LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 376

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376 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

twentieth century in the West have some Protestant church bodies
contradicted this truth and ordained women. While the scriptural re-
striction may contradict the prevailing winds of the egalitarian Zeit-
geist [spirit of the time], the church belongs to Jesus Christ and not
to the world. Therefore, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod by
the strength of God intends to remain faithful to God’s holy Word
even when it contradicts public opinion.

Edifying Decisions in Matters of Adiaphora

‘Congregational polity is an adiaphoron, neither commanded nor
forbidden in Holy Scripture. The New Testament is not an encyclo-
pedia that answers all possible questions. One cannot expect these an-
cient documents to address the polity questions that arise 2000 years
later. In fact, the New Testament does not give any mandates regard-
ing the polity of a congregation or Synod. How a congregation sets up
its daily working arrangements and organizational structure is left to
the discretion of human reason and sanctified common sense. How
many committees it has and how each committee operates are matters
that belong to the area of Christian freedom.

But to say that polity is an adiaphoron is only the beginning of the
discussion. For then the church has the difficult task of determining
what would be wise and edifying for the church. In matters of adi-
aphora—things neither commanded nor forbidden by Scripture—the
church’s arrangements should support and reinforce the scriptural
teaching. Even regarding matters of polity, which are adiaphora, there
should be a concern to support and reinforce the church’s God-given
doctrine and practice. For example, The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod requires an equitable distribution between lay delegates and
pastoral delegates at synodical conventions. Why? In order to support
and reinforce the church’s doctrine regarding both the priesthood of
all believers and the pastoral office.

Therefore, a key question is this: What type of polity and orga-
nizational structure will support and reinforce doctrine and practice
as taught by the Scriptures?

Supporting the God-Given Family Structure

In addressing the above question one consideration deserves at-
tention. The congregation’s polity should uphold the God-given
family structure. It should not in effect subvert it, whether inten-
tionally or unintentionally, by setting up a completely egalitarian
arrangement that makes no distinction between husbands and
wives. Instead it should reflect and reinforce the family structure.

The New Testament frequently encourages the church to
strengthen the God-given family structure (See e.g., | Corinthians
7; 11; 14; Ephesians 5; Colossians 3; 1 Timothy 2; 1 Peter 3). In the
first century there were various winds blowing in the Zeitgeist, such
as asceticism, licentiousness, proto-gnosticism, over-realized es-
chatology, and others. The upshot of it all was the temptation to de-
value the institutions of marriage and the family. To these
temptations the apostles spoke. They reminded their Christian read-
ers that the Gospel of Christ gives them freedom from sin so that
they may serve within the Creator’s design for His human creatures.
The Gospel does not deliver people from the Creator’s intent but
for a joyful life within it. The Creator designed and established mar-
riage and the family. These institutions are good gifts from God, to
be received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4).

There is great significance in the creation of Adam and Eve
recorded in Genesis 2 and in the other scriptural texts dealing with
creation (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:8-12). The Creator expressed His intent
and design for all future “Adams and Eves” precisely by the way in
which He created the first Adam and Eve. Unlike the animals, Eve
was created to be a helper fit for and corresponding to Adam. There-
fore the wife is not inferior to her husband but co-equal. The two
become one flesh. Moreover, God created Adam first and then Eve,

2007 Convention Workbook

and He created Eve from Adam and for Adam, Thereby the Creator
revealed His design for the marriage relationship. The husband
serves as the head and the wife submits herself to her husband.

As Ephesians 5 shows, the Gospel does not destroy this created de-
sign but rather purifies it of sinful distortion. Therefore, the Christian
husband exercises his headship in self-sacrificial love for his wife as
Christ did for the church, and the Christian wife willingly and gladly
submits herself to her husband as the church does to Christ.

We live ina society where the traditional view of marriage is in-
creasingly under attack. Large segments of our culture dismiss and
even ridicule notions such as these: (1) the Creator created Adam
and Eve as Genesis 2 records; (2) thereby the Creator revealed His
design for marriage and for all future husbands and wives; and (3)
the Creator’s intended design is that a husband be the head of his
wife and that his wife willingly subordinate her own will under her
husband. Especially in our cultural context a congregation should
be concerned about what its polity says and in what way its polity
supports the church’s teaching.

Congregational Offices of Director/President
and Assistant Director/Vice President

There is no “Thus saith the Lord” regarding positions such as ex-
ecutive director/president and assistant director/vice president.
These are offices established by the church in Christian freedom.
Scripture does not prohibit women who possess the requisite gifts
from holding these humanly-established offices, assuming that the
occupants of these offices do not “perform those functions that are
distinctive to the public exercise of the ministry of Word and sacra-
ment,” or carry out “official functions [that] would involve public
accountability for the function of the pastoral office.” In filling these
offices the congregation should take into account, among other
things, the aforementioned family structure. Further, the Commis-
sion encourages men not to neglect their leadership responsibilities
in their congregations. Since the church encourages husbands to ex-
ercise their God-given headship in a God-pleasing way at home, the
church should correspondingly encourage men to exercise leader-
ship in their congregation. Congregations are encouraged to orga-
nize themselves in ways that complement and reinforce the family,
for the church is “the household of God” (1 Tim. 3:15).

The Service of All

The Commission further recommends that congregations en-
courage all their members (male and female, single or married) to
exercise their God-given responsibilities of service and leadership
in their congregations.

Conclusion

It is the prayer of the Commission that these brief reflections
will serve the congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod as they deliberate on issues of polity. May all of our deci-
sions, even in matters of adiaphora, serve God’s will and the work
of His church.

Adopted by the CTCR on April 21, 2004

Notes

1. This opinion, adopted by the Commission on Theology and
Church Relations on April 21, 2004, will be included in the
Commission’s report to the 2007 convention and, together with a
minority opinion, is available online at www.lcms.org/ctcr .

2. The Service of Women in Congregational and Synodical
Offices, 8.

3. The Service of Women, 12.

4. Report of the CTCR on Women in the Church: Scriptural
Principles and Ecclesial Practice, 46.