LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 176

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176

Theology and Church Relations

professors and other students. “Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts
his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’”
(Luke 9:62); and
Whereas, Scripture says, “The Lord has commanded that those
who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1
1Cor. 9:14; see also Gal. 6:6–7; 1 Tim. 5: 17–18); and
Whereas, Scripture says, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those
who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at
peace among yourselves” (1 Thess. 5: 12–13); also, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls,
as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy
and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you”
(Heb. 13:17); and
Whereas, No one can preach or administer the sacraments without a rightly ordered call (AC XIV); and
Whereas, Populations in many rural areas are declining and
membership of some LCMS congregations is declining; and
Whereas, In foreign mission fields where pastors are scarce, the
church/district makes a distinction between evangelists who serve
local congregations and pastors who have received seminary training and are ordained; and
Whereas, Some congregations have released pastors from their
call because of finances or unscriptural reasons; and
Whereas, Many congregations are being served by permanent
vacancy pastors, lay leaders, deacons, or specific ministry pastors; and
Whereas, Jesus taught the 12 apostles for three years before they
were sent out with the great commission; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2013 LCMS convention, all Synod leaders, district presidents, congregations, and pastors encourage men to prepare
as much as possible for the Office of the Holy Ministry, including
traditional, residential, four-year seminary training; and be it further
Resolved, That only pastors with a proper call administer the
Lord’s Supper; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations be held accountable by their district
presidents, ecclesiastical supervisors, circuit counselors, and sister
churches in their circuits when they remove their pastors for any
reason other than what is commanded in Scripture; and be it finally
Resolved, That district presidents work with circuit counselors/
visitors to form dual, triple, or larger parishes where a pastor holding
a Master of Divinity or higher degree has a proper call to the congregations in the parish and has oversight over any specific ministry
pastors, deacons, “lay ministers,” or evangelists who serve the individual congregations.
Immanuel
Terril, IA
4-29

To Ensure That Every Man Who Serves as a Pastor
Is Called and Ordained into the Pastoral Office
Whereas, All our congregations and all our pastors unanimously
confess the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession as a true and clear
exposition of the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ; and
Whereas, All our congregations and all our pastors speak with
one undivided voice in extolling our Lord’s gift of the Office of the
Holy Ministry, publicly confessing, “Our churches teach that no one
should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments
without a rightly ordered call [rite vocatus]” (AC Art. XIV); and

2013 Convention Workbook

Whereas, In certain situations today, the Synod approves of
preaching and administration of the Sacraments by men who have not
been publicly called to and placed in the Office of the Holy Ministry
(i.e., without rite vocatus—this position expressed, e.g., in 1989 Res.
3-05B, “when no pastor is available, and in the absence of any specific
Scriptural directives to the contrary, congregations may arrange for
the performance of these distinctive functions [preaching and administering the Sacraments] by qualified individuals”); and
Whereas, Since the Synod adopted Res. 3-05B at its 1989 convention, our Synod’s language and practice are not in agreement as
to whether a licensed deacon, requested by a congregation or district
to serve in the public ministry of the Gospel, with the approval of the
district president, meets the requirements of Augsburg Confession
Article XIV; and
Whereas, The Rocky Mountain District in its 2000 convention adopted Res. 4-02a PROFESSIONAL CHURCH WORKER
SHORTAGE, which resolved “That the LCMS Rocky Mountain
District in convention 2000 so move to encourage her congregations
to humble themselves before the Lord in prayer and careful study of
the Holy Scriptures regarding the office of the pastoral ministry…”
and also “That the LCMS Rocky Mountain District 2000 convention
send a memorial to the 2001 Synod convention urging the LCMS not
to succumb to the pressures of the world, but to seek biblical solutions
to the shortage of professional church workers”; and
Whereas, The Rocky Mountain District in the 2003 convention
adopted Res. 4-01a CONCERNING THE PUBLIC OFFICE OF THE
HOLY MINISTRY AND THE TRAINING OF LAYMEN FOR THE
OFFICE, which resolved “That all our pastors and our congregations
encourage laymen to prayerfully consider entering into training for
the Office of the Holy Ministry through District and Synodical training programs leading toward certification for a call and ordination.”
However, since the adoption of the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP)
program, there is no longer a district-level training program leading
toward certification for a call and ordination; and
Whereas, The Rocky Mountain District in the 2006 convention
adopted Res. 2-08A TO SUPPORT THE LICENSED DEACON
PROGRAM, which resolved “That the District Convention support
the recommendation of the Committee that when a Licensed Deacon,
at the request of a congregation and with the approval of the District
President, conducts Word and Sacrament ministry under the supervision of an ordained pastor, after being trained, educated, examined,
and certified through an alternate route to ministry, then accordingly
he should receive a divine call and be ordained” and also “That the
Rocky Mountain District Convention, through an overture to be prepared by its Licensed Deacon Committee and approved by the Board
of Directors, request the Synod at its 2007 Convention to amend its
Bylaws to clarify the terminology, call and ordination of Licensed
Deacons.” Yet, at the 2007 Convention, the Synod took no action; and
Whereas, The Rocky Mountain District in the 2009 convention adopted Res. 01-11 TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS TO MEMORIALZE THE 2010 SYNODICAL
CONVENTION TO CONTINUE DISTRICT LICENSED DEACON
PROGRAMS AND TO AMEND THE BY-LAWS OF SYNOD TO
SUPPORT THE CALLING AND ORDAINING OF ELIGIBLE
DEACONS TO THE PASTORAL OFFICE, which resolved “That the
Rocky Mountain District Convention authorize the District, through
an overture prepared by its Committee on Licensed Deacons and
approved by its Board of Directors, to recommend to the Synod’s
2010 Convention the continuation of District Licensed Deacon
Programs and the amendment of the Synod’s Bylaws to clarify the