LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — April 28–29, 2023, Page 3

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2. Renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description, such as:
a. Serving congregations of mixed confession, as such, by ministers of the church;
b. Taking part in the services and sacramental rites of heterodox congregations or of
congregations of mixed confession;
c. Participating in heterodox tract and missionary activities.
3. Regular call of pastors and any commissioned ministers and regular election of lay delegates
by the congregations, as also the blamelessness of the life of such.
In the original 1847 constitution, current Const. Art. VI 3 (in the 1847 arrangement, as Const. Art. II 5)
read, “Proper [ordentlicher] (not temporary [nicht zeitweiliger]) calling of the pastors and orderly
[ordentliche] election of congregational delegates by the congregation. The life of both minister and
delegate must be beyond reproof.” (Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, April 1943, p. 3) This
wording of today’s Const. Art. VI 3 was intended to reject two common trends then occurring in the
Lutheran Churches in the United States: The one was a mentality of “we hired the pastor and pay him, so
we can tell him what to do and fire him at will.” The other was the practice of licensing candidates for the
ministry for a set period of time as a trial period. The wording rejects these based on the nature of a call as
a divine call, directed by God; as such, it should not have any preset time limitation.
More recently, the Synod’s current understanding of phrase “regular call of pastors” is described in 1969
Res. 5-23. The resolution states: “The term regular call as used in our Synod has always meant a call
extended in conformity with the procedures adopted by the Synod as set forth in the Handbook” (p. 120).
Constitution Art. VI 1 and 2 would also apply to the questions as asked. Const. Art. VI 1 refers back to the
confessional statement of the Constitution and requires acceptance of that statement as a condition of
membership. Const. Art. VI 2 requires congregations and individual members to reject all mixing of
doctrine and practice with those who teach differently. There is to be doctrinal agreement between the
congregation and the pastor serving it. This precludes an individual who is a member of a church body not
in altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCMS from being called or serving a member congregation.
Regarding Bylaw 2.5.2
Bylaw 2.5.2 currently reads:
Congregations that are members of the Synod, as well as association schools, agencies, auxiliaries,
and recognized service organizations shall call and be served only by (1) ordained ministers who
have been admitted to their respective ministries in accordance with the rules and regulations set
forth in these Bylaws and have thereby become members of the Synod; (2) candidates for the
pastoral ministry who have satisfied the qualifications and requirements for assignment of first calls
by the Council of Presidents acting as the Board of Assignments; or (3) ordained ministers who are
members in good standing of church bodies that have been formally recognized to be in altar and
pulpit fellowship with the Synod when agreements for such calls are in place.
A bylaw requiring congregations to call and be served only by ordained members and teachers who are on
the roster of the Synod was first adopted by the 1969 convention partially in response to 1969 Overture 505, which referenced pastors who had resigned from the Synod but still wished to continue to serve the
congregation which had called them (Workbook, p. 229).
In part, the preamble to the resolution, 1969 Res. 5-23, “To Reiterate in Bylaws that Member Congregations
Must Be Served by Members of the Synod,” states (Proceedings, pp. 119–20):
One of the very purposes of synodical fellowship is to provide guidance and help in the exercise of
congregation’s right to call a pastor, and one of the very reasons why a synod exists is to set
standards for the parish pastorate so that the individual congregation may be assured that the man
CCM Minutes – April 28–29, 2023 – Page 142