LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 206

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206 SEMINARY AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

* Possible field seminars might include basic mission planter training,
edge gathering, and advanced mission planter training.

The Specific Ministry Pastor Program will utilize selected men-
tors in the preparation of a man for pastoral ministry with an em-
phasis on the area of spiritual formation.

Step 1: Preparation for and Admission to the Program

The identification of an applicant will be carried out by the congre-
gation and district through a comprehensive screening process.

For entry into the program, a student will need to show that he pos-
sesses the requisite social skills and passion for theology and mission, as
well as demonstrating the specific skills and competence needed to be
successful in a distance-education program.

For entry into the program, a student will need to pass the Entry
Level Competency Exams (ELCEs) in the areas of OT, NT, and Cate-
chism/Christian Doctrine. Preparation for the ELCEs may be accom-
plished by taking the corresponding district-level courses or seminary-
offered courses. In addition, other courses within a district's lay training
program may be helpful, such as courses on evangelizing and catechiz-
ing. All students will need to demonstrate competency to engage the
program in the English language and in public speaking.

Based upon completion of the above requirements and with recom-
mendations from congregation and district, the student’s application
will be presented to the admissions committee of the seminary for ac-
tion. As part of the application process, each student, sponsoring con-
gregation, and district will sign a covenant of commitment to complete
the entire specific ministry pastor curriculum, including all coursework
and seminars following examination and ordination.

Step 2: Pre-Ordination Curriculum

Upon entrance into the Specific Ministry Pastor Program, students
will be assigned as vicars in a specific locality but normally will not be
authorized to administer the Sacraments. He will preach sermons pre-
pared in collaboration with and approved by his supervisor. At this
point, he will participate in the pre-ordination courses and seminars de-
signed to prepare him in the following areas:

* Catechism, hermeneutical principles, God and Christ, work of
Christ, the Sacraments, Worship, intro to the Book of Concord,
and preaching

¢ Possible residential seminars: intro to pastoral formation; issues
in pastoral ministry

¢ Possible field seminars: basic mission planter training, etc.

Step 3: Certification/Call/Ordination

After demonstrating competence in the pre-ordination areas (ap-
proximately a year and a half), a student may apply for an examination
hearing by the seminary in order to be certified for call and ordination.
Students will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The examination
hearing may include a review of the student’s portfolio, vicarage re-
ports, an interview by the faculty, and recommendations by the district
president and circuit counselor.

After call and ordination, the student is placed on the pastoral roster
of the Synod as a “specific ministry pastor.” He now may preach and
administer the Sacraments under supervision in a specific locality.

Step 4: Post-Call and Ordlnation Curriculum

Upon call and ordination, the student will complete the remainder of
the Specific Ministry Pastor Program. The following areas are intended
to continue development of the foundational competencies necessary
for serving as a specific ministry pastor:

*¢ OT content and theology, NT content and theology, gifts of Christ,
Body of Christ, Church history and the history of Lutheranism,
Christian education, pastoral theology, and theology of missions

* Residential seminars, possibly including pastoral formation, is-
sues in pastoral ministry, team ministry, urban ministry, and spir-
itual formation

* Field seminars, possibly including basic mission planter training,
edge gathering, and advanced mission planter training

Refusal to complete the Specific Ministry Pastor Program would re-

sult in the pastor’s removal from the Synod roster, at which point he is
not eligible for a call.

Step 5: Completion of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program

Upon completion of the program, the candidate is examined by a
committee of faculty, laity, and district representatives in order to be
recognized as eligible for calls elsewhere within his rostered status.

Apart from the usual need for continuing education, he is not required to
take any further prescribed course of studies (but see below).

Specific ministry pastors are recognized as just that: pastors certified
for calls into specific ministry contexts, who serve under the supervi-
sion not only of the district president but also of a designated general
ministry pastor. As such, they are eligible for calls into a similar specific
Ministry context, where they continue under the supervision of a general
ministry pastor.

Because their theological education is formed within the context of
their specific ministry and does not represent the breadth and depth of
theology and ecclesiology that forms a basis for pastoral oversight be-
yond the local level, they may not be placed into ecclesiastical roles of
exercising pastoral oversight outside the location of their specific call
(i.e., in the church-at-large), such as

a. holding elected or appointed office at the district or Synod
level that is assigned by the Bylaws to “a pastor” (though they
will serve in all other capacities, especially representing the
ministerial contexts in which they serve);

b. serving as circuit counselors;

c. serving as a voting delegate to a national Synod convention
(but they may serve as an advisory delegate at national con-
ventions and as a pastoral delegate at district conventions),
and

d. supervising vicars.
Step 6: Continued Service and Status

Students who have completed the Specific Ministry Pastor Program
may decide to remain in their rostered status as “specific ministry pas-
tor” for the remainder of their ministry or they may choose to pursue a
growth path that leads to a change in roster status to “general ministry
pastor.” It is envisioned that most students will pursue the second path,
either through an M.Div. route or nondegree certification.

Thus, they have three options:

1, They may remain rostered as a specific ministry pastor.

2. They may enroll in an M.Div. program. It is anticipated that
coursework done for the Specific Ministry Pastor Program may
become applicable to an M.Div., determined by equivalencies.

3. They may continue their theological education and pastoral for-
mation, reaching a level appropriate to general ministry pastor
without a full M.Div. (cf. current ‘alternate route”) and then com-
plete an interview with an examining board in order to have their
rostered status changed to “general ministry pastor.”

Resolution

WHEREAS, The DELTO Oversight Committee was formed by
the 2001 Convention and given the task “to revise DELTO”; and

Wuereas, This Oversight Committee concluded that original
assignment, and a revised DELTO Program was deployed by the
two seminaries in the fall of 2004; and

WHEREAS, The original and ongoing intent of DELTO was to
“provide ordained pastoral service to congregations that cannot
support a full-time pastor, ordained pastoral service to contexts
where English is not spoken, ordained missionary personnel where
finances and/or conditions do not permit calling a full-time mis-
sionary” (BHE document, “What Is DELTO?” Sept. 2000); and

WHEREAS, The needs for providing pastoral ministry in specific
and specialized situations where a traditionally prepared seminary
candidate or pastor is not available continue to multiply; and

WHEREAS, Our Synod needs to find a way to provide for an in-
crease in pastoral ministry to meet such needs of the church, espe-
cially in light of the mission challenges of today’s world; and

Whereas, Our Synod has resolved to plant 2,000 new congre-
gations by 2017, for which a net gain of 2,000 pastors will be
needed; and

Wuereas, Any way of providing for pastoral ministry must be
faithful to our Lutheran Confessions, faithful to our historic: com-
mitment to a well-educated and well-formed ministerium, faithful
to our historic commitment to providing pastors in both academic
and practical tracks, and faithful to our historic commitment to pro-
vide pastoral ministry and leadership at the cutting edges of the
mission fields, wherever they might be; and