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LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 465

WHEREAS, The Synod has designated that responsibility to the 
prior approval panels outlined in various Bylaws (Bylaws 3.6.6.1; 
3.10.5.7.3; 3.10.6.8.2; 3.10.6.9.2); and 
WHEREAS, Those panels not only have responsibility to work on 
behalf of the Synod but are also responsible to the Synod; and 
WHEREAS, Those under consideration for theological 
professorships and other p ositions requiring prior approval have 
ordinarily been ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry or 
have been commissioned into an auxiliary office of the Church; and 
WHEREAS, Those under consideration for aforementioned 
positions have also been examined, approved, and certified for 
service on the roster of the Synod; and 
WHEREAS, Those individual members of the Synod have, by 
virtue of their membership in the Synod, agreed to the confessional 
basis as outlined in Constitution Article II, namely that “every 
member of the Synod accepts without reservation: 1. The Scriptures 
of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and 
the only rule and norm of faith and of practice; 2. All the Symbolical 
Books of the Evangelica l Lutheran Church as a true and 
unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit: 
the th ree Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene 
Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, 
the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the 
Large Catechism of Luther, the Small Catechism of Luther, and the 
Formula of Concord;” and 
W
HEREAS, Those individual members also abide by Bylaw 1.6, 
concerning the confessional position of the Synod; Bylaw 1.7, 
concerning agreements; and Bylaw 1.8 , concerning dissent; 
therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks to the Lord 
of the Church for using the Synod and its agencies to prepare 
workers for the harvest; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks to those 
engaged in the various prior approval processes for their difficult 
and important work; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention stipulate that, unless 
those under consideration by the prior approval panels are found, 
on the basis of clear and substantiated evidence, to be in violation 
of their ordination, commissioning, or installation vows or of the 
confessional subscription required by Constitution Article II and 
applicable Bylaws, their approval be assumed; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention require that the 
processes and guidelines used by the various panels to carry out the 
responsibility entrusted to them by the Synod be made transparent 
and available to all members of the Synod; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention stipulate that, should one 
under consideration be  thought to fall short of the guidelines, the 
candidate be given ample opportunity to clarify the candidate’s 
position to the panel in consultation with the appropriate district 
president as that candidate’s immediate ecclesiastical supervisor; 
and be it finally 
Resolved, That a new subsection be added to Bylaw 3.10: 
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING 
H. Prior Approval Standards and Procedures 
3.10.8 Prior approval panels established under this section and 
related bylaws  (including but not limited to Bylaws 3.6.6.1 [c]; 
3.10.5.7.3 [a]; 3.10.6.8.2; and 3.10.6.9.2) act on behalf of and are 
responsible to the Synod. 
(a) Unless, on the basis of clear and substantiated evidence, a 
candidate for a position subject to prior approval is found to be in 
violation of the candidate’s ordination, commissioning, or 
installation vows or of the confessional subscription required b y 
Article II of the Constitution and applicable bylaws, approval 
shall be granted and shall not be withheld. 
(b) Each prior approval panel shall adopt written guidelines that 
specify the standards applied and the ordinary process and 
timelines used in evaluating candidates. These guidelines shall be 
made reasonably available to the members of the Synod. 
(c) When a prior approval panel believes that a candidate may fall 
short of the guidelines, the panel shall (1) clearly identify its 
concerns to the candidate in writing and (2) give the candidate 
ample opportunity to clarify the candidate’s position to the panel, 
in consultation with the appropriate district president as the 
candidate’s immediate ecclesiastical supervisor. 
Southeastern District 
Ov. 7-18 
To Reexamine Prior Approval Process 
WHEREAS, One of the expressed  purposes of the Synod is to 
“recruit and train pastors, teachers, and other professional church 
workers and provide opportunity for their continuing growth” 
(Const. Art. III 3); and 
WHEREAS, The Synod has the responsibility to oversee that 
training, and has done so in various forms throughout its history; 
and 
WHEREAS, The Synod has delegated a portion of that 
responsibility to the prior approval panels outlined in various 
bylaws (Bylaws 3.6.6.1; 3.10.5.7.3; 3.10.6.8.2; 3.10.6.9.2); and 
WHEREAS, The restructuring of the Synod by the 2010 Synod 
convention eliminated existing agencies tasked with prior approval 
for seminary faculty members (namely, the Board for Pastoral 
Education) (2010 Res. 8 -08A, “To Realign the National Synod 
Ministries around Two Mission Boards”); and 
WHEREAS, The 2013 Synod convention passed Resolution 5-
11B, “To Amend Bylaw 3.10.4.7.3 re Appointment of Seminary 
Faculty,” which amended what is now  Bylaw  3.10.5.7.3 (a) to  
establish a three-person prior approval panel for the appointment of 
full-time seminary faculty members, to be comprised of three 
ordained members, including “ the President of the Synod (or his 
designee), the chairman of the Council of Presidents (or his 
designee), and the chairman of the Board for National Mission (or 
his designee)”; and 
WHEREAS, The Synod in convention subsequently passed 2016 
Res. 7-06B, “To Assist Our CUS Institutions in Demonstrating Our 
Common Confession,” which added what is now Bylaw 3.10.6.9.2 
to establish a three-person prior approval panel for the appointment 
of those teaching theology classes at a Concordia University System 
(CUS) institution, to be comprised of three ordained members, 
including “the President of Synod (or his designee), the chairman 
of the Council of Presidents (or his designee), and a member of the 
Concordia University System board selected by the chair”; and 
WHEREAS, Those panels not only have responsibility to work on 
behalf of the Synod but are also accountable to the Synod; and 
WHEREAS, Some questions have arisen in recent years regarding 
the transparency of the process, the standards by which the approval 
is determined, and the exact composition —
and appropriateness 
thereof—of the panels themselves; therefore be it  
2026 Convention Workbook
430 UNIVERSITY EDUCA TION