LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 267

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Recent history in the LCMS has served to complicate things further when it comes to the office of
deacon. In an attempt to address the problem of providing Word and Sacrament ministry to congregations
when no ordained pastor was available, the Synod’s 1989 convention (via Res. 3-05B) established an
office distinct from the Office of the Holy Ministry called “licensed lay deacon.” According to the
protocols specified in the resolution, such deacons were required to complete a certain amount of
seminary course work and training; were to be approved, licensed and regularly monitored by the district
president; and were then authorized “in exceptional circumstances or in emergencies” to carry out certain
duties normally restricted to those who hold the pastoral office (e.g., lead public worship, preach and —
under certain circumstances — administer the Lord’s Supper). In view of the rather contentious debate
that took place regarding this resolution at the 1989 convention itself and in subsequent years, it seems
self-evident that there was a lack of careful Synodwide and consensus-building study and discussion
before this resolution was presented and (narrowly) adopted.
The vigorous debate about this office that ensued in the years after the establishment of licensed lay
deacons resulted in two major changes in the LCMS. First, the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program
was established at both seminaries by the adoption of Resolution 5-01B at the 2007 LCMS convention.
The SMP program provides pastoral training by the LCMS seminaries to men in their contexts so that
they can be called and ordained as Specific Ministry Pastors (a roster status established by the Synod in
2007 in contrast to General Ministry Pastors). The second major change that came about was the adoption
of Resolution 13-02A at the 2016 LCMS convention, which brought an end to the licensing of lay
deacons for Word and Sacrament ministry. It should be noted that the 2016 resolution did not reject the
use of the term “deacon”:
Resolved, That nothing in this resolution shall be construed as impeding the training, recognition,
credentialing or service of deacons who do not publicly preach or administer the Sacraments,
namely, those who serve in ministries of mercy, education, or visitation, and so forth, or in an
outreach role, assisting in evangelism and church planting (but not in public preaching and
administration of the Sacraments); and be it further
Resolved, That district presidents may continue to recruit, train, and credential new deacons for
general varieties of service in the church that do not include public preaching and administration
of the Sacraments. (2016 Proceedings, 237–238)

267

What has not yet happened in the LCMS is careful study, discussion and definition of the office of
deacon in light of recent history in the LCMS, both in view of the now-defunct licensed lay deacon
program and continued deacon training programs in certain LCMS districts. The LCMS has specified (in
2016 Res. 13-02A and elsewhere) what deacons are not to do (public preaching and administration of the
Sacraments), but more needs to be done to define the duties of and training for this office if it is ever to
become an officially recognized auxiliary office in the LCMS into which men are called, commissioned
and installed.
E. Evangelist
Like deacon, “evangelist” is also not an auxiliary office recognized by the LCMS (at least not using
this specific title). The Synod, however, has established an auxiliary office called director of Christian
outreach (DCO). Any Synod discussion contemplating the establishment of an auxiliary office of
evangelist would do well to consider this already-established auxiliary office. Another factor to keep in
mind is that there is some current usage of the term “evangelist” as an additional title for the Office of the
Holy Ministry within the LCMS, which (as discussed earlier) is actually more in keeping with the New
Testament usage of this term.
Complicating matters further, in recent years some districts have begun to use the term “evangelist”
for a lay office in which male or female individuals go through some limited training to share the Gospel
in order to establish “faith communities.” 37 Such evangelists typically serve under the guidance of an
LCMS pastor, but little or no study and discussion of this recent use of the term or title “evangelist” has
taken place within the LCMS as a whole and no resolution recognizing “evangelist” as an official Synod
office has been approved by the Synod in convention. While (as noted above) there is considerable
freedom for individual congregations and even districts to have titles for various elected, appointed or
paid staff positions, it would be very helpful if an office connected to some form of evangelistic ministry
of the Word would be studied and discussed carefully across the Synod before being used by some
districts and congregations in what may be perceived by some as an officially recognized title and office.
At the Synod’s request, the CTCR’s 1973 report on the ministry studied and discussed the “office of
evangelist” and came to the conclusion that:
The work of an evangelist … does not necessarily call for a separate office. It is a function of the total
Ministry and may be carried out even by bishops, and certainly by parish pastors. However, the work
of evangelizing the unchurched is so great and pressing a task that the church may well find it

services in the absence of a pastor, provided that it is a legitimate emergency or temporary need and that the layman
not administer the Sacrament or pronounce absolution (in accordance with AC XIV). However, the Commission
acknowledges that the lay officiating of a formal worship service in the congregation is a genuine gray area. To that
end, it suggested that non-Communion orders of service (which allow for such lay leadership) should be used. The
principle underlying these concerns is avoidance of confusion with the pastoral office, and that principle likewise
applies to auxiliary offices or others such as deacons or evangelists.

desirable to appoint persons in addition to parish pastors, who are often fully occupied with parish
work, to the task of evangelizing. … If a congregation calls an evangelist, he will as a matter of
course work under the supervision of and in closest harmony with the pastor, who is the shepherd of
the whole flock entrusted to his charge, including the evangelist. 38
Although the Synod in convention never acted upon this or other specific recommendations of the
1973 report, it did eventually (as noted above) create the office of director of Christian outreach, which
seems to align closely with what is described in the 1973 report. In the final section of the current report,
the CTCR will offer its own conclusions and recommendations regarding the office of evangelist.

