To Work to Resolve Issue of Qualified Ordained Candidates Remaining Without Calls

WHEREAS, The 65th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod approved Resolution 3-10A, “To Appoint a Task Force to Study the Call Process for Returning Missionary and Military Chaplains and Other Rostered Church Workers without a Call” by a vote of 884 to 25; and

WHEREAS, The task force duly appointed in fulfillment of the above resolution stated in its report, “Short of changing Synod’s bylaws that will accommodate the placement of candidate status ministers as they do for first call graduates, we must continue to follow the existing call processes” (2016 Report R60, Workbook, 232); and

WHEREAS, Despite the diligent efforts of district presidents and others to encourage congregations to call ordained ministers on candidate status, the current process has proven inadequate to remedy the issue of qualified candidates without calls; therefore be it

Resolved, That in response to the task force’s report, Bylaw

2.11.2.2 be amended as follows:

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING

2.11.2.2 A “candidate” member is one who is eligible to perform the duties of any of the offices of ministry specified in By law section 2.11 but who is not currently an active member or an emeritus member. …

(d) The Council of Presidents be authorized to place ordained minsters on candidate status at their request to placements among the congregations having asked for a candidate each spring under the following conditions: (1) All new seminary graduates have received their first calls. (2) The candidate’s district president approves the candidate’s request for a placement. Such a request in no way restricts a candidate from receiving a call in the regular manner. A candidate who has requested placement by the Council of Presidents shall immediately inform his district president upon reception of another call. He shall then be removed from consideration for a placement that year, excepting such circumstances as his district president certifies the call as non-viable for the candidate for a specified reason(s). If the reception of a call occurs between the placement decision by the Council of Presidents and the announcement of such a placement or for some other reason the candidate placed declines the call, the Council of Presidents shall at its next meeting place a candidate to that congregation if the congregation still desires. The announcement of the placements for ordained candidates shall take place at that year’s second placement service after the announcement of calls issued to seminarians. If placements take place at the subsequent meeting they shall be announced then. (3) If the candidate’s district president rejects the candidates request for placement, the candidate may appeal to the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry to adjudicate, with both the candidate and his district president appearing before it according to rules to be established by the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry and approved by the Council of Presidents.

(e) The Secretary of Synod and a member of the Council of Presidents selected by that body shall act as the directors of placement for all ordained candidates receiving placement by the Council of Presidents. These directors of placement shall both receive and examine from each candidate the same placement application paperwork used by the seminaries. They shall then either both or, according to a division mutually agreed upon by them, one of them shall interview each candidate and, if the candidate is married, the candidate’s wife by phone or if convenient in person to better ascertain where a good placement for the candidate might be.

(f) The Council of Presidents in consultation with the seminary directors of placement and the Secretary of Synod shall at their first meeting following the passage of this resolution establish a deadline for ordained candidates to request placement by the Council of Presidents. This deadline may be changed by the Council of Presidents in consultation with the seminary directors of placement and the Secretary of Synod, but any such a change shall take effect only after the next spring placement occurs.

and be it further

Resolved, That a committee competent to address the specifics of placement of commissioned ministers be appointed to draw up similar bylaw changes, or that such an amendment be considered friendly to this resolution; and be it finally

Resolved, That the convention rise and sing a doxology in thanksgiving to God for the diligent work of district presidents to resolve the issue of qualified candidate status ministers within the limits available to them under the current bylaws.