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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 400

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

400

PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES

Lutheran Synod,” in At Home in the House of My Fathers, ed.
Matthew Harrison [St. Louis: CPH, 2011], 226), which directs the
Synod toward pathways that supply shepherds for the flock rather
than obstacles that prevent men from serving where the church calls
them; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod reaffirm the doctrinal foundation for
all pastoral formation routes and calls, including SMP, in accord
with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, particularly AC
V and XIV, and direct that all changes below preserve the order of
the call and the integrity of Word and Sacrament ministry; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Synod suspend, for the sake of the mission
and pastoral supply, the following recent admissions restrictions for
the SMP program: the five-year LCMS congregation membership
minimum, the three-year membership in the congregation of
placement minimum, and the age-40 minimum, and replace them
with broadened criteria under district president and seminary
oversight, retaining case-by-case vetting for doctrine, life,
catechesis, and congregational need; and be it further
Resolved, That supervision of specific ministry pastors be
retained in principle yet applied proportionately, time-bound, and
tapered as men demonstrate competency and faithful service, rather
than perpetual as a condition for roster retention, with the tapering
recorded and reported through the established Church Worker
Locator and Pastor’s Information Form (PIF) processes; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Synod direct the Council of Presidents (COP),
the two seminaries, and the Pastoral Formation Committee (PFC)
to prioritize SMP applicants in underserved contexts, while opening
eligibility to additional mission fields including small multi-point
parishes, rural and frontier missions, ethnic and language specific
plants, chaplaincy extensions under call, campus and mercy
outposts, and bi-vocational sites, all under existing supervised call
provisions and with seminary faculty and district president review
of sites and supervisors; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod create a stackable, competency based
bridge from SMP to the general pastor roster, directing the
seminaries and the COP to publish, within twelve months, unified
benchmarks that grant advanced standing for completed SMP
coursework and supervised experience and that define any
additional formation, language proficiency options, vicarage
equivalencies, and examinations needed for colloquy or roster
transition, with transparent timelines and costs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage the residential Master of
Divinity (M.Div.) route as the preferred comprehensive route while
clearly stating that the SMP route is a legitimate path to ordination
for specific settings, and that men who complete the SMP program
and the defined bridge benchmarks may, by examination and call,
serve the wider church as general pastors; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod direct the Commission on Handbook,
in consultation with the COP and the seminaries, to propose to the
next convention amendments harmonizing bylaws on supervised
service and mobility, and to review limitations that prevent specific
ministry pastors from serving in certain Synod or district roles,
recommending criteria by which experienced specific ministry
pastors who complete the bridge benchmarks may be eligible for
those roles, thereby aligning leadership eligibility with
demonstrated competency and call while safeguarding
ecclesiastical oversight; and be it further
2026 Convention Workbook

Resolved, That the Synod authorize the seminaries to admit
qualified SMP applicants under age 40 when the district president
certifies pastoral need and congregational support, and to accept
applicants with fewer than five years of Synod membership when
the district president certifies mature catechesis and doctrinal
subscription and the site demonstrates readiness to support the
man’s formation, and that the seminaries publish uniform
admissions rubrics that implement this flexibility within six months;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod encourage districts and congregations
to fund SMP students through scholarships and site commitments
so that cost does not hinder the supply of pastors to underserved
communities, and that the seminaries report annually on aid and
outcomes by context; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod direct the PFC to withdraw restrictive
language that frames SMP as ordinarily unsuitable for younger
candidates and to frame SMP suitability by context, character,
catechesis, competency, and call, acknowledging that the church,
not a demographic metric, discerns fitness for service in accord with
AC XIV; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod ensure that training is
provided to district presidents, supervisors, and seminary personnel
for consistent application of these policies and benchmarks, and that
annual public reports on SMP admissions, contexts served,
completion rates, bridge progress to general pastor status, and
placement outcomes be made available, so the next convention can
evaluate the fruit and make further adjustments; and be it finally
Resolved, That nothing in this resolution be construed as
diminishing the church’s esteem for residential M.Div. formation,
which the Synod continues to commend as a precious norm, even
as we vigorously supply pastors for the fields now white for harvest.
Trinity
Mission, KS
Ov. 6-60

To Broaden and Reopen Specific Ministry Pastor
Program for Wider Pastoral Formation
and Service
Preamble
We observe the following:
• Confessional foundation: Augsburg Confession (AC) V and
XIV set the pattern: ministry exists to deliver the Gospel
through Word and Sacrament, and it is carried out by men
rightly called. Opening Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP)
admission and mobility, with supervision in order, serves
precisely this end in places that otherwise lack a pastor.
• Pastoral supply with integrity: The Pastoral Formation
Committee’s (PFC) own premises acknowledge the ongoing
shortage and the role SMP can play in underserved contexts.
We honor that need while removing blunt constraints that
exclude otherwise faithful men and sites ready to be served.
• Order and oversight already exist: Existing bylaws (Bylaw
2.13.1) address supervised service and assisting calls. Using
those tools with clear benchmarks prevents disorder while
enabling more service where needed.
• C.F.W. Walther’s Synod duty: To “assist [congregations] in
acquiring upright [rechtschaffener] pastors” (“Duties of an