LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 173

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Theology and Church Relations
the Word of Christ or the sacraments, they do so in Christ’s place and
stead (Apology VII 28);
The Gospel requires of those who preside over the churches that
they preach the Gospel, remit sins, administer the sacraments, and, in
addition, exercise jurisdiction, that is, excommunicate those who are
guilty of notorious crimes and absolve those who repent (Power and
Primacy of the Pope 61);
For wherever the church exists, the right to administer the Gospel
also exists. Wherefore it is necessary for the church to retain the right
of calling, electing, and ordaining ministers. This right is a gift given
exclusively to the church, and no human authority can take it away from
the church (ibid 67);

and
Whereas, There continue to be issues of concern and controversy
regarding the Office of the Holy Ministry; therefore be it
Resolved, That in faithfulness to God’s Word and Article XIV of
the Augsburg Confession regarding the Office of the Holy Ministry,
the Synod be encouraged to develop resources for catechizing on the
congregational, district, and Synod levels concerning this issue; and
be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod, who has the responsibility “to promote and maintain unity of doctrine and practice in
all the districts of the Synod” (Constitution, Art. XI B 3), be encouraged to use all means at his disposal to promote study and discussion
of this vital issue.
Missouri District
4-23

To Restore Orthodox Lutheran Practice
re Pastoral Calls
Whereas, Our forebears in the faith consistently followed the
orthodox Lutheran practice of only removing a pastor, teacher, or
other church worker from his or her call for three biblical causes:
teaching false doctrine (Titus 1:9); scandalous conduct (1 Tim. 3:1–
7); or willful neglect of official duties (2 Tim. 2:2 and 1 Cor. 4:1–2)
(see John Fritz, Pastoral Theology [CPH, 1932], 55; see also Martin
Chemnitz, Loci Theologici [CPH, 1989], 2:703; Martin Chemnitz,
Enchiridion [CPH, 1981], 37; Johann Gerhard, On the Ministry: Part
One [CPH, 2011], 252–260; C. F. W. Walther, Pastoral Theology
[LNI, 1995], 278–279; Mueller & Kraus, eds., Pastoral Theology
[CPH, 1990], 54); and
Whereas, Our forebears also consistently followed the orthodox
Lutheran practice of waiting for a call to arrive in situations where
they fraternally urged their pastor, teacher, or other church worker to
accept another call more suited to his or her abilities, when either the
work grew beyond his or her abilities, or he or she lost competence
due to age, sickness, or accident—an exception to this being dismissal
due to complete disability (see Fritz, Pastoral Theology, 55, discussion re “inefficiency”); and
Whereas, Our forebears also consistently followed the orthodox
Lutheran practice of waiting for a call to arrive in situations where
they fraternally urged their pastor, teacher, or other church worker to
accept another call when on account of his or her own frailties and
shortcomings the church worker had lost the confidence of a large portion of the congregation—an exception to this being cases where an
evil-minded person had embittered the church worker, in which case
the evil person was dealt with and the church worker encouraged to
stay (Rom. 12:21) (see Fritz, Pastoral Theology, 52–53; discussion
re “accepting a new call”); and
Whereas, In the past twenty years, congregations of the LCMS
have increasingly abandoned these practices of the orthodox Lutheran

173

church, have removed their church workers without a valid biblical
cause, or pressured their church workers to resign prior to receiving
another call in the type of cases described above, leaving such faithful and competent church workers in the status of “C.R.M.” for an
indefinite period of time, where they have lost their position, their
call, their reputation, and their livelihood; and
Whereas, In recent years, some congregations of the LCMS
have removed their pastors or pressured them to resign, because their
pastors upheld the biblical position that cohabitation is sexual immorality, even though such pastors offered several reasonable options for
those involved in this sin (for such options, see Matthew C. Harrison,
Second Thoughts about Living Together [CPH, 2005], 26); and
Whereas, Continued acceptance of the practice of removing
pastors who oppose cohabitation will result in congregations being
unable to resist homosexual marriage, since the same Bible passages
that condemn homosexuality also condemn other sexual immorality; and
Whereas, Continued acceptance by the Synod of the practices of
removing church workers without a valid biblical cause, or pressuring them to resign prior to receiving another call in the type of cases
described above, will result in an erosion of respect for all offices in
the Lutheran church, a decrease in the number of people willing to
serve as pastors and teachers, lifelong enmity toward the Synod by
former church workers, their spouses, and children, and ultimately
a decline in the effectiveness and success of the Gospel outreach of
the Synod; therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm the orthodox Lutheran practice that congregations and their schools may only remove a pastor,
teacher, or other church worker from his or her call for three biblical causes: teaching false doctrine (Titus 1:9); scandalous conduct
(1 Tim. 3:1–7); or willful neglect of official duties (2 Tim. 2:2 and
1 Cor. 4:1–2); and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod reaffirm the orthodox Lutheran practice that congregations and their schools wait for a call to arrive in
situations where they fraternally urge their pastor, teacher, or other
church worker to accept another call more suited to his or her abilities, when either the work grows beyond his or her abilities, or he or
she loses competence due to age, sickness, or accident—an exception
to this being dismissal due to complete disability; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod reaffirm the orthodox Lutheran practice
that congregations and their schools wait for a call to arrive in situations where they fraternally urge their pastor, teacher, or other church
worker to accept another call, when on account of his or her own frailties and shortcomings the church worker has lost the confidence of a
large portion of the congregation—an exception to this being cases
where an evil-minded person has embittered the church worker, in
which case the evil person will be dealt with and the church worker
encouraged to stay (Rom. 12:21); and be it finally
Resolved, That all bylaws, policies, rules, regulations, and documents of the Synod that pertain to these issues, especially those used
by district presidents and circuit counselors, be revised accordingly.
Trinity
Evansville, IN
4-24

To Uphold Divinely Ordained Pastoral Office
Whereas, The pastoral office is a divinely mandated office (and
not the creation of man) for the express purpose of creating and sustaining faith through God’s appointed means (Matt. 18:19, 20; Acts
20:28; 1 Cor. 4:1, 2; 12:28; Eph. 4:11–16; 2 Tim. 2:2; Heb. 13:17;
AC Art IV, V, XIV); and
2013 Convention Workbook