Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 245

2026 Convention Workbook
210 
THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS  —COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
1 
 
Mission and Ministry Principles and Practical Observations and Suggestions 
 
Introduction 
 
In 2023 Res. 1-02A, the Synod directed the Commission on Theology and Church Relations 
[CTCR] “expeditiously to prepare a document on Lutheran theological principles for mission and 
ministry that would address the theological and practical issues faced by small congregations and 
multi-congregational parishes.” It also asked “that these principles be disseminated to the Office 
of the President, the Council of Presidents, and the Pastoral Formation Committee as a basis for 
considering how the Synod might provide for the ongoing pastoral needs of small congregations 
and multi-congregation parishes.” 
 
At its February 2024 meeting, the CTCR adopted a document titled “Mission and Ministry 
Principles and Suggestions—for COP Discussion.” This document was presented to and 
discussed by the COP at its February 2024 meeting. Input by the COP was considered by the 
CTCR, and a revised document was approved for wider distribution, use and discussion at the 
CTCR’s May 2024 meeting.   
 
It is important to note that this document has two distinct (and distinctly different) sections. The 
first section, “Theological Principles,” was drafted and approved by the CTCR with the 
conviction that the principles enunciated here are theologically sound and fully in keeping with 
historic Lutheran and LCMS doctrine and practice. Although these principles are (by their very 
nature) summary statements and therefore do not say everything that could be said on the issues 
they address, the Commission believes that they are fully correct and orthodox in what they do 
say and affirm. These principles should not engender debate or disagreement among Lutherans 
committed to the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. 
 
The second section of the document contains “Practical Observations and Suggestions.”  
Although the Commission believes that there is nothing in this section that is theologically 
incorrect or erroneous, it does not expect or anticipate that all readers of this document who are 
equally committed to the authority of Scripture and the Confessions will agree about the 
relevance of the observations offered or the wisdom of the practical suggestions made in this 
section.  In fact, as the Commission “brainstormed” and developed this section of the document, 
it did so fully recognizing that there was not complete unanimity on the Commission itself about 
the helpfulness or feasibility of every suggestion offered here—only that none of them was 
theologically out of bounds.  Moreover, the CTCR does not claim to have the competence—nor, 
for that matter, the responsibility or authority—to determine or dictate practical solutions to the 
serious, disparate and localized challenges that prompted this assignment. 
 
Readers and users of this document are urged to bear in mind what the CTCR explicitly says in 
point 2 of the second section of the document, “The following ideas are for discussion and 
consideration especially among members of the COP, but ultimately including districts, 
circuits, and congregations (especially vacant congregations). While some may be deemed 
inadvisable or unworkable in certain circumstances, it is the opinion of the CTCR that all 
are theologically legitimate” (emphasis added).   
 
2 
 
Theological Principles 
 
1. Salvation comes to God’s people through Word and Sacrament. 
a. God sent His Son to redeem sinners and only in the holy life, atoning suffering and death, 
and glorious resurrection of Christ Jesus is there life and salvation (John 3:16-18; LC III, 
54, KW edition throughout).  
b. Salvation is bestowed by the Holy Spirit who makes God’s gracious promises known to 
sinners as they hear and believe the Word of the Gospel proclaimed, read, and enacted in 
the sacraments (Rom 10:17; AC V; LC II, 37, 45).  
2. The church receives and extends this Gospel through the ministry of Word and Sacrament.  
a. Those who hear and believe the Gospel are the church—Christ’s baptized, holy, priestly 
people, his disciples (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:37-41; 1 Peter 2:9; AC V). 
b. Even as Christ, by the Holy Spirit, gathers the church by the Gospel, he also sends forth 
the church with the Gospel to all nations, for faith is “sparked by the word” (Luke 24:44-
49; Ap IV 73).  
c. The church extends the Gospel as believers make provision for the Gospel to be 
proclaimed and administered in their assembly and in the daily lives (vocations) of 
believers (Rom 10:17; 1 Pet 2:9; AC VII, VIII; Ap XIII, 11).  
d. The local church, or assembly of Christians, is the primary place for sinners to hear the 
Word and receive the sacraments for their salvation (for examples, see Acts 15:30 or the 
first verses of Paul’s epistles to churches such as Rom 1:7, 1 Cor 1:2, 2 Cor 1:1, etc.).  
3. God extends the Gospel through baptized believers in the various circumstances of daily life. 
a. Baptized believers are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his 
own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of 
darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). 
b. Christians share the Gospel in the context of their vocations at home, with coworkers, 
and with others (Acts 8:1b-8; 1 Peter 2:9; 3:14-15).  
c. Parents have the special responsibility and privilege to bring their children to baptism 
and to nurture and catechize them in the home (Matt 19:13-15; Acts 2:39; Eph 6:4; AC 
IX; SC heading for each part).   
 
