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LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 302

2026 Convention Workbook
267
THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS  —COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
 
Recent history in the LCMS has served to complicate things further when it comes to the office of 
deacon. In an attempt to address the problem of providing Word and Sacrament ministry to congregations 
when no ordained pastor was available, the Synod’s 1989 convention (via Res. 3-05B) established an 
office distinct from the Office of the Holy Ministry called “licensed lay deacon.” According to the 
protocols specified in the resolution, such deacons were required to complete a certain amount of 
seminary course work and training; were to be approved, licensed and regularly monitored by the district 
president; and were then authorized “in exceptional circumstances or in emergencies” to carry out certain 
duties normally restricted to those who hold the pastoral office (e.g., lead public worship, preach and — 
under certain circumstances — administer the Lord’s Supper). In view of the rather contentious debate 
that took place regarding this resolution at the 1989 convention itself and in subsequent years, it seems 
self-evident that there was a lack of careful Synodwide and consensus-building study and discussion 
before this resolution was presented and (narrowly) adopted.  
 
The vigorous debate about this office that ensued in the years after the establishment of licensed lay 
deacons resulted in two major changes in the LCMS. First, the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program 
was established at both seminaries by the adoption of Resolution 5-01B at the 2007 LCMS convention. 
The SMP program provides pastoral training by the LCMS seminaries to men in their contexts so that 
they can be called and ordained as Specific Ministry Pastors (a roster status established by the Synod in 
2007 in contrast to General Ministry Pastors). The second major change that came about was the adoption 
of Resolution 13-02A at the 2016 LCMS convention, which brought an end to the licensing of lay 
deacons for Word and Sacrament ministry. It should be noted that the 2016 resolution did not reject the 
use of the term “deacon”:  
 
Resolved, That nothing in this resolution shall be construed as impeding the training, recognition, 
credentialing or service of deacons who do not publicly preach or administer the Sacraments, 
namely, those who serve in ministries of mercy, education, or visitation, and so forth, or in an 
outreach role, assisting in evangelism and church planting (but not in public preaching and 
administration of the Sacraments); and be it further  
Resolved, That district presidents may continue to recruit, train, and credential new deacons for 
general varieties of service in the church that do not include public preaching and administration 
of the Sacraments. (2016 Proceedings, 237–238) 
 
 
services in the absence of a pastor, provided that it is a legitimate emergency or temporary need and that the layman 
not administer the Sacrament or pronounce absolution (in accordance with AC XIV). However, the Commission 
acknowledges that the lay officiating of a formal worship service in the congregation is a genuine gray area. To that 
end, it suggested that non-Communion orders of service (which allow for such lay leadership) should be used. The 
principle underlying these concerns is avoidance of confusion with the pastoral office , and that principle likewise 
applies to auxiliary offices or others such as deacons or evangelists.  
What has not yet happened in the LCMS is careful study, discussion and definition of the office of 
deacon in light of recent history in the LCMS, both in view of the now-defunct licensed lay deacon 
program and continued deacon training programs in certain LCMS districts. The LCMS has specified (in 
2016 Res. 13-02A and elsewhere) what deacons are not to do (public preaching and administration of the 
Sacraments), but more needs to be done to define the duties of and training for this office if it is ever to 
become an officially recognized auxiliary office in the LCMS into which men are called, commissioned 
and installed. 
 
E. Evangelist 
 
Like deacon, “evangelist” is also not an auxiliary office recognized by the LCMS (at least not using 
this specific title). The Synod, however, has established an auxiliary office called director of Christian 
outreach (DCO). Any Synod discussion contemplating the establishment of an auxiliary office of 
evangelist would do well to consider this already-established auxiliary office. Another factor to keep in 
mind is that there is some current usage of the term “evangelist” as an additional title for the Office of the 
Holy Ministry within the LCMS, which (as discussed earlier) is actually more in keeping with the New 
Testament usage of this term.  
 
Complicating matters further, in recent years some districts have begun to use the term “evangelist” 
for a lay office in which male or female individuals go through some limited training to share the Gospel 
in order to establish “faith communities.”
37 Such evangelists typically serve under the guidance of an 
LCMS pastor, but little or no study and discussion of this recent use of the term or title “evangelist” has 
taken place within the LCMS as a whole and no resolution recognizing “evangelist” as an official Synod 
office has been approved by the Synod in convention. While (as noted above) there is considerable 
freedom for individual congregations and even districts to have titles for various elected, appointed or 
paid staff positions, it would be very helpful if an office connected to some form of evangelistic ministry 
of the Word would be studied and discussed carefully across the Synod before being used by some 
districts and congregations in what may be perceived by some as an officially recognized title and office.  
 
At the Synod’s request, the CTCR’s 1973 report on the ministry studied and discussed the “office of 
evangelist” and came to the conclusion that: 
 
The work of an evangelist … does not necessarily call for a separate office. It is a function of the total 
Ministry and may be carried out even by bishops, and certainly by parish pastors. However, the work 
of evangelizing the unchurched is so great and pressing a task that the church may well find it 
 
37 One recommendation of the 2013 Resolution 4-06A Task Force was “that congregations and districts be 
encouraged to identify individuals for special training in and attention to evangelism. ” See 2013 Resolution 4-06A 
Task Force Report to the Synod, 25. Available at resources.lcms.org/reading -study/ctcr-library-lcms-task-force-
updates. 
desirable to appoint persons in addition to parish pastors, who are often fully occupied with parish 
work, to the task of evangelizing. … If a congregation calls an evangelist, he will as a matter of 
course work under the supervision of and in closest harmony with the pastor, who is the shepherd of 
the whole flock entrusted to his charge, including the evangelist.
38 
 
Although the Synod in convention never acted upon this or other specific recommendations of the 
1973 report, it did eventually (as noted above) create the office of director of Christian outreach, which 
seems to align closely with what is described in the 1973 report. In the final section of the current report, 
the CTCR will offer its own conclusions and recommendations regarding the office of evangelist.  
 
