To Encourage Brotherly Speech about All Approved Pastoral Formation Routes and To Review Specific Ministry Pastor Pathways

Official Workbook overture source text

6-27 
To Encourage Brotherly Speech about  
All Approved Pastoral Formation Routes  
and To Review Specific Ministry Pastor Pathways 
WHEREAS, Our Lord commands His disciples to love one another 
and to use words that give grace (John 13:34–35; Eph. 4:29); and 
WHEREAS, Our Lord tells His disciples that the “harvest is 
plentiful, but the laborers are few,” (Matt . 9:37) and calls His 
disciples to, “therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to 
send out laborers into his harvest,” (Matt. 9:38); and 
WHEREAS, The Augsburg Confession (AC) teaches that “the 
ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments 
was instituted” (AC V) and that “no one should publicly teach in 
the Church, or administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered 
call” (AC XIV); and 
WHEREAS, The Augsburg Confession and its Apology (Ap) 
confess that for the Church’s unity “it is enough to agree about the 
doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments” 
(AC VII 2; Ap VII&VIII [IV] 30); and  
WHEREAS, The Small  Catechism bids us under the Eighth 
Commandment to “defend [our neighbor] , speak well of him, and 
explain everything in the kindest way”; and 
WHEREAS, Luther exhorted this same brotherly encouragement 
amongst those serving in pastoral ministry in his T reatise on the 
Power and Primacy of the Pope (Tr), “In 1 Cor inthians 3, Paul 
makes ministers equal. He also teaches that the Church is superior 
to [or more than] the ministers. Superiority or lordship over the 
Church or the rest of the ministers is not attributed to Peter. For he 
says, ‘All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas’ 
[3:21–22]. That is, do not let the other ministers or Peter assume for 
themselves lordship or superiority over the Church. Do not let them 
burden the Church with traditions. Do let the authority of anyone 
prevail more than God’s Word. Do not let the authority of Cephas 
be opposed to the authority of the other a postles, as they reasoned 
at the time, ‘Cephas, who is an apostle of higher rank, observes this. 
Therefore, both Paul and the rest ought to observe this.’ Paul 
removes this claim from Peter and denies that his authority is to be 
preferred to the rest or to the Church” (Tr 11); therefore be it 
Resolved
, That the Synod exhort pastors, professors, and 
congregational leaders to adopt a pastoral attitude of brotherly care 
toward all men serving through Synod approved routes to the 
pastoral office, including those in alternative or nonresidential 
programs, b y refraining from labels or slogans that imply tiers 
among pastors, such as using “gold standard” to describe residential 
education over and above other routes towards ordination approved 
by the Synod, and outlined in Bylaw sections 2.6 –2.10, and by 
practicing the Eighth Commandment through prayer, mentoring, 
welcome into circuit life, and encouragement in ongoing 
theological study; and be it further 
Resolved, That official communications, curricular materials, 
and public forums of the Synod and its entities use consistent, 
upbuilding language when speaking of residential and 
nonresidential pastoral formation routes alike; and be it further 
Resolved, That the appropriate Synod boards and commissions, 
in consultation with both seminaries and the Council of Presidents, 
review bylaws and policies related to the Specific Ministry Pastor 
(SMP) program, including continuing‑education expectations and 
years‑in‑ministry benchmarks, and bring recommendations that 
clarify fair and orderly pathways by which experienced SMP 
pastors, meeting defined theological and pastoral competencies, 
may be examined for eligibility to serve in general pastoral service; 
and be it further 
Resolved, That this report and any proposed changes be 
published on the Synod website and submitted for inclusion in the 
Workbook no later than 180 days prior to the opening of the 2029 
Synod convention; and be it finally 
2026 Convention Workbook
380 PAST ORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES