LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 162

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6. PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES
remains apparent “confusion regarding the definition of
‘specific ministry’” (2013 Res. 5-04B, Proc., 139–40) among
members of Synod; and

Resolved, That the SMP route be utilized only for its
intended purposes (2007 Res. 5-01B; Bylaw 2.13.1) and
strengthened under the following principles and boundaries:

WHEREAS, The 2007 Synod convention established the
SMP program at both seminaries to develop pastors for
“specific ministries” which “include such categories as church
planter, staff pastor, and others as needs arise” (2007 Res. 501B, Proc., 133–38). 2013 Res. 5-04B went on to clarify that “the
authority over admission to and administration of the SMP
program remains with the seminaries while the respective
district president remains responsible for determining the
appropriateness of the specific ministry.” This resolution also
resolved “[t]hat district presidents not approve specific
ministry sites which could reasonably be expected to support
a general pastor or sites where a minister of religion—
commissioned could fulfill the duties”; and

1. SMP pastors and their ministries are valid, appropriate
to the current needs of Christ’s Body in certain
circumstances, fruitful, and treasured by all, even as
the Synod gives thanks to God for such men prepared,
called, and placed into the Office of the Holy Ministry
under this particular Synod route to ordination;

WHEREAS, Candidates for the SMP program do not apply
for the program in isolation, but are raised up by
congregations for service. As such, there must be a specific
ministry identified before the application is submitted. The
applying congregation that intends to call the SMP applicant
once he is certified should formally indicate its desire to do so
(a congregation vote is recommended). A mentor and a
vicarage supervisor must be identified and agree to fill these
roles for the application to be processed. Finally, the district
president in whose district the applicant will serve must
endorse the applicant for the specific ministry where he will
serve; and
WHEREAS, It is the desire of the Council of Presidents
(COP) that the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education, Concordia
Theological Seminary, Concordia Seminary, and the COP
agree on the specific ministry contexts which district
presidents are to use in approving SMP applicants; and
WHEREAS, New, non-approved routes to ministerial
service in the Synod and the performance of the distinctive
functions of the Office of the Holy Ministry are in various
instances being encouraged, conceived, developed, and
offered to individuals who sincerely desire to serve the church;
and
WHEREAS, The 2019 Synod convention adopted
resolutions (Res. 6-02, 03A, Proc., 158–60) that assigned
certain tasks to the Pastoral Formation Committee (as
described in Bylaw 3.10.4) concerning routes to ordination;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the residential Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
route at our Synod seminaries continue to be positioned and
understood as the Synod’s strongly preferred route to
ordination, supplying Synod congregations with well-formed,
highly educated pastors who as members of the Synod
(ministers of religion—ordained, Bylaw 2.6.1) are prepared to
preach, teach, and care for souls over a lifetime of faithful
ministry in any and every context into which the Lord calls
them into service; and be it further
Resolved, That fiscally sound actions be undertaken over
the 2023–26 triennium by the Synod’s residential seminaries
to maintain guaranteed tuition support for all students
enrolled in the residential M.Div. programs; and be it further
162 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

2. the SMP route be understood and positioned as the
exception and not become the principal rule with
respect to the Synod’s available routes for the
preparation and ordination of her pastors;
3. that there be no change to the timing of SMP vicarage
and ordination as currently practiced in the Synod and
that biblical languages not become a mandatory part
of SMP pastoral formation;
4. SMP students be consistently addressed as “vicar” in
the first two years of study and not be addressed as
“pastor” until after ordination; and
5. seminaries, districts, congregations, and pastors
consistently encourage and strive to make provisions
for prospective SMP students to consider entering
instead into an M.Div. or Residential Alternate Route
(RAR/AR) program;
and be it further
Resolved, That each Synod approved non-residential route
to ordination remain independent from the other and not
consolidated under the SMP program; and be it further
Resolved, That the seminaries, in consultation with the
Pastoral Formation Committee, retain responsibility for the
academic, admissions, and financial parameters for each
approved non-residential route to ordination in the Synod;
and be it further
Resolved, That those involved in the planning and
implementation of Set Apart to Serve, the Synod’s church work
recruitment initiative, in collaboration with recruitment
officers from the Synod’s two residential seminaries, explore,
develop, and implement means to encourage and assist men
“from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
languages” (Rev. 7:9) toward residential pastoral formation
through the M.Div. program; and be it further
Resolved, That the Pastoral Formation Committee be
assigned the following tasks, to be completed during the
2023–26 triennium, for inclusion in the 2026 Convention
Workbook:
1. to prepare a report that analyzes and assesses
ministerial or pastoral formation programs that have
emerged within the Synod over the past several years,
especially those preparing persons to perform the
distinctive functions of the Office of the Holy Ministry,
which lack approval of the Synod under its current
Constitution and Bylaws and are not included in the
current list (i.e., M.Div., RAR/AR, Specific Ministry
Resolutions