Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 94

2026 Convention Workbook
59
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
5. Response to the 2021 Final Report of the Theological 
Conversations between the ILC and the Roman Catholic 
Church
The President of the Synod officially requested that the CTCR 
respond to the Final Report of the theological conversations be-
tween the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Roman 
Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian 
Unity. The CTCR drafted a response that assessed the arguments of 
the Final Report, noted which important issues remain and which 
should be further addressed, and commended the continuation of 
these discussions. At its October 2024 meeting, the CTCR unani-
mously approved the document and subsequently shared the draft 
with the President of the Synod, the chairman of the ILC, and other 
members of the ILC conversation team. The response is included in 
the Workbook appendix.
6. Response to the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Way 
Forward Proposal
The President of the Synod officially requested that the CTCR 
evaluate the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) Way Forward 
proposal to approve a path for women’s ordination, which was ad-
opted by the LCA at its assembly in October 2024 and allowed for 
two different practices within the church. At its December 2024 
meeting, the CTCR unanimously approved a critique of the LCA 
proposal and has since submitted it to the President’s office for 
consideration and dissemination. The response is included in the 
Workbook appendix.
7. Use of Online Technology in the Church: Study 
Document (2023 Res. 5-13A)
2023 Res. 5-13A directed the CTCR, in conjunction with the 
COP and the Office of the President of the Synod, to produce a 
joint document considering the various uses of online technology 
in the church. After consulting with representatives of both the COP 
and the Office of the President, it was decided the CTCR would 
provide a study document on the uses of online technology in the 
church that would then be shared with the above-named entities, 
who would disseminate it throughout the Synod. The document 
evaluates five practical applications of online technology: lives-
treamed services, virtual multipoint parishes, online reproof and 
church discipline, online membership, and artificial intelligence–
generated sermons. It was unanimously adopted by the CTCR at 
its December 2024 meeting and conveyed to the COP and Office 
of the President for distribution, study, and conversation. The study 
document is included in the Workbook appendix.
8. A Theology and Philosophy of Lutheran Education 
(2023 Res. 5-10)
2023 Res. 5-10 asked the CTCR to develop “principles of edu-
cation rooted in Lutheran doctrine,” in consultation with represen-
tatives of the Concordia University System and its universities and 
Synod educational executives, among others, to be shared with Lu-
theran educators from kindergarten through higher education. The 
CTCR drafted a report that asserted the authority of Scripture in all 
matters of faith and life, including education, as well as addressing 
perennial questions in Lutheran education according to the three 
creedal articles of creation, redemption, and sanctification. The 
CTCR approved a draft of this report at its May 2025 meeting. The 
report was distributed to all ministers of religion—commissioned 
and ordained—by Concordia Publishing House. It is included in 
the Workbook appendix.
the landscape dramatically. After outside consultation and internal 
discussion, a new report was drafted to address those developments 
from several vantage points: theological foundations for the sancti-
ty of human life, medical-ethical considerations related to end-of-
life care and decision-making, and the distinctively Lutheran ap-
proach to pastoral care and personal reflection at life’s end. It also 
includes extensive chronological and bibliographical resources as 
appendixes. The commission unanimously approved the report at 
its February 2023 meeting. Though this report was approved during 
the previous triennium and reported in the 2023 Workbook, it is 
included again in this triennium’s report and printed in the 2026 
Workbook appendix.
2. Responses to Overtures
2023 Omnibus Resolution A included 12 overtures for referral 
to the CTCR (and in some cases also to other entities; see 2023 
Convention Proceedings, 235–37). At its December 2023 meeting, 
the commission approved responses to those who had submitted 
these overtures, indicating various ways that their concerns were 
being or would be addressed. In numerous cases, the concerns of 
those overtures were taken up in current assignments.
3. Response to Wyoming District Request regarding 
Immortality of the Soul (2021 Wyoming District Res. 
1-01)
In July 2021, the Wyoming District communicated its Res. 1-01, 
which requested clarity concerning the Synod’s position on the im-
mortality of the soul. The commission unanimously approved a 
response at its February 2024 meeting. The commission detailed 
the position of its 1969 report and affirmed the teaching on the im-
mortality of the soul expressed by the 1973 convention (1973 Res. 
2-03) in commending that report. The response is included in the 
Workbook appendix.
4. Mission and Ministry Principles and Practical 
Observations and Suggestions (2023 Res. 1-02A/2023 Res. 
5-12)
2023 Res. 1-02A asked the CTCR to produce a brief document 
on mission and ministry principles to be disseminated to the COP, 
Office of the President, and Pastoral Formation Committee for their 
use in aiding small congregations and multi-congregation pastors 
and parishes. The CTCR produced a set of theological principles 
outlining the basic biblical and confessional parameters of the 
church and its ministry, as well as a set of accompanying practi -
cal observations and suggestions for how, within those parameters, 
the Synod might faithfully and realistically address its shortage of 
pastors and provide for congregations who are unable to obtain a 
regularly called pastor. The CTCR approved this document at its 
February 2024 meeting, shared it with the above-named entities at 
the February 2024 COP meeting for consideration and feedback, 
and then revised it in accordance with that feedback. The document 
was finalized at the CTCR’s October 2024 meeting. It is included 
in the Workbook appendix.
In addition, 2023 Res. 5-12 asked the CTCR to produce a report 
on “the present challenges to Christianity in the North American 
context to equip pastors and congregations for faithful ministry and 
outreach in a post-Christian world.” However, this assignment is so 
closely related to the Mission and Ministry Principles and Practical 
Observations and Suggestions, which arises from the same conven-
tion via 2023 Res. 1-02A, that the commission believes it has already 
adequately addressed the concerns of 5-12 in its response to 1-02A.