Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 462

Ov. 7-12 
To Encourage Licensed Counselors  
Serving Recognized Service Organizations  
to Complete Director of Family Life Ministry 
Colloquy Program 
Preamble 
This overture encourages Licensed Mental Health Counselors 
(LMHCs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW s) serving 
in recognized service organizations (RSO s) of the  Synod to 
complete the Director of Family Life Ministry (DFLM) c olloquy 
program, so that they may be called and rostered as distinctly 
Lutheran counselors, uniting professional licensure with ecclesial 
recognition and providing b iblically sound, Christ-centered 
counseling care. 
WHEREAS, RSOs of the Synod are called to extend the mercy of 
Christ through faithful service, and counseling ministries are a vital 
means by which the church bears witness to the Gospel in word and 
deed; and 
WHEREAS, LMHCs and LCSWs serving within RSOs provide 
care to individuals and families who are often burdened by grief, 
trauma, relational conflict, and emotional distress, and are at times 
asked to address doctrinal issues related to faith and life; and 
WHEREAS, The integration of biblical truth with clinical 
excellence ensures that counseling services offered in RSOs are 
both Christ-centered and professionally effective, pointing clients 
to the comfort, peace, and hope found in Jesus Christ; and 
W
HEREAS, The DFLM colloquy program equips candidates with 
theological formation rooted in the Lutheran Confessions, preparing 
them to serve as rostered workers who embody a distinctly Lutheran 
identity in their vocation; and 
WHEREAS, Never before in the history of the Synod has there 
been an opportunity for licensed Lutheran counselors to be formally 
called and rostered to serve within the Synod; and 
W
HEREAS, This unprecedented opportunity is now available, 
opening the way for counselors to serve the church in a distinctly 
Lutheran capacity, uniting professional licensure with ecclesial 
recognition; and 
WHEREAS, Encouraging LMHCs and LCSWs to complete the 
DFLM colloquy program strengthens the church’s witness by 
raising up counselors who are not only clinically licensed but also 
ecclesially recognized, thereby uniting professional practice with 
confessional fidelity; and 
W
HEREAS, Such preparation ensures that counseling ministries 
within RSOs remain accountable to the doctrine and mission of the 
church, while also meeting the highest standards of Christ-centered 
and distinctly Lutheran counseling care; and 
WHEREAS, In September 2025, the Concordia University System 
approved that LMHCs and LCSWs meet the prerequisite 
requirements for admission to the DFLM colloquy program at 
Concordia University Wisconsin and Concordia University 
Nebraska; and 
WHEREAS, RSOs of the Synod are required and expected to align 
in doctrine and practice with the Synod, ensuring that their 
programs and activities are in harmony with the mission and 
ministry of the church; and 
W
HEREAS, RSOs, while structurally independent, must agree to 
respect and not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the 
Synod, fostering the mission and ministry of the church through 
their service; and 
WHEREAS, The granting of RSO status signifies that an 
organization, though self -governed, extends the mission and 
ministry of the Synod, operates in accordance with Synod Bylaws 
and policies, and remains accountable to the theological and 
missional integrity of the Synod; therefore be it 
Resolved, That LMHCs and LCSWs serving in RSOs be highly 
encouraged to complete the DFLM  colloquy program, so that they 
may be called and rostered to serve as distinctly Lutheran 
counselors, providing b iblically sound and clinically effective 
Christ-centered counseling services to the glory of God and the 
blessing of His people. 
Board of Regents 
Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor 
Ov. 7-13 
To Ask That Concordia University Nebraska  
Local Regents Be Appointed 
Preamble 
In its governing documents, Concordia University, Nebraska 
(CUNE) is required to have university regents who reside in Seward 
County, Nebraska.  Elections for such local regents took place at 
previous Synod conventions.  However, this meant that those 
nominating individuals for the CUNE regents were only able to 
recommend a very small number of nominees.  This overture asks 
that the elected CUNE regents appoint those local regents instead 
of having them be elected at Synod or Nebraska D istrict 
conventions. 
WHEREAS, 1 Cor inthians 14:40 states that “all things should be 
done decently and in order”; and 
WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.10.6.2 (2) reads “If any board is required by 
its governing documents to include one or more persons holding 
residence or church membership in a specific locality, the institution 
is responsible for ensuring (including by appointment, if necessary) 
that individual(s ) meeting such requirements are included among 
those persons serving on such board, and no such geographic 
restriction shall apply to Synod-elected regents”; and 
WHEREAS, CUNE’s governing documents require a certain  
number of university regents to reside in Seward County, Nebraska; 
and 
WHEREAS, Elections for these local CUNE regents have taken 
place at several previous Synod conventions; and 
WHEREAS, Electing local regents at either Synod or Nebraska 
District conventions would limit the number of potential nominees 
to a very small number; and 
WHEREAS, Others in the Synod  might be willing to serve as 
CUNE regents who have previously been unable to due to not 
residing in Seward County, Nebraska; and 
WHEREAS, Local regents for Synod universities can be appointed 
by the university’s b oard of regents according to Bylaw 3.10.6. 2 
(3); therefore be it 
Resolved, That CUNE no longer have elections for regents living 
in Seward County at Synod conventions in accordance with Bylaw 
3.10.6.2 (2), so that “no such geographic restriction … apply to 
Synod-elected regents”; and be it further 
2026 Convention Workbook
427UNIVERSITY EDUCATION