Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2026 · 69th Convention, Phoenix › Page 395
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 395

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

PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES

•

•

Church history and the history of Lutheranism, Christian
education, pastoral theology, and theology of missions
Residential seminars, possibly including pastoral
formation, issues in pastoral ministry, team ministry,
urban ministry, and spiritual formation
Field seminars, possibly including basic mission planter
training, edge gathering, and advanced mission planter
training

and
WHEREAS, Steps 3 and 4, approved by resolution, provided that
a certification, call, and ordination be allowed after completion of
two years of successful preordination studies; and
WHEREAS, Step 4, approved by resolution, provided that the
post-ordination curriculum includes “Old Testament content and
theology, New Testament content and theology, gifts of Christ,
body of Christ, Church history and the history of Lutheranism,
Christian education, pastoral theology, and theology of missions,
residential seminars, including pastoral formation, issues of pastoral
ministry, team ministry, urban ministry, and spiritual formation.
Field seminars included basic mission planting, edge gathering, and
advanced mission planter training” (ibid., 135); and
WHEREAS, Step 4 also included the caveat that “Refusal [or
inability] to complete the Specific Ministry Program would result
in the pastor’s removal from the Synod roster, at which point he is
not eligible for a call” (ibid.); and
WHEREAS, The provision of ordination after two years, with the
proviso that the rostered worker completes the additional two years
of formal, required education, has led to men being removed from
the Synod roster, and created confusion about the Office of the Holy
Ministry; therefore be it
Resolved, That currently enrolled SMP students (preordination
and post-ordination) continue in the SMP track of two years toward
ordination and two years of required post-ordination requirements;
and be it further
Resolved, That the program requirements of the SMP program,
originally passed in 2007 Res. 5-01B, which allowed a student to be
certified for call and ordination prior to the completion of the SMP
program, be modified so that students admitted to the SMP program
after the 2026 academic year shall be required to finish all academic
requirements of the SMP program before ordination and placement
on the Synod roster; and be it further
Resolved, That students who have completed the second
academic year be designated as vicars, who may conduct specific
and approved services under the supervision of their local pastor
and with the approval of the respective seminary program director
and district president; and be it finally
Resolved, That the vicar may receive compensation under the
vicarage agreement with the congregation and seminary program,
but without admission to the Synod roster.
Board of Directors
Mid-South District

395

Ov. 6-50

To Encourage Further Consideration
of Requiring Successful Completion
of Specific Ministry Pastor Coursework before
Ordination and Placement on Ordained Roster
WHEREAS, The 2018 Mid-South District convention
memorialized the 2019 Synod convention “To Request Synod to
Move Ordination Upon Completion of SMP Four-Year Program”
(2019 Ov. 6-07, Workbook, 451–52); and
WHEREAS, The 2019 Synod convention considered this overture
together with similar overtures from other districts and
congregations; and
WHEREAS, The 2019 Synod convention adopted Resolution 603A, “To Enhance the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program,”
referring this matter to the Pastoral Formation Committee to “work
to enhance the curriculum and standards of the SMP program
between the two seminaries” and to “review the SMP program
regarding the optimal timing for vicarage and ordination and report
its recommendation to the joint boards of regents at its 2020
meeting, as well as to the Synod at large” (2019 Proceedings, 159);
and
WHEREAS, Res. 6-03A further resolved “That the joint board
[sic] of regents prepare an overture to the Synod on the timing of
vicarage and ordination for the SMP program for consideration in
convention in 2022” (ibid.); and
WHEREAS, The 2023 Synod convention considered the
recommendations of the Pastoral Formation Committee and the
joint boards of regents of the seminaries, which are forthcoming;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the Mid-South District in convention reaffirm the
importance of the Pastoral Formation Committee, the joint boards
of regents, and the Synod’s consideration of the issues regarding the
timing of ordination in the SMP program; and be it further
Resolved, That the district in convention encourage the Pastoral
Formation Committee, the joint boards of regents of the seminaries,
and the Synod in convention to consider moving ordination and
placement on the minister of religion—ordained roster of the Synod
from after the completion of the first two years of the SMP program
to after the completion of all SMP education and academic
requirements for applicants admitted after the 2026 academic year.
Mid-South District
Ov. 6-51

To Clarify Appropriate Uses of Specific Ministry
Pastor Program in Accord with Synodical Intent
WHEREAS, The Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program was
established by the Synod to prepare pastors for specific ministries
under carefully defined conditions; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has repeatedly affirmed that residential
seminary formation through the Master of Divinity program is the
most complete means of preparing men for the general
responsibilities of the pastoral office and the preferred route for
pastoral preparation; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has explicitly stated that the SMP route is
to be understood and positioned as the exception and should not

2026 Convention Workbook