To Affirm Exclusive Use of Synod Seminaries to Prepare Men for Office of Holy Ministry

Official Workbook overture source text

6-24 
To Affirm Exclusive Use of Synod Seminaries  
to Prepare Men for Office of Holy Ministry 
WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to faithfulness 
in the things of God (John 8:31), which is sustained in the Church 
by the faithful transmission of the faith to and through the future 
pastors of the Church; and 
W
HEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to love toward 
one another (John 13:35), which  is exercised by the creation of 
agreed-upon modes of undertaking corporate action; and 
WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to a unity of 
faith that is identical with , and tantamount to continuing steadfast 
in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42; see also 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,” in par t by the 
recruitment and training of pastors; and 
WHEREAS, Bylaws reserve for the seminaries of the Synod the 
duty, to the exclusion of other institutions, to educate, form, train, 
and certify the pastors of the Synod, which is ideally done face-to-
face, live, and in a residential setting (Bylaws sections 2.7–8); and 
WHEREAS, Bylaws provide for men in willing agreement to the 
doctrine and practice of t he Synod to serve as pastors through the 
colloquy program (Bylaw 3.10.2); and 
WHEREAS, 2007 Resolution 5- 01B, “To Establish Specific 
Ministry Pastor Program,” approved the non- residential Specific 
Ministry Program for those training to become pastors in 
exceptional circumstances through our two seminaries (Bylaw 
2.13.1); and 
WHEREAS, There are clear dangers in educating, forming, and 
training men for the ministry in the Synod at seminaries outside the 
oversight of the Synod; and 
WHEREAS, The Center for Missional and Pastoral Leadership  
(CMPL, thecenter.info/cmpl), an online seminary under the 
umbrella of the Institute for Lutheran Theology (Brookings, SD , 
ilt.edu) and affiliated with the heterodox North American Lutheran 
Church, offers coursework to students from Synod  congregations 
leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Religion, the Master of 
Ministry (M.Min.), and 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) directs and facilitates the enrollment of 
students from LCMS congregations in the M.A. and M .Div. 
programs of another online seminary, namely, Luther House of 
Study (LHOS, lutherhouseofstudy.org); and 
WHEREAS, The plea to enroll students from leaders of ULC and 
the CMPL appeals to a perceived pastor shortage in Synod, 
indicating that both entities wish to use their respective seminary 
programs to educate, form, and train pastors for the Synod; and 
WHEREAS, The conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI) for all 
members of the Synod, both rostered workers and congregations, 
require the  “ renunciation of  unionism and syncretism of every 
description” and the “regular call of pastors” ( which is defined in 
Bylaw sections 2.7–8); therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention rise and sing 
the Te Deum  in thankfulness to the Lord for His gracious 
preservation of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne 
(CTSFW), and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), and for the 
faithful ministry of the nine generations of graduates in the 
congregations of the Synod, through whom as “fellow workers” (1 
Cor. 3:9) the Lord has preserved the faith among us; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention affirm the 
residential M.Div. education, formation, and training of the future 
pastorate of the Synod as the standard within the Synod; and be it 
further 
2026 Convention Workbook
378 PAST ORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES