Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2026 · 69th Convention, Phoenix › Page 320
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 320

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

320

LIFE TOGETHER

Resolved, That the Board of Directors revise the current RSO
agreement and policies to include:
(a) a requirement that the RSO annually file a standardized
annual financial report including audited or unaudited financials
and governance disclosures, including executive compensation
and conflict of interest policies, with the Synod and each district
in which the RSO is operating;
(b) stated criteria for the determination of alignment with the
Synod by the RSO;
(c) a requirement that a document demonstrating the RSO’s
alignment with Synod doctrine and practice be made publicly
available and updated at least every five years upon
reaccreditation;
(d) a requirement that all Board members be members in good
standing of Synod or partner church congregations;
(e) clarification that an educational institution (other than a
seminary) whose board members are all members in good
standing of Synod or partner church congregations is eligible for
recognition as an educational service organization; and
(f) a requirement that an RSO application be approved or denied
within 90 days of completed submission, and if denied, that the
applicant be given a specific written statement of the reasons for
denial.
St. Paul
Brookfield, IL
Ov. 4-34

To Direct Offices of National and International
Mission to Deny or Revoke Recognized Service
Organization Status for Organizations Supporting,
Advocating, or Otherwise Promoting
LGBTQIA+ Agenda and Lifestyle,
and To Amend Bylaws 6.2.3–4
WHEREAS, Since before the fall into sin, God created human
beings male and female (Gen. 1:27); and
WHEREAS, Since before the fall into sin, God gave man and
woman to be husband and wife (Gen. 2:24); and
WHEREAS, After the fall into sin, God reiterates that he still gives
man and woman to be husband and wife in marriage (Matt. 19:5;
Mark 10:7; Eph. 5:31); and
WHEREAS, Sin is anything that goes contrary to God’s purpose
and design (1 John 5:17); and
WHEREAS, Our country has adopted policies and practices that
uphold, promote, and uplift LGBTQIA+ positions on gender,
sexuality, and marriage that are contrary to God’s design and are
therefore sinful according to God’s Word (e.g. ruling that marriage
is no longer exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one
woman); and
WHEREAS, The LGBTQIA+ community is supported, uplifted,
and celebrated at many times and places (e.g. Pride month, Pride
parades, etc.); and
WHEREAS, The Christian is called to not follow in the deeds of
darkness, but rather, is to lead a holy and God-pleasing life (Eph.
5:11; 1 Peter 2:9); and

2026 Convention Workbook

WHEREAS, Such a God-pleasing life does not seek to remain in
sin nor to celebrate it, but repents of it, receives forgiveness for it,
and strives to sin no more (Rom. 6:1–2; Psalm 32:5; John 8:11); and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) published a report on marriage and sexuality entitled, A
Chaste and Decent Life: An Update to Human Sexuality 1981,
which concludes that, “attitudes towards gender identity and
dysphoria, homosexuality and homosexual marriage, and societal
pressures regarding sexuality, among others, have changed
markedly in the last four decades,” yet still maintaining that “God’s
intention for human sexuality does not change” (LCMS CTCR,
[adopted 2022], 37); and
WHEREAS, The Synod has upheld and reaffirmed such positions
regarding marriage and sexuality, as recently as the 2023 Synod
convention (Resolution 5-11, “To Reaffirm Synod’s Biblical
Positions on Marriage and Sexuality”); and
WHEREAS, The granting of recognized service organization
(RSO) status by the Synod “signifies that a service organization,
while independent of the Synod, fosters the mission and ministry of
the church, engages in program activity that extends the mission and
ministry of the Synod, is in harmony with the programs of the
Synod, and respects and does not act contrary to the doctrine and
practice of the Synod” (Bylaw 6.2.1); and
WHEREAS, Many resources from the Synod and its partners
(Lutheran Church Extension Fund, Concordia Plan Services, etc.)
are made available to the RSOs of the Synod to support their work;
and
WHEREAS, The Office of National Mission (ONM) and the
Office of International Mission (OIM) are tasked with the granting
of RSO status (Bylaw 6.2.4); and
WHEREAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW)
and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California (LSSNorCA)
have both been granted RSO status; and
WHEREAS, LCSNW, as recently as June of 2024, participated in
an annual Spokane Pride Parade “as they do every year” in an effort
to make their communities “more healthy, just, hopeful and [sic]
Prideful for all,” (“Pride is more than a month at LCSNW; it’s a
mindset to serve LGBTQ clients,” lcsnw.org/2024/06/pride-ismore-than-a-month”, accessed Oct. 1, 2024); and
WHEREAS, LSSNorCA stands with the LGBTQIA+ community
and proudly supports them, as stated in a 2023 letter from the CEO
of the LSSNorCA (“Statement on LGBTQIA+ Pride,”
lssnorcal.org/file_download/b8699925-8345-437f-8cdadad7d95d3d77, accessed Oct. 1, 2024); therefore be it
Resolved, That the RSO status of LCSNW and LSSNorCA be
terminated immediately; and be it further
Resolved, That Synod members support and encourage their
respective district presidents as they go about their task given them
in Bylaw 6.2.1 (c) of overseeing the RSOs under their ecclesiastical
supervision; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod direct the ONM and OIM to decline
any applications for RSO status received from any organization
supporting, uplifting, celebrating, or otherwise promoting
LGBTQIA+ groups, agendas, thoughts, ideas, ideals, etc., including
organizations seeking RSO status that are partnered with an
organization supporting, advocating, or otherwise promoting the
same; and be it further