LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 236

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

increasingly diverse and challenging cultural context; and be it
further
Resolved, That congregations and districts be encouraged to
identify individuals for special training in and attention to evangelism and outreach; and be it further
Resolved, That congregations and districts be encouraged to
facilitate lay training on both local and district levels and to establish new opportunities for lay people to make use of their gifts in
evangelism and service to the church; and be it further
Resolved, That districts be encouraged to provide assistance and
support for lay training; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod convene a task force
including lay leaders, representatives from districts both with and
without licensed lay deacons, and representatives from the Council
of Presidents, both seminaries, and the CTCR to consider how best
to facilitate an ongoing conversation and communication among
laity, districts, and the Synod in order to foster the blessed complementary relationship between the royal priesthood and the Office
of the Public Ministry, and also to consider
(1) the royal priesthood and the Office of the Public Ministry
in the New Testament (in light of the many offices that are
mentioned, e.g., deacon, elder, overseer);
(2) the challenges of an increasingly multicultural North
America and a country that has become the third largest
mission field in the world; and
(3) the growing number of congregations and ministries that
cannot provide financial support for a pastor;
And be it finally
Resolved, That the task force complete its work and present its
recommendation to the Synod in 2018 for consideration at the 2019
convention.
Action: Adopted (3)
(During the discussion that followed the introduction of Res.
13-01A, the word “North” was added as a friendly amendment to
the second-last resolve, subparagraph 2, after the word “multicultural.” An amendment was proposed and accepted to add to the
resolution: “And be it finally Resolved, That the task force complete
its work and present its recommendation to the Synod in 2018 for
consideration at the 2019 convention.” A motion to amend the resolution by adding a final resolve paragraph that would “provide
funding of $200,000 per year for the next three years to truly equip
the priesthood of all believers” was discussed until a motion to end
debate was carried and the motion to amend failed [Yes: 132; No:
936]. When discussion of the resolution resumed, a motion to end
debate was carried, and Res. 13-01 was adopted as changed and
amended [Yes: 911; No: 159].)

To Regularize Status of Licensed Lay Deacons
Involved in Word and Sacrament Ministry
RESOLUTION 13-02A
Overtures 13-01–47, 49–50 (CW, pp. 437–464)
Whereas, The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions teach
that our Lord gave the keys of the kingdom to His whole church,
the royal priesthood of believers (Matt. 16:15–19; Matt. 18:18–20;
1 Peter 2:9; Augsburg Confession [AC] Article XXVIII, paragraph
10; Smalcald Articles [SA], Section III, paragraph 7; Treatise [Tr]
paragraph 11; see also Walther’s Church and Ministry/Office); and
Whereas, The Scriptures and Confessions also teach that Christ
established an office that is distinct from the priesthood of believers
(the Office of the Public Ministry) for teaching and nurturing His
royal priests by means of preaching the Gospel and administering
the Sacraments (1 Cor. 12:29; Rom. 10:15; James 3:1; AC XIV; see
also Walther’s Church and Ministry/Office); and
Whereas, The royal priesthood and the Office of the Public
Ministry are to have a complementary and not a competitive or
conflicted relationship; and
Whereas, In its history, the Lutheran Church has always
maintained the divine requirement (de jure divino) of the Office
of the Public Ministry, while it has in many and various ways prepared men for the Office of the Public Ministry, since the manner
of preparation for the office is by human arrangement (de jure
humano); and
Whereas, The Lutheran Church has always ensured, on the
basis of Scripture: (1) that men who are to serve in the Office of Public Ministry are examined as to their doctrine and life; (2) that the
congregations they serve willingly call them into service; and (3)
that the wider church (other churches in fellowship with the congregation) also affirms them as fellow ministers of the Word and
Sacraments (see Acts 1:15–26; Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5;
see also Tr 24, 26, 67–70); and
Whereas, The rite of ordination, although not a divine institution (Church and Ministry, Ministry Thesis VI), is the apostolic
custom by which Lutherans have designated and publicly acknowledged a man as a minister of Word and Sacrament, that is, as one
who is in the Office of the Public Ministry and recognized by the
wider fellowship as a fellow minister (Ap XIII 11–13); and
Whereas, In faithfulness to the Word of God and to its confession requiring a regular call for those who preach and administer
the sacraments publicly in the church (AC XIV; Ap XIV), The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has followed the practice of identifying those who are eligible to be called into the Office
of the Public Ministry by the certification of one of the seminary
faculties or the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry; and
Whereas, In a human institution such as the LCMS, such
human arrangements are necessary in order to foster harmony
and prevent needless confusion and division; and
Whereas, The LCMS has long recognized that challenging circumstances may make it difficult or impossible to provide a pastor

236

|

U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

“13. Routes to Ministry”