LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 172

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172 ; THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

tricts “to continue training lay deacons as directed by the spirit of
the 1989 Wichita Res. 3-05B” and rescinded the “1995 St. Louis
convention Res. 3-07A (requiring such licensed laymen to com-
plete a seminary program for ordination).”

The 2004 Synod convention passed Res. 5-09, “To Affirm Dis-
trict Programs that Equip Laity for Ministry.” This resolution di-
rected that “the Synod in convention recognize, affirm, and en-
courage the work of the districts in developing ministry-equipping
programs for laity such as the Lay Leader Institute, Missionary
Training Center, Training Leaders for Ministry, and The Alaskan
Project.” The resolution noted that “Nineteen districts of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have developed ministry edu-
cation and training programs.” However, there is no uniform syn-
odical standard for these licensed lay deacon programs.

Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions

According to the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions, the
preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments
require a pastor with a regular call to care for souls in our congre-
gations:

Rom. 10:15, “How are they to preach unless they are sent;”

Acts 20:28, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the
flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for
the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood;”

Augsburg Confession, XIV, “Concerning church government it
is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach or administer
the sacraments in the church without a proper [public] call” (K-W,
p. 46, brackets original);

as well as other passages, such as Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; 1 Cor.
14:40; | Peter 5:1-3; Heb. 13:17; and Ap XIII 11.

As | Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5—9 indicate, a proper (public) call
includes both training and examination, so that the hearers may be
confident that the gifts of God are being rightly administered.

Options That Lead to Ordination besides Traditional
Seminary Education

While every minister of Word and Sacrament should be prop-
erly called and ordained, Holy Scripture nowhere insists that a sem-
inary education is the only appropriate way to prepare men for the
pastoral office. Therefore, in addition to a traditional seminary pro-
gram resulting in a Master of Divinity degree, the LCMS has de-
veloped alternative routes into the Office of the Holy Ministry.
These programs, which have been developed and endorsed by our
seminaries, are designed to provide “ordained pastoral service to
congregations that cannot support a full-time pastor, ordained pas-
toral service to contexts where English is not spoken, ordained mis-
sionary personnel where finances and/or conditions do not permit
calling full-time missionary, and enhanced congregational life as
the congregation participates in the growth of its DELTO student”
(BHE, “What is DELTO?,” Sept. 2000). In addition to DELTO
(Distance Education Leading to Ordination), the Synod offers DIT
(Deaf Institute of Theology), EIIT (Ethnic Immigrant Institute of
Theology), and The Center for Hispanic Studies programs.

Resolved, the LCMS convention thank those who have labored
to develop pastoral preparation options for various situations; and
be it further

Resolved, That the 2007 LCMS convention rescind the 1989
convention Res. 3-05B (establishment of licensed lay deacons to
provide pastoral services); and be it further

Resolved, That the 2007 LCMS convention direct that all pro-
grams mentioned in 2004 convention Res. 5-09 (to affirm district
programs that equip laity for ministry) maintain the clear distinc-
tion between the service of laity and the Word and Sacrament min-
istry given to the pastoral office; and be it further

Resolved, That the district presidents of the LCMS be directed
to implement a program that by 2010 ends the use of lay persons
for public proclamation of the Word and administration of the
Sacraments, and that this program include options that lead to the
ordination of laymen who are currently serving as ministers of
Word and Sacraments; and be it finally

Resolved, That the 2007 LCMS convention encourage the
Synod’s congregations, when appropriate, to make use of alterna-
tive programs that lead to ordination, including DELTO, DIT,
EIIT, and The Center for Hispanic Studies.

Mon-Clair Circuit 6 Forum
Southern Illinois District

3-53

To Change Approach re Pastoral Functions

WHEREAS, There have been ongoing disagreements in our
Synod over what functions are pastoral and what functions laypeo-
ple may do; and

WHEREAS, This disagreement seems to arise from the belief that
there are some functions that are exclusively pastoral and then the
further disagreement over exactly just which functions are exclu-
sively pastoral; therefore be it

Resolved, That instead of taking the approach that there are
functions that are exclusively pastoral we rather hold that God will
hold pastors, not laypeople, responsible if these functions are not
being performed, though this does not mean that laypeople may not
assist with these functions.

Hosanna
Mankato, MN

3-54

To Return to Regular Calls for Word
and Sacrament Church Workers

WHEREAS, According to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran
Confessions, the preaching of the Word and the administration of
the Sacraments require a pastor with a regular call (Jer, 23:21;
Rom. 10:15; Heb. 5:4; and Art. XIV of the Augsburg Confession),
“Tt is taught among us that nobody should publicly teach or preach
or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call”;
and

Wuereas, A regular call requires training and examination in
the sense of 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9, and the Holy Scriptures
caution against placing anyone into this office hastily (1 Tim.
$:22); and

WHEREAS, The 1989 Synod convention passed Res. 3-05B,
which approved the establishment of licensed lay deacons (com-
monly called “lay ministers”) to provide pastoral services; and

WHEREAS, The original Constitution of the German Evangeli-
cal Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states (1 $47) re-
jects the practice of licensed lay ministers, saying, “Ordination
shall be accorded only to him who has received a legitimate call
from and to a particular congregation and who has by a previous
examination been found to be sound in faith, fit to teach, and be-
yond reproof in his life, The so-called licenses which are in use in
this country are not given by Synod, because they are against Scrip-
ture and proper church practice”; and

WHEREAS, The 1995 Synod convention (3-07A) attempted to
curb our unfaithful practice in this area by directing that any lay-
man who was licensed to perform pastoral functions under the pre-
vious guidelines be required to apply for admission into the pas-
toral ministry of the Synod; and

WHEREAS, The 2001 Synod convention introduced and passed
substitute Res. 3-08B to continue the practice of lay ministers, stat-
ing “that the Synod authorize its districts to continue training lay
deacons as directed by the spirit of the 1989 Wichita Res. 3-05B
in which trained lay ministers serve under the supervision of an or-
dained pastor.” And later it also said, “That this convention rescind
1995 St. Louis convention Res. 3-07A (requiring such licensed lay-
men to complete a seminary program for ordination)”; and

WHEREAS, The 2004 Synod convention passed Res. 5-09, enti-
tled, “To Affirm District Programs that Equip Laity for Ministry,”
which supports the provision of pastoral services by licensed lay
ministers who have not been regularly called; therefore be it