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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 350

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

350

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Resolved, That we as a Synod reject every understanding of
mission that reduces it to programs, strategies, or institutional
survival; separates the baptismal identity of God’s people from their
sending; replaces the Gospel with moralism, activism, or coercion;
or locates authority in human hierarchy rather than God’s Word;
and be it finally
Resolved, That we as a Synod therefore confess with confidence
and joy: The Missio Dei is not one doctrine among many, but the
living heart of Scripture, the interpretive key to Christian identity,
and the foundation for the church’s being, purpose, and witness in
the world—until that day when God’s mission is complete and all
creation is restored in Christ.
Christ the King
Kingwood, TX
Ov. 5-23

To Rescind 1981 Resolution 8-05 and Request
Commission on Theology and Church Relations
Report on Human Organ Donation
and Transplantation
WHEREAS, The 1981 Synod convention adopted Resolution 805, “To Encourage Donation of Kidneys and Other Organs”:
WHEREAS, We accept and believe that our Lord Jesus came to
give life and to give it abundantly (John 10:10); and
WHEREAS, Through advances in medical science we are aware
that at the time of death some of our organs can be transplanted
to alleviate pain and suffering of afflicted human beings (see Gal.
6:10); and
WHEREAS, Our Heavenly Father has created us so that we can
adequately and safely live with one kidney and can express our
love and relieve the unnecessary prolonged suffering of our
relative; and
WHEREAS, We have an opportunity to help others out of love
for Christ, through the donation of organs; therefore be it
Resolved, That our pastors, teachers, and DCE’s be
encouraged to inform the members of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod of the opportunity to sign a Universal Donor
Card (which is to authorize the use of our needed organs at the
time of death in order to relieve the suffering of individuals
requiring organ transplants); and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage family members to become
living kidney donors; and be it further
Resolved, That the program committees of pastors and
teachers conferences be encouraged to include “organ and tissue
transplants” as a topic on their agendas; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Board of Social Ministry and World Relief
seek ways to implement this program so that the entire Synod
may join in this opportunity to express Christian concern;
and
WHEREAS, Both medical technology and its academic, peerreviewed, and published theological assessment have advanced
significantly since 1981; and
WHEREAS, The recitals of 1981 Res. 8-05 may now be
considered jejune and theologically dubious for the complex and
morally weighty question of human organ donation and

2026 Convention Workbook

transplantation and the implications of its encouragement and
routinization realized since 1981; and
WHEREAS, The operative clauses of 1981 Res. 8-05 may
improperly, even if unintentionally, burden the consciences of
pastors, church workers, and laity who hold informed and serious
concerns about the practice and moral implications of routinized
human organ donation and transplantation; and
WHEREAS, The Synod is blessed with many gifted theologians
considered experts in theological ethics who are well-informed on
the moral significance and contemporary concerns of routinized
human organ donation and transplantation; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod in convention rescind 1981 Res. 8-05;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod in convention ask the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations to produce a document to be
published before the 2029 convention that considers and evaluates
the theological and moral implications of human organ donation
and transplantation.
Circuit 9 (Decatur)
Indiana District
Ov. 5-24

To Urge Church of Christ to Stay and Do Her Duty
WHEREAS, God commands, “Remember the Sabbath day, to
keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8); and
WHEREAS, Our Lord and Savior proclaims, “Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of
God” (Matt. 4:4); and
WHEREAS, The apostle Peter declares, “We must obey God
rather than men” (Acts 5:29); and
WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish Christians to “consider how
to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and
all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25); and
WHEREAS, Christian liberty should not be determined by
someone else’s conscience (1 Cor. 10:29); and
WHEREAS, The Large Catechism teaches that the Sacrament of
the Altar is essential to the Christian faith, stating “A great number
of people who hear the gospel, now that the pope’s nonsense has
been abolished and we are freed from his compulsion and
commands, let a year, or two, three, or more years go by without
receiving the sacrament, as if they were such strong Christians that
they have no need of it. Others let themselves be kept and deterred
from it because we have taught that none should go unless they feel
a hunger and thirst impelling them to it. Still others pretend that it
is a matter of liberty, not of necessity, and that it is enough if they
simply believe. Thus the great majority go so far that they become
quite barbarous and ultimately despise both the sacrament and
God’s Word” (LC V 40–41 [Kolb/Wengert]; cf. AC VII; XXIV;
LCMS, A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri
Synod [adopted 1932]); and
WHEREAS, During the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, responses to
the COVID-19 pandemic included the cancellation of public,
communal, in-person worship services by congregations, pastors,
and affiliated educational institutions; and