LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — May 8, 1996, Page 1

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Minutes of the Commission on Constitutional Matters - May 8, 1996 - 8.30 p.m. CDT
Conference

Telephone

43. Call to Order: When it was determined that all members of the Commission were present for the
telephone conference, Chairman Tesch called the meeting to order and upon his request Rev. Alan Barber
opened the meeting with prayer.
44. Minutes : The minutes of the telephone conference meeting of March 28, 1996, were approved as
distributed.
45. Colloquy Eligibility (Ag. 2033) : A letter had been received from a district president which dealt with
the desire of a man who had graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to enter the ministry of
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The man had not yet served in the ministry of a recognized church
body as required by the revised colloquy bylaws adopted in 1995. The St. Louis seminary had indicated that
under the bylaw it did not believe he was eligible for the colloquy program. First Vice-President Kuhn,
Chairman of the Colloquy Committee, had asked the Commission on Constitutional Matters to consider this
issue. In the meantime, however, arrangements had been made with Concordia Theological Seminary of
Fort Wayne whereby certain course work and vicarage experience would qualify the applicant for ministry
in the Synod.
In view of the developments noted above, the Commission did not give further consideration to an
interpretation of the bylaw, its intent, or the possible fact that a situation such as described was simply not
envisioned when the bylaw was adopted. The Commission, however, encourages the Standing Committee
on Pastoral Colloquy to propose an amendment to the bylaw to the 1998 synodical convention which would
deal with this possible oversight and restore the requirement to that which existed prior to 1995, if that is
considered desirable.
46. Licensing of Laymen and Their Ordination (Ag. 2034) : The faculty of Concordia Seminary, St.
Louis, had posed a question for the Commission on Constitutional Matters which asked
Does Resolution 3-07A (1995) limit the program to those men licensed at the time of the resolution, or
does it foresee the continuation of the licensing practice and the program?
The resolution to which reference was made called upon the faculties of the seminaries to develop a course
of study for laypersons serving in a Word and Sacrament ministry under licensing by the district president.
The resolution required that such persons apply to the seminaries for that program within two years. It was
the seminary's contention that the resolution was ambiguous, resulting in the question which was posed.
In response, the Commission reached the following conclusion:
The Commission agrees that the resolution is ambiguous and could be interpreted to refer to an existing
state or could be understood in the sense of present or future action, that of being licensed without
reference to the time when that occurs.
The Commission cannot know what the thinking of delegates was in adopting the resolution. However,
it is recognized that the need for licensing men to serve in a Word or Word and Sacrament ministry is
potentially ongoing. It is logical then to construe the resolution as having an ongoing effect, speaking to
the future as well as to a past circumstance, envisioning an ongoing process. Furthermore, it should be