III. Summary Conclusions and Recommendations
There are three primary conclusions to be drawn from this study. First, the New Testament uses
several different titles for those serving in the one, divinely instituted Office of the Holy Ministry. These
include shepherd/pastor, apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher, overseer and elder (and possibly others,
including deacon). This variety of terminology should not be interpreted as somehow contradicting the
clear evidence in the New Testament for this one, divinely instituted office, nor should it be seen as
evidence that this office was not widely recognized by first-century Christians. The early decades of
Christianity were simply a time when titles were more varied and less standardized.
Second, there is nothing in the New Testament that prevents or proscribes the church from
establishing helping or auxiliary offices to assist the Office of the Holy Ministry. While opinions differ
about whether the New Testament itself attests to the creation of such offices by the church (as we have
discussed, some regard “deacon” and “deaconess” as auxiliary offices created by the Early Church), there
is no disagreement in the LCMS about whether the church today has the freedom to create and fill such
offices in response to particular needs, challenges and opportunities in its efforts to proclaim the Gospel
and further Christ’s mission on earth. If the Synod were to determine that auxiliary offices of deacon or
evangelist were needed, then it has the freedom to establish them, along with establishing appropriate
forms for calling, commissioning and installing deacons and/or evangelists into those offices.
Third, this study points out the confusion that can result from using biblical titles without
understanding their original referent. For example, in the New Testament an elder was a man who served
in the Office of the Holy Ministry. In the LCMS today, an elder is typically a layman who holds an
elected and term-restricted congregational office made up of men who assist the pastor(s) with matters
related to worship and pastoral care. In the New Testament, an evangelist was also a man who served in
the Office of the Holy Ministry, presumably focused on the task of outreach and evangelism. In the
CTCR, The Ministry in Its Relation, 12. Again, the use and citation of this report does not imply an endorsement
of its conclusions or recommendations, including the possibility of ordaining “evangelists.”
38

One recommendation of the 2013 Resolution 4-06A Task Force was “that congregations and districts be
encouraged to identify individuals for special training in and attention to evangelism.” See 2013 Resolution 4-06A
Task Force Report to the Synod, 25. Available at resources.lcms.org/reading-study/ctcr-library-lcms-task-forceupdates.
37

LCMS today, the title “evangelist” is being used by some for a lay office that is often not clearly or
consistently defined. The challenges with the office of deacon in the LCMS in recent decades have
demonstrated the importance of defining terms, titles and responsibilities carefully and consistently; of
seeking to avoid confusion (and practices that may be at odds with the Synod’s position); and of striving
for as much uniformity as possible to avoid confusion, misunderstanding and tension in our walking
together as a Synod.
The use of biblical terms such as “deacon” or “evangelist” in and of itself is not a problem. They are
biblical terms that can and may be employed profitably by the church. It is rather how they are being used
that can and does cause confusion. For instance, all Christians are in some sense “evangelists,” in that
they are entrusted with sharing the Gospel. Likewise, all Christians are “deacons” in the sense that they
are called to lives of service toward God and neighbor. Yet we must not confuse a Christian’s general
Christian vocation as an evangelist or deacon with his or her occupying the office of deacon or evangelist.
The latter uses of these terms connotate ecclesiastically recognized offices into which one is called,
commissioned and installed, and the LCMS has not as yet designated them auxiliary offices.
As emphasized earlier, a proper way to understand helping or auxiliary offices established by the
church to which qualified individuals can be called is to recognize that those holding such offices are
authorized to assist the pastor in carrying out certain responsibilities of his office. In light of the
foregoing, the Commission makes several recommendations that may lessen confusion over the use of
various nomenclature in the Synod, including the terms “deacon” and “evangelist.”
•

Deacons: The term “deacon” is ambiguous exegetically, and it is clear that even within the Synod
historically there has been no single understanding or application of it. 39 This at times has led to
confusing and contradictory applications of it, though usage of the biblical term in itself is not
objectionable. As noted above, 2016 Resolution 13-02A also allows for the formation of deacons
to “serve in ministries of mercy, education, or visitation, and so forth, or in an outreach role,”
provided their responsibilities do not include “public preaching and administration of the
Sacraments.” In light of the potential for confusion and misunderstanding of the various ways
“deacon” has or might be used in the Synod, the Commission makes the following
recommendation: The term “deacon” should only be used for laymen who assist the pastor in
certain, specific ways (liturgically, administratively, educationally, etc.), yet do not publicly
preach or administer the Sacraments.

39
Note, for instance, the debates concerning the possibility of an “ordained diaconate” as a resolution to the
controversy over the licensed lay deacons created by the 1989 convention. See, the opinion of the Faculty of
Concordia Theological Seminary, “A Response to ‘An Overture to Establish an Ordained Diaconate,’” Concordia
Theological Quarterly 63, no. 3 (July 1999): 205–220.

2026 Convention Workbook