To Recommend and Implement Rigorous Program of Study in Circuit Winkels

WHEREAS, While it is a blessed fruit of faith of all Christians to meditate upon God’s Law day and night (Psalm 1:2), it is especially incumbent upon those who serve in the pastoral office to take up this charge, as those given by God to His Bride, the Church, to proclaim and teach His Word and exercise doctrinal oversight in the congregations committed to them; and

WHEREAS, All Christians, but especially the pastors of Christ’s Church, should always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15); and

WHEREAS, Christ’s promise of the Holy Spirit’s work to “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I [Jesus] have said to you” (John 14:26) is fulfilled in no other way than through His Word; and

WHEREAS, Paul—providing an example for all called servants of the Word—averred to the Ephesian elders, “for Ididnot shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27); and

WHEREAS, “… In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead …” (2 Tim. 4:1), Paul charged Timothy—and all pastors—to “preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2); and

WHEREAS, St. Gregory the Great in the foundational pastoral theology of the Western Church asserts: “It is certainly necessary that those who execute the office of preaching do not regress in their study of sacred writ” and “when a pastor is asked about a spiritual matter by a layperson, it would be disgraceful for him to have to learn the answer, when he should have been prepared to solve the question” (Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule [Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007], 84–85); and

WHEREAS, At the 67th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) on July 24, 2019, the Synod in convention passed Resolution 6-04 nearly unanimously and by voice vote, “To Support, Encourage, and Expect Continuing Education for all Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Pastors” (2019 Proceedings, 160); and

WHEREAS, 2019 Res. 6-04 recognizes that the Synod’s desire for enhancing continuing education amongst our pastors has been expressed continuously, though without real fruit, since 1998; and

WHEREAS,2019Res.6-04resolvesthat“the Synod fully support, encourage, and expect all LCMS pastors to be engaged in continuing education throughout their pastoral ministry from the time of their first call”; and

WHEREAS, 2019 Res. 6-04 furthermore resolves that “district presidents encourage, prompt, and expect all their pastors to be engaged in continuing education”; and

WHEREAS, 2019 Res. 6-04 furthermore resolves that “congregations be encouraged to support their pastors’ continuing education financially and provide the time needed for continuing education”; and

WHEREAS, In the press of pastoral life, pastors often find it difficult to maintain arobust study of God’s Word and the teachings of Scripture—along with the necessary tools for that study—and the use of the biblical languages; and

WHEREAS, In the heyday of the Synod conference, the pastoral winkels—traditional Synod conference winkel model—provided for:

• the regular, formal study of the Scriptures, led by pastors for pastors;

• the regular, formal study of the Lutheran Confessions and the Lutheran dogmatic tradition, led by pastors for pastors;

• the regular, formal study of illuminating historical issues and contemporary threats to the teaching of God’s Word and our blessed Lutheran Confession, led by pastors for pastors;

• the regular, formal critique of the teaching and proclamation of the pastors in the winkel; and

WHEREAS, Although the demise of the traditional Synod conference winkel model may be attributed to many factors, it has inevitably led to the back grounding of sound doctrine in the pastoral mind and to a dearth of regularized and formal continuing education; and

WHEREAS, The contemporary, largely unstructured “9 to 12” model of the circuit winkel provides, anecdotally, little professional gain and is often bereft of serious study of God’s Word and our blessed Lutheran Confession; and

WHEREAS, The Circuit Visitors’ Manual of Synod notes that the two primary goals and purposes of the circuit winkel are “Spiritual Development and Enrichment” and “Continuing Education Experiences” (LCMS, Circuit Visitors’ Manual, [Updated February 2020], 200–201); and

WHEREAS, Many circuit winkels have become increasingly irrelevant and ineffective in achieving those goals and purposes; and

WHEREAS, The observation in the Circuit Visitors’ Manual that “the brethren respond with a higher sense of responsibility when a program is structured rather than casual” (202) is borne out by experience; and

WHEREAS, The Circuit Visitors’ Manual recommends a 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. schedule to provide time for pastors to “present theological papers, do exegesis on a text, prepare sermon studies, and the like” (202); and

WHEREAS, Over against many other forms of continuing education, the traditional Synod conference winkel model proves cost-effective by not only involving pastors in the passive reception of the teaching of God’s Word and our blessed Lutheran Confession on a monthly basis, but also in regularly providing pastors with the opportunity actively to mine the sources and in turn teach what they have learned, along with the ability to lay their gleanings before the brothers to verify whether these things be so (Acts 17:11); and

WHEREAS, Kansas District Circuit 6 pastors gathered in winkel have profitably and approvingly used the traditional Synod conference winkel model since September of 2019; and

WHEREAS, Kansas District pastors of Circuit 6 have been edified by the use of the traditional Synod conference winkel model, both in their personal study and in participating in and receiving the teaching and brotherly critique of their peers; and

WHEREAS, The traditional Synod conference winkel model generateskoinonia around the only thing that in Christ’s Church can create it—His Holy Word and our blessed Lutheran Confession— but the absence of serious study of that Word and our Lutheran Confession leads to the rupture of koinonia; therefore be it

Resolved, That the district president provide to all circuit visitors and pastors of the district a template for the traditional Synod conference winkel model which provides, on a monthly basis, for significant and adequate time devoted to:

• the regular, formal study of God’s Word in the original languages led by a circuit pastor;

• the regular, formal study of our blessed Lutheran Confession and/or the Lutheran dogmatic tradition led by a circuit pastor;

• the regular, formal study of an historical, pastoral- theological, or polemical topic led by a circuit pastor;

• regular, formal pastor-led critique of the winkel preacher’s sermon;

and be it further

Resolved, That this convention and the district president provide strong encouragement to circuit visitors and pastors to adopt the traditional Synod conference winkel model described above as the regular practice in all circuits; and be it further

Resolved, That the pastors of the district be encouraged to embrace the traditional Synod conference winkel model and readily, gladly, and energetically to participate in it, for their own theological growth, to maintain the tools of theology in their midst, and to foster koinonia in their midst; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of the district encourage their pastors’ robust participation in the study of God’s Word and our blessed Lutheran Confession in their circuit winkels using the traditional Synod conference winkel model by providing them with adequate time—personal study and preparation and additional time spent with the circuit pastors in winkel—and sufficient resources— book purchases, travel to winkel; and be it further

Resolved, That the district president report back to this convention in 2026 on the implementation of the traditional Synod conference winkel model in the circuits of our district and its reception by and benefit to pastors and congregations alike; and be it finally

Resolved, That this convention memorialize the Synod at the 2023 convention to urge and encourage:

• the district presidents, the executive director of Pastoral Education, the circuit visitors, and pastors to adopt the traditional Synod conference winkel model in all circuits of the Synod;

• the pastors to embrace and readily, gladly, and energetically to use the model;

• the congregations to encourage their pastors’ use of the model by providing them with adequate time and sufficient resources to do the same.