4. The pastoral ministry is the means God uses to preach the Word and administer the sacraments 
in the local congregation.  
a. God sets apart biblically qualified men for the office of making the Gospel known (the 
office of public ministry or pastoral office) in both word and sacred act in the church’s 
congregations (John 20, 21; Acts 20:17-32; 1 Cor 12:9; Eph 4:11; AC XIV; Ap XIV , 4).  
b. Those who serve in the pastoral office are to meet certain biblical qualifications of a 
moral, vocational, and theological nature (1 Tim 3:1-7; 2 Tim 2:15-16a, 22-25a; Titus 
1:5-9; 1 Pet 5:1-3). 
c. 
Therefore, the local congregation is comprised of pastors and laity, preachers and hearers, 
who work together reciprocally in the ministry of the church (1 Cor 4:1-5; Tr 11). 
d. The office of the public ministry is required for a congregation and is not merely 
optional, so that the Gospel may be heard and received sacramentally (1 Cor 12:29; Eph 
4:11; Titus 1:5; AC XXVIII 5, 8; Ap XIII, 12; FC SD II, 38).  
3 
 
5. The church selects those who will occupy the pastoral office through an orderly process. 
a. Only one who is rightly called by God through the church is to preach and administer in 
the congregation’s assembly (1 Cor 12:29; AC XIV; AC XXVIII, 8-9; Ap XIII, 11-13).  
b. The right calling (rite vocatus, ordentlicher Beruf) may take place in various ways, but it 
always includes the choosing, calling, and ordaining of ministers (Titus 1:5; Tr 67).
1 A 
right calling is necessary so that the congregation knows that God has placed this man 
into the office of preaching and administering the sacraments (Ap XIII, 12).
2  
c. The manner of choosing, calling, and ordaining ministers for confessional Lutherans is 
determined not by biblical mandate, but by mutual agreement in love for one another.  
d. The LCMS process for right calling includes choosing candidates for the office by the 
Synod’s seminary faculties or colloquy committee, calling them by a congregation, and 
ordaining (appointing them) under the ecclesiastical supervision of a district president 
(see Tr 67).  
6. Exceptional circumstances do not make the pastoral office optional for congregational life. 
a. While it is common for congregations at some point to lose the pastor who has served 
them, such loss is to be addressed in an orderly manner so that another LCMS pastor can 
serve them; this includes during their time of vacancy.  
b. If a pastor is not available to serve a congregation for a given time, the congregation still 
assembles to give thanks, hear Scripture, pray for a pastor to be available to serve them, 
and be catechized in the truth of God’s Word.
3  
c. If a congregation lacks an ordained pastor to carry out the responsibilities of the public 
ministry in an orderly and regular manner and persistently remains in this status, it is no 
longer functioning in accordance with God’s design for the local expression of the 
church.
4 
d. Therefore, congregations unable to secure pastoral care in such an orderly and regular 
manner should consider working together with one or more other congregations in some 
manner, in consultation with the district president, so that regular pastoral care can be 
secured (a dual or multiple point parish or a “circuit rider” type of ministry). 
e. Congregations and pastors of the Synod should not shirk the responsibility to help other 
congregations address legitimate needs for pastoral ministry (2 Corinthians 8:14).  
f. A vacant congregation that refuses arrangements for pastoral care when they are 
available, and instead prefers to meet without a rightly called pastor, ceases to be a 
Lutheran congregation.
5 
g. While the foregoing points (6. a-f.) refer to vacant congregations, the important work of 
evangelism and outreach also goes beyond sharing the Gospel with individuals and 
always includes the eventual goal of incorporation in a congregation that is served by a 
pastor.  
 