 
 
III. Summary Conclusions and Recommendations 
 
There are three primary conclusions to be drawn from this study. First, the New Testament uses 
several different titles for those serving in the one, divinely instituted Office of the Holy Ministry. These 
include shepherd/pastor, apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher, overseer and elder (and possibly others, 
including deacon). This variety of terminology should not be interpreted as somehow contradicting the 
clear evidence in the New Testament for this one, divinely instituted office, nor should it be seen as 
evidence that this office was not widely recognized by first-century Christians. The early decades of 
Christianity were simply a time when titles were more varied and less standardized. 
 
Second, there is nothing in the New Testament that prevents or proscribes the church from 
establishing helping or auxiliary offices to assist the Office of the Holy Ministry. While opinions differ 
about whether the New Testament itself attests to the creation of such offices by the church (as we have 
discussed, some regard “deacon” and “deaconess” as auxiliary offices created by the Early Church), there 
is no disagreement in the LCMS about whether the church today has the freedom to create and fill such 
offices in response to particular needs, challenges and opportunities in its efforts to proclaim the Gospel 
and further Christ’s mission on earth. If the Synod were to determine that auxiliary offices of deacon or 
evangelist were needed, then it has the freedom to establish them, along with establishing appropriate 
forms for calling, commissioning and installing deacons and/or evangelists into those offices.  
Third, this study points out the confusion that can result from using biblical titles without 
understanding their original referent. For example, in the New Testament an elder was a man who served 
in the Office of the Holy Ministry. In the LCMS today, an elder is typically a layman who holds an 
elected and term-restricted congregational office made up of men who assist the pastor(s) with matters 
related to worship and pastoral care. In the New Testament, an evangelist was also a man who served in 
the Office of the Holy Ministry, presumably focused on the task of outreach and evangelism. In the 
 
38 CTCR, The Ministry in Its Relation, 12. Again, the use and citation of this report does not imply an endorsement 
of its conclusions or recommendations, including the possibility of ordaining “evangelists.”  
LCMS today, the title “evangelist” is being used by some for a lay office that is often not clearly or 
consistently defined. The challenges with the office of deacon in the LCMS in recent decades have 
demonstrated the importance of defining terms, titles and responsibilities carefully and consistently; of 
seeking to avoid confusion (and practices that may be at odds with the Synod’s position); and of striving 
for as much uniformity as possible to avoid confusion, misunderstanding and tension in our walking 
together as a Synod.  
 
The use of biblical terms such as “deacon” or “evangelist” in and of itself is not a problem. They are 
biblical terms that can and may be employed profitably by the church. It is rather how they are being used 
that can and does cause confusion. For instance, all Christians are in some sense “evangelists,” in that 
they are entrusted with sharing the Gospel. Likewise, all Christians are “deacons” in the sense that they 
are called to lives of service toward God and neighbor. Yet we must not confuse a Christian’s general 
Christian vocation as an evangelist or deacon with his or her occupying the office of deacon or evangelist. 
The latter uses of these terms connotate ecclesiastically recognized offices into which one is called, 
commissioned and installed, and the LCMS has not as yet designated them auxiliary offices. 
 
As emphasized earlier, a proper way to understand helping or auxiliary offices established by the 
church to which qualified individuals can be called is to recognize that those holding such offices are 
authorized to assist the pastor in carrying out certain responsibilities of his office. In light of the 
foregoing, the Commission makes several recommendations that may lessen confusion over the use of 
various nomenclature in the Synod, including the terms “deacon” and “evangelist.”  
 
• Deacons: The term “deacon” is ambiguous exegetically, and it is clear that even within the Synod 
historically there has been no single understanding or application of it.
39 This at times has led to 
confusing and contradictory applications of it, though usage of the biblical term in itself is not 
objectionable. As noted above, 2016 Resolution 13-02A also allows for the formation of deacons 
to “serve in ministries of mercy, education, or visitation, and so forth, or in an outreach role,” 
provided their responsibilities do not include “public preaching and administration of the 
Sacraments.” In light of the potential for confusion and misunderstanding of the various ways 
“deacon” has or might be used in the Synod, the Commission makes the following 
recommendation: The term “deacon” should only be used for laymen who assist the pastor in 
certain, specific ways (liturgically, administratively, educationally, etc.), yet do not publicly 
preach or administer the Sacraments. 
 
 
39 Note, for instance, the debates concerning the possibility of an “ordained diaconate” as a resolution to the 
controversy over the licensed lay deacons created by the 1989 convention. See, the opinion  of the Faculty of 
Concordia Theological Seminary, “A Response to ‘An Overture to Establish an Ordained Diaconate,’” Concordia 
Theological Quarterly 63, no. 3 (July 1999): 205–220.