Official Workbook PDF page source text

reporter.lcms.org/2025/lcms-addresses-unauthorized-nonlcms-pastoral-formation-programs/)

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 2.7–2.8); and

WHEREAS, The faculties of the Synod seminaries have the responsibility to certify graduates for eligibility for placement and ordination and would have no provision for certifying non- Synod seminary graduates (Bylaw 2.8.1 [a, c]; 3.10.5.7.10 [h]); and

WHEREAS, The Synod colloquy program is not permitted to certify for ministry in the Synod any Synod laymen or commissioned ministers who complete a program of study leading to ordination or its equivalent at a non-LCMS seminary (Bylaw 3.10.2.4); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention be encouraged to rise and sing the Te Deum in thankfulness to the Lord for His gracious preservation of CTSFW and CSL, and for the faithful ministry of the nine generations of graduates to 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 be called upon to affirm the residential M.Div. education, formation, and training of the future pastorate as the standard within the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That the non-residential tracks toward ordination be utilized to the extent that is consistent with their design, purpose, and consistency with the doctrines, confession, and unity provided by the faculty from the authorized seminaries of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and rostered workers pray with heartfelt fervor and regularity to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest (Matt. 9:38); and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and rostered workers vigorously pursue recruitment of able and apt men for the pastorate of the Synod (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) under the Synod’s Set Apart to Serve initiative, and encourage and support prospective students to apply for the residential M.Div. program at CTSFW or CSL; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and their members generously support the work of CTSFW and CSL in providing a theologically rich, residential M.Div. program for the education, formation, and training of future pastors of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That pastors, congregations, and officials of the Synod encourage men interested in ministry to seek theological education, formation, and training in one of the recognized ministry tracks for the pastoral office at CTSFW or CSL; and be it further

Resolved, That the district presidents with ecclesiastical oversight over the congregations and rostered workers advocating for, recruiting for, or teaching in LHOS and the CMPL admonish those congregations and rostered workers for placing at risk their own and the Synod’s faithfulness to Holy Scripture, the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the holy things of God; for breaking unity and fraternity by intentionally working against the Synod and its seminaries to recruit and train pastors, which harms unity by militating against all things being done in order (1 Cor.

14:40); and for inviting false doctrine from and ecclesial association with heterodox church bodies, which militates against the Lord’s will that the church be kept in unity of faith and co nfession (Rom.

16:17); and be it further

Resolved, That, unless the congregations and rostered workers recruiting for, teaching in, and receiving church workers from LHOS and the CMPL heed the admonition of the district president under whose ecclesiastical supervision they stand, such rostered workers be subject to application of Bylaw 2.13.4, as having violated the conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI); and be it further

Resolved, That district presidents follow through on their ecclesiastical responsibility in the processes surrounding Bylaw 2.13.2; and be it finally

Resolved, That, if the district presidents fail to fulfill their duty to the B ylaws on behalf of the Synod toward those who persist in receiving church workers from LHOS and the CMPL or recruiting students for the same with the prospects of such reception, the President of the Synod exercise his duty under Const. Art. XIII and

Bylaw section 2.15.

Pastors’ Conference Mid-South District

Ov. 6-18

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

WHEREAS, 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 C hurch to a unity of faith that is identical with and tantamount to continuing steadfast in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), all the teachings of Holy Scripture and their expression in the Lutheran Book of Concord, that is, “the Gospel, in all its articles” (LCMS, A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles , [adopted 1973], Article IV ; 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”; and

WHEREAS, In Article III 3, in pursuance of the aforementioned objective and in love, the Synod names and reserves for itself, on behalf of the members (that is, the rostered workers and congregations) of the Synod, the recruitment and training of pastors;

and

WHEREAS, Likewise in pursuit of the o bjectives of the Synod,

bylaws reserve for the two seminaries of the Synod, namely

Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), the duty, to the exclusion of other seminaries, to educate, form, and train the pastors of the 2026 Convention Workbook

373PASTORAL MINISTRY AND SEMINARIES