LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 229

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12. SCHOOLS, FAMILY, YOUNG ADULTS, AND YOUTH
implies right or authority over children as children, that is, as
though children were wards of government. Rejected here are
assertions of governmental authority which are expressly
contrary to the Word of God in the realms of education, medical
care, physical care, the doctrinal and spiritual training of
children, and the so-called sexual or gender identity of
children; and be it further
Resolved, That we affirm the divine duty of the church to
teach, encourage, strengthen, and assist fathers and mothers in
doing their divinely appointed duties toward their children. We
likewise recognize that no church or Christian school has rights
or authority over children except what is granted by baptism,
membership in that church, or enrollment in said school; and
be it further

Synod-trained candidates (CUS BUE statistics);
and
WHEREAS, The CUS only graduated 23 early
childhood educators, 39 elementary educators,
and 32 secondary educators in 2018 (CUS BUE
statistics) (2019 Proceedings, 222);
and
WHEREAS, The fulfillment rate of requests for first-year
Synod-trained candidates to The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod (LCMS) calling entities has declined from 30 percent in
2018 to 25 percent in 2022, and the CUS only graduated 17 early
childhood educators, 33 elementary educators, and 26
secondary educators in 2023 (CUS BUE statistics); and

Resolved, That we confess and teach that fathers and
mothers are obligated by God to bring their children to the
Church for Baptism and the divine services of the church. They
are to teach their children God’s Word in their home, lead them
in prayer, and teach and discipline them in Christian piety and
virtue, in accordance with the Holy Scriptures; and be it finally

WHEREAS, Research has shown that a primary reason for
this is the lower salary offered for teachers within the Lutheran
school systems, as in Theme 8 of the “LCMS Church Worker
Wellness Insights” presentation by Rev. Robert Zagore, former
Executive Director, Office of National Mission, to Gospel 2019:

Resolved, That we teach and maintain the discipline that a
man and woman are to marry each other before sexual intimacy
and the conceiving of children, and that they are to remain
married and faithful to each other till death parts them, in
accordance with God’s holy will. Parents are, by God’s grace, to
live in daily contrition, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins,
always teaching and holding before their children the divine
institution and pattern of marriage and household as God gave
it.

• workers are under-paid for their skill level and workload;

Action: Adopted (5)

Upon immediate closure of debate, as suggested by the chair, and
with a subsequent attempt to refer ruled out of order, the
resolution was adopted by voice vote.

To Address Commissioned Minister—Teacher
Student Debt
RESOLUTION 12-03A
Overtures 12-06–10 (CW, 428–31)
WHEREAS, Our Lutheran schools struggle to find rostered
teachers to serve in the classrooms of our early childhood
centers, day schools, and high schools, as in the 2019 Resolution
12-02A, “To Exhort the Congregations of the LCMS to Actively
Encourage Future Lutheran School Teachers”:
WHEREAS, The number of new commissioned
teachers has steadily declined since 2005
(Concordia University System [CUS] Board for
University Education [BUE] statistics); and
WHEREAS, The fulfillment rate of requests for firstyear Synod-trained candidates to LCMS calling
entities has declined from 63 percent in 2010 to
30 percent in 2018 because of the lack of available

Resolutions

• financial wellbeing is unique among worker needs in
that the major problems are beyond the worker’s ability
to change—most often the problem is that the workers
are in a mathematically impossible situation;
• costs for health care are being pushed to the workers;
• young workers are burdened with significant student
debt; and
• many calling bodies are unable to pay their workers what
is necessary;
WHEREAS, Concordia Plan Services (CPS) reported in 2021
that 27 percent of LCMS church workers have student debt that
averages $46,000 per student; and
WHEREAS, The reality of student loan debt is an important
part of the decision to seek employment outside the Lutheran
school; and
WHEREAS, The church has previously recognized the need
for church worker student debt retirement by identifying and
creating:
• MinistryFocus, a recognized service organization, in
partnership with CPS which has, since 2015 given 258
debt retirement grants in the amount of $645,000.
• The Fidelity Student Debt Solutions loan repayment plan
available to CPS 403(b) participants.
• BeFine App, available to all CPS retirement participants
to assist in the development of a plan to pay off debt,
including access to 1-on-1 coaching webinars.
• Lutheran Church Extension Fund and Lutheran Federal
Credit Union offer debt consolidation services to LCMS
rostered workers.
Therefore be it

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 229