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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 372

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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372

PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES

ecclesial association with heterodox church bodies, which militates
against the Lord’s will that the church be kept in unity of faith and
confession (Rom. 16:17); and be it further
Resolved, That unless the congregations and rostered workers
advocating for, recruiting for, teaching in, and receiving church
workers from LHOS and CMPL heed the admonition of the district
president under whose ecclesiastical supervision they stand, such
rostered workers be placed on restricted status (Bylaw 2.13.2) as
having violated the conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI); and
be it further
Resolved, That district presidents follow to their end the
processes surrounding restricted status; and be it finally
Resolved, That if the district presidents fail to fulfill their duty to
the Bylaws on behalf of the Synod toward those who persist in
advocating for, recruiting for, teaching in, and employing as church
workers graduates from LHOS and the CMPL, the President of
Synod exercise his duty under Const. Art. XIII and Bylaw section
2.15.
Emmaus, Fort Wayne, IN; Good Shepherd, Pleasant Prairie, WI;
Pastors’ Conference, South Wisconsin District;
Pastors’ Conference, Wyoming District
Ov. 6-17

To Affirm Exclusive Use of Synod Seminaries to
Prepare Men for Office of Holy Ministry
WHEREAS, The pastors’ conference of the Mid-South District, in
regular session, desires that the Synod and its districts, circuits, and
congregations reaffirm all the teachings of Scripture and the
Lutheran Confessions as expressed in the Book of Concord, and
practices that agree with these symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church; and
WHEREAS, The district pastors’ conference wishes to
memorialize the 2026 Synod convention to affirm the exclusive use
of the Synod’s seminaries to prepare men for the Office of the Holy
Ministry; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has created certain means to train, prepare,
and assign men into ministries of the Synod in an orderly and
agreed-upon process; and
WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to a unity of
faith in what is taught, preached, and confessed, by which it fully
embraces the call of continuing steadfast in the apostles’ teaching
(Acts 2:42), that is, in all the teachings of Holy Scripture and the
Evangelical Lutheran standards expressed in the Book of Concord
(John 17:20–21; Eph. 4:4–6; FC SD X 31); and
WHEREAS, Constitution Article III 1 reflects our Lord’s will by
stating that The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) shall
“conserve and promote the unity of the true faith (Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor.
1:10), work through its official structure toward fellowship with
other Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against
schism, sectarianism (Rom. 16:17), and heresy”; and
WHEREAS, The Bylaws provide for the two seminaries of the
Synod, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW),
and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL); and
WHEREAS, The two recognized seminaries of the Synod, to the
exclusion of other seminaries, were established to educate, form,
and train the pastors of the Synod (Bylaw sections 2.7–8); and

2026 Convention Workbook

WHEREAS, The Bylaws provide for the possibility of a pastor
from another unrelated church body to emerge from another
confession and provide a means by which a pastor may join, by
examination and by his agreement in doctrine and practice, with the
Synod (Bylaws 2.7.2; 3.10.2–3.10.2.5); and
WHEREAS, A man from another church body, wishing to serve in
the ministerium of the Synod, may do so, providing such a man is
certified and received into the ordained membership of the Synod
via the colloquy program (Bylaw 3.10.2); and
WHEREAS, Through the exclusive use of its two seminaries and
by His grace alone, the Lord has for nearly 180 years preserved in
the Synod the true confession of His Word and practice in accord
with Holy Scripture; and
WHEREAS, The education, formation, and training of pastors are
best accomplished through an in-person, face-to-face, live, and
residential setting, as the history of our two seminaries and the
Synod demonstrate; and
WHEREAS, Educating, forming, and training men for the possible
ministry of the Synod in seminaries that are outside the approval,
oversight, and support of the Synod and that are associated with
heterodox groups risks confusion and unnecessary and difficult
division; and
WHEREAS, The Center for Missional and Pastoral Leadership
(CMPL, thecenter.info/cmpl/), an unauthorized online seminary
under the umbrella of the Institute for Lutheran Theology
(Brookings, SD, ilt.edu/) and affiliated with the heterodox North
American Lutheran Church, has offered coursework to students
from LCMS congregations leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in
Religion, the Master of Ministry (M.Min.), or a Master of Divinity
(M.Div.), the latter two of which are widely recognized as requisite
education and formation for the pastorate; and
WHEREAS,
Unite
Leadership
Collective
(ULC,
uniteleadership.org) (in partnership with Kairos University, an
interdenominational university affiliated with the North American
Baptist Conference) directs and facilitates the enrollment of
students from LCMS congregations in M.A. and M.Div. programs
of another online seminary, namely, Luther House of Study (LHOS,
lutherhouseofstudy.org/); and
WHEREAS, The plea from leaders of ULC and the CMPL to enroll
students in their programs has allegedly been given in response to
the pastor shortage in the LCMS, indicating that both entities wish
to use their respective seminary programs to educate, form, and
train pastors for ministry in the LCMS; and
WHEREAS, The Council of Presidents at its April 29, 2025,
meeting issued a clear statement on non-Synod seminaries, stating,
Our Synod needs pastors for all our congregations and mission
outreach. We implore the Lord of the Church to send them. We
commit ourselves to direct potential students for the pastoral
office only to the routes to ordination approved by and
accountable to Synod. The Council will not place graduates from
other programs. The Council members agree not to ordain
graduates from other programs. We commit ourselves to engage
the Church, our Synod’s seminaries, and Pastoral Formation
Committee to strengthen the routes to ordination and address the
challenges and opportunities for providing the Church wellformed candidates for the pastoral ministry. (Roy S. Askins,
“LCMS Addresses Unauthorized, Non-LCMS Pastoral
Formation Programs,” Reporter Online, May 8, 2025,