LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 413

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Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Task Force
a special call, for the church cannot make a call according to its whim,
but can give only that which God has established and which He alone
recognizes (by this alone is a servant of God made, not through a human
contract for a few hours or days). That the matter also cannot be based
upon the emergency situation is quite clear.

This has not stopped Christian denominations from authorizing
laymen to perform pastoral functions in certain circumstances. In
1997 the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), for example, created a “commissioned lay pastor” (CLP) position “to permit elders trained and
approved by the presbytery to carry out all the functions of clergy
for the length of their commission in a particular ministry” (“Ready
to Lead?” Christian Century, July 13, 2010, p. 28). In her article,
Barbara Wheeler writes of a situation in her denomination not unlike
that of the LCMS:
We were not alone. In a region that was losing population, and businesses and leadership as well, our pastor’s impending departure was a
loss for the whole area.
There are tens of thousands of mainline Protestant congregations
like Bethel Peniel, congregations that have a significant ministry but
are unable to pay the minimum salaries that denominations mandate
for a full-time professional leader. The congregations can be found in
cities, towns and rural areas. Studies conducted in the middle of this
decade by the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership indicate
that more than half of all mainline Protestant congregations have 100 or
fewer members.

After the 1997 decision to create a “commissioned lay pastor”
position, the program took its course: “Over the past 15 years, the
development of the CLPs has taken a very different course from the
one its proponents forecast. Use of CLPs is not limited to a few special settings but is widespread.” This is not to say, says Wheeler, that
these lay ministers have no part to play:
The original purpose for which the commissioned lay pastorate
was devised—providing leaders for groups of new immigrants—is still
pressing. They can also serve very widely in the church. Paraprofessionals play increasingly important parts in other sectors, and they can
in this one too.
Paraprofessional ministers can help mainline denominations whose
financial resources are now at a low ebb do more with less. They can
work in tandem with clergy, filling on a part-time basis a variety of roles
in administrative, social service, and pastoral care ministries that paid
professional staff would occupy in a sizeable congregation.

To do so, says Wheeler, will require improved education (than
what the Presbyterian Church is offering) and an effective mainline
denomination presence:
Mainline religion, often accused of irrelevance these days, may have
diminished influence at the centers of power. Out on the margins, however, in places like Granville, it makes a decisive difference, and the vision, depth of understanding, and personal maturity that well-educated
pastors bring to their work are a pivotal part of the mainline contribution.

V. What Participants Have Said
The Specific Ministry Pastor Task Force went to great lengths
to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the SMP program by
interviewing members of the faculty and staff of Concordia Seminary
in St. Louis, Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, a wide
variety of district presidents, SMP mentors, and SMP students. All
involved in this program are to be commended for the high quality of
work being done in service to the Lord and His Church. Recounted
below are strengths of the SMP program as identified by those interviewed and a summary of the strengths of the SMP Task Force based
on its research.

413

A. Strengths of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program...
... As Identified by Faculty and Staff of Seminaries
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The faculty and staffs of both seminaries have recognized many
strengths of the SMP program.
Generally speaking, they have been impressed by the high quality of
students enrolled, their work, and by the students’ motivation to prove
themselves for the noble task of pastoral ministry.
The SMP students have also formed good relationships with each other
and have grown into a close and caring community through their ongoing interaction with each other online.
In addition, some of the successes of the SMP program have lead to a
review of how the residential seminary program could be improved.
... As Identified by District Presidents

• The SMP program addresses the concerns some people had with the
previous DELTO program. It is an innovative and appropriate response
to the drastic clergy shortage that the LCMS will experience in a few
years. It also addresses the dilemma faced by those who are qualified
to serve as pastors but who, for a variety of reasons, are not able to
move to the seminary.
• The SMP program allows SMP students to be trained by our seminary
professors and mentored by experienced parish pastors. It allows them
to gain practical experience by serving a congregation while working
through the SMP curriculum. Without the SMP program, these men
would be denied the opportunity to serve the Lord and His people as
pastors.
• The SMP program also allows us the opportunity to train a new generation of pastors who come from various ethnic backgrounds.
• An additional strength of the SMP program is the mentor process. An
active and engaged mentor helps the candidate understand the pastoral ministry from a practical perspective while making sure that the
candidate receives the emotional and spiritual support needed as he
makes his way through his SMP studies. It also holds the SMP student accountable.
• The SMP program rises from contextual needs, two in particular. The
first is how to bring sound Word and Sacrament ministry to congregations that no longer can afford a full-time pastor. Licensed lay deacons
are serving in a number of these congregations. The second is how to
launch new Word and Sacrament ministries, either from a given congregation or planting from scratch.
• The faculties have done an incredible job of building curricula to make
this work. They have come at this task with fresh insights and huge
ministry hearts. Their spirit as the church’s servants stands out. It permeates the program. You can’t manufacture that servant spirit and that
pastoral heart. It is all over the place and it has been driven, at least in
part, by the fact that the professors are equipping men already in ministry. The professors that have this pastoral “habitus” seem to thrive
in classes filled with motivated pastors—whether that is D.Min, STM,
or PhD level courses.
• The students, having ministry experience and coming to the theological task from that place, help shape the dynamic of the classroom and
therefore, the structure of the course.

... As Identified by SMP Mentors
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SMP students are mature with a strong desire to learn. SMP students
are dedicated to serving the Lord and His church. Mentors believe that
there is a benefit to SMP students being instructed while at the same
time serving in a ministry setting.
Another benefit to the SMP student is being able to pursue pastoral
ministry without having to move his entire family to a new location.
Close partnerships have developed between mentors and their SMP
students. In addition, mentors cited the positives of the SMP cohort
relationships where students find encouragement from each other.
They also found SMP students have forged a close relationship with
seminary professors and staff who have also been a great source of
encouragement.

2013 Convention Workbook