Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 528

WHEREAS, The Synod’s Commission on Constitutional Matters 
(CCM Op. 25 -3053, “Central Illinois District Bylaws, Proposed 
Revision”) directed the district: 
The district should, except where it is following explicit Synod 
Bylaw language that does otherwise, consistently use “ordained 
minister” and “parish pastor” where it intends these distinct 
senses. … The standard language “commissioned minister” 
would be c learer than the district’s language, “commissioned 
church worker from the Synod roster.” 
and 
W
HEREAS, The terminology “minister of religion — ordained” 
and “ministers of religion —commissioned” was derived in part 
from the terminology used by the United States of America’s 
Internal Revenue Service (Publication 517, Social Security and 
Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious 
Workers): 
Ministers defined. Ministers are individuals who are duly 
ordained, commissioned, or licensed by a religious body 
constituting a church or church denomination. Ministers have the 
authority to conduct religious worship, perform sacerdotal 
functions, and administer ordinances or sacraments according to 
the prescribed tenets and practices of that church or 
denomination. If a church or denomination ordains some 
ministers and licenses or commissions others, anyone licensed or 
commissioned must be able to perform  substantially all the 
religious functions of an ordained minister to be treated as a 
minister for social security purposes. (2025 edition, p. 4, 
irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p517.pdf); 
and 
W
HEREAS, By conforming the Synod’s terminology to that used 
by the IRS, which for tax purposes treats “ministers” differently 
from other church employees (who are not considered “ministers” 
but are subject to regular employment laws), the Synod seems to 
have chosen a pragmatic way to save our “ministers” some expense 
on taxes (perhaps violating Jesus’ warning: “You cannot serve God 
and mammon/money,” Matt. 6:24 NKJV/ESV), as well as the right 
to define “ministers” as we wish, without government control; and 
W
HEREAS, The Synod’s lawyers successfully argued before the 
U.S. Supreme Court ( Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran 
Church and School v. EEOC , 565 U.S. 171 [2012], 
supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/565/171) that all who qualify 
as “ministers” under our Constitution may be removed from their 
employment according to our policies, even if for reasons that 
would violate employment laws for non-ministers; and 
W
HEREAS, A concurring opinion to Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical 
Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC by Justice Alito noted, 
while a ministerial title is undoubtedly relevant in applying the 
First Amendment rule at issue, such a title is neither necessary 
nor sufficient. As previously noted, most faiths do not employ 
the term “minister,” and some eschew the concept of formal 
ordination. [FN3 mentions Muslims as an example. ] And at the 
opposite end of the spectrum, some faiths consider the ministry 
to consist of all or a very large percentage of their members. 
[FN4 mentions Jehovah’s Witnesses as an example. ] Perhaps 
this explains why,  although every circuit to consider the issue 
has recognized the “ministerial” exception, no circuit has made 
ordination status or formal title determinative of the exception’s 
applicability. 
and 
WHEREAS, The use of the term “religion” instead of “church” or 
“faith” has a long history in the U.S. (e.g., Bill of Rights, 
Amendment 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an 
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”), 
and the word “religion” in the Bible is used by people who do not 
share that “religion” (δεισιδαίμων, Acts 17:22; δεισιδαιμονία, Acts 
25:19; ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ, Col. 2:23; or by people who do not share the 
“religion” of someone else ( θρησκεία, Acts 26:5; also 
“religious,”  θρησκὸς, James 1:26; and only once of “religion that is 
pure and undefiled,” James 1:27); thus the government’s reference 
to “religion” is meant to be neutral; but the Church’s confession is 
that we hold the one true faith in the one true God; and 
The following whereas is present only in the Central Illinois District 
Board of Directors submission: 
W
HEREAS, The introduction of the category of specific ministry 
pastor to designate men who are “ordained,” but not fully qualified 
to be overseers of a congregation (as other pastors are), since they 
require oversight of another pastor, added to the confusion that has 
come with trying to fit professional servants of the church with 
different educational backgrounds and qualifications into just two 
categories of church workers; and 
WHEREAS, The 1992 Synod convention adopted Res. 5- 21, “To 
Study Classification of Professional Church Workers,” and 
President Alvin Barry appointed a Nomenclature Study Committee 
(NSC), which delivered its report to the 1998 Synod convention; 
and 
WHEREAS, This committee recommended the following: 
[I]t will be in the best interest of the Synod to classify all certified 
and rostered church workers with the following nomenclature: 
1. Pastors 
2. Teachers and Associates in Ministry 
The NSC believes that this nomenclature clearly distinguishes 
between the one divinely established office of the ministry, the 
pastoral office, and those offices that the church has created to 
help discharge the functions of the pastoral office. (1998 
Convention Report R1 -8-02, Nomenclature Study Committee,  
Workbook, 8), 
but the 1998 Res. 7- 14A, “To Address Nomenclature of Church 
Workers,” stated: 
  W HEREAS, This report has insufficient evidence to justify the 
proposed changes; and 
  W HEREAS, The underlying concern which has been identified 
by the Nomenclature Committee stems from confusion caused 
by various understanding of the Doctrine of the Ministry; and 
… 
  Resolved
, That the recommendations and conclusions of the 
Nomenclature Committee report be declined at this time; and be 
it finally 
  Resolved, That the Synod in convention commend to the 
congregations and professional church workers the CTCR 
document, “The Ministry: Offices, Procedures and 
Nomenclature” for study that the Synod might open dialog and 
come to a clearer understanding of the Doctrine of the Ministry” 
(1998 Proc., 152); 
therefore be it 
2026 Convention Workbook
493STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION