Official Workbook PDF page source text

2026 Convention Workbook

350 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Resolved, That we as a Synod reject every understanding of mission that reduces it to programs, strategies, or institutional survival; separates the baptismal identity of God’s people from their sending; replaces the Gospel with moralism, activism, or coercion;

or locates authority in human hierarchy rather than God’s Word;

and be it finally

Resolved, That we as a Synod therefore confess with confidence and joy: The Missio Dei is not one doctrine among many, but the living heart of Scripture, the interpretive key to Christian identity, and the foundation for the c hurch’s being, purpose, and witness in the world—until that day when God’s mission is complete and all creation is restored in Christ.

Christ the King Kingwood, TX

Ov. 5-23

To Rescind 1981 Resolution 8-05 and Request Commission on Theology and Church Relations

Report on Human Organ Donation

and Transplantation

WHEREAS, The 1981 Synod convention adopted Resolution 8- 05, “To Encourage Donation of Kidneys and Other Organs”:

WHEREAS, We accept and believe that our Lord Jesus came to give life and to give it abundantly (John 10:10); and

WHEREAS, Through advances in medical science we are aware that at the time of death some of our organs can be transplanted to alleviate pain and suffering of afflicted human beings (see Gal.

6:10); and

WHEREAS, Our Heavenly Father has created us so that we can adequately and safely live with one kidney and can express our love and relieve the unnecessary prolonged suffering of our relative; and

WHEREAS, We have an opportunity to help others out of love for Christ, through the donation of organs; therefore be it

Resolved, That our pastors, teachers, and DCE’s be encouraged to inform the members of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod of the opportunity to sign a Universal Donor Card (which is to authorize the use of our needed organs at the time of death in order to relieve the suffering of individuals requiring organ transplants); and be it further

Resolved, That we encourage family members to become living kidney donors; and be it further

Resolved, That the program committees of pastors and teachers conferences be encouraged to include “organ and tissue transplants” as a topic on their agendas; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Board of Social Ministry and World Relief seek ways to implement this program so that the entire Synod may join in this opportunity to express Christian concern;

and

WHEREAS, Both medical technology and its academic, peer - reviewed, and published theological assessment have advanced significantly since 1981; and

WHEREAS, The recitals of 1981 Res. 8 -05 may now be considered jejune and theologically dubious for the complex and morally weighty question of human organ donation and transplantation and the implications of its encouragement and routinization realized since 1981; and

WHEREAS, The operative clauses of 1981 Res. 8- 05 may improperly, even if unintentionally, burden the consciences of pastors, church workers, and laity who hold informed and serious concerns about the practice and moral implications of routinized human organ donation and transplantation; and

WHEREAS, The Synod is blessed with many gifted theologians considered experts in theological ethics who are well -informed on the moral significance and contemporary concerns of routinized human organ donation and transplantation; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention rescind 1981 Res. 8-05;

and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention ask the Commission on Theology and Church Relations to produce a document to be published before the 2029 convention that considers and evaluates the theological and moral implications of human organ donation and transplantation.

Circuit 9 (Decatur)

Indiana District

Ov. 5-24

To Urge Church of Christ to Stay and Do Her Duty

WHEREAS, God commands, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord and Savior proclaims, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4); and

WHEREAS, The apostle Peter declares, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29); and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish Christians to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25); and

WHEREAS, Christian liberty should not be determined by someone else’s conscience (1 Cor. 10:29); and

WHEREAS, The Large Catechism teaches that the Sacrament of the Altar is essential to the Christian faith, stating “A great number of people who hear the gospel, now that the pope’s nonsense has been abolished and we are freed from his compulsion and commands, let a year, or two, three, or more years go by without receiving the sacrament, as if they were such strong Christians that they have no need of it. Others let themselves be kept and deterred from it because we have taught that none should go unless they feel a hunger and thirst impelling them to it. Still others pretend that it is a matter of liberty, not of necessity, and that it is enough if they simply believe. Thus the great majority go so far that they become quite barbarous and ultimately despise both t he sacrament and God’s Word” (LC V 40 –41 [Kolb/Wengert]; cf. AC VII; XXIV;

LCMS, A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [adopted 1932]); and

WHEREAS, During the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, responses to the COVID- 19 pandemic included the cancellation of public, communal, in -person worship services by congregations, pastors, and affiliated educational institutions; and