LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 178

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178 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Wuereas, The 1995 LCMS convention declined to approve the
CTCR document, The Service of Women in the Congregational Of-
fices, citing a dissenting opinion by five theologians (CTCR mem-
bers) stating that the CTCR document lacked consideration of
God’s order of creation; and

Wuereas, President Dr. Al Barry in 1994 published his “regret”
in the Reporter concerning both the content of this document and
the manner in which the CTCR’s executive committee distributed
the document; and

WHEREAS, The 1995 LCMS convention directed the CTCR to
continue to study this document along with dissenting opinions in
consultation with the faculties of the seminaries; and

WHEREAS, This 1994 report reappeared on the docket for the
2004 convention unchanged, and without discussions mandated by
the 1995 convention ever having taken place; and

WHEREAS, The 2004 LCMS convention approved Res. 3-08A
by a vote of 576-520; and

WHEREAS, This approved resolution (3-08A) may have violated
God’s order of creation and His instruction “to all the congrega-
tions of saints” (1 Cor. 14:33b~38; 1 Tim. 2:11-12); therefore be it

Resolved, That Iowa District West, in convention, praise God
for creating us uniquely male and female, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do
(Eph. 2:10); and be it further

Resolved, That Iowa District West praise God for the more than
4,000 women serving in full-time church ministries in our Synod;
and be it further

Resolved, That Iowa District West urge the 2007 LCMS con-
vention to rescind Res. 3-08A of the 2004 LCMS convention; and
be it finally

Resolved, That a joint task force consisting of three professors
each of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne, and three representatives appointed by the
CTCR author a new document concerning the service of women in
congregational offices to be presented for discussion and possible
approval at the 2010 LCMS convention.

Towa District West

3-70

To Rescind 2004 Resolution 3-08A
and Provide for Review

WHEREAS, The adoption of 2004 Res. 3-08A changed our position
with respect to the service of women in congregational offices; and

WHEREAS, 1969 Res. 2-17 utilized two criteria to determine
whether women could serve in various lay congregational positions:
(1) By serving in a given office, does a woman do things that only
pastors should be doing? “The Synod itself and the congregations of
the Synod are at liberty to alter their policies and practices in regard to
women’s involvement in the work of the Church according to these
declarations, provided the polity developed conforms to the general
scriptural principles that women neither hold the pastoral office nor
‘exercise authority over men.’” (2) Might a woman be violating the
order of creation by serving in certain congregational offices where
she is not carrying out “distinctive” functions of the pastoral office?
“The principles set forth in such passages, we believe, prohibit hold-
ing any other kind of office or membership on boards or committees
in the institutional structures of a congregation, only if this involves
women in a violation of the order of creation”; and

WHEREAS, 2004 Res. 3-08A utilized only the first of these two
criteria; and

WHEREAS, 2004 Res. 3-08A was adopted following conclusions
from a 1994 report of the CTCR that none of the theological pro-
fessors then serving on the Commission voted to adopt (the dis-
senting opinion is printed in the 1995 Workbook, pp. 310-313); and

WHEREAS, The dissenting 1994 CTCR members called atten-
tion to the way in which the Commission’s 1994 report sketched

the history of the matter in such a way as to omit references to the
order of creation made by the Synod in 1969 Res. 2-17; and

WuereaS, In 1995 Res. 3-06A, the Synod directed the CTCR
to continue studying the issues in its 1994 report and the dissenting
opinion, and to do so “in consultation with the faculties of the sem-
inaries”; and

WHEREAS, The CTCR’s 1998, 2001, and 2004 convention re-
ports mentioned the Commission’s work on Women in the Church
issues, but in none of them did it provide an accounting of any
communication that it either sought from the seminary faculties or
received from them concerning women in congregational offices,
yet in 2004 the Synod adopted Res. 3-08A; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Central Illinois District memorialize the
Synod:

1. to rescind 2004 Res. 3-08A and anything based upon it,
such as policies or administrative procedures;

2. to reaffirm its previous position that congregations may
allow women to hold all congregational offices except those of
chairman, vice-chairman, elder, and any other board or policy-
making committee whose chairmanship the congregation might
wish to restrict to men (see 1995 Res. 3-06A);

3. to assign the faculties of its two seminaries to give input
to the CTCR on these matters in “open letters,” which are to be
made available to the entire Synod at the time they are delivered
to the CTCR; and

4. to assign the CTCR to review all the recommendations in
its 1994 report and their basis in its 1985 Women in the Church
document in light of the seminary input mentioned above and
input from other members of the Synod and also in light of the
scholarly studies concerning relevant biblical passages (many
aided by ancient literature databases) that have appeared since
1985.

Central Illinois District

3-71

. To Rescind 2004 Res. 3-08A and Affirm Prior Position

Rationale

When the Synod adopted 2004 Res. 3-08A, it changed its posi-
tion with respect to the service of women in congregational offices.
Previously (see, for example, 1969 Res. 2-17), the Synod had em-
ployed two criteria to determine whether women could serve in
various lay congregational offices such as elder or president of a
congregation. But under 2004 Res. 3-08A, the Synod now officially
uses only one of these two. That criterion is this: By serving in a
given office, does a woman do things that only pastors should be
doing? The Synod no longer asks the second question it used to ask
on the basis of Scripture, namely: Might a woman be violating the
order of creation by serving in certain congregational offices where
she is not carrying out “distinctive” functions of the pastoral of-
fice?

In 2004 Res. 3-08A the Synod affirmed conclusions from a
1994 report of the CTCR that none of the theological: professors
then serving on the Commission voted to adopt. Five of them put
their objections in writing via a dissenting opinion. (For these two
documents, see 1995 Workbook, pp. 310-—313.) This dissenting
opinion called attention to the way in which the Commission’s
1994 report even sketched the history of the matter at hand in such
a way as to omit references to the order of creation made by the
Synod in 1969 Res. 2-17.

In 1995 Res. 3-06A, the Synod directed the CTCR to continue
studying the issues in its 1994 report and the dissenting opinion,
and to do so “in consultation with the faculties of the seminaries.”
The CTCR’s 1998, 2001, and 2004 convention reports mentioned
the Commission’s work on Women in the Church issues, but in
none of them did it provide an accounting of any communication
that it either sought from the seminary faculties or received from
them concerning women in congregational offices. Yet, in 2004 the
Synod adopted Res. 3-08A.