or ‘specialized sit-
uations’ are allowed by AC XIV... What passing the Resolution
did was to ignore Holy Scripture as correctly taught in the Lutheran
Confessions and return to the heresy of 1989 Res. 3-05B.”

The LCMS has understood that the Lutheran Confessions (Trea-
tise 67-68, Tappert 331) recognize that there may be situations
where those who are not called and ordained may carry out pas-
toral functions. The commission is aware that discussion will and
needs to continue in the Synod regarding the nature of these ex-
ceptions.

Adopted December 4, 2004

In a letter dated Dec. 16, 2004, the pastor who submitted the
above-mentioned dissent to 2001 Res. 3-08B, expressed his dissat-
isfaction with the commission’s response. The commission, at its
February 2005 meeting, reaffirmed its response. At its April 2005
meeting, the commission received a minority statement by Mr. Paul
Nus to the commission’s February response to the pastor’s resub-
mission of his dissent. This minority statement is included in Ap-
pendix II of the Convention Workbook.

The pastor wrote to the commission again and requested that it
prepare a new response based on the Holy Scriptures and Lutheran
Confessions taking into account the specifics of 2001 Res. 3-08B.
The commission declined to place this latter request on its agenda,
but informed the dissenter that it would discuss his dissent in con-
nection with a consideration and discussion of 1989 Res. 3-05B
that it had placed on its agenda in February 2005 (see “Areas of
Dissent,” Section 4, in CTCR Response to Expressions of Dissent
[2004-2006], Appendix II of the Convention Workbook). The com-
mission also informed the dissenter that following this discussion,
it would give consideration to a further response and, in the mean-
time, keep him updated.

2. Composite Response to Expressions of Dissent (2004-2006)

During the past triennium, the CTCR received a number of ex-
pressions of dissent to doctrinal resolutions adopted by the Synod.
Ten letters of dissent representing approximately twenty-five mem-
bers of the Synod were received in four areas: participation in civic
events, service of women in congregational offices, ecclesiastical
supervision and dispute resolution, and laymen performing func-
tions of the pastoral office. Some of the letters received were signed
by more than one member of the Synod (e.g., a pastor and his con-
gregation; a group of pastors; a circuit). Because these various ex-
pressions of dissent were directed to one or more of the specific
issues mentioned above, and because many of them voiced similar
concerns and employed similar arguments, the commission decided
to prepare a composite response prefaced by a word about the im-
portance of expressing dissent in a confessional Lutheran church
and a review of CTCR policies and procedures. Following an ex-
tended process of receiving and discussing suggestions and recom-
mendations from its standing committees, to which the various
expressions of dissent were assigned for review, the commission, at
its December 2006 meeting, adopted a report under the title CTCR
Response to Expressions of Dissent (2004-2006) for distribution
to the members of the Synod. This report is included in Appendix Il
of the Convention Workbook and is available online at
www.lcms.org/ctcr.