LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 213

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SEMINARY AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION , 213

14. Cf. 1 Tim. 3:1-6: [1] The saying is trustworthy: If anyone as-
pires to the office of overseer [Gk. émtokonn], he desires a
noble task. [2] Therefore an overseer must be above reproach,
the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, re-
spectable, hospitable, able to teach, [3] not a drunkard, not vio-
lent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. [4] He
must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping
his children submissive, [5] for if someone does not know how
to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s
church? [6] He must not be a recent convert, or he may become
puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the
devil.

Similarly, see also Titus 1:7—9: [7] For an overseer, as God’s
steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or
quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, [8]
but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy,
and disciplined. [9] He must hold firm to the trustworthy word
as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound
doctrine.and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

15. This is considerably different from simply ordaining students
at the point at which they go on vicarage in the current M.Div.
program. Current M.Div. vicars are not generally functioning
as the sole person responsible for Word and Sacrament min-
istry in a particular place. Moreover, and most importantly, they
do not receive a call from a congregation to serve it as its pas-
tor, but rather are assigned to serve under close supervision as a
part of their educational program.

5-04

To Establish Specific Ministry Pastor Commission to
Combine and Oversee Alternate Routes
to Pastoral Ministry

Rationale

The Synod for a number of years has had various alternate
routes to train men for pastoral ministry including the:
- Hispanic Institute of Theology
- Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology
- Deaf Institute of Theology
- People of the Book Lutheran Outreach
- Distance Education Leading to Ordination (DELTO)
- Various district programs preparing licensed deacons
These various routes have different admittance and educational
requirements as they prepare men for Word and Sacrament min-
istry. This is resulting in confusion in the Synod, including ques-
tions as to whether these men are properly prepared. The 2004 con-
vention, Res. 5-09, resolved “That for the sake of good order, the
Council of Presidents of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
and the new Board for Pastoral Education with the guidance of the
seminary faculties develop a standardized core curriculum for dis-
trict lay-training programs and coordinate a national listing of par-
ticipants.”

Prior to the Synod’s 1989 convention a number of districts were
training lay ministers for service in emergency and unusual situa-
tions where people would otherwise be deprived of Word and
Sacrament ministry because no ordained pastors were available.
These 135 men served under the guidance of ordained pastors but
without the benefit of guidelines for their service. The training of
lay ministers followed the example of some of the Synod’s partner
churches, which used specially selected, trained, and supervised
laymen to assist in Word and Sacrament ministry.

The 1989 convention, in Res. 3-05B, resolved “That the training
of lay workers by districts and other entities for service within the
district be encouraged and that minimum standards, including per-
sonal qualifications, skills, theological preparation, and academic
training appropriate to the field of service for which the prospective
worker is being prepared be established by the district.” The train-
ing has varied from district to district. Since various titles were

being used (and continue to be used) by districts for lay ministers,
the resolution resolved “That the title deacon be established by
which a layman would be addressed while he is temporarily serving
in Word and Sacrament ministry ‘in exceptional circumstances or
in emergencies.’ This title would distinguish him from an ordained
pastor.” The same resolution also provided that the deacons have
supervising pastors and that they shall have “been approved and li-
censed by the president of the district to which the congregation
belongs” and “the license to preach in a given district shall be is-
sued by that district’s President in keeping with criteria and stan-
dards adopted and maintained by the Council of Presidents.” Thus
the position licensed deacon was established. A licensed deacon
serves a specific place under the supervision of an ordained pastor,
normally the vacancy pastor, and under the ecclesiastical supervi-
sion of the district president who is responsible for granting and re-
newing the license to serve. Such ministry may be in short term
emergency situations or long term for small congregations or
preaching stations in remote locations or in specialized situations.

The 2001 Synod convention, in Res.3-08B, “To Address Needs
and Opportunities for Pastoral Ministry in Specialized Situations,”
indicated “a growing need for pastors in specialized situations.
Mission opportunities abound in the districts, and urban and ethnic
ministries to first-generation immigrants are an increasing chal-
lenge.” The resolution also noted that “smaller and more remote
congregations are just holding on or declining in size and that these
small congregations are often unable to call or support an ordained
pastor in the usual manner.” The convention then authorized its dis-
tricts “to continue training lay deacons as directed by the spirit of
the 1989 Res. 3-05B, in which trained lay ministers serve under the
supervision of an ordained pastor.” In order to address the needs to
recruit and train more ordained pastors, it created a DELTO Over-
sight Committee to revise the DELTO program. DELTO curricu-
lum has now been revised and consists of 30 courses with the first
10 courses being acceptable as taught through district-level pro-
grams, based on equivalency to the syllabi agreed to by the DELTO
Oversight Committee and the seminaries. After the completion of
the first 10 courses, some men are being licensed for conducting
Word and Sacrament ministry, in which case the licensed deacon is
expected to be in a district-approved continuing education program
for his license to be renewed. A licensed deacon has the option of
enrolling in the remaining 20 DELTO courses leading to ordina-
tion being offered by one of the Synod’s seminaries, in which case
he is designated a DELTO-Vicar. The DELTO-Vicar, as well as
the licensed deacon, is paired with an ordained pastor of the LCMS
who will serve as his pastor-mentor throughout the course of study
and while he is conducting Word and Sacrament ministry. At the
completion of these courses he is eligible for certification, call, and
ordination.

Subsequent to the 2004 convention, President Kieschnick asked
the DELTO Oversight Committee, which includes representatives
of the Council of Presidents, the Board for Pastoral Education, and
the seminaries, to review all alternate routes to pastoral ministry
and to standardize the curriculum and the supervision, examina-
tion, certification, and placement process for those preparing for
Word and Sacrament ministry through alternate routes to pastoral
ministry. Although the final report of the DELTO Oversight Com-
mittee had not been received as this overture was being prepared
and may not be received until the 2007 Workbook is published,
progress reports and draft overtures indicate that the Oversight
Committee, together with the seminary faculties, will bring about
the desired uniformity in the alternate routes to pastoral ministry.
The Oversight Committee is proposing that the DELTO, licensed
deacon, and similar programs be refined and replaced by a Specific
Ministry Pastor Program. The district concurs.

Questions have surfaced as to whether a licensed deacon, re-
quested by a congregation for Word and Sacrament ministry with
the approval of the district president, is filling a “divine call.” Ac-
cording to the Scriptures and Article XIV of the Lutheran Confes-
sions, the preaching of the Word and the administration of the
Sacraments require a man with a proper public call (Jer. 23:21;
Rom. 10:15; Heb. 5:4; AC XIV). A regular call requires training
and examination in the sense of 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. In
addition, St. Paul cautions against placing anyone in this office