LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 162

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and also denials and confusion about the divinely instituted nature
and/or responsibilities of the Office of the Public Ministry; and

see Gen. 2:18–23; Eph. 5:22–27; Col. 3:18–19; 1 Peter 3:1–7; Titus
2:1–8); and

Whereas, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) recently (May 2016) adopted an opinion titled “Response
to Two Questions: Is the Gospel Effective when Spoken by a Lay
Person? and Is Pastoral Oversight the Sole Criterion for Laymen
Carrying Out Pastoral Functions?”; therefore be it

Whereas, God’s Word teaches that although all believers are
royal priests, God has also established the Office of the Public Ministry (or “pastoral office” or “preaching office”) which is to be held
only by certain men who are “above reproach” and “able to teach”
(1 Tim 3:1-6; see also 1 Cor. 12:29; Titus 1:5-9); and

Resolved, That the LCMS confess that all Christians, as chosen
priests, are the possessors of the keys of the kingdom of God and
are called in their Baptism to proclaim the Gospel in their daily
lives (see references above as noted); and be it further

Whereas, “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has consistently stated and reaffirmed on the basis of Scripture (1 Cor. 11:1–4;
14:33–35; 1 Tim. 2:11–14) that only qualified men are to hold the
pastoral office or carry out the distinctive functions of this office
(see 1969 Res. 2-17, 1971 Res. 2-04, 1977 Res. 3-15, 1986 Res. 3-10,
1989 Res. 3-14)” (1998 Res. 3-25A); and

Resolved, That the Word of God is efficacious, without regard
to where, when, how, or by whom it is spoken (Is. 55:11; John 4:39);
and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS encourage the CTCR to complete its
requested study of the royal priesthood (see 2007 Res. 1-03) prior
to the next Synod convention; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS confess that the Office of the Ministry
is established and commanded by Christ as essential to the church’s
life (see references above as noted); and be it further
Resolved, That we commend for reading, study, and discussion
the CTCR opinion “Response to Two Questions”; and be it finally
Resolved, That the LCMS again endorse Walther’s teaching on
church and ministry, as stated in Church and Ministry, as fully
faithful to Holy Scripture and the Confessions and as the teaching
and understanding of this Synod.
Action: Adopted (6)
(During brief discussion, the committee agreed to the insertion in the second-last resolve of the word “reading” before the
word “study.” A motion to end debate was carried, and Res. 5-13
was adopted [Yes: 867; No: 86].)

To Reaffirm Biblical Teaching on Man
and Woman in the Church
RESOLUTION 5-14
Reports R11, R59 (CW, pp. 69, 181–187); Overtures 5-17,
5-25–28 (CW, pp. 349, 352–354)
Whereas, The Christian Church throughout history has
believed and confessed that God created humanity male and female
in His image and with His blessing so that we might live in grateful
obedience toward Him (Gen. 1:27–28; 2:21–24; 5:2) and, by baptismal faith in Him, be His “chosen priests” serving Him (1 Peter
2:9–10; and see Matt. 4:10; Acts 2:18; Gal. 3:27–28); and
Whereas, God’s Word also makes clear that He created
humanity as male and female so that we might, in distinctive and
complementary ways as men and as women, serve and glorify Him
(for example, in procreation and in certain daily responsibilities;

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U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

Whereas, There continues to be disagreements in the Synod
regarding certain aspects of the service of women in the church,
including their service in lay positions of leadership in the church
that are not directly or necessarily involved in carrying out the
distinctive functions of the pastoral office (e.g., congregational
chairman or vice-chairman); and
Whereas, In 2014, the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations (CTCR) adopted CTCR Review of 2005 Task Force Guidelines for the Service of Women in Congregational Offices (2016 CW,
pp. 181–187), affirming helpful aspects of the Guidelines (see, e.g.,
fourth resolved below) while also addressing certain deficiencies
in this document (e.g., a lack of explicit discussion of the order of
creation and a lack of attention to ongoing disagreements in the
Synod regarding certain aspects of the service of women in the
church); therefore be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)
reaffirm the scriptural teaching that all Christians, male and
female, are members of the royal priesthood with the responsibility to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of
darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9); and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm the scriptural teaching that
only qualified men are to hold the pastoral office or carry out the
distinctive functions of this office (1 Cor. 11:1–4; 14:33–35; 1 Tim.
2:11–14; AC XIV); and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS commend the CTCR’s Review of
Guidelines for study and discussion; and be it further
Resolved, That the three specific recommendations from the
2005 Task Force Guidelines for the Service of Women in Congregational Offices (pp. 21–22) be commended:
(1) “That the term ‘elder,’ in view of the use of this term in
the Scriptures, in the history of the church, and in the Synod’s history, be reserved for that humanly instituted office
in the congregation which has as its assigned duty the assisting of the pastor in the public exercise of the distinctive
functions of this office” (i.e., Office of the Public Ministry)
(2) “That lay assistance in the distribution of the elements
in the celebration of Holy Communion, in order ‘to avoid
confusion regarding the office of the public ministry and
to avoid giving offense to the church,’ [1989 Res. 3-10] be
limited to lay men”
“5. Theology and Church Relations”