1 For example, at the time of the Reformation, different entities (e.g. consistories or city councils) called ministers. 
While such a practice is different from our process that ends with a voters assembly decision, it is nonetheless an 
acceptable approach to a “right calling.” 
2 See also CTCR, Theology and Practice of “the Divine Call” ( 2003). 
3 See CTCR, “President of Synod Request for Opinion on Lay Reading of Sermons and Conduct of Worship in the 
Absence of a Pastor” (April 2023). 
4 That is, the preaching office or the pastoral office is established by God and is not optional for the church.  
5 The district president, in consultation with colleagues, will need to define such a refusal .  
4 
 
Practical Observations and Suggestions 
 
1. The LCMS cannot assume that the challenges of providing pastoral care for its congregations 
will lessen in the foreseeable future. Several demographic factors are significant here, namely,  
a. The aging of the total population and, in particular, White Americans (Synod’s 
predominant racial/ethnic group);  
b. The shrinking of rural and small town America’s population (where the LCMS has many 
congregations); 
c. The declining level of religious involvement in the youngest age cohorts of the US;  
d. In addition the increasing numbers of immigrant and non-White populations in the US 
are a missionary and evangelistic challenge that the LCMS must seek to address and for 
which the Synod needs to choose, call, and ordain ministers.  
2. These factors strongly suggest that the Synod must engage in a multi-pronged approach to 
address the need for pastoral care. The following ideas are for discussion and consideration 
especially among members of the COP, but ultimately including districts, circuits, and 
congregations (especially vacant congregations). While some may be deemed inadvisable or 
unworkable in certain circumstances, it is the opinion of the CTCR that all are theologically 
legitimate.   
a. Extending the service of the Synod’s ordained ministers.  
i. Encourage LCMS pastors to serve as vacancy pastors whenever possible.  
ii. Confident in the work of the Holy Spirit through the divine call, encourage LCMS 
pastors to be open to consider calls to underserved areas of the country, intercultural 
congregations and missions, urban mission and outreach, and other ministry settings 
where the harvest is plentiful but our laborers are few.  
iii. Encourage pastors and candidates to learn second languages for ministry, especially 
when they are serving in places where there are significant populations that speak a 
language other than English.  
iv. Encourage our pastors and candidates to be open to calls to multipoint parish 
ministries.  
v. Encourage retired pastors of the LCMS in good health to serve vacancies and to 
consider short-term relocations to serve in areas where there are many congregations 
that need assistance.  
b. Increasing our commitment to residential seminary education 
vi. Continue and expand high school summer experiences (“camps”) for male students 
from Synod’s congregations that provide an exposure to the pastoral calling, and to 
college and seminary life. 
vii. Identify potential ministry undergraduate students and subsidize their education on 
the college level, with special attention and commitment to students from ethnic and 
racial minorities.  
viii. Encourage multi-lingual skills by funding intensive summer studies in Spanish and  
Mandarin (English, Mandarin, and Spanish are the most widely spoken languages; 
we also emphasize the need for theological literature in these and other languages). 
ix. Continue the seminary policy of covering the cost of all tuition. 
x. Reshape the seminary experience to prepare more students for intercultural and 
urban ministries in order to enable work in places with increasing immigrant and 
minority populations.  
R62.3